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More from Tim Heston
- From The Fabricator
Metal fabrication in Japan: Technology and data for a comfortable day
- By Tim Heston
- Nov 8, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
Facing a chronic worker shortage, Japanese fabricators aim to work less and produce more. The right operational strategies, along with connected machines, allow them to do just that.
- From The Fabricator
ESOP and the metal fabricator
- By Tim Heston
- Oct 29, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
The founders of Lou-Rich, a custom fabricator in Albert Lea, Minn., didn’t build a business to amass a fortune. They built it to retire at 52 and pass ownership on to the people who allowed them to do it: their employees.
- From The Fabricator
Could this [part, fixture, gauge, tool] be 3-D printed?
- By Tim Heston
- Oct 12, 2018
- Additive Manufacturing
- Article
Additive manufacturing technology is evolving constantly. It’s an industry that The Additive Report, a new publication from FMA Communications, is set to tackle.
- From The Fabricator
DFM and the metal fabricator
- By Tim Heston
- Oct 11, 2018
- Manufacturing Software
- Article
A testing equipment maker employs purchasing managers and engineers who learn from their sheet metal suppliers and collaborate to create a less-costly manufacturing process.
- From The Fabricator
Fabricator jumps into cellular manufacturing
- By Tim Heston
- Oct 9, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
Dowding Industries began to adopt quick-response manufacturing last year, implementing it not only on the shop floor but also in the front office. This year, the Eaton Rapids, Mich., custom metal manufacturer is reaping the benefits.
- From The Fabricator
Fabricator tackles the focus and flow of continuous improvement
- By Tim Heston
- Oct 9, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
Miller Fabrication Solutions is more than seven years into its lean manufacturing initiative, and it’s now experimenting with new ways to sustain improvement. This includes new positions that focus not on what needs to be produced, but how.
- From The Fabricator
Automotive adhesives get tough
- By Tim Heston
- Oct 8, 2018
- Assembly and Joining
- Article
Adhesives give a little under impact, absorbing energy. That energy absorption improves a bond’s toughness. That toughness, along with resistance to corrosion and numerous other attributes of modern adhesives, has helped make vehicles lighter and safer.
- From The Fabricator
A metal fabricator, finisher, and retail store fixture maker join forces
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 18, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
F3 Metalworx launched July 1, not as a new shop but as a merger of three separate organizations. The story behind it is a case study in change management.
- From The Additive Report
Need a custom press brake tool? Try printing it
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 12, 2018
- Additive Manufacturing
- Article
Say a request for quote comes in that entails a low-volume part requiring a custom press brake tool. It can take weeks to get a custom tool in-house and start running the job. In some cases, though, a custom tool could be available within days—thanks to 3-D printing.
- From The Additive Report
Tackling additive manufacturing with an open mind
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 12, 2018
- Additive Manufacturing
- Blog Post
“But that’s how we’ve always done it.” “It will never work.” “Are you nuts?” Fabrication is a mature business, so when new techniques like additive manufacturing come along, resistance abounds. How do you overcome it? Take the first step.
- From The Fabricator
Firm taps the direct-to-consumer metal fabrication market
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 11, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
A Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based company launched in 2015 to tackle the business-to-consumer market in metal fabrication. It’s not an easy market to reach, but MetalsCut4U may have found a formula for reaching it.
- From The Fabricator
Reasonable tolerancing for press brake bending
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 11, 2018
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Some fabricators today can achieve an extraordinarily tight bending tolerance. But before testing material, establishing process controls, and generally bending over backward to achieve that tolerance, a shop should start with a basic question: Is that tight tolerance really necessary?
- From The Fabricator
M&A and the hunt for talented employees
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 13, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
A tight labor market means that companies looking to grow substantially are looking for alternatives, one being acquisition. It isn’t easy or without risk, though software and data analytics are mitigating some of that risk and streamlining the process.
- From The Fabricator
Why collaboration is critical in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 7, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
In many ways Max Weiss Co. and Washington Metal Fabricators couldn’t be more different. One is a structural bending shop, the other is a sheet metal fabricator. But both exemplify how important customer and supplier collaboration is.
- From The Fabricator
A powder coating primer for metal fabricators
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 1, 2018
- Finishing
- Article
When a fab shop launches a powder coating department, equipment is important, but most important of all is process knowledge. A coating operation can’t be effective without it.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 03/05/2024
- Running Time:
- 65:35
After Ludlow Manufacturing Inc. (LMI) received The Fabricator's 2024 Industry Award, Todd Ludlow, founder and president of the...
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