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More from Tim Heston
- From The Fabricator
Order fulfillment velocity makes the difference
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 30, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Haydon Corp. was an early adopter of business software, and it continues to use its enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform comprehensively. The software, along with standard business practices baked into the company’s DNA, has helped the roll former maintain an extremely short order fulfillment cycle.
- From The Fabricator
Communication in custom metal fabrication: Good ideas, good stories, good community
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 30, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
For years Jones Metal, a Mankato, Minn.-based custom fabricator, has published not an occasional employee newsletter, but a weekly digital paper, available at touchscreen kiosks throughout the front office and shop floor. The publication keeps everyone up-to-date on important metrics, spreads improvement ideas and, perhaps most important, builds community.
- From The Fabricator
Press brake bending: Forming long and skinny
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 29, 2016
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Phoenix Products has more than doubled its size during the past year, and much of that growth has to do with tackling an unusual niche: the bending of long, skinny parts.
- From The Fabricator
Robot deposits welds in high gear with Tip TIG
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 17, 2016
- Arc Welding
- Article
A new robot welding cell incorporates TIP TIG, a hot-wire welding process that feeds an oscillating wire under a tungsten electrode. In some applications, the method reportedly allows the robot to weld at speeds close to those of gas metal arc welding.
- From The Fabricator
Manufacturing and the consumer class
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 16, 2016
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Manufacturing built the middle class, a consumer class. Today, this "middle" consumer class is fading. For a consumer-based economy, that can't be a good thing.
- From The Fabricator
Accounting for time in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 11, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Traditional cost accounting treats inventory as an asset and, according to the author of a new book, does not capture the true costs of long lead times. A new accounting method, which complies with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), aims to correct this.
- From The Fabricator
Metal fabrication for the visually impaired
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 11, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Beyond Vision, a not-for-profit organization that employs people who are visually impaired and blind, has an eight-person machine shop that recently delved into metal fabrication. The company’s story shows just how much these people can contribute to a job shop operation.
- From The Fabricator
Local efficiency versus global objectives in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 9, 2016
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Metal fabricators are swimming in data these days. The trick is collecting the right data and focusing on what matters: global objectives (shortened total manufacturing time) instead of local efficiency (inches per minute at a specific machine).
- From The Fabricator
A fabricator founded on operator skill
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 3, 2016
- Laser Cutting
- Article
In quiet, rural New Ulm, Minn., technicians at DLC Manufacturing & Fabrication are perfecting the craft of cutting and bending sheet metal and plate, making clean cuts in steel 1.5 in. thick (and even thicker). It’s a small shop where skill runs deep.
- From The Fabricator
Augmented reality reaches the manufacturing floor
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 2, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Augmented reality (AR) remains an emerging technology, but it eventually could change how hands-on tasks in manufacturing get done.
- From The Fabricator
Robotic plasma cutting gets flexible
- By Tim Heston
- Jul 29, 2016
- Plasma Cutting
- Article
It used to take days or weeks to program a robotic plasma cutting cell. Now, like in welding, robotic plasma cutting has become much more flexible and adaptable. Offline programming and simulation, as well as flexible components of the robot cell itself, have made this possible.
- From The Fabricator
What makes a good boss in manufacturing?
- By Tim Heston
- Jul 27, 2016
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
So often, when a dispute arises between a supervisor and employee, it's not about "what." It's about "who."
- From The Fabricator
Metal fabrication is a communication business
- By Tim Heston
- Jul 18, 2016
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Most view metal fabrication as a technology business. But custom fabricators are complex, albeit usually small businesses. In such complex environments, good communication can make things a lot easier.
- From The Fabricator
Automated guided vehicles get flexible
- By Tim Heston
- Jul 8, 2016
- Materials Handling
- Article
A camera-based automated guided vehicle may have potential in high-product-mix environments. The vehicle takes pictures of its surroundings, remembers them, and then drives itself along that path.
- From The Fabricator
The human side of the skilled-labor crisis
- By Tim Heston
- Jul 8, 2016
- Bending and Forming
- Article
In metal fabrication, companies need technical skill, but there’s a humanity to the skill that’s often overlooked. It’s about the relationship between the technician, his machine, and the workpiece.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 04/16/2024
- Running Time:
- 63:29
In this episode of The Fabricator Podcast, Caleb Chamberlain, co-founder and CEO of OSH Cut, discusses his company’s...
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- Upcoming Webcasts
Nitrogen Generation for Laser Cutting: Navigating System Design for YOUR Operation
- April 24, 2024
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- Presented By: Purity Gas
Navigating Change: The Manufacturer’s Guide to Change Management with ERP Implementation
- May 16, 2024
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