Is the starting position of the flat part facing the wrong way or upside down to your natural flow? Are you working from left to right when your natural motion is right to left? If you are, you're fighting the current rather than letting the current do the work. Set up the press brake in such a manner that you work with your natural flow; by not interrupting your "chi."

As customers look for ways to add to their bottom-line performance, Harco Metal Products, Tempe, Ariz., has stepped forward with services that make the tube fabricator more valuable to its customer--and harder to replace.

CNC plasma cutting machines are more affordable and easier to operate than ever before. By knowing the right kind of hardware and software makes sense, a fabricator can choose the equipment that makes the most sense for his operation.

Can a four-man job shop keep up with the demands of its manufacturing customers? IMS, Shakopee, Minn., will make you think about that and give you reason to question other practices going on in your job shop.

Senior Editor Eric Lundin visited Industrial Hard Chrome, a chrome plater that provides chrome-plated components for hydraulically powered equipment such as graders and backhoes. He traces the company's development from a plater that provided its services to the paper and pulp industry four decades ago to a plater and OEM with its own product line today.

As manufacturers strive for lower costs and greater efficiencies, they tend to substitute high-strength materials for standard materials. One such high-strength material is ASTM A514/514M-05. Although it is not difficult to weld, joining it successfully requires paying close attention to the preheat temperature, interpass temperature, and filler metal.

Nearly every metal sawing operation can become more cost-effective with a properly mixed and maintained sawing coolant. Proper use of sawing coolant improves cutting rates by balancing the combination of cooling and lubrication of the blade. Quality coolant improves the cut finish and can extend blade life by as much as 20 percent.