McQuay international develops a strategy to prolong tool life for turret presses.

Keeping a lean program running takes time, effort, and teamwork. To make the most of lean—that is, to understand all of their options in eliminating waste—companies that do extensive work in punching should keep up with innovation in punching tooling. Two such innovations are tools that tap holes and tools that make tabs for sturdy locking joints.

A new grant program promotes education for the welding technician. The program focuses more on welding theory behind the various processes--and less on hands-on training.

Laser beam welding has evolved into a proven process, and like any proven manufacturing process, it should be matched with the application with the best-suited material and geometry.

Embracing technology has given Microflex a firm foothold in the turbulent automotive marketplace.The Tier 2 supplier has garnered a reputation for advanced sheet metal forming, developing parts for exhaust, steering, and fuel system components. It has ISO 9001 and other quality certifications and has invested in software that will add traceability and cohesion throughout the automotive operation.

The main variation in sheet metal modeling technique is when to let the 3D CAD system know that the part is to be treated as sheet metal. Columnist Gerald Davis walks us through three different ways to accomplish this.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary in April 2005, McDonald's® opened a 24,000-sq.-ft. restaurant in Chicago. The restaurant's most eye-catching feature is a pair of parabolic arches that stand 60 ft. high. Constructed from 20-in. by 12-in. tubes, the arches were curved by Chicago Metal Rolled Products, an OEM component subcontractor. Operating within a tight time frame, CMRP helped the structural steel fabricator and erector, Tefft Bridge & Iron LLC, by bending the tubes in multiple locations on longer sections to reduce the number of weld splices needed.

M&M Vehicles Corp., Mexico, Mo., is less a car company and more of a fabricating shop. That's been the case from the beginning when Chris Miller and another employee cut diamond-plate aluminum sheet with a Skil saw blade turned backwards and then hand-bent the sheet to form boxes that graced those early used golf cars.

A variety of methods help push a roll forming operation's efficiency. Various coil handling methods offer different levels of efficiency and automation, each suiting certain applications. The key is to analyze an operation, calculate the time spent handling coil, and then determine the best level of coil handling automation to fit.

Two similar saws might have significantly different cutting speeds, and given a choice, most fabricators would choose the faster saw. However, the saw's speed isn't the only factor that affects efficiency. Material handling before and after the cut also plays a big role in process efficiency. Fabricators who overlook material handling don't gain all they can in terms of increasing throughput.