Oceaneering's structural fab operation has built "dark ride" vehicles for theme parks around the world. It has custom-fabricated and erected aluminum components for a mammoth advertisement overlooking Times Square. It has welded a structural mount that holds up the recovered World Trade Center antenna, now on display at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. And it has fabricated and erected duplex stainless steel bridges over killer whale pools at the San Diego and Orlando SeaWorld® parks. That's quite a portfolio of jobs, and all of them quietly have gotten their start at a structural fabrication facility on the outskirts of Baltimore.

Communicating the right welding position is vital for any welding application. Otherwise, a welder might find himself welding in positions for which he is not qualified--and that's not a good thing.

Hawkeye Industries Inc., Tupelo, Miss., was getting more and more orders for parts that required both punching and laser cutting. To meet the growing demand, the company purchased a combination punch/laser machine. Some shops are more suited than others to this technology—combination machines can increase profits for some companies, and costs for others. Shop owners should keep five key things in mind when evaluating and purchasing a combination punch/laser machine.

With sales forecasts predicting that fiber laser sales will increase by 16 percent, to $323 million, in 2008—$112 million of that in metal processing industries—this year is being called the year of the fiber laser. A closer look at the technology shows why this might be true.

Gas tungsten arc welding thin metals can bring up an array of problems. Fortunately, best practices can prevent those problems from occurring in the first place.

Ace Metal Crafts has promoted its own brand of lean that, more than anything, gives employees ownership over the process.

Columnist Gerald Davis believes it's a shame when a shop doesn't use its 3-D CAD software to its fullest potential. That's why he takes the reader through a modeling tutorial.

Ultra Machine & Fabrication, through significant capital outlays, has built an infrastructure ready to complete in the heavy plate market.

Given complete and accurate material data, software should have no trouble simulating the stamping of advanced high strength steel.

Lori and Traci Tapani, co-presidents of Wyoming Machine, aren't your typical metal fabrication managers. Together, they've managed to diversify their family business into a thriving, stable enterprise.