If the proper laser beam focal position and projection shapes are maintained within the material to be processed, the balance of the requirements necessary to producing a consistent, high-quality laser-cut are kept to a minimum. That's why it's important for laser cutting equipment operators to know the rules of laser beam focusing.

The metal fabricating and forming market isclearly in a rebuilding mode after theeconomic downturn in 2009. The 2010 FMACCapital Spending Survey indicates thatcompanies are interested in spending money oncapital equipment, around $1.3 billion worth,but that's down significantly from the $2.2that was expecting to be spent in 2008.

Expensive options on a press brake won't guarantee knowledge transfer from a veteran press brake operator to a shop floor rookie. For knowledge transfer to occur, a shop needs experienced workers that can communicate and a younger work force eager to learn because they see a future in metal fabricating.

Gerald Davis begins this year with a series of product development case studies, taking an idea and creating the virtual model of it.For this first installment, Davis designs a barbecue grill.

Automated welding holds great promise forkeeping U.S. metal fabricators competitiveagainst their international counterpartsbecause it keeps labor costs down, but theserobotic welding cells still require somehuman intervention. Having said that,management doesn't want just anyone in therole of robotic welding cell operator. Hereare five characteristics that they can lookfor to ensure they get the right person forthe job.

Hydrogen cracking can send a project off schedule in a hurry. Here are ways to prevent it.

This Buffalo, N.Y., job shop is difficult to pigeonhole. It offers contract fabrication services, assembles complex material handling systems, and distributes certain products, including rooftop support systems. The company grew so diverse simply by asking what else their customers needed. In other words, managers followed the market.