The FABRICATORSTAMPING JournalPractical Welding TodayTube & Pipe Journalthefabricator.comCanadian Industry ManufacturingGreen ManufacturerPWT TVTPJ TV
            English     Spanish  

 
Tags
Home \ Tags \ air

Content tagged with "air"

Results: 51

Article

August 8, 2006
A breath of fresh air Ten years ago laser cutting offered a distinctive advantage to those who invested in the technology. For the most part, successful laser cutting required gas, optics, and patience. The decade has brought many changes to laser cutting, including higher power levels and faster drive... Read more...

Article

June 8, 2004
Spraying it right For coil-fed applications, spray cabinets can be mounted to the feeder to accommodate passline changes. Most stampers understand the need for lubricants, but many apply as little as possible so they don't have to deal with the mess. Others take an opposite approach and flood the tool... Read more...

Article

February 26, 2004
Do you see the light? To be more specific, fabricators may be missing out on an opportunity to pocket some savings if they haven't taken a close look at how their operations are consuming energy. And with the economic environment as tough as it is, many fabricators probably are concentrating more on the... Read more...

Article

February 12, 2004
Cutting through five myths about modern lasers The following five myths about modern laser cutting machines can help the experienced user stay on top of the game and give the prospective laser user a few things to keep in mind. Myth 1: Automated laser cutting systems are too complicated, expensive, and big for small and medium-sized... Read more...

Article

February 12, 2004
Selecting a stamping die pressure system, Part II Selecting a stamping die's pressure system can be a critical decision. Many questions must be answered to determine what type of pressure system best suits your application. This article is Part II of a two-part series that focuses on the different systems available, as well as the advantages... Read more...

Article

January 29, 2004
Respirator selection as a business decision Several factors can help employers select a respirator that meets the required level of protection while having a positive business impact. Using this approach, employers can make choosing a respirator a business decision that can increase productivity, decrease injuries, and decrease... Read more...

Article

January 29, 2004
Managing environmental risk in tube, pipe production   Editor's Note: This article is adapted from a presentation made at the TPJ Symposium, March 16-18, 2003, Scottsdale, Ariz. The U.S. Congress and the states have created a complex scheme of environmental rules and regulations with which tube and pipe producers must comply.... Read more...

Article

January 13, 2004
Rolling bolsters bolster productivity Shown out of the press, the guided wheels on this 120,000-pound rigid chain rolling bolster are evident on the front face of the bolster. One element of changing dies in stamping presses quickly and efficiently is the use of a rolling bolster. With this equipment, the operator rolls... Read more...

Article

January 13, 2004
One system does not fit all Breathing is something that many of us take for granted. Most don't give it a second thought—you inhale, you exhale. That's about it. But recently, and not just in manufacturing, the trend has been for employers to install better ventilation systems and provide better air... Read more...

Article

November 6, 2003
Choosing the right oxyfuel gas and supply system Photo courtesy of Weldstar Inc. Cutting In oxyfuel cutting, an oxygen jet, not the preheat flame, performs the cutting. The oxygen jet oxidizes the material and expels the heated material from the kerf. The purpose of the preheat flame is to heat the material to the ignition... Read more...

Article

October 23, 2003
Take control of safety   Often invisible to the human eyes, airborne contaminants can have serious consequences for your health. Be familiar with the potential hazards and the effects they can have on your respiratory system. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard 1910.134... Read more...

Article

October 23, 2003
Blast Cleaning Equipment: What you need to know before buying Many options are available that can achieve the necessary prefinish requirements of any part. Of those options, blast cleaning can be an efficient and economical choice. Blast cleaning requires no chemicals and does not remove any surface metal in its process. Some facts however, should be... Read more...

Article

October 9, 2003
Making steels stronger As we get into modifying a steel's strength and hardness, keep a couple things in mind. First, don't confuse hardness with hardenability. A steel's maximum hardness is a function of its carbon content: more carbon, more hardness. Hardenability, on the other hand, refers to the amount of... Read more...

Article

September 25, 2003
Protecting yourself from gases and fumes Protecting yourself from fumes and gases often means overcoming objections. Some welders mistakenly argue that running a fan to blow smoke away eliminates risk. Others avoid using protective equipment because it's uncomfortable or takes too long to set up. Worse, your workplace might not... Read more...

Article

September 25, 2003
Supporting the defense United Defense's motto is Changing the future of defense™. One of its latest missions toward this goal was to introduce a direct diode laser into its Aberdeen, S.D., manufacturing facility. The company designs, develops, and produces combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile... Read more...

Article

August 28, 2003
Roll out the shelving These units typically are used in conjunction with overhead cranes, roller arms, and powered conveyors located at the press. The operator pushes a button that rolls out a shelf, picks up the dies with an overhead crane, and takes them directly to the press. Rollout shelves can be manual... Read more...

Article

August 14, 2003
Virtual tryout In this era of global warp speed and virtual reality, calculating the deep draws of progressive dies or the springback of metal is performed by simulation software instead of the earlier trial-and-error method. These software programs essentially replace the artistic methods of diemaking... Read more...

Article

July 24, 2003
Taking the heat, keeping the current A DaimlerChrysler powertrain control module cover/heat sink assembly needed to be thermally conductive yet electrically isolated. The populated circuit board—one with all components in place—had to be bonded to the heat sink and postcured in a vacuum laminating press. The... Read more...

Article

July 24, 2003
Maximizing a coil fed press Modern Coil-fed Presses Stamping processes revolve around two basic styles of tooling, transfer and progressive dies. They both require feed-to-length systems but differ in many key areas. Blanking processes could be added but are progressive in nature. Transfer tooling requires material to be... Read more...

Article

May 29, 2003
Automotive motives - Tips for cutting per-piece prices for automotive customers To do this, automakers are looking to their vendors for help, and vendors are left questioning not whether they can produce the part, but how they can lower the per-piece price. Automating Material Handling Automating the material handling around existing equipment is just one way to lower... Read more...

Article

May 29, 2003
Predicting the service life of galvanized steel Zinc, which has been used to hot-dip-galvanize steel for 250 years, provides 50 to 75 years of corrosion protection in many environments. Empirical data collected about hot-dip galvanized (HDG) steel field performance from 1940 to 1980—in environments ranging from industrial to... Read more...

Article

May 29, 2003
Spinning your wheels? Grinding wheels, rocks, stones—what's the difference? Grinding wheels used in welding and fabrication are strong, tough tools, but many in the industry have called them "rocks" or "stones," implying that they're unbreakable. This myth, or misconception, has led people to become... Read more...

Article

May 15, 2003
Sick at Work? For some workers, various symptoms of illness appear when they enter the workplace and disappear when they leave. These workers suffer from sick building syndrome (SBS). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), SBS is used to describe situations in which building... Read more...

Article

November 17, 2002
Secrets of Using GTAW for Tools and Dies Tool and die welding can be a very lucrative service for a fab shop to offer. However, tool and die welders are a rare breed because of lack of knowledge about the process and the extra expense for a shop. Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) frequently is used for tool and die welding applications... Read more...

Article

August 29, 2002
Rejoice with the right respirator Object When you ask a safety or health practitioner to recommend a welding respirator, be prepared to answer at least a dozen questions first. The first concern in selecting an appropriate respirator is the process contaminants. The base metal and consumables generally determine the air... Read more...

Article

August 8, 2002
Breathing easier Every company dreads indoor pollution problems: the visit from an Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) inspector, the call from a former employee's attorney requesting damages, the loss in production when an employee goes home sick from welding fumes. All of these problems... Read more...

Article

December 13, 2001
Pairing a servo feed with a pull-through straightener Servo feeds have been in use for many years now. People have become comfortable with this technology and it is becoming commonplace. What is not commonplace is the knowledge that servo feeds can be used with pull-through straighteners as opposed to a conventional feed line that uses a... Read more...

Article

November 15, 2001
Adaptive bending In conventional press brake bending, the bend angle obtained often differs from the programmed angle even though it is produced on a CNC machine. To overcome this problem, the bend angle can be measured during the forming process and this information fed to the numerical control. This process... Read more...

Article

November 15, 2001
A breath of fresh air - An overview of in-plant filtration systems Plant managers no longer question whether to use an in-plant air filtration system. Rather, they ask what type of system to use. Multiple collection and filtration system options are available from a variety of manufacturers, and different systems may function equally as well when cleaning... Read more...

Article

October 25, 2001
Design tips for sheet metal: Bend relief, small holes, hole distortion near bends, and minimum flange widths My experience, and therefore this article, is limited to sheet metal for applications such as power supplies, dispensing mechanisms, and electronic enclosures. I run a job shop. We need maximum tooling and machining versatility, so tooling dedicated to a specific product is used only when... Read more...

Article

October 11, 2001
Remote GTAW of spent fuel canisters: How this process reduces operator exposure to radiation Among many tasks that Nuclear Utilities perform is to ensure that radiation workers are exposed to the lowest possible amount of radiation. The industry has to follow strict exposure limits, and all nuclear energy workers must ensure the radiation exposure is as low as reasonably achievable... Read more...

Article

October 11, 2001
Welding specialty metals safely Object Welders spend a lot of time acquiring the skills to work with a variety of metals to create flawless welds, but they might not learn about the less obvious safety hazards associated with the materials they work with. Welders in power, food processing, and pharmaceutical plants often... Read more...

Article

September 4, 2001
Exploring complementary cutting methods Diversification is the linchpin of running a successful business. The key to producing quality work and investing in equipment wisely is knowing which cutting method—laser, plasma, electrical discharge machining, waterjet, or another—to use for a particular application. While... Read more...

Article

September 4, 2001
Skiving strip edges for tube and pipe producing Edge treatment of coil strip before it enters a tube and pipe mill, called skiving, is a rapidly advancing technology. Improving the coil edge before it is welded helps increase the quality of the seam join and helps prevent rejected tube or pipe. Traditional Skiving Equipment Edge skiving to... Read more...

Article

September 4, 2001
Standardizing finger tooling Figure 1: Tooling is mounted to transfer rails by receivers, which provide mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic connections. Improvements in transfer press automation and the availability of used large-bed presses for retrofitting have accelerated the use of transfer presses with... Read more...

Article

August 16, 2001
In search of the perfect bend Press brake manufacturers have made tremendous advances in the art of machine design and manufacturing. Machine frame components are designed to use proven mechanical engineering principles combined with CAD technology to identify the areas most susceptible to stresses consistent with the metal... Read more...

Article

August 16, 2001
The Brakes: Press Brakes and You -- Preventing common mistakes on press brakes Press brakes—they're wonderful machines that, unfortunately, present many opportunities to make mistakes. The good news is that many mistakes are so common that a nice file of prevention tactics has stacked up against them. The following miscues and mishaps are commonplace—and... Read more...

Article

July 26, 2001
Four factors to consider when purchasing a grinder: You get what you pay for Cost often is a deciding factor when you purchase a grinder. However, the saying "you get what you pay for" can be true when you're talking about tools. The price tag alone doesn't always reflect some of the more important factors—performance level, cost to operate, and tool... Read more...

Article

July 26, 2001
What to know before selecting a manual plasma cutter: Understanding size, power, components, cost The first plasma arc cutting (PAC) systems, developed in the '60s, were 1,000-amp monsters designed to blast through 6-inch stainless steel. Their mechanized torches were moved by X-Y cutting machines and powered by DC units the size of refrigerators. Surprisingly, the PAC industry... Read more...

Article

July 12, 2001
Thermal spray safety and OSHA compliance Object Thermal spray equipment normally is operated in special enclosures designed to reduce noise levels, extract fumes, and provide direct viewing of the spray nozzle when it's used in high production environments. Occasionally R&D projects, large parts, low production runs, or complex... Read more...

Article

July 12, 2001
Examining the GTAW environment Possibly the greatest development of the last decade was increased awareness of environmental and health concerns, which in the welding industry has prompted improvements in air quality, ergonomic workstations, and decreased exposure to materials deemed harmful to health. It is important... Read more...

Article

July 12, 2001
Turning up the power Industry trends indicate that metal fabricators increasingly are selecting higher-power lasers for cutting applications. Two years ago, the most common power levels ranged between 1,500 and 2,000 watts. However, a statistical survey conducted by the AMT Laser System Product Group indicates a... Read more...

Article

July 12, 2001
Examining press feeding options: Considerations that determine a feed's effectiveness In most cases, a press feed must meet three criteria to be successful. First, it must be flexible in terms of setup. Second, it must deliver the material with sufficient precision into the tool, and third, it must feed at the proper time. Other important considerations that determine the... Read more...

Article

June 18, 2001
The Brakes- Press Brakes and You -- How to get the most out of your press brake The press brake is perhaps the most valuable machine in the average fabricating shop. If the press brake is hard to set up and/or produces inaccurate parts, you are losing money every time you use the machine--excessive setup time, time wasted making bad parts, and scrap parts all cost you a lot... Read more...

Article

May 30, 2001
Using a hand-held plasma cutter Fabricators, contractors, maintenance personnel, artists, and do-it-yourselfers who experience a hand-held air plasma arc cutting machine rarely want to return to oxyacetylene cutting or mechanical cutting processes such as saws, cutoff wheels, shears, and snips. Plasma cutting can improve... Read more...

Article

May 30, 2001
Dressing for success and other welding safety tips Whether we are attending a social occasion or dressing for the job, we all give some thought about what we are going to wear. For many social occasions, the decision is made for us, or it depends on how good we want to look. On the job, safety is more important than appearance, but again, some... Read more...

Article

May 15, 2001
Appliance industry takes a shine to powder blank technology   Among European, Pacific Rim, and U.S. appliance makers and other manufacturers with large-scale, appliance-grade finishing requirements, the use of powder blank line coating systems has grown steadily during the past 10 years. A powder blank coating line supplies coated blanks... Read more...

Article

April 10, 2001
8 ways to keep your shear in top shape Shears are common pieces of fabricating equipment that can be found in many metal forming plants. From tube mills to small fabricators, the shear is one of the most critical and diverse tools used in metal fabricating. Varying in size from small hand-held metal shears and foot-operated trim... Read more...

Article

March 23, 2001
Selecting a new press brake You have realized for a long time that your company should consider buying a new press brake. Now you have the responsibility of developing the specifications and recommending a new machine. This is an awesome responsibility, because if you select the wrong machine, your manufacturing costs... Read more...

Article

February 19, 2001
How to avoid the top 10 problems in plasma cutting: Practical tips you can use right now The old adage "measure twice, cut once" is as important for plasma arc cutting operators as it is for carpenters. The phrase could be reworded to "inspect twice, cut once" for the plasma industry. Careful preparation, setup, and maintenance can alleviate many costly problems which... Read more...

Article

February 19, 2001
Joining aluminum with GTAW: Advice for the novice Aluminum: beautiful, lightweight, strong, versatile—and a real challenge to weld, especially for beginners. This article describes some of the new gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) equipment available and its benefits, accessories required, points to consider before welding, and the... Read more...

Didn't find what you were looking for? Try our search page to refine your results