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Articles tagged with "free"
Results: 69
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Fabricating technology advancements drive new plate finishing trendsThe same industry forces of nature—globalization, economic conditions, quality demands, and safety and environmental regulations—that are pressuring metal fabricators to do more, better, and faster with less are blowing no less forcefully on finishing fabricators.
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Blast Cleaning Equipment: What you need to know before buyingIf you are a fabricator of metal parts that need to be primed or painted, then you more than likely will have to prepare the part surface before finishing to produce the desired end result.
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Effective simulation of hydroforming: Current capabilities and requirements for the futureSimulation is used in the hydroforming process to replace the experimental investigation and tests required in a real tryout process.
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Dealing with internal pressure in free hydraulic bulging: Predicting results with FEAFor hydraulic tube bulging, direct pressure control is the most commonly used process. Pressure control allows engineers to determine the correct capacity hydraulic system and, more importantly, prevent tube rupture. However, inflow control, or control of the volume of fluid inside the tube, theoretically could be another viable hydroforming process. Finite element analysis has shown that inflow control could allow engineers to more accurately predict deformation behavior and therefore enhance the hydroforming process.
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Handling metal stamping wastes: Protecting the environment - - and your businessMetal stamping companies are required to comply with a number of regulations relating to the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of the wastes they generate. As a result, each company must learn which materials are classfied as hazardous and how to comply with detailed regulations.
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Handling appliance steel: Tips for processing surface-sensitive materialsSavvy stampers are purchasing new equipment or modifying and retrofitting existing equipment to include prefinished materials features. By paying close attention to equipment, tension practices, material processing methods, and material handling, stampers can participate in the market for surface-sensitive materials.
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Interaction of chemicals used in forming and fabricatingKnowing how chemicals tend to react with one another and how each type of lubricant and coolant commonly used during steel processing tends to behave is a boon when you're trying to fabricate products properly.
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Combating plate corrosion: Improving corrosion resistance through welding, fabrication methods |
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Selecting the right materials for roll forming—Part 2: How mechanical properties affect productionThis is the second part of a two-part article. Read Part I. If you examine the mechanical properties of several materials, including carbon steel, alloyed steel, stainless steel, as they relate to roll forming, you'll gain an understanding of the influence of some primary metal processes on roll forming.
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How to avoid getting burned by hot work: Preventing losses and insuring safetyMaintaining a safe work environment in facilities in which hot work, such as welding, is done can be easier said than done. Measures such as preventive safety, safety zones, and fire watches can keep employees safe and worker's comp time down
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A breath of fresh air: ArrayArray
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When sparks fly ...This article combines examples of fires caused by inadequate protection from welding with information on heat-resistant textiles and how they can be used to provide that protection.
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Staying safe during HF welding: A common sense approach to personnel protectionProper clothing, training, procedures, troubleshooting, preparation, and equipment for HF welding are critical if you want to prevent workplace accidents.
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Six dangerous misconceptions about crane safety: Knowing the facts could save your lifeKnowing how cranes should be used, and how they should not be used, is critical to crane safety. Overload, side pull, limit switches, secondary braking devices, using the reverse direction for speed control, and daily inspections are surrounded by myth and mystery in the workplace.
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Safety pays |
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Having a safe office party |
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Occupational injury and illness statistics: Where does your manufacturing job rank?In December 2003 the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its 2002 occupational injuries and illnesses data. A total of 4.7 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses were reported in private-industry workplaces during 2002, resulting in a rate of 5.3 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers. Among goods-producing categories, incidence rates ranged from 4.0 cases per 100 workers in mining to 7.2 cases per 100 workers in manufacturing. These numbers are overall averages of subsets in each major category.
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A breath of fresh air - Taking a look at in-plant filtration systems: Taking a look at in-plant filtration systemsThe article explains how to carry out a facility and process evaluation and discusses the basics of in-plant air filtration system selection.
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Maximizing your scrap's value: Diligence in preparation and tracking pays offThe more uniform and contaminant-free that scrap is when fabricators provide it to recyclers, the more fabricators can benefit. This article addresses the two principles for selling scrap to recyclers: know what you're selling vs. what you're getting paid for, and incorporate sorting & cleaning into your production stream.
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Workers' compensation—Managing the process |
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US. DOC Offers Export Assistance: Provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Administration. |
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Mac's Muse: One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes ... gone! As U.S. steel industry gets its lunch eaten, many parties can share blameA lot of parties can share the blame for what's happened to the North American steel industry, and its going to take effort from them all to pull the industry out of its quagmire. Can it be done? Time will tell.
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Goin' Global: How U.S. fabricators can angle in worldwide watersThe U.S. is considered to be the best consumer market in the world. However, competition for this market has increased as more and more countries have cast their rods in the U.S consumer pool.
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Common barricades on the road to leanThe number of opportunities to steer your company wrong during a move toward lean manufacturing are myriad. Knowing a few of the common ones may help you achieve your goals without a lot of headaches.
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Getting the most for your money: 12 financial tips for welding professionalsThese include the importance of contributing to an individual retirement account, retirement programs for the self-employed, tax-exempt investments, $10,000/year gift tax exclusions, charitable contributions, how much money you should keep in checking and savings accounts, liquidity, and diversified portfolios.
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Overcoming organizational paralysisParalysis – what a horrible thought. What if you found yourself in a situation in which you had partial or complete loss of motion and sensation in your body?
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Tuning a piano—making the most of your best resources |
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Flatness in coil processing operations: New turns in the leveling processMost flat-rolled coil processing operations use some sort of roller leveling technology. Operations people understand what these machines can do to improve the quality of the product they produce. In the competitive marketplace, customers demand and get more that just flat sheets or slit coils.
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Pairing a servo feed with a pull-through straightener: Applications for noncosmetic stamped partsThis article explores the possibility that servo feeds can be used with pull-through straighteners as opposed to a conventional feed line that uses a powered straightener. Using the servo-PTS (pull-through straightener) can save money on equipment and material. The only limitation may be marking the material so noncosmetic applications are recommended.
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New Features in Coil-to-Coil Slitters: Adapting to the changing coil industry with technologyYears ago it was customary for coil processors to have dedicated slitting lines for specific materials and gauges. Today's larger, stronger, and thinner-gauge coils, however, require service centers to be able to process many materials and gauges on the same machine.
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High-Speed Feeding Techniques - Reviewing the Facotrs that Affect Process SpeedsGripper or roll-type feeds operate on the principle of feeding force, which is a product of the coefficient of friction between the grippers or feed rolls and the material being fed. Reviewing each force as a factor of the feeding equipment or feeding conditions helps in evaluating the feeding process.
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Handling the RushThink delicate: an antique vase, velvet gloves, the sweet sound of string music.Then imagine a typical stamping operation: bam-bam, metal on metal, all day long.
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Hydraulic workholding from scratch: How to select and set up componentsHydraulic clamps are used in place of manual or toggle clamps to hold the workpiece or tool in place during stamping. This article examines the four steps that comprise the selection and installation of a hydraulic workholding system: cylinder selection, cylinder force and stroke, power source selection, and system connection.
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Increasing stamping press productivity in the appliance industry: Advances in press technology and materials leave their markAn appliance plant with 80 to 100 presses in opeation is likely to buy new presses regularly. Under these circumstances, it makes good sense to pursue aggressive productivity goals inch by inch through steady advances in such prosaic concerns as machiner ergonomics, prventive maintenance, tooling efficiency, and material quality.
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Dieless NC formingDieless NC forming or incremental sheet forming is a numerically controlled incremental process that can produce complex shapes from various materials. The process is based on localized plastic deformation in the sheet metal blank. It was developed as an alternative manufacturing method to prototype sheet metal stampings and produce panels in small lot sizes.
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Finding and creating value in your stamping operation: How to analyze your plant to improve profitabilityA different breed of competitor has emerged recently in the stamping industry to challenge traditional thinking. These competitors are companies that focus on time as a basic measurement, giving them the advantages of flexibility, innovation, responsiveness, and low costs. They know how to make money in stamping operations and take business away from less astute competitors.
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Key design principles for successful deep drawingSuccessful deep drawing depends on many factors. Ignoring even one of them during die design and build can prove disastrous.
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Controlling flow and obtaining stretch in deep draw operationsAddressing the difficulties in obtaining a wrinkle-free stamped part requires a good understanding of metal flow and how it is affected by draw beads
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Resisting cracking, deformation, and premature wear: Powder metallurgical steels provide an alternative to conventional tool steelsWant to know how powder metallurgical tool steels are produced and how their properties provide the material's toughness and wear resistance? Read on.
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Protecting dies against press system faultsThe need for die protection has existed ever since the first die was produced. The most elementary form of protection has always been an alert, dependable operator. However, an operator cannot always react to a problem before it damages a die.
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Selecting a pressure system for a stamping dieAuthor's Note: Before I begin, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to thefabricator.com's readers. I hope you have enjoyed the stamping articles, and I am excited about writing for 2004. I also would like to wish all of you a great holiday season as well as a prosperous and successful year. Best holiday wishes!Art
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Rolling bolsters bolster productivityTo thrive and experience growth and healthy profits, a stamping company must have systems in place that allow flexible manufacturing and minimize press downtime. Changing from one job to the next in the least amount of time possible is one of the primary factors impacting productivity and a company's ability to adjust to the changing needs of customers quickly and efficiently.
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Gaining from friction and formability data: Beating rising steel prices and offshore competitionAs steel prices rise and offshore competition increases daily, steel and overhead optimization are driving U.S. metal stamping and forming companies. Companies that survive and thrive are taking a different approach to managing change and cost and are discovering savings in areas never seriously considered before.
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Selecting a stamping die pressure system, Part II |
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The growing use of orbital tube welding: Quality, repeatability, and documentation drive the technologyAlthough orbital tube welding has been used in aerospace, semiconductor, and other high-purity applications for a long time, general industrial markets just now are beginning to view it as a viable and economical option for joining stainless steel tubing.
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Orbital welding for space program applications: Producing welds that withstand the rigors of deep spaceWelding applications in the aerospace industries demand high precision, a quality that can be entirely as low as possible. Automatic orbital welding is being used to help meet these requirements.
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The Bold in Arches: Pipe fabricator uses induction bending to create roof truss assembliesThe phraseobstructed viewis probably most connected with older sports stadiums. For example, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, depending on where your seat is, watching Sammy Sosa in action in right field might be replaced by a view of a rusting steel girder.
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The little-known life of the scarfing tool: Focusing on a small device to see the bigger pictureWho cares about scarfing tools? There are more important things in life. When the beauty pageant contestant is asked what problem she would like to solve, she's more likely to answer "I'd like to establish world peace" than "I wish I could find ways to help scarfing tools last longer."
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Getting a handle on work-related hand injuriesThe hand is one of the most complex parts of your body. It enables you to execute simple or complex jobs that cannot be performed by any other part of the body. Without your hands, it would be extremely difficult to do even those routine tasks that we take for granted every day.
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Taking tubular aluminum scaffolding to new heights: Taper, aesthetics, elevated design for monumental structureFor the company that broke the world record for building the tallest freestanding structure with a 320-foot scaffolding (the Statue of Liberty restoration project in 1984, see Sidebarat bottom of page)designing and constructing the scaffolding for the Washington Monument restoration project was just a natural next step.
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Troubleshooting compression bendingYou can achieve nearly trouble-free bending by being aware of the causes of typical compression bending problems and by correctly operating and maintaining the compression bender.
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Maintaining and troubleshooting HF welders: A common-sense approach for vacuum tube and solid-state machinesThe basic steps of general preventive maintenance and troubleshooting for both vacuum tube and solid-state high frequency (HF) welders should assist in keeping welders online and producing pipe or tube.
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Making seamless tubing with a floating mandrel mill |
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Skiving strip edges for tube and pipe producing: New equipment developments address coil preparation challengesEdge 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.
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Comparing single-cut and dimple-free tube mill cutoffs: When to employ each systemThis article covers the application of single-cut and dimple-free cutoff shear technologies as they are applied to contemporary high-speed tube mills.
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Inline gauge control in welded tube production: Reducing conversion lossesReducing scrap when converting strip to finished tube is a huge step in bettering your bottom line.
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Roll form tooling tryout and troubleshooting: Taking a five-step approachThe secret to developing successful roll tooling—whether for tube production or roll forming—and achieving maximum roll integrity is a simple but often overlooked notion: a comprehensive approach.
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Choosing a GMAW machine for occasional aluminum welding |
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The fundamentals of gas tungsten arc welding: Preparation, consumables, and equipment necessary for the processLearning the fundamentals of the GTAW process will increase the welder's ability to produce quality weldments. Knowing the correct consumables, equipment, and preweld preparation necessary will help the welder troubleshoot welding problems.
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Whale watching: A doctor's love of whales leads to a complex welding projectMetal artist James Berry constructed a large whale display by making healthy use of Gas Metal Arc Welding. Here's how he did it, and why.
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It happens 'under the hood': Chicago-area builder of water gardens becomes sculptorRick Walsh isn't your typical artisan, nor are his works typical welding pieces. But his personal evolution as both an artist and a welder illustrate the innovation and persistence of any successful welding operation.
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Is robotic welding right for you?: Making an informed decisionThis article examines robotic welding and discusses the considerations behind choosing to use (or not use) welding robots. It answers the questions what comprises a robotic welding installation, what costs are associated, and what industries are best suited for robotic welding.
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Welding exhaust system components: Laser technology may aid this traditionally high-volume applicationIn the field of automobile exhaust systems, such components as manifolds, pipes, catalytic converters, and mufflers are joined either by the car manufacturer or by a subcontractor to form a subassembly ready for attachment.
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Spinning your wheels?: Separate grinding wheel facts from mythsGrinding 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.
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Selecting the right tungsten: How your choice affects AC GTAWMost welders used to agree that a pure tungsten electrode was crucial to obtaining the best results for gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) aluminum, magnesium, and other alloys that required an AC arc.
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Three optional techniques for beveling: Understanding the advantages and drawbacks of eachMany fabricators use standard plasma cutters and abrasives to create beveled edges. Along with these traditional methods, welders also have the option of using three alternative beveling techniques: punch and nibble, peeling and shearing, and milling and routing. Each has advantages and drawbacks.
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The Brakes: Press Brakes and You -- Whose business is safety? Everybody'sWhat sort of safety measures needed in your shop depends somewhat on your equipment, but making your press brake a safe piece of equipment is largely a matter of old-fashioned common sense.
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Turning up the power: Using lasers to cut thick plateThe 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 steady increase during the last 12 months of installations for high-power 3,000- to 4,000-watt laser systems and a decline in sales of lasers with power levels less than 2,000 watts.
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A breath of fresh air: ArrayArray
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