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Articles tagged with "life"
Results: 70
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How to avoid the top 10 problems in plasma cutting: Practical tips you can use right nowAttention to detail at the outset can save plasma cutting operators a load of trouble during production.
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What to know before selecting a manual plasma cutter: Understanding size, power, components, costThe first plasma arc cutting (PAC) systems, developed in the '60s, were 1,000-amp monsters designed to blast through 6-inch stainless steel.
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Plasma pleases plentyTechnological developments in lasers are positioning them as an attractive alternative to plasma. But fabricators are still sticking with plasma cutting for many applications where speed and cost-effective operation are concerns.
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Cutting to the chase: ArrayArray
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Cutting to the chase Sawing structural and architectural tubing: Sawing structural and architectural tubingThis article examines common fabrication processes for structural and architectural tube. It specifically focuses on cutting, sawing, miter cutting, bundle sawing, and cambering.
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8 ways to keep your shear in top shapeImproving uptime and reducing maintenance when using shears for high production could mean following a few key steps.
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Choosing the right coated abrasive for plate finishing applications: A look at grain propertiesMost plate fabricating companies need to select a coated abrasive to finish their parts. This selection process can be intimidating, as well as confusing, because so many types of coated abrasives are available.
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Tube Hydroforming Design Flexibility—Part IV |
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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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Predicting the service life of galvanized steelZinc, 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 marine to suburban—indicates that zinc can prevent base steel corrosion more than other surface treatments. Because of zinc's long-lasting protection, projects require no maintenance and therefore no maintenance costs.
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Keeping pace with today's punching requirements: Advancements in tool design, metallurgy lead to more accurate holes, improved part qualityThis article provides the basics on how the punch, die, and stripper work; how to perform material thickness calculations on various materials; how different applications affect punching quality; how fully guided tooling counters lateral forces; and how metallurgy, coatings, and maintenance affect tooling.
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A breath of fresh air: ArrayArray
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Assessing cutting and forming machine tool safetyThe expanded breadth of recent standards typically includes the entire life expectancy of machines, the full scope of possible risks, the frequency and severity of risks, and the possibility of harm.
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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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Workplace stress—Part 1Stress is a fact of life. It's here to stay, and even if we could abolish it, we wouldn't want to. At its best, stress can be the catalyst that moves us to make changes and achieve great things in life. At its worst, it can create all kinds of emotional and physical problems. What determines whether stress is a friend or foe? Whether it precipitates changes that improve our lives or whether it greatly diminishes the quality of our lives? One determining factor is how we handle or manage stress. We can be our own best friend or our own worst enemy.
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Workplace stress—Part 2If you've visited a doctor recently and were told that stress is the cause of or a contributing factor to what ails you, you're not alone. Although you can't expect to eliminate all of the stress in your life, you can learn to manage it and reduce its negative effects.
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Material handling safetyHandling material is a daily function in the workplace. All too often it is a task taken for granted, with little knowledge of or attention to the consequences if done incorrectly. Management and employees need to look at and evaluate how material goods are handled inside and outside their facilities. Whether the operation involves delivering or receiving material, an area should be designated for that purpose.
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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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What price workers' compensation insurance?It's a Catch-22 for many manufacturers. Not having workers' compensation insurance can put them out of business. Paying for workers' compensation insurance can put them out of business. How is a company to survive?
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Reflection—Getting the most from experienceLeaders, what have you learned about yourself, your employees, and your company in the past year? What were your business blessings? What did you learn about your leadership style or methods? What do you intend to take into the new year, and what will you leave behind?
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New Year's Resolutions: Making them work all year longWhat are your resolutions for 2004? "I'm going to lose that extra 15 pounds." "I plan to exercise more this year." "I'm going to be more complimentary to my staff." "I'm going to be more patient." Or, did you remember the resolutions you didn't keep last year and ask yourself, "Why make resolutions? I won't keep them once I get back to the daily grind."
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Taxing situation: New tax incentives aimed at helping out people like metal fabricatorsMost fabricators aren't knowledgeable about tax laws and don't have time to immerse themselves in tax updates. They're too busy on the shop floor.
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Inline Process auditing: Moving beyond random samplingImagine this: The line is running smoothly, delivery is tight but on schedule, it is 10 minutes to shift change, and suddenly Art the quality control inspector runs by the office window shouting, "We've got bad parts coming out!" You shut the line down, your production supervisor comes running, Art is grabbing as many parts as he can to start checking, and the operator is thinking, "I should run now and let the second shift deal with it."
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March for manufacturingAs the "jobless" recovery continues, the job cleansing of the U.S. manufacturing base tops 2.7 million. These millions now without jobs remain faceless, statistical footnotes to mainstream media reports about how the recession ended in 2001, production is on the rise, and how job losses are singularly attributable to productivity gains. The outsourcing of the American dream for small manufacturers proceeds unabated.
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Shedding light on negativity—Part 1 |
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Shedding light on negativity—Part 2 |
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Balancing work and life: A commonsense approach to working smarter and living betterTo remain competitive in today's cutthroat economic environment, companies are doing more with fewer people. The tight job market can make even those employees whose work loads haven't increased feel they have to expend more effort—or even create an illusion of having to expend more effort—simply to keep their jobs. No longer is it just the workaholics among us who are working harder and putting in longer hours.
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Not Your Parents' WorkplaceEditor's Note: This column was prepared by the staff of Winning Workplaces, a not-for-profit organization that helps small and midsized businesses create better work environments.
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Finding the best splice for your light-duty conveyor: The mechanical fastener optionOne way to increase your stamping operation's productivity is to get all the uptime you can from the belt conveyors that carry materials, parts, and finished and packaged products throughout your plant. As moving, wearing equipment, conveyors naturally demand a certain amount of downtime for maintenance and parts replacement. However, keeping those events as infrequent and brief as possible is what uptime is all about.
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Contract stamper increases die life and draw die productivity: Link-drive presses, value-added services, and employee initiative keep the company competitive |
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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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Equipping Your Press With the Right Tonnage MonitorThis article explains why it's useful to monitor press tonnage, the types of tonnage monitors available, the choices for mounting load sensors, calibrating a monitor, and options available for tonnage monitors.
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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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Appliance industry takes a shine to powder blank technologyAmong 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.
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High-tech presses: Servo technology meets mechanical presses |
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Spraying it right: Containing and controlling lubricants |
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Achieving straight-side capabilities in a gap-frame press: New developments in motion and frame technologyRecent changes in tooling technologies, material specifications, part quality requirements, and inventory levels have driven the demand for new developments in the way a mechanical press operates. This article discusses how link motion and bridge-frame structures help stampers. This includes a description of what link motion is and how it works, and how bridge frame presses affect frame deflection.
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Sharpening for a longer life: Maintaining the cutting edge on punch and die componentsRoutine maintenance—grinding, using surface treatments, sharpening ejector pins, and minimizing potential grinding damage—can extend tool life and save you a lot of headaches.
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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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Cutting die-related costs: Where to look to save moneyDemands for cheaper, better, and faster tooling for stampings and the pace of business continue to escalate. This trend is not going to reverse itself.
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Improving blank edge conditionsA blank, stamped in the first station of a progressive stamping operation, usually is subject to subsequent forming processes to form a designated part. If the blank is subject to straining, deformation, bending, stretching, or lateral expansion in later stations, its edge condition should be carefully examined.
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Die width selection |
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Choosing the proper steel to minimize abrasive adhesive tool wearThe most disruptive type of failure in any tooling application is when the tool cracks. To prevent this type of failure in cold-work applications, it's important to select the correct steel.
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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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Cutting tube in a recut operation: How to decide on a method and equipmentThis piece, which originally appeared in TPJ-The Tube & Pipe Journal in 1997, explains how to decide whether to cut tubing on the production line or cut it later in a recut operation. Discusses various types of recutting equipment and focuses on the dual-blade shear cutting method.
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Coating fabricating toolingTube fabricators all over the country are starting to see some major benefits from new coating technology. Many coatings-both those that are time-proven and new ones just hitting the market-can provide many benefits for many tube fabrication processes, including extended tooling life, better finished parts, and less stress on machinery.
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Producing holes in tubing: Comparing the piercing and punching methodsNeed to put a hole in a tube? This article provides an overview of tube punching and tube piercing, exploring the different variations of each method and comparing the two methods on cost, safety, and flexibility.
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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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Using a gel-type tube lube: Manufacturer decreases waste, improves lubrication |
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Tooling, the key for mill productionThis article discusses three main criteria that govern tube mill tooling—design, materials used in their construction, and alignment of tooling on the mill. Discusses advancements in design due to CAD technology; experimental use of ceramic and plastic materials for making tooling; and the use of subplates and interchangeable components to ease tube mill alignment.
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Achieving faster, more efficient tube mill changeoversTube mill changeovers involve more than just tooling. Several variables
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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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Solving the mysteries of the fin pass—Part 2Editor's Note: This article is the second part of a two-part series about fin passes. Part I, which appeared in the March issue, discussed their location, what they do, and how they do it. Part II focuses on troubleshooting.
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Cutting to the chase: ArrayArray
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GMAW vs. FCAW for beginners: Choose the best process for your small operationThere are several pros and cons to using the gas metal arc welding process versus the flux cored arc welding process in compact applications.
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Using inverter technology: FAQs about inverter-based plasma cuttersBusinesses feel a constant pressure to gain an advantage and control their processes better. However, the decision to embrace new technology often leaves them feeling vulnerable. In the realm of hand-held metal cutting operations, one such decision is choosing between traditional technology and an inverter-based plasma cutting system.
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How to Kill a Robotic Project in Five Easy StepsHow would you like to fail utterly in your quest to modernize your shop with robotic weldingequipment? Look no further—we've got all the bad advice you need right here.
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Gas-shielded cored wires find their niche: Suitable applications for flux-cored and metal-cored electrodesGas-shielded flux-cored and metal-cored wires are growing in popularity because the wires are fabricated and can be applied to many applications.
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Making the most of the daily grind: How to choose and use abrasives for welding and fabricating applicationsThe article divides grinding equipment into three application categories: welding/heavy metal removal; metal fabrication and construction; and light metal removal, finishing, and sharpening. It also discusses grits and grains and operator safety.
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Which wire do you require?: How to select a gas-shielded welding electrodeAre you looking for ways to improve quality, raise productivity, and save costs in your current welding operations? If you haven't examined the various electrode choices, you could be missing an opportunity to take your production welding to the next level.
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Four factors to consider when purchasing a grinder: You get what you pay forCost 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 life--that make a grinder worth its cost.
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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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Producing side-impact profiles: Automotive body part combines roll forming, punching, laser weldingThe ramming machine bores into the side of the new automobile at a speed of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour. Within a fraction of a second, sensors situated all over the test dummy signal details of the stress load. Shortly afterward the overall results of the Euro-NCAP crash test will appear in all the specialized automobile magazines.
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The Brakes: Press Brakes and You -- Preventing common mistakes on press brakesMost common mistakes made while operating press brakes can be avoided with a little diligence and awareness of where others have gone astray.
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Making your own punch and diesHow many times have you looked through huge piles of blueprints for a prototype part or short-run job and thought, "If only I had that tool, this job would be a piece of cake?"
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Monitoring laser beam performance: How beam focusability helps evaluate beam quality onlineThis article discusses online laser beam monitoring and its alternatives, with emphasis on beam quality and focusability.
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A breath of fresh air: ArrayArray
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