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

 
Tags
Home \ Tags \ money

Content tagged with "money"

Results: 49

Article

March 11, 2004
Implementing open-book management Editor's Note: This article is adapted from Larry Dunville's workshop presented at the STAMPING Journal® Forum: Strategies for Stamping Success, Feb. 5-7, 2003, Orlando, Fla. U.S. manufacturing is experiencing the most significant threats in its history. Since World War II, U.S.... Read more...

Article

February 26, 2004
A 'bout' with the champion Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill., has emerged on Capital Hill as the mouth for manufacturers. As a congressional representative for a district in which many manufacturers have closed their doors in recent years, he says he can't help but accept that role. His public statements, sponsorship... Read more...

Article

January 29, 2004
Choosing the right robotic weld cell for your operation If a company does much hand welding, it may have loose tolerances on the prints. However, a robot cannot work with these kinds of tolerances. A robot can maintain a good weld only if the parts are held to a tolerance of ± half the weld wire diameter. If this is not determined at... Read more...

Article

January 29, 2004
Taxing situation That's why The FABRICATOR® sought out a tax expert to explain the opportunities presented by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, signed into law by the president this summer. Mark Sellner is the managing principal of tax services for Larson Allen, Weishair,... Read more...

Article

January 13, 2004
Beating 'world' pricing This Finn-Power Express Bending Cell, which automates complex bending and reduces tedious and costly work stages, has last bend negative capability and fully automatic operations cycles—from loading the sheet to unloading the bent parts. "I have a precision sheet metal shop and... Read more...

Article

December 11, 2003
Finding and creating value in your stamping operation Their focus on time requires that material flow smoothly through the production processes in concert with sales orders, raw materials, and purchased parts. It also requires smaller production batch sizes. Most important, these companies have learned that the greatest waste and excess... Read more...

Article

December 11, 2003
Family business going strong after 100 years Editor's Note: The Peddinghaus Corporation, featured in this article, is the longest-standing active member of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl.® (FMA), the company behind thefabricator.com. FMA and thefabricator.com salute Peddinghaus and wish the company continued... Read more...

Article

November 6, 2003
Is your company a breeding ground for workplace violence? Approximately 2 million U.S. workers are victims of workplace violence each year. In 1997 the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported that an average of 20 workers are murdered each week in the U.S., and an estimated 18,000 per week are victims of nonfatal... Read more...

Article

October 23, 2003
Pinpointing future laser welding markets While some laser welding equipment manufacturers are thriving right now, others still fight a battle as old as the technology itself—gaining acceptance for equipment that carries a hefty initial price tag (albeit one that can save money over time). Consequently laser welding... Read more...

Article

October 23, 2003
Using a gel-type tube lube As one manufacturer of automotive exhaust assemblies recently discovered, selecting the most appropriate lubricant for a tube bending operation can have a dramatic impact on part quality, workplace cleanliness, and economic efficiency. Although the liquid lubricant it was using was reliable and... Read more...

Article

October 23, 2003
The importance of storage planning   In its most basic form, a fabricator's storage area must be a secure, dry place of sufficient size to house required items. Location and ambient conditions are the critical factors. Considering the Criteria In today's fast-paced material handling world, fabricators must... Read more...

Article

September 25, 2003
Hydraulic presses make their mark Just like hydraulics technology itself, the market for presses based on it is fluid and dynamic. And for the first time in a while, the tide may be turning in favor of its practitioners. As many manufacturers report prosperity and strong prospects for it in the near future, the hydraulic... Read more...

Article

September 25, 2003
Budget cuts hit welding hard Bill Garner is outraged when he hears that Connecticut, where he teaches welding, would rather import welders than keep adult vocational education programs that train the state's own residents. "I don't think that the people making this decision understand that welding is used in... Read more...

Article

July 24, 2003
Die width selection Most designers and engineers usually place very little importance on achieving the correct inside radius of a formed part. Why? Because the functionality of the part is unaffected if the specified inside radius is 0.062 in. and actual measured inside radius is 0.078 in. So why do we care about... Read more...

Article

July 10, 2003
Do you use checking jigs and fixtures? The effect that checking fixtures have on your operating bottom line is so important that they should be given a much higher priority than most tube fabricators give them. The cost of quality checking fixtures should be included in every bid when quoting jobs. In fact, costs incurred... Read more...

Article

July 10, 2003
The problem with quality The companywide scores, which represent the number of problems per 100 vehicles, are as follows: Considerable variation exists among individual divisions of some OEMs. At GM, for example, Cadillac's results prove to be the second best in the survey (103), while Hummer's are the lowest (225).... Read more...

Article

June 26, 2003
Press brakes: the quest for a happy ending Cast: Press brake manufacturers and users. Genre: Suspense/Drama/Horror. Plot: Our hero, Press Brake Professional, fights a life-and-death struggle with the forces of Foreign Competition and his nefarious gang of cohorts—Tiny Orders, Slow Economy, and Skilled Labor Shortage. With... Read more...

Article

June 12, 2003
Waste not, want not How good are tube fabricators at finding hidden waste? Uncovering and eliminating hidden waste has as much to do with being profitable as any other manufacturing cost. We all know how to quote and define the structured costs involved in a job, but what can we do to take care of waste that... Read more...

Article

June 12, 2003
Using technology to implement lean manufacturing Lean manufacturing meshes today's information technology with Toyota's much-lauded just-in-time (JIT) approach, which has been adopted by many manufacturers. The Toyota Production System assembly line manufacturing methodology, developed in the 1950s, professed the importance of "getting the... Read more...

Article

June 12, 2003
The future of vocational education Many of those who responded that programs are still intact expressed concern that they may be cut in the near future. A Major Issue A recent article by Marty Rice, a welding instructor concerned about the growing trend to cut vocational and technical programs and the rumors circulating... Read more...

Article

May 29, 2003
10 questions to ask about equipment leasing A lease finances only the value of the equipment expected to be depleted during the lease term. The lessee usually has options to return the equipment to the lessor, purchase the equipment at fair market value or a nominal fixed price, or renew the lease. Approximately eight out of 10... Read more...

Article

May 29, 2003
Making your own punch and dies Speaking from 30 years of experience, I'd say this situation probably is a fact of life for 99 percent of us. Whether we are doing some in-house engineering and design or working at the press brake, the thought is the same. An End to the Dilemma Sure enough, there is a reasonable solution... Read more...

Article

May 15, 2003
Mediating commercial conflict The Family Business This case involves two blood relatives, a brother and sister who had inherited a family business. Difficulties between successors to a family business are common. In fact, probate mediation among survivors and family business conflict resolution are increasingly... Read more...

Article

May 15, 2003
Reviving the past When he looked at the outside of his building, Bellingham, Wash., YMCA Director Dave Harding realized he faced a challenge. The original Bellingham, Wash., YMCA building. The YMCA's main downtown facility was located in an early-1900s, four-story building. In recent years the interior... Read more...

Article

October 25, 2002
Considering the benefits of pulse spray transfer GMAW Object Pulse spray gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is a versatile welding process. Sometimes welding suppliers and welding managers don't want to try it, because they don't want to change the process they're using, train users, adjust welding processes, or spend money on new equipment.While any... Read more...

Article

July 26, 2002
Repair Brazing: Fixing Faulty Jobs and worn-out components Brazing is a versatile process used in many industries to join materials permanently. Repair brazing is an essential part of the industry and usually is done for one of two reasons—to braze repair parts in-house before they are released to customers and to perform repairs on brazed... Read more...

Article

July 12, 2002
It happens 'under the hood' Object Rick Walsh doesn't have a degree in landscape architecture, but he builds water gardens. He doesn't have a degree in art, but he sculpts metal. He has no formal training in welding, but welds all his sculptures. And for years people have been paying him a lot of money to create his... Read more...

Article

November 29, 2001
Maximizing your scrap's value Scrap, an often annoying byproduct for metal fabricators, is raw material for scrap metal recyclers. Just as you closely watch the quality of your incoming raw materials, scrap recyclers watch the quality of their incoming raw materials. The more uniform and free of contaminants the scrap... Read more...

Article

November 15, 2001
Is robotic welding right for you? Recent shortages of trained labor, combined with advances in technology, present a convincing argument to introduce robotic welding to many factory and job shop operations. When a fabricating company already operating at its highest production capacity gets a bigger contract, it is... Read more...

Article

November 15, 2001
Part nesting and die design tips for reducing and utilizing scrap in stamping operations In this global and competitive economy, especially now, it is imperative that production sheet metal stampers get the maximum part count by consuming the least possible amount of material. Most production stampers that use plain carbon steel sheet get about 5 percent of their original material... Read more...

Article

November 15, 2001
Mac's Muse: One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes ... gone! As U.S. steel industry gets its lunch eaten, many parties can share blame A recession, defined by economists, is two consecutive quarters of negative (absent) GDP growth. History shows that there have been 12 recessions in the U.S. since the Great Depression of '29. Half of those recessions lasted approximately six months; the others, 18 months. Thus, the average... Read more...

Article

November 15, 2001
Contract stamper increases die life and draw die productivity Object Jancox Stampings has remained competitive by investing in link drive mechanical presses from PTC, offering value-added assembly services, and encouraging employee initiatives. The article discusses how the presses work and how reduced speed reduces springback (which allows the company... Read more...

Article

November 15, 2001
'It's gonna be painful' Metal industry players note little to reassure them in days ahead Ask people in the trenches of the metals industry, job shops and equipment manufacturers alike, what lies down the road, and you might as well paint their windshields black and tell them to drive home — they know where they want to go, but how and when they'll get there remain big question... Read more...

Article

October 11, 2001
Building a better business model: Strategic planning basics for automotive stampers to improve profit Automotive metal stamping companies today face increasing challenges, including lower sales volumes, greater price reduction demands from customers, and rising energy and labor costs. During such challenging times manufacturers tend to focus on short-term tactical issues such as employee... Read more...

Article

September 17, 2001
Examining tube mill roll tooling, setup, and maintenance Poor tooling setup and mill alignment can be costly, especially when they result in decreased production quality and scrap. Both areas must be maintained continuously. A secret to achieving maximum roll integrity is simple, but often forgotten: Roll tooling design is based on known parameters... Read more...

Article

August 16, 2001
Getting the most for your money: 12 financial tips for welding professionals Before you know it, 2001 will be behind us, and between football on New Year's Day and the April 15 federal income tax filing deadline, you might ask yourself, "Did I do everything I could to maximize my family's financial health by investing wisely, cutting taxes, and keeping my financial house... Read more...

Article

August 16, 2001
Tips on Lean Manufacturing: Mastering the stop 'n' go of your shop's work flow Kaizen—or continuous improvement—is based on the concept that there is always an opportunity to modify, enhance, or improve any process. For example, Henry Ford's model worked well for decades, but then representatives of Toyota Motor Corp. showed the world that improvement was... Read more...

Article

August 16, 2001
GMAW vs. FCAW for beginners: Choose the best process for your small operation When you prepare to buy your first wire-feed welding machine, you don't want to waste your money on a toy that goes out with the trash in a few weeks. You probably want to use 115-V input for portability, but might want to step up to a 230-V-input machine to weld thicker material. After... Read more...

Article

July 12, 2001
Proper guarding protects workers: Six steps to focusing on your employees' needs When people think of machine guarding, usually they think of devices to protect people from the moving parts on machinery. While this is clearly one use of machine guarding, another area involves protecting workers from all types of cutting, welding, or grinding that can take place in tube or... Read more...

Article

July 12, 2001
How to Kill a Robotic Project in Five Easy Steps The same few roadblocks always seem to conspire to either cause a robot project to fail or at least greatly limit its success. Too many manufacturers do things that virtually guarantee that their robots will have serious problems performing as expected. Many of these hindrances have... 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

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

June 18, 2001
Big steel on the ropes The story of the U.S. steel industry as of late reads a lot like the book of Job, whose misfortunes at the hands of the devil made his name synonymous with pain and suffering. Indeed, Chapter 11 might be an appropriate place to start reading, because that's where many of Big Steel's main... Read more...

Article

June 15, 2001
Gas-shielded cored wires find their niche Object Gas-shielded flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) and metal-cored arc welding (MCAW) are growing in popularity for many applications. To determine if these wires should be used, shop managers should understand how formulations of cored wires do or do not fit their quality requirements for... Read more...

Article

June 13, 2001
Rising expectations spark new approach to draw die development: Reconciling demands for increased quality at lower costs During the past five years, the process of draw die development has undergone significant changes as a result of technological improvements and the demand for higher-quality products. Figure 1: The eight steps in the advanced draw development process are designed to identify and address... Read more...

Article

February 19, 2001
Automating your end forming operation: How to maximize efficiency in the shop Global competition is driving companies to continually evaluate all phases of their manufacturing to locate potential improvements. Automating new or existing equipment many times is a focus for manufacturers that want to continue growing. Autoloading systems that can... Read more...

Article

February 19, 2001
Put your money where your mouse is: How to succeed in e-business Succeeding in e-business is all a matter of emphasis. And when you pronounce the word "e-business," where do you put the emphasis? Most of us emphasize the "e." That emphasis on the electronic part of the equation is easy to understand. The technology has advanced so fast that it has mesmerized... Read more...

Article

February 19, 2001
Shielding gas consumption efficiency-- Part I: Spend a penny, save a dollar Editor's Note: This is the first of a two-part article that discusses shielding gas efficiency. The second part also appears on thefabricator.com. Although argon is the most commonly used shielding gas for solid-wire electrode applications, many managers and welders understand little about... Read more...

Article

February 19, 2001
Cutting die-related costs: Where to look to save money I want it cheaper. I want it better. I want it faster, preferably yesterday. The pace of business in the metal stamping industry continues to escalate. And the trend is not going to reverse. Balancing cost against quality and time can be a real challenge. Add to that the pressures of... Read more...

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