Content tagged with "shop"
Results: 52
Article
March 25, 2008
5 tenets for finding and keeping new business
Ann Latham, owner of Uncommon Clarity, a consulting and strategy firm with many industrial clients, has outlined some tenets for firms seeking ambitious marketing goals: 1. Select a group to target. You might choose: Those likely to buy your most profitable products. Those within a... Read more...
Article
October 9, 2007
Ridin' the storm out
Editor's Note: This is the third article in a three-part series on Tennessee Stampings LLC. Part I in August explored the company's lean practices. Part II in
September discussed how the company's use of sensors and mistakeproofing led to its growth. Part III examines the company's... Read more...
Article
August 8, 2007
Ridin' the storm out Part I
Editor's Note: This is the first article in a three-part series on Tennessee Stampings LLC. Part I explores the company's lean practices. Part II in the September issue discusses how the company's use of sensors and mistakeproofing led to its growth. Part III, which will appear in the... Read more...
Article
July 10, 2007
Connecting with employees
Editor'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. We've all heard the expression "communication is a two-way street." The best way to connect with employees is to... Read more...
Article
May 8, 2007
A little innovation goes a long way
Editor'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.
"Money is the great inhibitor of innovation," John Heaton, president of Pay Plus Benefits of Kennewick, Wash.,... Read more...
Article
April 10, 2007
Abuse of power in the workplace
What happened to the grade school bully? According to a nationwide poll conducted by the Employment Law Alliance (ELA) , he or she may have grown up to become an office oppressor. Nearly 45 percent of poll respondents reported that they have worked for an abusive boss. What constitutes an... Read more...
Article
November 7, 2006
Fabricator finds tubular niche
Although Illinois is known primarily for its fertile fields and agricultural output, it's home to many manufacturing companies too. John Deere incorporated Deere & Co. in Moline. DaimlerChysler manufactures automobiles in Belvidere. Caterpiller's worldwide headquarters is in Peoria. Where... Read more...
Article
June 13, 2006
10 steps to winning a government contract - Step 7
Let's review what this series has covered. You should follow 10 basic steps when doing business with the federal government:
Think like the government.
Identify your customers.
Get registered.
Find bid leads.
Get the bid package.
Review the bid.
Get the... Read more...
Article
May 9, 2006
Optimizing flow through robotic welding workcells
Figure 1
One of the new CNH systems welds on a loader chassis. Veteran industrial robotic user Case New Holland (CNH), Fargo, N.D., recently installed three robotic welding systems. Each system consists of an inverted robot on a large, three-axis traveling column and two... Read more...
Article
May 9, 2006
10 steps to winning a government contract - Step 9
So you have your contract and have delivered on time and within specification. Now it's time to address payment.
Getting paid is a fascinating topic to discuss. Some companies fight tooth and nail to get in with commercial contractors because they think they're easy to deal... Read more...
Article
March 1, 2005
10 steps to winning a government contract - Step 3
So you've gone through the process of finding the bids, sorted through all the keywords, visited FedBizOpps, and found the bid. What's the first thing you need to do? Remember, when you submit a bid to the federal government, even though the government provided you with all the... Read more...
Article
October 12, 2004
When hurricanes come
As I watched the power of these hurricanes on television, I wondered how they must have altered the lives of thousands of people. What grand plans were temporarily or permanently altered because of these events of nature? It was apparent from the reports of those affected that... Read more...
Article
June 8, 2004
Dangerous curves
Provocative lines and innovative materials are the hallmarks of luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Cars Ltd. Jaguar has reaped the benefits of aluminum since 1922, when the company, then known as the Swallow Sidecar Co., designed sidecars out of lightweight aluminum panels. Since then the... Read more...
Article
March 11, 2004
Gear up for welding
I'm sitting here at this computer realizing how much I hate sitting here at this computer. I'm just not a sit-in-a-chair type of guy. I tried it once between jobs. I interviewed for an inside sales position for a company that sold welding supplies. I'll be danged if they didn't hire me,... Read more...
Article
March 11, 2004
Venturing Into the World of 3-D Die Design
This question has been plaguing the tool and die industry ever since major advances in technology and software yielded this powerful potential. It is nothing today for central processing units (CPUs) to have gigahertz speeds and gigabyte memories. With prices stable or dropping on... Read more...
Article
February 12, 2004
Laser cell system gives job shop the home field advantage
Photo courtesy of Lund Industries Inc., Wheeling, Ill. No stranger to the economic fluctuations in the industry, the 50-employee company has weathered the heavy volume demands in the economic boom of the late '90s as well as the current intense global tournament that has forced U.S.... 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
January 13, 2004
Producing side-impact profiles
Euro-NCAP, which stands for European New Car Assessment Program, was introduced in 1997 by five European governments, together with the European Commission. The results of this program are followed closely by the general public, so much so that hardly any automobile producer would risk... 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
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
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
July 24, 2003
Using inverter technology
Those familiar with inverters usually know they offer size, weight, and portability advantages. They also can improve reliability by overcoming primary power fluctuations, also known as dirty power. Question: Does the weight of the plasma cutter matter? Answer: Yes, because labor... Read more...
Article
July 24, 2003
The business of lasers
From the laser manufacturers' standpoint, the U.S. market for lasers has simply gotten smaller. This is a function of multiple market forces. The slumping manufacturing sector is a major influence, but so is the increased productivity of today's laser systems. At its peak during 1994 and... Read more...
Article
June 26, 2003
Laser-integrated robotics for assembly
Recently a cell phone manufacturer set out to be the first to develop an all-aluminum flip-type package for its ultracompact cell phone. Conceptually, the manufacturing seemed feasible, except for the joining of the materials.
Overlooking the Obvious
In the early phase of... Read more...
Article
June 26, 2003
The end of the (welding) world as we know it?
Many across the state whose livelihoods depend on welding—shop owners, instructors, and welding equipmentmakers—are waiting to hear if all but one of the state's vocational-technical welding programs will be eliminated as the result of state budget cuts. Vocational-technical... 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 26, 2003
Selecting a table for abrasive jet machining
Editor's Note: This article is the third in a series intended to help a prospective user evaluate abrasive jet machinery. The first article, Buying an abrasive jet machine , compared the abrasive jet process with other cutting processes. The second article, Software for abrasive waterjet... Read more...
Article
June 26, 2003
Making hands-free straight, saddle, and miter cuts
Since its inception in 1969, the company had used traditional, manual processes. Pipes were moved into and out of the work area by forklift, and pipe cutting was done with either a hand-powered mechanized torch or a hand-held torch. For straight end cuts, an operator attached a... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2003
Al GMAW: CC or CV?
I've read that constant-current (CC) power supplies are preferred for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) aluminum, but when I visit companies that sell welding equipment, they tell me I want a constant-voltage (CV) power supply. What's the real story? Can I use the more common CV power supplies or... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2003
Inline process auditing
Sound familiar? What are the options? Today's Audit Today the most widely accepted practice for checking part or process quality is random or, at best, controlled sampling. With these types of sampling, you hope those four parts you checked from 70 are enough to catch a major disaster.... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2003
Loading up on quality, productivity, safety
Like the products it manufactures, CNH Global N.V. has to stay on the move—technologically. The company's Wichita, Kan., facility uses robotic welding to help produce Case- and New Holland-brand skid steer loaders. Powerful yet quick, skid steers can spin on a dime and move heavy... Read more...
Article
May 29, 2003
Job shop reduces costs, improves laser's output
The Laser Station regulator can be mounted to a secured surface to eliminate movement and potential leakage at the tubing connection.
Such multilevel capabilities enable a customer to reduce the number of vendors it needs, thereby lowering handling and administration... Read more...
Article
May 29, 2003
Handling the rush
Photo courtesy of Hanna Steel Corp., Fairfield, Ala.
Think 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.
OK, now put those two together. Voil—you've... 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
June 18, 2002
Staying lean in a lean economy
Over the past few months I've had the chance to speak at six different manufacturing conferences and trade association symposiums. Without a doubt, the most recurring topic of conversation has been the current economic slowdown. Specifically, many people have expressed concerns about how they... Read more...
Article
February 14, 2002
The new face of manufacturing on the Net
The other shoe started to drop for the First Wave of Internet start-ups nearly two years ago now, and keen observers could have forecasted much the same fate for first-mover Internet players in the manufacturing sector such as e-STEEL, Suppliermarket.com, Metfabcity, and aluminium.com.... Read more...
Article
December 13, 2001
It's all about precision, craftsmanship
Consider the various applications for microwelding and some of the first images that come to mind are the highly intricate weld operations performed on hardened tool steels and machined weldments—synonymous with a high level of precision and craftsmanship. An increasingly large... Read more...
Article
December 13, 2001
The basics of uncoiling
Choosing proper coil handling and processing equipment can improve material handling and jump-start your shop's overall productivity improvement effort. However, before purchasing any one component, you should consider four factors: • Material to be processed • Line speed... Read more...
Article
November 29, 2001
Mobilizing equipment-saving time and talent
Think about the increased production that would be possible if one operator could manage two machines simultaneously. You could make it work simply by varying access to different pieces of equipment as needed anywhere in your facility.
Of course, some machines on the shop floor cannot be... Read more...
Article
November 29, 2001
Gettin' down with downtime
The pressures of increased competition and the need for stampers to stay competitive affect every aspect of their operations. One of the key ways stampers can create an efficient and cost-effective operation is to reduce downtime on the shop floor. One of the principal causes of downtime... Read more...
Article
November 29, 2001
Fabricating precision parts for automobiles
In September the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trade ministers agreed with Australia and New Zealand to move ahead with a closer economic partnership initiative in the wake of a global economic slowdown. All 12 countries agreed on a need for an initiative to reduce trade... Read more...
Article
October 25, 2001
Article
October 25, 2001
Common barricades on the road to lean
Shops trying to create a lean manufacturing environment within their businesses sometimes make common mistakes that could be avoided with forethought and a little knowledge of the pitfalls faced by lean pioneers past. Self-imposed Inflexibility Job shops, make-to-order shops, and... Read more...
Article
October 11, 2001
Article
August 16, 2001
Article
August 16, 2001
Article
July 12, 2001
Automated welding for job shops
A robotic welding system represents a significant capital investment for a job shop. The number and diversity of typical products that job shops produce may discourage any interest in automation, primarily because the company cannot figure out how to justify the system purchase and operation.... Read more...
Article
June 18, 2001
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
May 15, 2001
Ironworkers and contractors adapt to FCAW trends
In September the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trade ministers agreed with Australia and New Zealand to move ahead with a closer economic partnership initiative in the wake of a global economic slowdown. All 12 countries agreed on a need for an initiative to reduce trade... Read more...
Article
March 5, 2001
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