Article
April 1, 2010
If you don't measure it, you can't improve it
In 2004 Impulse Manufacturing had your typical job shop floor. Jobs came in, bounced around the shop to various areas, and then headed out the door. Part flow wasn't top of mind. The company had made some significant machinery investments, including laser cutting systems with material... Read more...
Article
September 30, 2008
Automated collection of real-time production data
The software systems that you use to run your business, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems (MES), rely on production data collected from the shop floor. In most cases, this data is collected manually and entered into the system by a human... Read more...
Article
September 15, 2008
Article
August 26, 2008
When does a punch/laser make sense?
Shops that process enough of the right parts can increase uptime and reduce secondary operations with a combination punch/laser machine. Photo courtesy of TRUMPF Inc.
Business growth led Hawkeye Industries President and CEO Bryan Hawkins to seek a machine that could punch and laser-cut... Read more...
Article
July 29, 2008
Intelligent business investments in uncertain economic times
When the economy falters or even shows the first signs of slowing, businesses have a tendency to retrench. In an effort to lower costs and reduce overhead, they slash budgets across various departments. But what they don't realize is that the budgets that typically are cut first are areas... Read more...
Article
June 17, 2008
One nesting software for all
Nests such as this are now possible for Maurer Manufacturing with ProNest software from MTC Software. The trailer fabricator uses the program to nest parts for both its Alltra plasma cutting table and Cincinnati laser cutting machine. "All for one, and one nesting software for all." That's... Read more...
Article
May 13, 2008
Evaluating a CAM system
Figure 1 Free-form nesting allows a fabricator to fit as many parts as possible on one sheet. Imagine this: You have a race car with the leanest, lightest chassis available and the world's fastest engine powering the vehicle, but instead of proper tires you have wheels from a shopping... Read more...
Article
April 15, 2008
Improve HSS part quality before die tryout
This C-pillar reinforcement is manufactured by deep drawing, cutting, and flanging (on left). Die faces for the deep-drawing stage, including the binder, addendum, filled surfaces, and part, can be developed using simulation software (on right). The use of high-strength steels (HSS) and... Read more...
Article
February 12, 2008
Nothing standard about this fab shop
After five years of working for a family-owned metal fabricating business in eastern Connecticut, Rob Marelli wanted to do things his way. He approached the president with an offer to buy the company from him, but he was soon gone with a handshake and a letter of recommendation. He eyed... Read more...
Article
August 8, 2007
Taking waste off the plate
George Conner, a C&S machine operator, nests plates and performs numerous other shape-cutting functions right at the cutting machine on the shop floor. Many fabricating operations now use offline programming centers for parts design and plate nesting. In fact, many of those same companies... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2007
Laser cutting with less labor and less hassle
In February 2007 a four-man precision metal fabricating shop—with the help of two temporary employees—laser-cut more than 500 jobs comprising 73,863 metal pieces and weighing more than 315,000 pounds. That's good news for Chris Hollenback, president of Integrated Manufacturing... Read more...
Article
April 10, 2007
Article
March 13, 2007
Automotive blanker presses on
The two consoles that control the two blanking lines at Kasle Metal Processing have three monitors with access to the enterprise resources planning system, die performance, and maintenance information. Increasingly supervisors are using the maintenance computer module to go online and access... Read more...
Article
December 12, 2006
Can your manufacturing software do this?
Software has changed the nature of fabricating. Most fabricating shops hammer out the manufacturing details of a job on their own computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software packages immediately upon receipt of the customer's engineering drawings. Some of the more aggressive fabricating shops... Read more...
Article
December 12, 2006
Taking software integration to new heights
Historically, the majority of a manufacturer's costs have been labor. In fact, when Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line in 1913, labor accounted for an estimated 80 percent of total costs. One of Ford's key beliefs was that labor costs could be greatly reduced by eliminating... Read more...
Article
November 7, 2006
Better cuts with plasma
The cutting torch on the VICON Elite plasma cutting system travels 1,500 to 2,000 IPM when cutting thin- gauge steel sheet. One job, that's all it took to change the fortunes of one company. Keller & Son Industrial Contractors Inc., Spartanburg, S.C., used to work out of a 5,000-square-foot... Read more...
Article
October 10, 2006
Lasers loom larger in tube, pipe cutting
In today's manufacturing environment, 2-D lasers are the standard for cutting flat sheets and plate. Nearly everyone is familiar with laser technology's capabilities and speed for 2-D part processing. What may not be as well-known, however, is laser's 3-D capacity for mainstream... Read more...
Article
October 10, 2006
Manufacturing evolution in the job shop
Because of their press brakes' dynamic crowning and springback compensation technology, Gardner Manufacturing operators can bend long parts without worrying about the material bowing or twisting. Bronze Age, Iron Age, Industrial Age—each period in civilization's history has led... Read more...
Article
September 12, 2006
Expanding upward and outward
The LVP LUS laser cutting machine not only is designed to be 50 percent faster than older models, but also features automatic lens focus and height adjustment. It's elementary for Watson. If Watson Engineering wanted to keep up with its customers in the heavy-duty equipment industry,... Read more...
Article
July 11, 2006
Sheetmetal software: Nothing soft about it
Faced with a number of economic snafus, U.S. fabricators are examining every possibility for increasing production and lowering costs. One such area of contemplation is software. According to Shawn E. Thompson, CAD/CAM Business Manager for Strippit/LVD, fabricators have had to reduce and... Read more...
Article
July 11, 2006
Laser cutting 3-D preformed parts
In as little as 20 minutes, some of today's offline multiaxis CAD/ CAM software for laser cutters can automatically design and generate NC code for a sheet metal workholding fixture, create NC code for 3-D parts, perform cutting simulations with part interference checks, and allow... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2006
Right on schedule
The wall doesn't look like much, but it represents an important part of QC Metal Fabricators' business: the up-and-out style of hinges commonly found on many recreational vehicles. The samples represent the several hinges the company fabricates for its RV-manufacturing... Read more...
Article
October 11, 2005
Collaboration in the stamping industry
This scenario is familiar to many metal stamping manufacturers: The customer's new product, designed to be an entry-level model, is struggling even before it enters the market. Tooling is completed, but costs have spiraled out of control, and the projected profit margins look... Read more...
Article
September 13, 2005
Plasma Cutting: Then and now
Plasma cutting has come a long way since paper punch machines were used to write G-codes for the cutting controller. For example, 10-gauge cold-rolled steel sheet that's cut with a high-precision plasma torch yields a part with an accuracy of ±0.012 in. It wasn't that long ago... Read more...
Article
September 14, 2004
The growing versatility of turret punch presses
Press Drive Flexibility Higher hit rates on a mechanical ram system are a direct result of the faster axis speeds and quicker acceleration and deceleration supplied by servo systems. A mechanical ram has a fixed stroke length, which starts at the fully retracted position and finishes... Read more...
Article
March 11, 2004
US. DOC Offers Export Assistance
Editor's Note: This article—a companion piece to Goin' Global , which appeared in the March 2004 issue of The FABRICATOR® magazine and is reprinted on thefabricator.com—lists some of the export assistance available from the U.S. Department of Commerce . Market Research... 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
March 11, 2004
Goin' Global
Welding photo courtesy of Fronius Intl. GmbH, Austria. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), the U.S. trade deficit for the 12-month period from December 2002 to November 2003 was $489.1 billion.... 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 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
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
December 11, 2003
Folding technology makes sweeping changes
In particular, sheet metal was used extensively for roofing and building cladding. These applications were well-suited to the swing bending machine's geometry, and the modern metal folding industry was born. A number of German manufacturers began adding powered backgauges with... Read more...
Article
November 6, 2003
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
Programming multiple robots
Figure 1 Two robots can weld on the left side of a large vehicle frame, while two other robots weld on the right side, with all robot motion synchronized by a multiple-robot control. Multiple Robots, Single Process Multiple-robot control can increase productivity in workcells in... Read more...
Article
October 9, 2003
Using finite element analysis to roll-form tubes
Figure 1 Roll forming causes yield stress, flow stress, and hardness variations in material properties around a tube's circumference. These variations may lead to premature bursting or excessive thinning in hydroformed parts. This makes it necessary to determine the effect roll forming... 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
August 28, 2003
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 24, 2003
Advancements in waterjet technology
Stream Lag Caused Taper, Corner Problems Budd said he courted the gear processing market, but prospective customers wanted parts with a perpendicular edge, which he was not able to achieve with the 2-D abrasive waterjet equipment he was using. In 2-D abrasive waterjet cutting, the... 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
July 10, 2003
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 Bold in Arches
Texans will remind you that things are bigger in Texas, and the Dallas Convention Center is just another example, as this computer drawing shows. Two 860-ton roof truss assemblies, fabricated from large-diameter pipe, make it possible for Dallas to boast that it currently has the largest... 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
Managers are not necessarily leaders
There are business leaders and there are business managers. And while some leaders are managers and some managers are leaders, many times leaders and managers are very different animals. All too often we fail to recognize these differences in our businesses' day-to-day operations.
Many U.S.... 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
What's that material?
An XRF system can be integrated at a detector station before final packaging. The tubes are held in place by a pneumatic clamp while the XRF detector is raised to make contact with the tube and perform the measurement. This process confirms the alloy grade of the material typically in two... 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
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
March 27, 2003
Gauging difficult parts at the press brake
Even with the advancements in computer design systems, parts layout still can still be a very difficult process, particularly when ease of forming is a major concern. But when is ease of forming not an issue at some time in almost every shop?
The Question
Figure 1... Read more...
Article
March 13, 2003
Software for abrasive water jet machines
Editor's note: This is the second of four articles intended to help a prospective buyer evaluate the wide range of abrasive jet machinery on the market. The first article, H2Olsen: Buying an abrasive jet machine: Is the process right for you? , covers the abrasive jet process in comparison... Read more...
Article
November 15, 2002
Equipping Your Press With the Right Tonnage Monitor
Tonnage monitoring equipment has been around for several decades. The early models were sometimes finicky, hard to use, and susceptible to outside electrical interference. Today's tonnage monitors are easier to install, simpler to use, and more reliable. Many types are available to meet the... Read more...
Article
September 26, 2002
Set loose the juice
Whether it means they're easier to use, more portable, or make welds more predictably, power sources are being updated, and electronics are playing a significant role in their modernization. "The current economy is forcing companies to re-evaluate the value of outsourcing components to... Read more...
Article
August 29, 2002
Automating for the future
Object Tony Thompson and the rest of the crew at Total Tooling Inc. know the importance of quick design time. Success at the nine-person shop in rural Sabina, Ohio—which specializes in designing and manufacturing bend tooling for the automotive and aerospace markets—rests on... Read more...
Article
July 11, 2002
Technology modernizes CMMs
Coordinate measuring machines have progressed since their inception in the 1970s. Original machines were benchtop-mounted, cumbersome to use, and limited to five axes. In addition, some complex tube applications required two software programs for a complete set of measurements. These days,... Read more...
Article
December 13, 2001
Bending tube with an all-electric machine
In the tube bending industry, all-electric, CNC benders are a fairly new development but are gaining ground. They have been commercially available in Europe since 1995 and in the U.S. since 1998. Most manufacturers now either offer all-electric bending machines or are developing them. On... Read more...
Article
November 29, 2001
Tooling, the key for mill production
One of the most important lessons any successful tube mill producer learns is that high-quality tooling is mandatory to achieving and sustaining top-grade production values. To put it simply, tooling is to a tube mill as an engine is to an automobile: You can't get where you need to go without... 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
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
October 11, 2001
The importance of the n value in sheet forming
Figure 1: Magnitudes of elongation at the onset of necking vary with the n value. Editor's Note: This column was prepared by the staff of the Engineering Research Center for Net Shape Manufacturing (ERC/ NSM) , The Ohio State University, Professor Taylan Altan, director. Strain... Read more...
Article
September 17, 2001
Working safely with metalworking fluids
Metalworking fluids (MWFs) are widely used in many manufacturing industries. These fluids are used in the cutting, machining, and grinding of metal parts to cool and lubricate tools and workpieces, wash away the removed metal, prolong tool life, and prevent corrosion of the workpiece.... Read more...
Article
September 17, 2001
Article
September 4, 2001
Robotic arc welding gets smart in real time
Though robots probably are best-known for their ability to accomplish repetitive manufacturing tasks, it's no secret that, by themselves, they are unintelligent and must be told what to do. They are silent, unable to talk over problems with their controller, power sources, the robot in... 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
July 12, 2001
Not your father's abrasive jet
Figure 1 Object Fifteen or 20 years ago abrasive jet was the technology of last resort for severing difficult materials that could be cut no other way. These units were crude, noisy, and dirty. A nozzle was hung on an X-Y burning table and the resulting tolerances and surface finish were... 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
June 15, 2001
Article
June 13, 2001
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
February 19, 2001
Article
February 19, 2001
Gaining control over the shop floor:
What happens after you finally get that big order, the one that can keep the shop busy for the next few months, and with a strong profit margin? What do you do after the high fives and champagne? Most likely, you review the capacity of your shop to handle the job, with a schedule to be... Read more...
Article
February 19, 2001
Article
February 15, 2001
