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From May 2013 issue of
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Job shop estimating: Watching the clock in the fabrication sequence

Published: April 24, 2013
Tech Cell: For Engineers

In this fifth installment of columnist Gerald Davis' series on job estimating, he describes the use of time standards that are based on shop experience to guide the estimator’s prediction of expenses.
From April 2013 issue of
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Job shop estimating: Expenses driven by events in the fabrication sequence

Published: April 19, 2013
Tech Cell: For Engineers

In this fourth installment of Columnist Gerald Davis' series on job estimating, he describes the use of planning outlines—which resemble work orders—to structure the estimator’s report of production expenses.
From March 2013 issue of
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Nesting software makes the intelligent connection

Published: March 4, 2013
Tech Cell: For Engineers, Shop Strategies

Nesting software continues to evolve. Once a relatively simple program that allowed you to achieve a fairly decent nest with minimal engineering, today’s software provides enhanced material management and whole-operation connectivity.
From December 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Part marking matters

Published: December 3, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis walks a CAD operator through the steps to set up an efficient way to apply part marking to any design.
From November 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Productivity, reliability, and responsiveness

Published: November 9, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis discusses when formality should enter a CAD operator's workflow and offers up an example of how a simple CAD task might go.
From October 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Handling imported data during sheet metal design

Published: October 19, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis is ready to rip into the process of converting imported 3-D parts to flattened parts.
From August 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Design optimization

Published: August 3, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis begins his exploration on how cost management tools in 3-D modeling software can be used to deliver cost-efficient and functional part designs.
From July 2012 issue of
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Bringing stamping work back from China

Published: July 16, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Ross Liberty, founder of Factory Pipe, has been making exhaust systems for two-stroke engines since he was a teenager. He recently brought his decades of manufacturing experience and his substantial product knowledge to bear on an exhaust pipe...
From July 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Modeling with product variation as the design intent

Published: June 26, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis provides a guide to connecting dimensions and custom properties to equations, which will make part design changes much easier to deal with down the road.
From June 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Modeling with product documentation as the design intent

Published: June 13, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis focuses on creating better illustrations and models to make life easier for parties involved in downstream operations.
From May 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Bill of materials construction in project documentation--PartII

Published: May 3, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis has populated the bills of material with data and now focuses on the model that will accompany the BOM to the manufacturing floor.
From April 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Bill-of-materials construction inproject documentation--Part I

Published: April 16, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis takes a look at the appropriate way to construct a bill of materials as he continues his cutting table project.
From March 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Customization in project documentation

Published: March 12, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis reveals the most convenient way to set up a bills of material and related title blocks.
From February 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Project documentation

Published: February 13, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis explores the world of exploded views as he prepares the 3-D model to be much more than just a graphical representation of the part to be fabricated.
From January 2012 issue of
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3-D CAD: Project definition

Published: January 10, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis focuses his 3-D CAD skill on designing a welding table. He invites readers to participate in the creation of this support structure.
From January/February 2012 issue of
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Introducing solid-state laser technology

Published: January 9, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Although the solid-state laser is considered new in metal cutting processes, the first laser demonstration in a laboratory in 1960 was a solid-state laser. CO2 lasers turned out to be more practical for cutting metals, but solid-state lasers are...
From January/February 2012 issue of
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How to enhance design for manufacturability efforts

Published: January 9, 2012
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Metal stampers that produce to print aren't positioning themselves for a prosperous future. They are providing a simple function—one that most shops can provide easily. Today stampers need to offer up expertise along with metal forming...
From December 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD: Library features

Published: December 20, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis shows CAD users how to create a feature for the library so that it may be used in other models.
From November 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD: Document management and revision control

Published: November 30, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis offers fabricators guidance in dealing with an engineering change order to a 3-D CAD model.
From October 2011 issue of
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Adventures in titanium—WPS

Published: October 26, 2011
Tech Cell: Arc Welding, For Engineers, Welding Inspection

Your customer wants two pieces of metal welded together. Why should you bother with a welding procedure specification? Because conformity leads to quality and enhances safety.
From October 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD: Producing a 2-D flat layout from 3-D data

Published: October 20, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

After demonstrating how a 3-D concept model can be turned into a production model, which is useful for as long as the project has the green light, columnist Gerald Davis takes a look at how you can take a concept model and turn it into a simple...
From September 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD: Well-behaved bend reliefs

Published: September 9, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis is looking to refine a 3-D model so that it is easier to laser-cut. To do so, he relies on a popular addition to his modeling software package.
From September/October 2011 issue of
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How part and die design go hand-in-hand

Published: August 31, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

When engineers complete a part, then start on tooling design, inefficiencies mount. Ideally, part and tooling design should go hand in hand, and today a method exists that allows engineers to resolve part and die forming problems before designers...
From August 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD: The cure for the bad isometric view

Published: August 1, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis walks the fabricator through a 3-D modeling process to learn how to work with a file that has broken elements.
From July 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD: Unfolding problems

Published: July 18, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis provides some tips on getting that 2-D drawing--derived from the 3-D model--to manufacturing in the best shape possible.
From February 2011 issue of
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The industry needs “technical leaders”

Published: July 14, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

FMA survey reveals hiring managers are looking for technical leaders, those with technical knowhow with the ability to look beyond their individual work cell.
From June 2011 issue of
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Adventures in titanium—3 questions about repairing titanium eyeglasses by welding

Published: June 2, 2011
Tech Cell: Arc Welding, For Engineers

Nguyen needs his titanium eyeglasses repaired and wants some expert advice about how this can best be achieved. The answers to his questions about the process provide valuable insight into some aspects of welding titanium.
From March 2011 issue of
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Adventures in titanium—Why is my stovepipe hat assembly warping, turning blue, and cracking?

Published: March 21, 2011
Tech Cell: Arc Welding, For Engineers

Fabricating a titanium stovepipe hat assembly had one shop perplexed. What was causing the material to turn blue, warp, and crack? Why was it so difficult to make this part fit into the next assembly?
From March 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD: Modeling a nest of parts

Published: March 10, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis bypasses CAM software and uses his 3-D software to create a nest of parts.
From March 2011 issue of
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The power of sheet metal design

Published: February 25, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Effective sheet metal design should not set out to eliminate welding, but instead uncover the most cost-effective ways to manufacture a part. The best designs exploit strengths of the welding process and minimize its weaknesses.
From February 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD design: Modeling a shop cart

Published: February 1, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis tackles a fabricating project that every shop takes on every so often: the shop cart.
From January 2011 issue of
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3-D CAD design: The next dimension of services you will offer?

Published: January 17, 2011
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Columnist Gerald Davis provides readers with an idea on how transforming a 2-D sketch into a 3-D model can prove helpful in bettering a customer's original design.
From December 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill, Part XII

Published: December 16, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Wrapping up his design work on the Shashlik Grill, columnist Gerald Davis now turns his attention to preparing final versions of project documentation.
From November 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill, Part XI

Published: November 8, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Working on a 3-D design for the Shashlik Grill, columnist Gerald Davis has turned his attention to the sliding charcoal plan, but this particular component challenges the top-down modeling approach that has been used up until this point in the...
From October 2010 issue of
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3-D CAD on the grill, Part X

Published: October 26, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Working on a 3-D design for the Shashlik Grill, columnist Gerald Davis continues working on the top-level assembly. This time he's modeling two skewer supports.
From September 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill, Part IX

Published: September 16, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Working on a 3-D design for the Shashlik Grill, columnist Gerald Davis continues working on the top-level assembly. This time he's modeling two end skirts and two side skirts.
From September 2010 issue of
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The evolution of cable carriers

Published: September 13, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Cable carriers have come a long way since the introduction of the first carrier in the 1950s. No longer made solely of steel, modern-day carriers span greater distances and protect cables, hoses, and machinery in many industries, including metal...
From August 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill, Part VIII

Published: August 4, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Working on a 3-D design for a Shashlik Grill, columnist Gerald Davis continues his work of locating features in the context of the top level assembly.
From July 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill, Part VII

Published: July 15, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Working on a design for a Shashlik Grill, columnist Gerald Davis turns his attention to fasteners as it's time to shore up the support structure.
From June 2010 issue of
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3-D CAD on the grill, Part VI

Published: June 8, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Working on a design for a Shashlik Grill, columnist Gerald Davis reminds CAD designers that it is a good practice to test parametric links as the design progresses.
From June 2010 issue of
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Which cable carrier is right for your application?

Published: June 7, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Carrier systems designed to protect your machinery’s cables and hoses can help prevent damage and improve your processes. Which of the many available systems is right for your operation?
From May 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill, Part V

Published: May 4, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Proper organization of files and folders makes a designer's life a lot easier.
From April 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill - Part IV

Published: April 1, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

When it comes to providing exact details for the bill of materials for a 3-D design job, columnist Gerald Davis provides some pointers to help speed up the project.
From March 2010 issue of
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Launching new cars sooner

Published: March 23, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Automakers and other manufacturers increasingly are using optical metrology to help reduce the time and money spent in new-product development while improving quality. What is this technology, and how does it work?
From March 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill—Part III

Published: March 1, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Working on a design for a Shashlik Grill,columnist Gerald Davis provides guidance so that the designer ends up with a design that allows him to explore various changes to the size of the overall product while having the component parts stretch or...
From January 2010 issue of
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Putting 3-D CAD on the grill

Published: January 15, 2010
Tech Cell: For Engineers

Gerald Davis begins this year with a series of product development case studies, taking an idea and creating the virtual model of it.For this first installment, Davis designs a barbecue grill.
From December 2009 issue of
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Sheet Metal Stamping 101, Part V

Published: December 15, 2009
Tech Cell: Tool and Die, Blanking, Drawing, and Deep Drawing , For Engineers

How are bending, flanging, coining, embossing, stretching, curling, hemming, ironing, necking, and drawing related? They all are common metal forming operations. Find out more about these processes in this final installment of stamping expert Art...
From December 2009 issue of
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3-D CAD design communication skills

Published: December 2, 2009
Tech Cell: For Engineers

If a face-to-face meeting can't be held, thenit is incumbent upon the 3-D CAD crew toproduce other kinds of documents tocommunicate the same information tocustomers. Gerald Davis provides examples ofhow to do this.
From November 2009 issue of
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Drafting useful drawings

Published: November 3, 2009
Tech Cell: For Engineers

No matter what drafting standards you adhereto, a CAD jockey should always strive todeliver information in the best and mostcomplete format to the manufacturing floor.
From October 2009 issue of
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Sheet Metal Stamping 101, Part IV

Published: October 27, 2009
Tech Cell: Tool and Die, Blanking, Drawing, and Deep Drawing , For Engineers

Continuing his series about sheet metal stamping, tool-and-die expert Art Hedrick explains common cutting operations used in stamping: trimming, piercing, blanking, notching, shearing, lancing, and pinch trimming. Find out how they work and which...