- FMA
- The Fabricator
- FABTECH
- Canadian Metalworking
Categories
- Additive Manufacturing
- Aluminum Welding
- Arc Welding
- Assembly and Joining
- Automation and Robotics
- Bending and Forming
- Consumables
- Cutting and Weld Prep
- Electric Vehicles
- En Español
- Finishing
- Hydroforming
- Laser Cutting
- Laser Welding
- Machining
- Manufacturing Software
- Materials Handling
- Metals/Materials
- Oxyfuel Cutting
- Plasma Cutting
- Power Tools
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Roll Forming
- Safety
- Sawing
- Shearing
- Shop Management
- Testing and Measuring
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Waterjet Cutting
Industry Directory
Webcasts
Podcasts
FAB 40
Advertise
Subscribe
Account Login
Search
The Fabricator January 2016
The Fabricator is North America's leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry. The magazine delivers the news, technical articles, and case histories that enable fabricators to do their jobs more efficiently. The Fabricator has served the industry since 1970.
Shop technology and 3-D CAD: Using 3-D geometry for more than creating 2-D drawings
- By Gerald Davis
- Jan 27, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Columnist Gerald Davis demonstrates file linking between 3-D CAD and published literature. Some published formats are easier to produce with postprocessing software.
From kaizen to kata
- By Dan Davis and Stan Whitaker
- Jan 27, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Camfil APC is known for its dust collection equipment, but it’s also a metal fabricator. It makes the equipment in its Jonesboro, Ark., facility. Like any other modern fabricating operation, it is looking to eliminate waste where it can. That’s why launching and sustaining a lean manufacturing initiative is so important.
Press brake basics: 10 tips for bottom bending aluminum
- By Steve Benson
- Jan 27, 2016
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Bottom bending aluminum isn’t as common as it once was and it requires knowledgeable press brake operators. Learn ten tips for using an aluminum bending brake.
Taking high heat and spatter out of nonpulsed GMAW
- By Dan Davis
- Jan 26, 2016
- Arc Welding
- Article
Waste reduction in manufacturing helped to make Japanese manufacturing a mighty power, and that push for process improvement continues today. It was a big motivator for OTC DAIHEN to develop its Controlled Bridge Transfer-Expanded technology for robotic GMAW applications.
2015 updates for ISO 9001, 14001 align with other standards
- By Kate Bachman
- Jan 26, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
In September 2015, the widely recognized global standards body International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released its 9001:2015 standards for quality management systems (QMS) and 14001:2015 environmental management systems (EMS). Key changes to both the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards are that they are structured to align with other standards bodies; are less prescriptive; require greater upper management involvement; and require less documentation but more emphasis on defining processes, risk and opportunities planning, and context.
The tipping point: A new way to manage value streams in high-mix manufacturing
- Jan 19, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Lean consultant Gary Conner describes a way to adapt value stream mapping—with its roots in low-mix, high-volume production—to the high-mix, low-volume job shop.
Building improvement at JCB: A case study in lean manufacturing
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 6, 2016
- Assembly and Joining
- Article
The part flow at JCB’s Savannah plant has changed significantly over the past six years. The company redesigned a major product line to meet customer demand while also making part flow much easier to manage.
Degree or pedigree? That is the question.
- By Eric Lundin
- Jan 6, 2016
- Arc Welding
- Article
Metal artist Stephen Christena left Flint, Michigan, but Flint didn’t leave Christena. He has the eye of an artist, backed up by a degree, but the sturdy, industrial look he favors is testimony to his roots.
Differentiation in manufacturing: Cadence hits its unique stride
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 4, 2016
- Laser Welding
- Article
Cadence, Inc. in Staunton, Va., launched with a proprietary technology. But if the company had relied solely on that technology for growth, it wouldn’t be the $100 million, 500-employee, six-location industrial and medical device contract manufacturer it is today.
How to boost first-pass transfer efficiency in powder coating
- By Frank Mohar
- Jan 4, 2016
- Finishing
- Article
Boosting first-pass transfer efficiency should be the goal of any fabricating shop that runs a powder coating line. It prevents material waste and improves final coating quality. The fabricator just needs to stay on top of a few key variables in the powder coating operation to achieve better coating application.
The impact of lean manufacturing on structural steel fabricating
- By Paul Kwiatkowski
- Jan 4, 2016
- Materials Handling
- Article
As fabricators strive to eliminate waste in the modern structural steel facility, the fab shops have taken on a new look. This definitely is not your grandfather's structural steel fabricating.
Lean manufacturing in metal fabrication: How to jumpstart a stalled improvement effort
- By Dick Kallage
- Jan 4, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Continuous improvement initiatives often lack organizational structure and defined responsibilities. Consultant Dick Kallage describes three components needed to correct these problems and prevent continuous improvement from stalling.
One metal fabrication shop takes on B2C
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 4, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Launched in 2015, Florida-based MetalsCut4U offers low-volume metal cutting and bending to the consumer market. To make it happen, the company simplifies ordering and automates quoting.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 04/16/2024
- Running Time:
- 63:29
In this episode of The Fabricator Podcast, Caleb Chamberlain, co-founder and CEO of OSH Cut, discusses his company’s...
- Trending Articles
Tips for creating sheet metal tubes with perforations
Are two heads better than one in fiber laser cutting?
Supporting the metal fabricating industry through FMA
JM Steel triples capacity for solar energy projects at Pennsylvania facility
Omco Solar opens second Alabama manufacturing facility
- Industry Events
16th Annual Safety Conference
- April 30 - May 1, 2024
- Elgin,
Pipe and Tube Conference
- May 21 - 22, 2024
- Omaha, NE
World-Class Roll Forming Workshop
- June 5 - 6, 2024
- Louisville, KY
Advanced Laser Application Workshop
- June 25 - 27, 2024
- Novi, MI
- Upcoming Webcasts
Navigating Change: The Manufacturer’s Guide to Change Management with ERP Implementation
- May 16, 2024
- Sponsored
- Presented By: ECI Software Solutions, M1