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The Fabricator March 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 animation tools in design review
- By Gerald Davis
- Mar 28, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Columnist Gerald Davis shares some best practices when it comes to creating animations and movies for design review purposes.
Press brake bending and the notch: A deeper dive
- By Steve Benson
- Mar 28, 2016
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Bending guru Steve Benson continues his discussion of notching, which has a symbiotic relationship with bending. Nowadays CAD systems take care of the layout calculations. Nonetheless, manual notch layout is still used for one-off products or in prototype shops.
New ideas spur success at Minnesota metal fabricator
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 21, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Bermo, a stamper and fabricator in Minnesota, takes idea generation seriously. Some of the company’s latest initiatives, including rapid prototyping and automated quoting, have come from employees starting a sentence with, “Wouldn’t it be great if …”
So you want to buy a metal fabricator
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 21, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Buying a company isn’t just about getting a certain multiple. A buyer needs to define a buying strategy, analyze a seller’s business model, and uncover what the seller’s company truly is worth.
Financial benchmarking in metal fabrication
- By Dick Kallage
- Mar 16, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
The world is full of surveys these days, and some really don’t have much purpose. Others, however, can be extremely valuable. Industry benchmarking surveys, for instance, can be a vital tool for any company looking to improve. This includes the “Financial Ratios & Operational Benchmarking Survey” from FMA.
Getting standard work instructions right for fabricating
- By Dave Lechleitner
- Mar 16, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
The goal of any fabricating operation is to discover the safest and most efficient method to produce quality parts. That goal can be achieved only with clear work directions for shop floor employees. Fabricators that follow some basic guidelines, or implement the right software, can make sure they are putting together work instructions that anyone can follow.
Product development drives growth at Illinois metal fabricator
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 16, 2016
- Materials Handling
- Article
The Great Recession nearly killed J-tec Industries, a cart manufacturer in East Peoria, Ill. But the company pulled through and, thanks to its product development efforts, is now experiencing record growth. During the past two years, its workforce has doubled in size.
In custom metal fabrication, nothing is typical
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 16, 2016
- Manufacturing Software
- Article
Average on-time delivery rates in custom fabrication have remained stubbornly low. Clear, constant communication and transparency can change this. And here software can help, even at the smallest shops.
Sheet metal fabrication basics: 7 strategies for punching success
- By Glen Shuldes
- Mar 2, 2016
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Article
One of the most mature technologies in metal fabrication, punching is also one of the most misunderstood, perhaps because the process can ccomplish so much—punch myriad shapes, form, even bend flanges. Regardless, if a shop follows some basic strategies, it will be well on its way to better parts and greater throughput.
The case for kaizen activities
- By Steve A. Norsworthy
- Mar 2, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
Continuous improvement activities don't always have to involve classroom time dedicated to training and excessive resources. They can be brief, direct, and have immediate impacts. That's where kaizen activities come in.
Hot tubbin' and grillin'
- By Amanda Carlson
- Mar 2, 2016
- Arc Welding
- Article
Omaha, Neb., man with the need to create found two unique uses for a couple of old '57 Chevy cars. The first, a working grill. The second, a hot tub and tabletop bar.
Plasma cutting maintenance: Are you throwing money away?
- By Jim Colt
- Mar 2, 2016
- Plasma Cutting
- Article
It's not unusual to see shops replace at least some plasma cutting consumables at the start of every shift, but some of these consumables should last 50 shifts or more. Getting the most out of your consumables goes back to the basics: proper inspection and preventive maintenance.
Fabricating food trucks
- By Dan Davis
- Mar 1, 2016
- Shop Management
- Article
A 70-year-old metal fabricating business in Buffalo, N. Y., came under new ownership in 2012 and in the ensuing years, the shop worked hard to get any business it could to build cash flow and a positive reputation. Two years later, the shop emerged with a maker of food trucks and custom hot and cold food stations for grocery stores. The fabricating business hasn't been the same since.
Greener metal pretreatment process saves manufacturer time, money
- By Kate Bachman
- Mar 1, 2016
- Finishing
- Article
When Quality Industries' 20-year-old pretreatment and powder coat system reached the point t which repairing it was too costly, the manufacturer replaced it with new automated system that was less waste-producing and faster. Upgrading its finishing process is part of the La Vergne, Tenn.-based fabricator's strategy to become a world-class supplier.
Punching on a press brake
- By Henry Llop
- Mar 1, 2016
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Article
Looking to breathe new life into an older press brake? C-frame tooling can be used to turn that brake into a precision punching machine for some parts.
- 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...
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