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The finishing touch—selecting and using nonwoven abrasives
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Tinkerer, welder, teacher, artist
As the welding instructor at Albion Correctional Facility in Albion, N.Y., Jeffrey Benfer is constantly dealing with teaching new batches of inmate workers the ins and outs of production gas metal arc welding, keeping up with their mandatory...
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Band sawing structurals
For performing structural cuts with a band saw, a few simple tips will help in your quest to make straight cuts, which can ultimately lead to better welds.
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Etching 3-D images with an abrasive waterjet
Currently used primarily in art and architecture, waterjet etching is beginning to make inroads into machining and fabricating shops. The textured gripper pictured in this article is an example of a 3-D etched part.
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Finding lean in simple inspirations
No facet of a metal fabricating operation is too insignificant for lean improvement. If you’re looking for ideas on areas to tackle, this article will help.
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8 criteria for choosing the right GMAW gun
With so many GMAW guns available, it may be confusing to know which one is right for you. These 8 tips will help you in your journey to select the appropriate gun or you and your welding operation.
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Underwater aluminum GMAW
The U.S. Navy has been searching for new weld-repair methods on its aluminum-hulled ships beyond dry docking, which is impractical and costly. Phoenix Intl., an underwater services company that has held the Navy’s Diving Services contract for...
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Sick of setup time at the press brake
Alto-Shaam, Menomonee Falls, Wis., needed to find a way to reduce setup times for its low-volume, high-mix work associated with fabricating parts for food service equipment. The company found its answer with a panel bender that management had seen...
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Material handling in a tube cutting process
A tube is a tube, as most in the industry would declare. But getting that tube from point A to point B isn't a simple proposition. That's why fabricators need to keep in mind key factors when looking to set up a material handling system for a tube...
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Focusing on downtime reduction in laser cutting
If a laser cutting machine is not cutting, it has no chance of making money for the shop. Downtime related to maintenance is understandable. Downtime related to the slow process of attending to laser optics is frustrating. Automation, however, can...
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Product line manufacturing meets contract fabrication
Fabricating know-how and modern machine tool technology help Tie Down Engineering, Atlanta, balance its made-to-stock and made-to-order product line operations with a growing contract fabrication operation.
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Lean manufacturing, made-to-order edition
Coordinating fabrication, welding, assembly, and painting within a high-mix, low-volume environment is neither new nor easy. The effort at one such fabricator demonstrates the commitment required, tools applied, lessons learned, and benefits...
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Welding training under the arc light
Virtual weld training tools have emerged in recent years, and some organizations have looked to them to help beginners learn welding basics before firing up the arc. Meanwhile, others are looking for a training device that better reflects the...
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Surviving the storm
Hurricane Sandy wasn't kind to Architectural Grille, Brooklyn, N.Y., in late October 2012. Waters from a nearby canal flooded the shop and ultimately destroyed all fabricating equipment, which was paid for. The insurance companies and local...
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Job shop estimating: Watching the clock in the fabrication sequence
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.
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Taking it to the next level
A welding instructor and two of his seniors have been working together since early November to fabricate a smoker of epic proportions. But in the process the students have found their future calling and their teacher has found a kinship with both.
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Why do customers buy from you?
If you don't know the answer to that question, you aren't listening to your customers closely enough. And that puts the entire organization at risk.
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Meeting deadlines in contract metal fabrication
A Houston fabricator maintains a 99 percent on-time delivery rate. The business maintains its place as a reliable link in the supply chain, and the shop’s growth strategy aims to keep it that way.
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Fabricator helps entrepreneurs grow
As part of its unofficial business plan, Cumming, Ga.-based Accufab gets in on the ground floor and helps entrepreneurs to get off the ground. As a result, the company is able to grow with its customers.
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Keeping up with hazardous communications regulations
On May 25, 2011, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration decided to align its hazard communication standards with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. Most metal fabricators don't realize that...
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Quick die change: About the time in between
Boiled down, quick-die change covers all activities that occur between
one job and the next. QDC boils down to reducing those activities by
eliminating them altogether, making those remaining activties more
efficient, and changing when those tasks...
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The growth of the servo-driven press
Traditional mechanical presses remain dominant in industry, but sales
of servo presses have gone into high gear in recent years. Controlling
the press stroke turns out to have many advantages, and the
technology’s adopters are reaping the benefits.
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Digitizing press automation
Simulating press line automation can eliminate many headaches and
solve problems before the physical integration process. But that
simulation needs an accurate CAD file showing the placement of all
press line components. Here, 3-D digital scanning...
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Recycling overspray dust, related byproducts from thermal spray remetallizing operations
The welding done in a tube or pipe mill ruins the galvanic or aluminum coating intended to keep the product corrosion-free, so remetallizing the weld seam is a common practice. Remetallizing creates a large amount of metal dust, which usually is...
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Automated system helps manufacturer’s reshoring efforts
When Oddello Industries, a supplier of fabricated assemblies to OEMs in a variety of markets, was invited to bid on a contract for a high-end adjustable mattress foundation, it searched for a piercing machine and a cutting machine that could...
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Job shop estimating: Expenses driven by events in the fabrication sequence
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.
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Metal fabricators get on the same page, with software
Conductix-Wampfler, Omaha, Neb., developed software that
integrates information from CAD, product data management, ERP,
and customer relationship management. Built on the company's
success, the software is now available for others interested in...
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The vital role of the CEO
If a metal fabricating company's CEO is running the plant or acting as
a salesperson, who is guiding the business? For such companies,
operating without a CEO can be a very dangerous situation.
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The glue that holds company valuation together
A company structure can be an attractive size and shape, with a
seemingly strong foundation--but still be a house of cards. Therefore,
it’s important to test the robustness of a company’s structure to
determine whether it is what it appears to...
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How trust drives business
At The FABRICATOR's Leadership Summit in February, speaker
Tom Ziglar used a bicycle as a metaphor for how people drive
business success.
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3 ways to boost submerged arc welding performance
Submerged arc welding is known as a process that can result in high welding speeds and deposition rates. However, in today's manufacturing reality, engineers are always looking to boost productivity—even for already productive processes....
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New guideline reduces manganese exposure limit dramatically
Chronic exposure to manganese oxide fumes, which occur when manganese metal is heated and reacts with oxygen, can lead to damage to the central nervous system. Welders are especially susceptible to this disease, called maganism by the National...
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CNC tube bender provides precise bends for monocoque frames
Industrial Laser Solutions, Atlanta, has carved out a niche as a firm that engineers and develops its own products. During the downturn that followed the financial crisis of 2008, the company decided to take on some additional work, and it found...
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The broader implications of modular weld fixturing
A shop is only as productive as its constraint process—that is, its
bottleneck. All that adaptability in upstream processes may not make
a part cost less if it takes days or weeks to build a new weld fixture.
A modular approach to weld fixturing...
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Bending software speeds up production
The speed of fabricating is increasing at a rapid pace, but the press brake remains a bottleneck for many companies. Laser cutting and punching machines can run unattended if necessary without the need to program a robot, but the same can't be...
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Bottle tree boom
Mississippi metal artist Stephanie Dwyer never knew she was an artist until she relocated from Washington and began building bottle trees. Today her bottle trees can be found all over the U.S., which has led to opportunities in custom metal art...
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Get more out of your punch
Several factors come into play when trying to determine the
appropriate lifespan of a punch before major maintenance or
replacement is required. If a fabricating operation is knowledgeable
about punching activities and vigilant about organization...
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Stick figures bring smiles in Sarasota
After his yacht-building business dried up in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, entrepreneur Scott Gerber decided to build a simple sculpture from tubing. Based on a basic stick figure, the first one was a fisherman. Gerber placed a few...
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Conveyor components manufacturer relies on inverse lathe
Mining equipment has to take a beating more so than most other types of industrial equipment. Constant exposure to heat, dust, dirt, and debris means that mining equipment has to be built to last. When the Goodman-Hewitt branch of Joy Global...
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The comeback metal fabricator
Everyone knows that metal fabricators need to be good at quick
turnarounds. Super Steel became just that, hitting the financial skids
in 2009 and transforming itself into a quick-turn fabricator and key
manufacturing supplier to the freight rail...
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Fiber laser helps job shop cut thick metals
After selling his metal fabricating business in 2006, Jim Lee is back in the game with North Topeka Fabrication. But even in the short time that he was gone, metal fabricating technology has advanced and forced him to ask how the shop could apply...
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Aluminum filler metals: What you should know about selection, storage, operation, and equipment
Aluminum requires special attention during welding. Among the critical considerations for optimal aluminum welding is proper filler metal selection.
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Welding for the natural gas boom
The natural gas boom in parts of the U.S. is creating work for shops and many displaced workers in these areas. Do you know which codes and standards apply?
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The impact of impact toughness
Choosing a filler metal with the right mechanical and chemical properties for your application is critical. Correct properties not only ensure the proper weld strength, but may also help prevent costly complications. In applications that endure...
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Cryogenic processing—dispelling the myths, mysteries
Heat treating metals goes back thousands of years, but the use of cold temperatures, especially the very cold temperatures in the cryogenic range, is relatively new and hasn't been fully accepted in the manufacturing industry. Interviews with four...
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More than numbers drive valuation -- much more
Various factors drive company valuation, and one of the most
significant is the market characteristics--that is, a company’s sources
of revenue and the total available revenue within the company’s reach.
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The chaplain and the press brake technician
Everyone has personal problems at some point of their lives, and
those problems can affect productivity at work. In this sensitive area,
workplace chaplains may be able to help.
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The quest to get America’s heroes hired
National unemployment rates for Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans are high and the state of Michigan is toward the top of list of states with the highest number of unemployed veterans. The Merrill Institute of Welding is working to combat that by...
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Job shop estimating: Compatibility issues
In this third installment of Columnist Gerald Davis' series on job estimating, he describes why an estimator cares how well a project fits the capabilities of the shop.
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A welding robot--on the move
When a robotic manufacturing system needs to be moved, particularly
between remote sites, the cost of the move can be a significant
percentage of the original cost of the system. But this doesn’t always
have to be the case.
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