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More from Eric Lundin
- From The Fabricator
Candy-apple red isn’t just for hot rods anymore
- By Eric Lundin
- Aug 3, 2012
- Bending and Forming
- Article
After working for a few years making leather belts and belt buckles, Anthony “AJ” Patti moved on to designing and manufacturing leather goods for Harley-Davidson, then went on to pewter casting to make jewelry for the venerable motorcycle manufacturer. An artist always striving for efficiency and mass production, Patti’s latest venture is making sculptures and adornments for gardens.
Rethinking rotary processing
- By Eric Lundin
- Jul 16, 2012
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
Hautau Tube Cutoff Systems LLC turned the lathe concept on its head when it developed a machine that holds tube steady and uses tooling that orbits the workpiece. This concept, coupled with a handful of other innovations developed over the Hautau brothers’ professional careers, make these machines unique in how the perform recut operations.
- From The Fabricator
Bringing stamping work back from China
- By Eric Lundin
- Jul 16, 2012
- Shop Management
- Article
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 that had been produced at Factory Pipe and subsequently sourced from a competitor in China. Liberty developed a new design, cutting the weight and cost substantially, thereby getting the contract back from the Chinese company.
Quality control for tube, pipe producers
- By Eric Lundin
- Jul 16, 2012
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Article
Years ago tube and pipe producers relied mainly on eddy current testing and ultrasonic testing for detecting short- and long-duration weld faults, respectively. These testing systems are still useful and in many cases required, but the spread of electronic technology has provided many more types of testing equipment for use on tube and pipe mills.
Looking for an alternative to conventional swaging?
- By Eric Lundin and Trish Harbaugh
- Jul 2, 2012
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
A fluid-carrying line usually consists of a length of tube or pipe that has a fitting that is either attached at the end of the tube by a conventional swaging method or attached to the tube by welding. A little-known process, elastomeric swaging, bulge-forms the tube or pipe ends. Its niche is in small-diameter, heavy-wall applications that carry fluid under substantial pressure.
Update from Germany
- By Eric Lundin
- Jun 13, 2012
- Shop Management
- Article
Interviews with several TUBE exhibitors revealed that the energy industry remains the biggest driver in the tube and pipe industry. The opportunities aren’t just in oil and gas, but also wind and even nuclear, despite the Fukushima incident. Meanwhile, a few vendors have come up with machines and processes that reduce tube and pipe consumption and waste, helping the industry deal with fluctuating metals prices.
Guitar-maker branches out with new designs
- By Eric Lundin
- Jun 13, 2012
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Article
Editor Eric Lundin visited Gordon Branch, the guitarmaker featured on the cover of the June 2011 issue of TPJ, to see what Branch had come up with in the last few months. In addition to a new model, 33 1/3 Degree, made with round tube, Branch had developed a similar model made with tube shaped like an airfoil.
- From The Fabricator
It starts with a sketch
- By Eric Lundin
- Jun 8, 2012
- Shop Management
- Article
Artist and fabricator Philip Dees, who holds a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in fine art, has worked in metal fabrication and roll forming for nearly 30 years while pursuing a career as an artist. In addition to his drawings, paintings, and sculptures, Dees sees other opportunities for artistic expression, such as refurbishing an old house.
Taming two weld beads
- By Eric Lundin
- Jun 8, 2012
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Article
The essential tube and pipe production processes on a weld mill haven't changed much since the 1920s. Some new processes are available, such as laser welding, and the line speeds are faster, but much else hasn't changed. One factor that has undergone some change is how the weld bead, also known as scarf and a stringer, is handled. The conventional method was to wind it up as it came off the tube, but OD scarf choppers reduced operator exposure to this strand of red-hot, razor-sharp metal. Similcut has taken safety a step further by introducing a self-feeding OD chopper and wheelless, cantilevered ID chopper.
- From The Fabricator
Take a ride in a battery-powered what?
- By Eric Lundin
- May 10, 2012
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
It wasn’t that long ago that Alessandro Volta built the first battery. In 1800 he made a stack of metal plates, alternating zinc and copper, with each pair separated by layers of cloth soaked in brine. Today’s batteries are more sophisticated but use the same principle to create electromotive...
- From The Fabricator
From automobiles to artwork
- By Eric Lundin
- May 9, 2012
- Plasma Cutting
- Article
Manuel Sarmiento went to a vocational school to learn to be a fender-and-body technician and to learn to paint cars. Fooling around with a plasma cutter one day, he cut out the shape of a hand and took it home to his wife. She loved it and encouraged him to experiment more. Years later he was successful enough as an artist that he quit his full-time job, and today his artwork supports him and his family.
- From The Fabricator
More armor for armored cars
- By Eric Lundin
- May 9, 2012
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Thefts. Car-jackings. Kidnappings. Assassinations. If you’re a high-profile political figure or wealthy executive doing business in a foreign country, especially one in which the division between rich and poor is vast, you’re vulnerable. In addition to having a security system at your home and a personal security detail that travels with you wherever you go, you need a vehicle that can protect you against an attack. Texas Armoring Corp., a fabricator in San Antonio, has been providing armored cars to foreign heads of state and corporate executives since it was founded in 1997.
- From The Fabricator
The risks and rewards of genetic engineering
- By Eric Lundin
- Apr 25, 2012
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
It could be a dream come true or the latest scene in a long nightmare. Dow AgroSciences has developed a genetically engineered corn, named Enlist, to withstand herbicides containing 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). The chemical was developed with the intention of helping to increase crop...
- From The Fabricator
Producing more, hiring less
- By Eric Lundin
- Apr 19, 2012
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
We’re still slogging through the jobless recovery, and while slowly falling unemployment took many by surprise in 2010 and 2011, I guess most of us have resigned ourselves to looking for reasons. There isn’t much else we can do. Before we look for reasons, let’s look at the trend. If we go...
Service center gets new set of wheels
- By Eric Lundin
- Apr 16, 2012
- Materials Handling
- Article
When Tioga Pipe Supply Co. Inc. built a new facility in Easton, Penn., it leveraged its 60 years in business to design its new building. It planned the new facility, 150,000 sq. ft. under roof and 10 acres of outdoor storage area, around the use of side-loading lift trucks. The only drawback was occasional damage to the fork trucks' guide rollers, which Combilift eliminated when it designed a set of adjustable guide rollers specifically for Tioga.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 04/30/2024
- Running Time:
- 53:00
Seth Feldman of Iowa-based Wertzbaugher Services joins The Fabricator Podcast to offer his take as a Gen Zer...
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- June 26, 2024
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