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More from Tim Heston
- From The Additive Report
Need a custom press brake tool? Try printing it
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 12, 2018
- Additive Manufacturing
- Article
Say a request for quote comes in that entails a low-volume part requiring a custom press brake tool. It can take weeks to get a custom tool in-house and start running the job. In some cases, though, a custom tool could be available within days—thanks to 3-D printing.
- From The Additive Report
Tackling additive manufacturing with an open mind
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 12, 2018
- Additive Manufacturing
- Blog Post
“But that’s how we’ve always done it.” “It will never work.” “Are you nuts?” Fabrication is a mature business, so when new techniques like additive manufacturing come along, resistance abounds. How do you overcome it? Take the first step.
- From The Fabricator
Firm taps the direct-to-consumer metal fabrication market
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 11, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
A Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based company launched in 2015 to tackle the business-to-consumer market in metal fabrication. It’s not an easy market to reach, but MetalsCut4U may have found a formula for reaching it.
- From The Fabricator
Reasonable tolerancing for press brake bending
- By Tim Heston
- Sep 11, 2018
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Some fabricators today can achieve an extraordinarily tight bending tolerance. But before testing material, establishing process controls, and generally bending over backward to achieve that tolerance, a shop should start with a basic question: Is that tight tolerance really necessary?
- From The Fabricator
M&A and the hunt for talented employees
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 13, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
A tight labor market means that companies looking to grow substantially are looking for alternatives, one being acquisition. It isn’t easy or without risk, though software and data analytics are mitigating some of that risk and streamlining the process.
- From The Fabricator
Why collaboration is critical in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 7, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
In many ways Max Weiss Co. and Washington Metal Fabricators couldn’t be more different. One is a structural bending shop, the other is a sheet metal fabricator. But both exemplify how important customer and supplier collaboration is.
- From The Fabricator
A powder coating primer for metal fabricators
- By Tim Heston
- Aug 1, 2018
- Finishing
- Article
When a fab shop launches a powder coating department, equipment is important, but most important of all is process knowledge. A coating operation can’t be effective without it.
- From The Fabricator
Sheet metal folding evolves
- By Tim Heston
- Jul 31, 2018
- Bending and Forming
- Article
A decades-old technology from Europe, metal folding wasn’t common in the U.S. until several decades ago. Since then the architectural metal and roofing market has embraced the technology. In recent years, so have industrial and precision metal fabricators.
- From The Fabricator
Opportunity zones and investment in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Jul 14, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
The opportunity zone program in the new tax law could have significant impact for metal fabricators and other manufacturers, small and large alike.
- From The Fabricator
Amada breaks ground in North Carolina
- By Tim Heston
- Jun 22, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
Complementing the company's Brea, Calif., laser machine manufacturing facility, Amada's Carolina Technical Center and Manufacturing Center in High Point, N.C., will manufacture press brakes and blanking automation.
- From The Fabricator
TRUMPF expands training capabilities
- By Tim Heston
- Jun 19, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
In June TRUMPF Inc. held an event to show its expanded and renovated training center in Farmington, Conn., to tout its growing apprenticeship program and to emphasize the industry’s need for knowledge transfer.
- From The Fabricator
Additive manufacturing’s potential in sheet metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Jun 8, 2018
- Additive Manufacturing
- Article
Metal fabrication is a broad business, and additive manufacturing has serious potential for a surprising number of applications, from scale models of large fabrications to a variety of tools and fixtures.
- From The Fabricator
Growth in custom metal fabrication: Staying small while getting big
- By Tim Heston
- Jun 8, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
S&B Metal Products grew not by opening a massive facility but by opening numerous smaller locations. It’s a common pattern throughout the FAB 40—but why? Location, location, location.
- From The Fabricator
One of the largest metal fabricators set to break sales records
- By Tim Heston
- Jun 8, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
MEC, the largest fabricator on the FAB 40 for many years running, is expecting to achieve record sales this year. How did the company get to where it is? We spoke to two MEC executives to find out.
- From The Additive Report
3-D metal printing meets the office
- By Tim Heston
- Jun 7, 2018
- Additive Manufacturing
- Blog Post
Today some fabricators have a 3-D printer in the front office for printing plastic models and fixtures. Turns out they could be printing metal too.
- 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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