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The Fabricator March 2018
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.
How a Wisconsin metal fabricator rebounded after tough times
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 10, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
As it did for many businesses, the Great Recession exposed Maysteel’s weakness. But today the Wisconsin custom fabricator has a renewed focus and is again on the growth path.
Product Highlight: Cutoff saw customizable for cutting superalloys
The model K20SW semiautomatic wet cutoff saw from Kalamazoo Industries Inc. can be customized to cut nearly any superalloy rapidly with a 20-in. abrasive wheel formulated for the alloy. The saw features an air-over-oil precise feed control with a 0 to 12-FPM feed rate, automatic end-of-cut head...
Product Highlights: Locknuts’ hexagonal insert prevents mating screws from loosening
- Mar 9, 2018
- Assembly and Joining
- Product Release
PEMHEX® self-clinching prevailing torque locknuts from PennEngineering® integrate a trademarked blue nylon hexagonal insert designed to prevent mating screws from loosening in service because of vibration, thermal cycling, or other application-related factors. The reusable locking element...
Product Highlights: Portable work light withstands tough conditions
- Mar 8, 2018
- Shop Management
- Product Release
Big Ass Light, a division of Big Ass Fans, has introduced the battery-powered LED Light Bar work light. It is designed to survive being doused and dropped, making it suitable for use on tough jobs. The work light...
Learning to weld in a shipyard
- By Amanda Carlson
- Mar 8, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
A rare opportunity at a Charleston, S.C. shipyard gave artist Matt Wilson a springboard into welding, metalworking, and sculpting in three dimensions. Now the resident artist at Detyens Shipyards, where he fabricates metal models of the ships that the shipyard services, Wilson uses the skills he learned on the job to create lifelike sculptures out of old flatware and other upcycled items.
Product Highlights: Vertical plate saw features optional NC measuring device
- Mar 8, 2018
- Sawing
- Product Release
The new compact, heavy-duty LPS-T plate saw with vertical band saw blade is available from Behringer. It comes with a linear guided material table with a support surface that provides a cutting capacity of 50 in. long, 24.4 in. wide, and 24 in. high. T-slots in the table enable flexible positioning...
A new approach to welding skills validation
- By Dan Davis
- Mar 7, 2018
- Arc Welding
- Article
For many years technologies such as virtual welding simulators were viewed as a way for vocational programs to teach some basic skills in a cost-effective manner. Now technology advancements are changing the way welding training is being done. They could be making their way to the private sector before you know it.
K-factors, Y-factors, and press brake bending precision
- By Steve Benson
- Mar 7, 2018
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Learn how to run your bend calculations using a K-factor that takes your application’s variables into account. Even better, see how the Y-factor is more precise.
Lean manufacturing basics: Who are your internal customers and suppliers?
- By Jeff Sipes
- Mar 7, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
Do your employees know who their internal customers and suppliers are? You receive work from your internal supplier and send completed work to your internal customer. This logic is straightforward, yet many pay little to no attention to the idea.
Product Highlights: Abrasive belt machine available with American flag design
- Mar 7, 2018
- Finishing
- Product Release
The Dynafile abrasive belt machine from Dynabrade now is available with an American flag design on the housing. The air tool grinds, deburrs, blends, and finishes usually inaccessible areas on metal and composites. It is suitable for light corner-weld removal and blending of welds. The 20,000-RPM,...
What is a custom metal fabricator?
- By Tim Heston
- Mar 6, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
What are custom metal fabricators? That’s not easy to answer, and it may be why investors are looking at custom metal fabrication with such keen interest.
Fiber laser allows wheelchair manufacturer to bring cutting in-house
- Mar 6, 2018
- Laser Cutting
- Article
Action Mfg. in Marshall, Minn., started out in the recreational motorsports business and expanded to make all-terrain wheelchairs. In 2018, it invested in a fiber laser to expand its tube fabrication capability.
A 3-D CAD modeling case study: An industrial design makes the transition to fabrication
- By Gerald Davis
- Mar 6, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
Columnist Gerald Davis shows how an initial design concept for a commercial coffee maker was used to launch a manufacturing project.
Lean manufacturing in the job shop: 5 steps to building a value network map
- By Shahrukh Irani, Ph.D.
- Mar 6, 2018
- Shop Management
- Article
The value stream mapping tool, as used in lean manufacturing based on the Toyota Production System, can be difficult for custom fabricators and other job shops to implement. An alternative called value network mapping, however, can account for the highly complex environment of the high-product-mix, low-volume manufacturer.
Plate rolling follows trends curves
- By Kate Bachman
- Mar 5, 2018
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Plate rolling, a long-established powerhouse technology for curving thick plate steel, continues to roll forward, following trends curves to respond to changing needs. Demands to roll harder metal types, tighter radii, and for less complicated operation are bending the way that plate rolling machinery is being built--with more automation, IoT, new roll configurations, more force, and improved CNC. Industry experts Massimo Roccia, president of MG s.r.l., Peter Nilsson, founder of SweBend (represented by Trilogy Machinery), and Steve Addy, executive vice president of Faccin USA, offered their perspectives on current trends in plate rolling technology and expectations for its future.
- 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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