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The Fabricator January 2015
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.
Six steps for selecting the right die for press brakes
- By Steve Benson
- Feb 16, 2015
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Choosing the right die for your press brake hinges on the tooling and press brakes, and the tonnage limitations of both. Learn more about press dies here.
Shop technology and 3-D CAD: Metal marking
- By Gerald Davis
- Jan 28, 2015
- Shop Management
- Article
Columnist Gerald Davis walks the CAD operator through the process of creating a drill index.
Done-in-one meets structural fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 23, 2015
- Automation and Robotics
- Article
New system introduces full automation to structural fabrication, including cutting, beam and plate handling, and welding.
Proactive maintenance, predictable performance in metal fabrication
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 23, 2015
- Testing and Measuring
- Article
At Midland Metal Products, all machines have asset tags on them. So do calipers and tape measures—and even brooms—and it’s all tracked in a computerized maintenance management system. Tracking asset downtime has made life on the shop floor much more predictable.
Art in motion
- By Eric Lundin
- Jan 22, 2015
- Arc Welding
- Article
Welder and artist Ed Kidera uses his engineering background to create unusual works of art, many of which are dynamic rather than static.
Metal fabricators spend big to build capacity
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 22, 2015
- Shop Management
- Article
Overall projected capital spending growth has slowed from the dramatic rebound seen postrecession, but the growth continues, especially in capacity-building equipment.
Automated tooling setup for press brakes
- By Dan Davis
- Jan 22, 2015
- Bending and Forming
- Article
As metal fabricators look to increase throughput in their bending departments while also facing a dearth of seasoned press brake operators, they may find their answer in the form of automated tooling change technology now found on the latest generation of brakes.
The capacity dilemma in custom metal fabrication
- By Dick Kallage
- Jan 20, 2015
- Shop Management
- Article
During this long, slow economic recovery, there’s plenty of churn in the market. Customers are less hesitant to change suppliers to get what they want. In this environment, having insufficient capacity has become very risky.
Redefining shipbuilding and fabricating with new plasma cutting equipment
- By Dan Davis
- Jan 15, 2015
- Plasma Cutting
- Article
Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, added a plasma cutting machine to its fabricating operations, which helps it to make more of its own parts without relying on subcontractors that don't always meet delivery dates.
Managing maintenance for laser cutting machines
- By Claudio Schutz
- Jan 15, 2015
- Laser Cutting
- Article
Unscheduled downtime is an incredible headache for a busy fabricating operation. An adherence to a smart maintenance schedule and empowering a maintenance team can eliminate these production surprises.
Rethinking the production meeting
- By Dan Davis
- Jan 12, 2015
- Shop Management
- Article
Metal fabricators are better at manufacturing than holding meetings, but some sort of regularly occurring production meeting is needed to get everyone on the same page. Several fabricators offer their opinions as to what works best for them in their production powwow.
Pushing the solid-state laser speed limit
- Jan 9, 2015
- Laser Cutting
- Article
Solid-state lasers theoretically could cut through thin sheet at up to 1,000 meters per minute, though no machine in the world can drive a laser at that speed. But new approaches to laser cutting are bringing laser cutting speeds closer to the theoretical maximum.
Safety and regulatory overview for powder coating
- By Michael Streepey
- Jan 8, 2015
- Finishing
- Article
Like any manufacturing process, powder coating has the potential to be dangerous if the right safety precautions haven’t been taken. By referencing a few key standards, a manufacturer can keep the powder coating line going and the operators safe.
Flying high at FABTECH
- By Tim Heston
- Jan 8, 2015
- Shop Management
- Article
More than 30,000 visited the FABTECH 2014, a show that had several dominant themes: skilled labor, intuitive manufacturing technology, and supply chain collaboration.
- 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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