March 2013
Lloyd Steed of Tregaskiss identifies the key factors that must be understood to manage a profitable and productive robotic welding operation that really gains a competitive edge and makes the most out of its investment.
Nick Peterson of Miller Electric explains why shops stand to reap significant benefits by better understanding and controlling whether step B in the process is truly preparation for step C, or simply compensation for the inefficiency of step A.
Technology can make it difficult to choose the proper system to best fit your current application and also meet your future needs. Here are some important considerations that will help you make the correct selections for your application.
Technology can make it difficult to choose the proper system to best fit your current application and also meet your future needs. Here are some important considerations that will help you make the correct selections for your application.
Chicago manufacturer Midland Metal Products combines advanced machine tool technology with lean operations and attention to detail in high-velocity manufacturing to easily accommodate last-minute design changes that cannot be matched by its foreign competitors.
Growth – the all-American measure of success. But what kind of growth? And how do you measure growth in relation to success? For too many job shops and contract manufacturers, intelligent and well-intended owners settle for sales volume alone as the primary indicator of achievement. Steve LeFever of Profit Mastery explains how there’s more to it than that.
The accuracy and throughput capabilities of this tube bender from Unison offer major economic benefits to job shops and contract manufacturers working with expensive materials.
This CNC bender from Eagle Bending Machines creates an extremely efficient process that is capable of producing accurate, repetitive bends that reduce material waste and save valuable production time.
Take Time to Crunch the Numbers: Brett Thompson of TRUMPF shows why the initial investment, cost of overhead, electrical and assist gas, and the total time required to manufacture the product are all influential factors in determining which laser source is right for you and your business.
As metalworking grows ever more competitive, Mike Melzer and Dusty Alexander of Global Shop Solutions explain why managing the supply chain of your external factory is more important than ever.
Exotic materials specialist Damen Carbide Tool Co. expands its holemaking capability and business base with honing capacity to 9 in diameter and a 60 in stroke length using hones from Sunnen.
Marketing is more than great ideas, innovative events or cutting edge techniques. At its core, marketing success depends on an understanding of prospects and customers, and making something happen to turn one into the other.
CNC function keys now offer advantages to programmer, operator and maintenance personnel alike.
Brian Moore of Bosch Rexroth explains how adaptive control can help reduce losses related to poorly made resistance welds, increase resistance welding throughput and elevate your control of automated welding processes to a whole new level.
Lloyd Steed of Tregaskiss identifies the key factors that must be understood to manage a profitable and productive robotic welding operation that really gains a competitive edge and makes the most out of its investment.
Nick Peterson of Miller Electric explains why shops stand to reap significant benefits by better understanding and controlling whether step B in the process is truly preparation for step C, or simply compensation for the inefficiency of step A.
Whether TIG welding in the aerospace industry or MIG welding overlay in a plant environment, successfully welding Inconel can depend on your pulsing capabilities and other new features made possible with modern equipment. Dave Almy and Mark Kadlec of Miller Electric explain why.
The traditional ROI focused on robots as a direct replacement for people. But many fabricators now investing in automation with welding robots eventually hire more people too. What is going on?
Here are four ways that welding operators can protect against weld failures and help maintain the productivity and profitability of a shop’s welding operation.
The switch to plasma wasn’t exactly planned, but more welders are now realizing the benefits of gouging with plasma.
The level of innovation behind weight-reduction efforts is exemplified in passenger car transmissions that are manufactured by the millions in volume and, as such, require optimized designs that provide an economic advantage to the manufacturer. With an already great design, is it possible to make them even lighter? This automated system from EMAG shows how.
Eric Esson of Frommelt Safety Products discusses the revised RIA 15.06 Industrial Robot Standard that is coming as only part of the shifting U.S. industrial safety standards that shops must monitor to remain compliant, maintain best practices – and stay competitive. Is your shop at risk?
Tom Myers of Lincoln Electric explains how a hole or divot in the crater of the weld sometimes appears when using flux-cored gas-shielded wire and how to prevent it from occurring.
Eric Esson of Frommelt Safety Products discusses the revised RIA 15.06 Industrial Robot Standard that is coming as only part of the shifting U.S. industrial safety standards that shops must monitor to remain compliant, maintain best practices – and stay competitive. Is your shop at risk?
Phil La Duke of ERM explains why this nice sentiment to express concern doesn’t work as the flawed philosophy behind Behavior Based Safety, a wrong-headed and ironically dangerous safety system.
The concept of quick die change is simple: minimize the time from the last good hit on one die to the first good hit on the next one.
Green or hard turning on a magnet is becoming more accepted as an alternative for lathe chucking, particularly for rings which are vulnerable to deflection.
A unique diamond surface finishing tool enables the helicopter manufacturer to address a very hard scale problem on a bearing surface that had shut down its global production for days.
Hard turning has clearly gained momentum over conventional finishing methods and become recognized as a step up in both productivity and cost-effectiveness. The economic benefits continue to add up for shops that embrace PCBN hard turning technology.
Erik Vanstrum of 3M Abrasives explains why this structural innovation represents one of the most important changes in the abrasives industry in decades. With a grinding wheel that lasts this long, shops now have a new easy-to-use abrasive that is not only good for workers, it’s good for business.
Retrofitting CMMs or articulated arms with new laser scanners is one affordable option among many that shops are considering.
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