Speed and Consistency is the hallmark of today’s fiber laser cutting machinery and their capacity to process a vast amount of sheet metal on a daily basis. In order to maintain this consistent pace of production it is critical to have some form of material automation. While operators can be [ Read More ]
Over the last several years many technological changes have affected the sheet metal fabrication industry. Many fabricators I have spoken with are amazed at the technological leaps that have occurred. I am frequently asked: How are other fabricators getting started with adapting to these new technologies? To begin with, Fiber [ Read More ]
If you’ve owned a CO2 laser cutting machine then you are familiar with the periodic maintenance required for optics, beam path bellows, beam and nozzle alignments, not to mention oil changes and filters for the vacuum pump. The time required to fulfill these maintenance tasks equates to a significant portion [ Read More ]
As I often visit metal fabrication shops it is amazing to see the myriad of CNC control interfaces, not only from different equipment manufacturers, but also how they have physically changed over the years. But it’s not just the physicality of the change, but how their functionality has also changed. [ Read More ]
Achieving Higher Productivity at the Press Brake Press brakes are typically the location of bottlenecks in the metal fabrication process. Here, every aspect of the process must be looked at. For example, the importance of utilizing correctly sized press brakes based on the size of the parts being produced. Utilizing [ Read More ]
When bigger is better: I often see production jobs that would benefit from a larger sheet size especially in a large volume run. Most companies keep inventory of different size metal sheet for their production and machine requirements, but the problem is that material inventory takes up valuable floor space. [ Read More ]
Old School Knowledge While there is something to say about running production on machinery that is already paid for, what are the real costs? After all, these machines are “free” right? But, unfortunately, “free” machines can become unproductive and very expensive when manufacturers and job shops cannot find skilled workers [ Read More ]
The Real Costs Often I come across older CO2 laser cutting, plasma cutting and punching equipment that is 10 plus years old and still in production. While there is something to say about running production on equipment that is already paid for, what are the real costs? What is the [ Read More ]
With CNC machines capable of generating production data in real-time and their interconnectivity via Ethernet networks, managing data becomes essential to improving current manufacturing processes. We now have the real-time capabilities to monitor equipment and make decisions in real-time instead of waiting until the job is complete, to realize that [ Read More ]
In manufacturing there has always been the need for data analysis. Continual improvements are a mainstay of remaining competitive, and without data and the means to store and analyze the data, there there is also no means to measure the process. Fact is, you cannot improve what you cannot measure. [ Read More ]
