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Many sheet metal contractors are operating in an unforgiving and ultra-competitive business environment that is eroding their profits. Challenges include disconnected data, siloed teams and operations, economic pressures, labor shortages, [...]

One of the most crucial elements in the design and manufacture of industrial components is enterprise time, the time between the idea stage--when a part design is conceived--and the actual [...]

CAD/CAM - capturing the master's expertise Suppose you're in this situation: You own or manage an independent metal-fabricating company, or you manage a fab shop in a metal-products manufacturing company. [...]

Latest in CAD/CAM for fabrication As indicated in the article, 'CAD/CAM CAM - capturing the master's expertise' (in this issue), the pace of advancement in this technology continues brisk. Following [...]

Aircraft parts manufacturer John Weitzel Inc was recently awarded the 1993 Boeing Small Business Supplier of the Year. The firm has upgraded its manufacturing processes by using the integrated manufacturing software system of DCD Corp. The DCD Job Shop Control System is used to estimate jobs, schedule and route jobs, maintain inventory levels, monitor cost jobs in progress and coordinate the company's finances., Job shops and custom manufacturers across North America have benefited from implementing DCD systems in many ways. One such company is Wichita-based John Weitzel, Inc., who has recently won the [...]

Productivity now; flexibility for later. That is the evident goal that DaimlerChrysler (DCX) engineers have for the underbody lines for the 2001 minivans that are being produced in Windsor, Ontario, [...]

Large manufacturers are using flexible equipment to coordinate with their just-in-time inventory control systems. This includes metal pressing, stamping, working, and fabricating equipment. These must be coordinated in turn with business planning cycles. There must be a link between production control and fabricating equipment, plus the right number of tools, control power, and material handling capability for zero setup time. Computer integrated manufacturing and computer-aided design and manufacturing systems can aid in this.

Using robots over traditional hand tooling in draw press operations is justified only if the robots are quick enough to keep pace with the presses. In the past, there has been no robot capable of coping with the work cycle time of draw presses which can be as often as 18 strokes a minute. KUKA Welding Systems and Robot Corp changed this by developing robots for draw presses that are capable of tending presses from 20 ft away, can keep up with the 18 strokes/minute press cycle and have an accuracy of motion around plus or minus 0.20 mm. Despite such progress, widespread use of robots in the sheet-metal business has yet to be seen due to several factors, including still-unresolved servodrive and controller issues and the unfamiliarity of automation-oriented sheet-metal people with robots., For years robots have tended presses--forging presses, for example. Laboriously moving billets in and out of giant, fire-breathing multi-ton mechanical or hydraulic presses. And now come the robots to the [...]

Goetz and Son, a German job shop located outside of Heidelberg, has 200 employees and yearly uses about 3000 tons of material, with thicknesses from 0.5 mm to 4 mm. [...]

Most technologies required for the computer-integrated, untended fabrication shop are already here and in use, says expert. Twenty years from now, independent fab shops-those that cut, bend, and weld parts [...]

CAD/CAM streamlines sheet metal fabrication Even though computeraided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) have only been around since the late 1960s, the effects of the technology in sheet metal fabrication [...]

Flexibility, especially for short-run just-in-time production, and operator safety are the key advantages of a line of automated sheetmetal-bending machines recently introduced in this country by Integrated Fabricating Technologies (Deerfield, [...]

Hobart turns to laser cutting Parts proliferation - to more than 4000 - and often in batches as small as six to eight led Hobart Brothers, the Troy, Ohio, producer [...]

Control is key when selecting a cutting machine for hvac It is widely recognized that parts programming software is critical to a successful automated duct-cutting operation: the software must be [...]