5 Quality Control Best Practices for Metal Fabrication

5 Quality Control Best Practices for Metal Fabrication
18 Oct

5 Quality Control Best Practices for Metal Fabrication

Metalworking companies get significant business from referrals, which largely impact the quality of their work. Ensuring that products going out the door conform exactly to specifications while meeting delivery deadlines can make the difference between profit and loss. Learn five quality control best practices for metal fabrication. Quality Control and Quality Assurance Quality control (QC) involves inspecting parts to ensure they consistently meet specifications. QC provides metalworking shops and their clients with confidence that products will do what they’re meant to [...]

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What Makes Electric Press Brakes Eco-Friendly?
17 Oct

What Makes Electric Press Brakes Eco-Friendly?

People who aren’t familiar with modern metal fabrication operations may think that a metalworking shop is a dirty, noisy, grimy place. But metal fabrication has become a high-tech industry, with computer numeric control (CNC) machines, robotics, and attention to waste control and reduction. Many metalworking machines are now manufactured with environmental responsibility in mind. Reduced energy consumption and less reliance on fossil fuels are goals that can be achieved with newer machinery. Most metal fabrication businesses rely on press brakes to [...]

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Tips for Designing Products for Manufacturing
17 Oct

Tips for Designing Products for Manufacturing

Design for manufacturing (DFM), sometimes called design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA) or design for manufacturability, refers to the cluster of considerations that go into creating an easily manufactured product than can be produced cost-effectively. These tips for designing products for manufacturing can help you minimize delay and avoids “do-overs” when you discover a design flaw or manufacturing problem after production has begun. DFM is organized by five basic aspects that affect the end result: process, design, materials, environment, and [...]

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What Skills Do You Need To Be a Metal Fabricator?
17 Oct

What Skills Do You Need To Be a Metal Fabricator?

Using huge machines to bend and cut metal sounds like it requires physical strength and a high tolerance for noise, heat, and grime. While physical fitness and the ability to work on your feet for long stretches of time are necessary, modern metal fabrication requires a more diverse set of skills. If you’re wondering what skills you need to be a metal fabricator, you should be thinking about computers, engineering, and math. Attention to Detail The metal fabrication industry works with [...]

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5 Signs You Should Use Lean Manufacturing
17 Oct

5 Signs You Should Use Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing principles and practices originated at Toyota. Their stunning success inspired manufacturers across industries and all over the world to adopt lean operations. The essence of lean manufacturing is to provide the greatest value to the customer with minimal waste on the production side. Processes, activities, and resources devoted to anything other than creating value for customers are defined as wasteful. 5 Principles of Lean Manufacturing Five principles guide the lean manufacturing process: Value: The extent to which a product or [...]

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How Automation Affects Metal Fabrication
12 Sep

How Automation Affects Metal Fabrication

Workers in manufacturing have been conditioned to fear automation. “Robots are coming to take over our jobs!” is the cry heard in factories and metal fabrication shops that are adding new technology. But in truth, how automation affects metal fabrication doesn’t necessarily mean replacing jobs, just changing them. Making Jobs Easier and Faster Automation, including robotic parts handling and computer-controlled cutting and deburring, makes metalworkers’ lives easier and safer. There’s less direct handling of workpieces and less lifting and hauling. This can [...]

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3 Ways To Increase Energy Efficiency in Metal Fabrication
12 Sep

3 Ways To Increase Energy Efficiency in Metal Fabrication

As consumers have seen gas prices soar at the pump, so have industries seen energy costs increase. For small to mid-sized metal fabricating operations, increased energy costs can put a dent in profits as shops devote more resources toward paying for power. Here are three ways to increase energy efficiency in metal fabrication. Conduct An Energy Audit An energy audit can give you the data you need to identify areas that are wasting energy and where you can increase efficiency without [...]

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5 Biggest Challenges Facing the Metal Fabrication Industry
16 Aug

5 Biggest Challenges Facing the Metal Fabrication Industry

All businesses—whether local, regional, national, or global—faced unprecedented obstacles since early 2020. The metal fabrication industry is no exception. Shops large and small have adapted to overcome a variety of obstacles. While specific issues vary from large to small shops, the five biggest challenges facing the metal fabrication industry affect them all. (more…)

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