Fabricator201911 DL PDF

The official publication of the
NOVEMBER 2019 | VOL. 49 NO. 11 Fabricators & Manufacturers Association ®
www.thefabricator.com
An official publication of
Special Publication
starting on page 133
A cobot Turkey: More Than

a Buying Market
welded
this part
Is this the next level
of welding automation?
98 How to avoid top

press brake hazards
102 What makes a smart factory

so smart?
114 Amish manufacturer

embraces lean manufacturing
Nov19FAB_Cover_Digital.indd 2 11/5/19 8:51 AM

Nov19FAB_FrontAds.indd 2 10/22/19 2:35 PM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER STORY »
94 A do-it-all
shop looks
to do more
PMI, Bloomer, Wis., is a steel service center,
metal stamper, and a fabricator, which makes
it attractive for customers looking to simplify
their supply chains. It’s not simple, however,
when it comes to staying on top of customer
demands. That’s where automation has
played a big part.
Photo courtesy of Dan Davis,

editor-in-chief, The FABRICATOR.
FEATURES »
the fabricator
98
The day of bending
dangerously
Meet Will Doitrong, an ill-
informed press brake operator who faces
numerous on-the-job hazards every day.
102
What makes a
factory smart?
The smart factory of the
future will involve new levels of collaboration
®
among software providers, machine builders,
and companies throughout the sheet metal NOVEMBER 2019
supply chain.
Vol. 49 No. 11
106 Want to achieve a

specific metal finsh?
Reliable finishing requires
three elements: the right tools and abrasive
MANAGEMENT » EXPERTISE »
72 86
products, proper training, and good com-
Biz Talk Precision Matters
munication.
Digital manufacturing is the CAD jockey Gerald Davis de-
108 Tubes on the move future, but sheet metal can’t be scribes methods of documenting
Material handling technol- made of ones and zeros. The space where assemblies, both made and purchased items.
98 fabrication occurs really matters.
88
ogy in laser tube cutting has
Continuous
evolved significantly. Extensive downtime
74
Around Washington Improvement
for material handling may soon be a thing of
118 Arena project leads The Environmental Protection Has your improvement
the past.
to pipe cutting Agency is debating whether to initiative stalled or plateaued? Is everyone
112 Understanding and automation allow major sources of air emissions of too comfortable? If so, benchmarking might
selecting a material Fought & Co., Tigard, Ore., landed a huge hazardous air pollutants to reclassify as be for you.
verification technology pipe cutting project associated with the area sources, which are less regulated.
When a shipment of raw material shows up
at a fabricator’s receiving dock, is reading
the paperwork enough to identify the
material? Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t.
construction of a new track arena. It simply
couldn’t do the job cost-effectively and
efficiently with manual labor, so it turned to
automated plasma cutting.
76
Steel News
Demand is down. The business
environment is uncertain. Scrap
90 Bending Basics
Why do bends turn sharp when
they do? It has to do with how
bending forces affect the workpiece.
Using a portable alloy ID tool is a quick way prices are down. Steel mills can’t do much
to verify the metals’ chemical composition. but watch prices continue to fall.
114 Learning lean in

the plain community
Pioneer Equipment started its
120 Accelerating growth
through better
quoting
Metal fabricators that are trying to get by 78
Chief Concerns
For his 40 years leading
Lapham-Hickey Steel Corp.
[GET SOCIAL]
with quoting that relies on the use of an and continued efforts representing the steel
lean journey in 2008, just in time to meet the Connect with The FABRICATOR
estimator’s know-how, spreadsheets, or industry and manufacturing in policy battles,
demands of a changing market.
semiautomated systems are not putting Bill Hickey has been named Steel Executive
themselves in a position to maximize growth of the Year by his peers.
The FABRICATOR
80
opportunities.
Chief Concerns
122 @TheFabricator_
3 steps to prepare a With everyone talking about
fab shop for welding a shortage of skilled welders, Magazine
automation people sometimes believe an entry-level
A metal fabricator that doesn’t take the time welding gig can be a gateway to riches. Like
to explain to the shop floor employees why any other entry-level job, however, you’re @Fabricating
welding automation makes sense and doesn’t probably going to start at the bottom, which
find the right person to lead the project is isn’t too bad compared to other occupations.
The FABRICATOR
114 sabotaging the automation effort before it
begins.
But don’t expect the six-figure salary on a
40-hour workweek when just starting out.
Magazine
6 The FABRICATOR NOVEMBER 2019
Nov19FAB_Contents.indd 6 10/24/19 10:57 AM

AMADA AMERICA, INC.
180 Amada Court • Schaumburg, IL 60173
www.amada.com/america
877-262-3287
“Our green-light-on
time increased
from 30%
to 80%.”
— Ed Zerjav
John Zerjav, Vice President (left) and

Ed Zerjav, President of Vernier Metal Fabricating, Inc.
Combination Technology.
Advanced Automation.
Vernier Metal Fabricating (VMF) was incorporated in 1967.
Founded by John Zerjav Sr., the company started in a 1-car garage
in Bridgeport, CT. Today, VMF has evolved and grown to a thriving
company that employs over 80 people — operating from a 55,000
sq. ft. facility on 12 acres in Seymour, CT. Serving a variety of
customers in Medical, Security, Packaging and Machine Tool Indus-
tries, VMF fabricates a high-mix of small-to-medium size lots.
Committed to providing the utmost in quality while meeting
customers’ ever-increasing demands for shorter lead times, VMF
partnered with AMADA to provide the optimal solution for their
specific needs which includes the following machines.
• ACIES 2515 AJ — A Highly-Automated Punch/
(Above: HG 1003 ATC) Fiber Laser Combination System: The ACIES AJ
Complex bending is achieves unmatched productivity and scratch-free process-
greatly simplified by the ing of complex sheet metal parts including forming and
AMNC 3i control. tapping. Equipped with a 4kW fiber laser, the ACIES AJ
The control and the
has expanded Vernier’s range of capabilities to include the
Automatic Tool Changer
(ATC) work together to efficient cutting of brass, copper and Muntz metal. By auto-
make certain all tools mating tool changes and material handling, ACIES achieves
can be staged at the continuous, high-speed processing — increasing Vernier’s
same time. As a result, green-light-on time from 30% to 80%.
Vernier’s operators
can run more jobs in a
• HG 1003 ATC Integrated Bending System: AMADA’s
single setup to optimize patented Automatic Tool Changer (ATC) enables Vernier
throughput. to achieve 20 setups per shift instead of 4-5 per day —
greatly increasing throughput. Even complex tool setups
are completed in less than three minutes. The ATC’s large
(Left and below: ACIES tool capacity allows for quick and easy introduction of rush
2515 AJ) is equipped jobs while expediting setup for repeat jobs.
with a high-speed AMNC
3i control with a large To summarize the power of partnership, Ed Zerjav adds the
multi-touch control, following thoughts, “In combination with outstanding machine reli-
300-tool capacity storage ability, AMADA has always been responsive to any service issues. This
rack, automated tool makes for a great partnership which is mutually beneficial for AMADA
changer, a multi-shelf and VMF — as well as our customers.”
automated Tower mate-
rial handling system, and
a laser-etched tooling ID
system to achieve 24/7 Stay In Touch With What’s Next.
productivity and repeat-
able accuracy.
April_2019_Fabricartor_Vernier_ad.indd 1 3/8/19 9:40

PM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FMA:
IN THE KNOW »
82
Give the gift of opportunity
this season through a Nuts,
Bolts & Thingamajigs dona-
tion
83
Hear from one of the greatest
Dallas Cowboys players at the
FMA Annual Meeting 2020
84
FMA’s most valuable industry
surveys are available
85 Fabrinomics®: Is a global
recession looming?
129
the fabricator
Advertisers
Index
130
Back Page
®
An artist found a new outlet
53 when she learned to weld

NOVEMBER 2019
at age 60 and started working with scrap
metal. Some of her work now resides on
TECHNOLOGY »
Vol. 49 No. 11
DEPARTMENTS »
50
permanent display in nearby towns.
Product Highlights
•IoT-based remote-sensing
10
From the service monitors industrial dust
WHAT’S
Editor-in-Chief collectors
People looking at a potential • Automated tube cutter offered with a
welding career as a gateway to riches need 2-kW fiber laser
to re-evaluate their thinking. Welding skills
130 ONLINE?
can lead to a very comfortable living, but
that’s not going to happen right when they
strike their first arc. An entry-level job is
usually tied to an entry-level wage.
BUYERS’ GUIDE»
52 Applications
• Steel processor uses EDI to
improve data communications,
partner onboarding
THEFABRICATOR.COM »
124
Forming & Fabricating®
11
• Electrocoat finisher gains flexibility with
Calendar of Events 2019 Waterjet
zinc phosphate coating system Are we headed
Cutting Machine
Buyers’ Guide© for a recession?
54 Technology Spotlight September’s PMI index from ISM® not
14 Readers’ Forum COMING IN

DECEMBER»
Artificial intelligence helps
shops get more out of the two
primary cost drivers in any fab shop: time
only registered a contracted PMI for the
second consecutive month, but the 47.8
was the lowest since the end of the Great
15
and material. Recession. Industry analysts, however, say
Industry News Boost fabrication efficiency
recession fears are premature. Read more
and quality efforts.
56
Dump the paper router and minimize the Technology Spotlight in the summary on thefabricator.com’s
44 From thefabricator.com need for humans to type information into Electronic parallelism and linear Industry News section.
In the Still Building America the program. Let IT systems deliver the right guides are just two of the ad-
series, Darla Welton introduces information at the right time to the right vancements that are helping to make plate
us to Charis Walker, an Ohio welder, farmer, people. rolling less difficult for fabricators.
and jack-of-all-trades, who spends her
Check out what’s happening in
[GET SOCIAL]
58
days sheepherding, cultivating, shearing,
weaving, and welding in the rolling hills of the structural steel segment of Technology Spotlight Connect with The FABRICATOR
metal fabricating. A new app connects machine
the Appalachian range.
service technicians with those
This supplement from The FABRICATOR will The FABRICATOR
48
give you an idea of just how automation and who need their services.
From thefabricator.com
60
In his latest blog entry, Nick advanced technology are revolutionizing an
Martin of Barnes MetalCrafters, industry ripe for change. Product News @TheFabricator_
Wilson, N.C., discusses how his shop has Magazine
handled the departure of key players who What’s on tap for 2020?
helped the business control the shop floor Many metal fabricators report that they are
chaos. busy. Steel mills can’t raise prices because @Fabricating
of decreasing demand. Economists warn
128 Classified
Advertising
of a global economic slowdown. So what’s
the scoop for next year? Senior Editor Tim
Heston tries to provide a clear answer. 47
The FABRICATOR
Magazine

Nov19FAB_Contents.indd 9 10/30/19 1:42 PM
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The reality of the entry-level welder

No matter what you hear, you are going to
have to work your way up to welding wealth
Read more from Dan Davis at

www.thefabricator.com/author/dan-davis
T
he wonderful thing about social media that a growing U.S. economy would need, but through on his goal of getting that degree. Was
is what happens to cross your path on an inability to find the right skilled workers and it even going to be worth it if he had completed
any given day. On one recent fall after- impending retirements of baby boomers could it, with local welding jobs offering $12 to $15 an
noon I saw a link to a story from The Atlantic lead to a potential 2.4 million jobs going unfilled. hour for experienced welders?
magazine, “Welding Won’t Make You Rich.” I The American Welding Society argues that a That’s just one example, obviously, but oth-
decided to click on the link and read the Paul large percentage of these needed skilled workers have raised the point that hyperbolic talk of
Tough-written article, which was adapted from ers will be welders, and there will be a shortage welding pay can cloud the reality for those look-
his book, The Years That Matter Most: How Col- of 450,000 skilled welders by 2022. ing at making a career change and pursuing a
lege Makes or Breaks Us. That’s why politicians have gravitated to pro- welder career. Welder and trades advocate Josh
The point of the article was to question the moting welding as a path to the middle class Welton wrote a popular blog post for thefabrica-
push for people to bypass the four-year college and all the trappings associated with it. They are tor.com in December 2018 in which he stressed
education in favor of schooling and training that aware that the mean annual wage for the welder, the need for people to know the facts about
focus on the trades. A Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is welding because it may not be everyone’s “bag.”
He wrote: “But I want potential tradespeople to
quote from a 2015 GOP presidential debate was $44,360, and they know that industry is clamor-
go into their career with both eyes open, and
one reference cited to frame the conversation: ing for welders. That’s a win for politicians, job-
part of that is putting an end to the misleading
“For the life of me, I don’t know why we have seekers, and employers, right?
numbers the industry has pushed into our ev-
stigmatized vocational education. Welders make As much as politicians love to promote job
eryday vernacular through the media.” One sta-
more money than philosophers. We need more creation, they also love hyperbole, and that’s
tistic he mentioned was the framing of $45,000
welders and less philosophers.” where promotion of the welding trade can get
as an average starting wage by some “advocate”
That statement alone is hard to debate, par- questionable. Welding jobs are full of opportu-
organizations, when in reality that’s closer to the
ticularly if the focus is on the cost of pursuing nities, but in most instances, they aren’t going mean annual wage.
that philosophy degree. The newspapers are to result in riches for the entry-level welder. As in any industry, entry-level work is usually
filled with headlines of young people weighed Unfortunately, columns in The Wall Street Jour- accompanied by entry-level pay. There’s always
down by college debt and no marketable skills, nal (“Welders Make $150,000? Bring Back Shop the chance of overtime and a fast-track promo-
who then have to delay home ownership be- Class,” by Josh Mandel, April 21, 2014) and inter- tion if the entry-level worker shows promise,
cause they aren’t in a financially viable position net stories about underwater welders making but that is incumbent on the right fit between
to do so. $300,000 have a way of influencing a perspec- employer and employee. Nothing is guaranteed.
The newspapers—and trade journals like this tive of reality that isn’t quite true. Welders may not get rich right off the bat, but
one—also have had headlines bemoaning the The author latched on to that premise in his they have the potential to make a very good liv-
dearth of skilled labor in manufacturing. Ac- article in The Atlantic. He told the story of a ing. They just need to be in the right place, have
cording to the “2018 Deloitte and The Manufac- 20-something in rural North Carolina who was the right skills, and have the commitment to
turing Institute Skills Gap and Future of Work” broke and raising two children with his ex-wife, continue to develop those skills.
study, manufacturing would need to employ but saw an associate degree in welding as a way
approximately 1.96 million additional workers to steady work and good pay. Setbacks emerged,
between 2017 and 2028 to produce the goods however, and the young man didn’t follow
FMA OFFICERS FMA DIRECTORS Jay Phillips FMA’S CERTIFIED EDUCATION CENTERS
Chairman of the Board Mike Cattelino Valley Iron Inc. FMA Certified Education Centers (CEC) are community
William “Jeff ” Jeffery Fox Valley Technical College Sarah Richards and technical colleges, trade schools, and universities that
IRMCO specialize in training adults for careers in the metal forming,
Jones Metal Inc.
Stephen Ford fabricating, processing, and machining sectors. They offer
First Vice Chairman
Lapham-Hickey Steel Corp. James Rogowski coursework for local students year-round and serve as host
Gregg Simpson
Ohio Laser LLC TRUMPF Inc. locations for many types of FMA professional development
Andy Gross
programs as requested. A council of members convene six
Second Vice Chairman Alliance Steel LLC Lori Tapani
William Isaac times a year to plan and execute special programs on worker
Brian Havlovic Wyoming Machine Inc. training for educators and human resource managers from
MC Machinery Systems/
Mitsubishi Laser Kawasaki Motors Mfg. Corp. USA Lisa Wertzbaugher companies of all sizes.
Secretary/Treasurer Jason Hillenbrand Wertzbaugher Services/ To learn more about FMA’s CEC program and view a list of
Carlos Mendizabal-Perez Amada America Inc. Wertzbaugher Consulting the current member schools, visit www.fmanet.org/mem-
Industrias Selbor SA de CV Frank Joy bership/certified-education-center.
President & CEO
Immediate Past GE/Global Nuclear Fuel
Chairman of the Board Edward Youdell To discover how your local community or technical college
Lyle Menke Phil Kooima Fabricators & Manufacturers can become a member, call 888-394-4362 or send an
Peddinghaus Corp. Kooima Co. Association International email to info@fmanet.org.
Nov19FAB_Editor.indd 10 10/22/19 3:06 PM

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Forklift Operator & Inspector ASHRAE 2020
Dec. 2-3—Orlando, Fla. Winter Conference
North American Crane Bureau Feb. 1-5—Orlando, Fla.
800-654-5640 ASHRAE
www.cranesafe.com 800-527-4723
Robot Safety and Risk ashrae.org
Assessment Seminar LASE 2020 at Photonics West Invites You To
Dec. 4—Detroit Feb. 1-6—San Francisco
Robotic Industries Assn. International Society for Optics
734-994-6088 and Photonics
www.robotics.org 360-676-3290
FabCast: Maintaining spie.org
a Positive Culture Press Brake
Dec. 5—10-11:30 a.m. CT Certificate Course
Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn. Feb. 18-19—Elgin, Ill.
888-394-4362 Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn. The Fabrication and Metals Industries’
www.fmanet.org 888-394-4362
Hands-on Workshop: www.fmanet.org Leadership Conference
Welding for Fabricators Mexico Technology
Dec. 6—Palatine, Ill. Conference
Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn. Feb. 25-27—Queretaro, Mexico
888-394-4362 Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn.
www.fmanet.org 888-394-4362
Building Your Maintenance www.fmanet.org
System & Culture FMA Annual Meeting
Dec. 12—Golden Valley, Minn. March 3-5—San Antonio, Texas
Manufacturers Alliance Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn.
763-533-8239 888-394-4362
www.mfrall.com www.fmanet.org
ASD/FMA Holiday Event American Coatings Show
Dec. 12—Chicago March 31-April 2—Indianapolis
ASD/FMA American Coatings Assn.
888-394-4362 770-727-0406
www.fmanet.org american-coatings-show.com
Aluminum Symposium
Jan. 20-21—Hollywood, Fla.
S&P Global Platts
Submit your industry event
information for future publication CLEAR VISION BOLD MOVES
BRIGHT FUTURE
800-752-8878 to Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis at
www.spglobal.com dand@thefabricator.com.
SAN ANTONIO MARCH 3-5, 2020
REGISTER TODAY!
Visit fmanet.org/annualmeeting
or call toll-free 888-394-4362.
Platinum Sponsor:
Mention this AMADA ad and your registration

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NOVEMBER 2019 The FABRICATOR 11
Nov19FAB_Calendar.indd 11 10/22/19 3:18 PM

R
Depending on model,
the HG ATC is equipped with
18 or 25 stockers for dies and
15 or 18 stockers for punches to
ensure optimal bending versatility.
July_2019_Fabricator_HG_ATC_ad.indd All Pages

Nov19FAB_Calendar.indd 12 10/22/19 3:18 PM
Rush Job? No Problem.
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that limit your shop’s overall capacity. AMADA’s HG ATC resolves The ATC works with the system’s AMNC 3i control to efficiently
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less — eliminating the need for manual tool setup and test bends. operator can quickly return to production by selecting the previous
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AMADA AMERICA, INC. Stay In Touch With What’s Next.

180 Amada Court • Schaumburg, IL 60173
www.amada.com/america
877-262-3287
5/31/19 9:54
Nov19FAB_Calendar.indd 13 10/22/19 3:18 AM
PM
READERS’ FORUM
Finding the New Generation there is compelling evidence that the pathway to I spent a large amount of time working on
of Fabricators security comes from a postsecondary skill and my relationship with him. The result is an in-
not necessarily a generic college degree. creased understanding of my capability and my
Often when I press this point, the reaction I re- personal vision for the department I manage. In
ceive is blank stares or even dirty looks. But the the time since our last correspondence, I have
time has passed for accepting the status quo. had a promotion. I am now the housing compo-
We are in an industry full of bold and talented nent manufacture team leader. This is a large
individuals, companies, and stakeholders. Let’s step up. Previously I was responsible for a single
disrupt a recruiting strategy that helped lead us workcell, which was the fabrication preparation
to major labor shortages. department. This involved cutting and prepar-
Ryan Blythe ing raw materials for the fabrication/weld team.
As always, I enjoyed your article in the recent is- Founder
Georgia Trade School
The situation now has changed, from manag-
sue [“Wondering where the next generation of
Acworth, Ga. ing a 25-square-meter shop to a full-sized unit
fabricators will come from?” The FABRICATOR,
of around 400 square meters with an additional
September 2019]. I felt compelled to write as I don’t recall ever seeing anything in print about
four workcells.
this topic has been front of mind. those of us in the trades encouraging our child
It has been a great process. I had a hand in the
We have been receiving interest from employ- or, in my case, grandchildren to get involved in
layout of the new unit and have now assumed
ers as far away as Wisconsin and have graduates manufacturing.
working in 17 states. Recently I sat on a panel at control of the entire building. We have a machin-
I have one grandson who started college but
Holder Construction (the company that built the chose to switch to HVAC. His father works in ing cell, a sheet metal cell, press cell, deburr and
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta) and attempt- that field. The grandson is taking classes at Chip- degrease cell, and my original fab prep cell.
ed to explain that one of the issues both employ- pewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, Wis., The result of this move and step up has been
ers and educators have made is limiting the size as well as doing on-the-job training in the form an ever-increasing freedom to make my own de-
of the pool we are recruiting from. I’m growing of an apprenticeship with the company he—and cisions. I am now able to demonstrate the pro-
tired of hearing terms like “not college material” his dad—work for. cess improvement resulting from my change in
to describe the skilled men and women that par- In general, I talk up the welding trade with production style. We also now have 5S up and
ticipate in fabrication and manufacturing. anyone who will listen, as well as just encourage running. We are working on lean material flow,
When we have 70 percent of recent high them to consider being a part of the trades and and my team members are all exposed to career
school graduates going to college and the most manufacturing field. progression. They have new training, and the
educated population in history with more than George Stamm best of all, we have a very high employee en-
30 percent of Americans now holding a bache- Chippewa Falls, Wis. gagement. With the change in thinking here, we
lor’s degree while simultaneously 7 million jobs run at around 95 percent overall on-time com-
are unfilled, according to the U.S. Department Thanks for the Continuous pletion. This has made a positive impression on
of Labor, we have a severe disconnect. To use a Improvement Advice the director in question. He supports my ideas
sports analogy, if a top college football program The main purpose of this email is to offer a thank and lets me run with full autonomy.
recruited only a single city or state, they would you [Jeff Sipes, columnist, Continuous Improve- I can’t thank you enough for the advice you
be missing out on elite players that could help ment, The FABRICATOR]. The advice on how to gave to me and also for your articles in The FAB-
them win games. It’s no different for our industry. work on the mentality of individuals above me RICATOR. They have helped both me and my
When we stop trying to recruit only one-third of in the management tree has helped immensely. production manager to implement some men-
our nation’s youth, we may just finally close the Many things have changed in my situation, in- tality changes and overall improvement.
skills gap. We should be targeting 100 percent of cluding the overall mentality of our operations Alexander Beukelman
high school students, especially in an era when director. Camberley, Surrey, England
Publication Staff Digital Editor: Advertising Sales

the fabricator
®
Gareth Sleger,
President & CEO, gsleger@thefabricator.com Associate Publisher:
FMA Communications Inc.: Jim Gorzek
Published by: Edward Youdell Senior Copy Editor: jimg@thefabricator.com
FMA Communications Inc., 2135 Point Blvd., Elgin, IL 60123 Teresa Chartos 815-227-8269
815-399-8700 | www.thefabricator.com Group Publisher: Graphic Designers: Senior Account Representatives:
Dave Brambert Mary Mincemoyer, Janell Drolsum, Sean Smith
Margaret Clark, Jennifer Paulson seans@thefabricator.com
Statement of Policy Editor-in-Chief:
Media Coordinator:
815-227-8265
As the official publication of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International, The FABRICATOR
Dan Davis, dand@thefabricator.com
Rose Merlino Mike Lacny
recognizes the need and importance of disseminating information about modern metal forming and fab
ricating techniques, machinery, tooling and management concepts for the metal fabricator. The policy of the Senior Editor: Director of Circulation: mikel@thefabricator.com
publisher and this journal is to be nonpartisan, favoring no one product or company. The representations of Tim Heston, Kim Bottomley 815-227-8264
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publisher and this journal. By including information on new products, new literature, news of the industry, Circulation Manager: Phil Arndt
articles, etc., this impartiality is strived for and extends to the mention of trade names. Unless product Brenda Wilson phila@thefabricator.com
identification makes the reference unavoidable, the generic name is used. We acknowledge that on occasion
The Tube & Pipe Journal Editor: 815-227-8267
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impartial at all times. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising deemed inappropriate for pub- Kelly Palmer Amy Hudson
lication in The FABRICATOR, including ads for classes of products and services not considered of significant STAMPING Journal Editor: amyh@thefabricator.com
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and data. Publications of FMA Communications Inc. maintain a policy of keeping editorial and advertising Senior Fulfillment Specialist: michaels@thefabricator.com
separate to ensure editorial integrity that most benefits our readership. Editorial content, including feature The WELDER Editor: Anna Peacock 815-227-8271
articles and press releases, is determined solely by the publisher. Editorial content cannot be purchased, nor Amanda Carlson,
can it be used as a benefit of advertising dollars spent. Editorial is free-of-charge, subject to space availability, Web Designer:
amandac@thefabricator.com Classified Advertising
and open to all interested parties that submit items meeting our editorial style and format as determined Sherry Young John Mathews
by the publisher. Note: Some photographs printed in this publication may be taken with safety equipment
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Nov19FAB_Readers.indd 14 10/22/19 3:26 PM

INDUSTRY NEWS
Clinkenbeard hosts open house RBC (robotic bending cell), which
at new location in Illinois includes a press brake, robot, and
full support.
The new division’s services in-
clude part analysis, ROI determina-
tion, system design, software, pro-
gramming, press brake, and robot,
as well as part programming and
integration for future parts. It is led
by Jack Leedy, who has more than
16 years of robotics and forming
knowledge.
Clinkenbeard GM Matt Gustafson
addresses open house attendees. Nebraska high school opens $1.2
million welding, fabrication lab
Clinkenbeard, a provider of rapid- Westside Community Schools,
turnaround, complex machined Omaha, Neb., in partnership with
parts and assemblies, recently the Westside Foundation, has
hosted an open house at its new, opened a welding, fabrication, and
40,000-sq.-ft. facility in South Be- manufacturing lab at Westside High
loit, Ill. Vendors, customers, and School. The project was funded by
local and state dignitaries gathered more than 40 donors, including
alongside employees to learn more several Nebraska corporations and
about the company’s growth and the Nebraska Department of Labor.
tour the new facility. The lab provides 2,500 sq. ft. of
The move from Rockford, Ill.,
space devoted to trades instruc-
has nearly doubled the company’s
tion. In addition to equipment, stu-
square footage, with additional
dents have access to mentorships,
acreage available for future expan-
apprenticeships, and hands-on ex-
sion.
perience through strategic partner-
In addition to upgrading its busi-
ships with local companies.
ness systems and infrastructure,
the company has purchased a Mori McKinstry opens
lathe with milling capability and a larger office in Washington
DMG DMU65 5-axis milling machine McKinstry, which specializes in the
to serve the aerospace and defense design, construction, operation,
industries. and maintenance of high-perform-
Gladwin Machinery hosts two- ing buildings, has announced the
day seminar to launch Gladwin opening of a larger office in Pasco,
Automation division
Wash. The expanded office houses
more staff and serves as a regional
hub to coordinate project teams
and job site operations across the
region. It includes 10,000 sq. ft.
suitable for a dedicated fabrication
and manufacturing facility.
Gladwin Machinery recently hosted
McKinstry’s regional fabrication
two days of seminars at its Schaum-
shop network allows the company
burg, Ill., facility. Attended by more
to move equipment manufacturing
than 60 companies, the show pre-
closer to area job sites. The Pasco
sented information on how to tran-
sition successfully into press brake fabrication shop will specialize in
automation. heavy-gauge steel and sheet metal,
The seminars marked the launch along with kitting space for packag-
of Gladwin Automation, a division of ing, assembly, and last-mile delivery.
Gladwin Machinery that focuses on In addition, the company is con-
robotic automation of press brakes. structing a new fabrication facility
Demonstrations were given on the in Spokane, Wash., with plans to re-
SafanDarley R-Brake and Mini Cell, locate its current Spokane shop to
along with the Gladwin Automation that location.
Nov19FAB_IndustryNews2.indd 15 10/23/19 2:12 PM

INDUSTRY NEWS
Attempting to manage the chaos in the shop At that point, changing a process, deploying
existing technology in a better way, investing in
Attendees of The FABRICATOR’s 2019 Technology Summit in Denver learn that new technology, or some combination of these
process refinement and technology can help them overcome everyday challenges can be used to resolve the issue. Incremental
“How do you define chaos in your shop?” a improvements accomplished in these types of
speaker asked a roomful of metal fabricators at exercises pave the way for future continuous
The FABRICATOR’s 2019 Technology Summit in improvement activities, Lechleitner said. This
Denver on Oct. 1-2. is when a company can start to define strate-
Their responses were as varied as the metal gic goals and use this same root cause analysis
parts they fabricate on their shop floors: to identify areas of improvement, maybe even
“Different jobs coming in.” services that customers would be willing to pay
“Moving work across the floor.” more for.
“Changing priorities.” In many instances, customers prize on-time
“Personality clashes.” delivery more than anything, and the fabrica-
“Changing skill sets.” Jeff Murphy of Precision Metal Manufacturing explains tors in attendance got to see that in some of the
how inexperienced press brake operators can start plant visits scheduled over the two-day event.
Well, the commonality is “chaos”; it just mani-
making parts after a day’s worth of training on the
fests itself a bit differently in each of their shops. company’s new SafanDarley electric press brake.
“I will be the first to say that you won’t be able Information Tames the Chaos
Before any shop seeks out new technology,
to eliminate all of the chaos in the shop. That’s Precision Metal Manufacturing, Northglenn,
Lechleitner said, it needs to find out what ex-
just the life you live,” said Dave Lechleitner, Colo., is a contract manufacturer that is “looking
senior business consultant, Ultra Consultants, actly it’s trying to remedy. “That means identify- for long-term relationships” with its customers,
and the person who asked the question about ing the chaos.” according to Clay Reiser, the company’s presi-
chaos. After 27 years of experience helping For example, if the chaos is related to an in- dent. In seeking out those manufacturers that it
metal fabricating companies evaluate, select, ability to complete orders according to agreed- can grow with, Precision Metal has to be a reli-
and implement technology, he said he has upon schedules, management should ask some able supply chain partner.
discovered that complete control of the basic questions: Are the parts too complex? Do “[Customers] have as many problems as we
production process in a fabricating shop is a employees have the right skills to tackle these have on our manufacturing floor. We have to
myth, but steps can be taken to introduce some parts? Do they have the right tools? It’s all about be responsive and demonstrate the ability to
sort of order. Fabricators got a chance to learn getting a small team together and repeatedly change,” Reiser said.
about different ways to accomplish that and see asking “why” until a root cause of the problem One of the ways that it can do that is a home-
how other shops are tackling their own chaos. is revealed. grown enterprise resources planning system

that delivers work to stations that are ready for Pega 344 he started out with almost 10 years similar building made of concrete and 25 percent
it. The material mover has a tablet that tells him ago), two laser cutting machines, welding equip- faster than one made of wood.
what to pick up and where to deliver it, then ment, hardware insertion equipment, and an- With that in mind, Prescient cuts a lot of galva-
dropping the work-in-process in a spot next to cillary production and storage areas snugly fit nized steel tubing. That’s one of the reasons that
the machine. Reiser called this spot the “batter’s into about 25,000 sq. ft. of space. Wilhoyte said it upgraded its laser cutting capabilities with a
box” because it is next in the production lineup he keeps expanding in the same industrial park, Mazak 3D FabriGear 220 II about three years ago.
for that operator and machine. knocking down walls next to his leased office, to
It can cut tube as thick as 3/8 in.
Fabricating technology plays an important keep up with opportunities.
But once again, information is driving produc-
role in being able to meet on-time delivery goals, Even in the tight space, C&D Metal uses the
tion. Digital manufacturing orders, accessible
so it’s no surprise to find three to four pallets scheduling component of Global Shop Solutions’
in front of the new SafanDarley electric press shop management software to ensure the right by computer terminals near every manufactur-
brake. Jeff Murphy, Precision Metal’s continuous job is being worked on at the right time. Machine ing cell, provide operators with the information
improvement coordinator, said the brake can be operators can access job information and sched- they need to ensure that the order has all of its
set up and ready for a bending job three to four ules at kiosks located on the shop floor. parts and that they are put together in the cor-
times faster than the company’s older hydrau- At Prescient Co. Inc., Arvada, Colo., information rect way. In the tube cutting area, for instance,
lic brakes. The tooling is easily inserted into the sharing is just as important even if it is making one the order lists materials for a bundle, and the
machine, and with a click of a button, the brake thing: galvanized steel structural parts. The key is operator can scan the codes on the material
is ready for bending. that those parts—posts, panels, trusses, and floor to ensure that all the pieces are there. When
“We are able to hire people right off the street systems (the latter of which is made only in the the bundle, with its different sized tubes with
and have them set up and run [the press brake] company’s other manufacturing facility in Me- unique holes and laser-cut features, leaves the
by the end of day one,” Murphy said. bane, N.C.)—can go together in a variety of ways. area, downstream operations can be confident
Craig Wilhoyte, president/owner, C&D Metal This new type of construction is totally cur-
that all the parts are present to continue part
Products, Northglenn, Colo., relies on informa- tained around Prescient’s ability to cull informa-
processing.
tion sharing to maintain order and flow on his tion from the yet-to-be-built building’s design
These metal manufacturers may not have
company’s shop floor as well—even though his file. With all of that information, production is
company is a job shop. able to determine the size of the posts, panels, completely tamed the beast that is production,
“Even though we do the 500- to 1,000-piece trusses, and floor systems; produce them; and but they do demonstrate that the shop floor
runs, we’ll still do the five and 10 jobs as well,” he bundle them strategically for quick erection on doesn’t have to be the Wild West either. Some
told visitors to his shop. the job site. Company officials said that this ap- order is possible, which makes dealing with the
C&D Metal Products has five press brakes, proach can result in a commercial building, such unexpected a lot easier.
three punching machines (including the Amada as a hotel, going up 50 percent faster than a —Dan Davis, Editor-in-Chief

INDUSTRY NEWS
AZZ acquires Preferred Industries Texas, and an 89,600-sq.-ft. facility in Rowlett, Texas. has completed an expansion of its
AZZ intends to operate these plants as AZZ Surface manufacturing facility in Hibbing,
AZZ Inc., a Fort Worth, Texas, provider of metal coat-
Technologies—Terrell and AZZ Surface Technologies Minn., reports The Ranger, a pub-
ing and welding systems and specialty electrical equip-
—Rowlett, integrating them with six existing powder lication of Iron Range Resources &
ment, has acquired all the assets of Preferred Indus- Rehabilitation.
tries Ltd., a privately held powder coating company. coating and plating operations the company operates
The $25 million expansion project,
Preferred provides powder and e-coating services to in the area.
including an addition of 95,000 sq.
the automotive, HVAC, marine, transportation, medi- L&M Radiator completes $25 million expansion ft., moves all of the company’s op-
cal, industrial, and plastics industries. L&M Radiator Inc., a manufacturer of heating and cool- erations under one roof in a total of
Preferred has a 155,000-sq.-ft. facility in Terrell, ing systems for heavy off-road and mobile equipment, 145,000 sq. ft. of new and renovated
space. Additions include wind tun-
nels for R&D, a paint shop, welding
and production line workstations,
an interior loading dock for trucks,
and an employee training room.
When “good”
The manufacturer employs 217
people in Hibbing and more than
500 employees worldwide at facili-
just doesn’t
ties in South Dakota, Mexico, Aus-
tralia, and Chile.
Soitaab donates multiprocess
cut it.
fabrication machine to Penn
College welding lab
Soitaab USA, Naperville, Ill., has

provided a Plasma Nova multipro-
cess fabrication machine to Penn-
sylvania College of Technology’s
expanded welding lab facility in Wil-
liamsport, Pa.
The unit can complete complex
operations for plasma and oxy-
fuel cutting, drilling, tapping, bevel
cutting, pipe cutting, marking, and
automatic material handling. It is
designed to cut ferrous, stainless
steel, and aluminum materials in
medium to high thicknesses.
Libellula is donating 25 perma-
nent software licenses to accom-
pany the machine.
Union Corrugating acquires
Oakland Metal Buildings
Zip Wheel ™ Fayetteville, N.C.-based metal roof-

THE INDUSTRY’S LEADING AND ing system manufacturer Union
MOST TRUSTED CUT-OFF WHEEL Corrugating Co., a portfolio com-
Some might be satisfied with good. And some might settle for better. But when the pany of Industrial Opportunity
only option is the best, it’s got to be the Zip Wheel™ from Walter Surface Technologies. Partners, has acquired Oakland
The Zip Wheel™ is engineered to deliver the most cuts in the industry. And only Zip Metal Buildings. The manufacturer
Wheel™ features a patented rib design that cools the surface and reduces friction.
and distributor of pre-engineered
That means no cut-off wheel cuts straighter, sharper, smoother, faster — or safer.
metal buildings will operate in its
For more information, visit walter.com/zipwheel 1-800-522-0321 current 130,000-sq.-ft. facility in
Florence, Ala., as a plant location
supporting the Union platform.

INDUSTRY NEWS
Channellock announces 2019 their community with the help of
Trade School Trade-Up winners CHANNELLOCK hand tools. Teams
A Wisconsin high school welding program’s contribu- must be made up of students in
tions to its community helped it take first place in the auto, plumbing, welding, electrical,
CHANNELLOCK® Trade School Trade-Up competition. or HVAC trades.
The competition challenges students to create a one- Ladysmith High School in La-
dysmith, Wis., won the first-place
of-a-kind video showcasing their team’s technical skills
prize of $5,000 cash, new tools for
in action. Videos are judged based on creativity, pas-
students and their classroom, and a
sion for their respective trade, and the impact made on
classroom makeover. The school’s
welding program was chosen for its
video highlighting its welding pro-
gram and the improvements and
contributions it has made to its city.
Those include silhouettes for its
city veterans memorial, railings for
city parks, downtown bike racks,
and repair of burned-out grills in
city parks. Students in the program
have also created numerous sign
art pieces and metal frame tables
that they’ve donated to community
organizations for charity auctions.
The company selected the top
three submissions and released
them for social media voting. Once
all the votes were in, Ladysmith
High School was awarded first place
after receiving the most social me-
dia likes for their video submission.
The second-place winner, Nor-
walk High School in Norwalk, Calif.,
received $2,500, and third-place
winner Great Oaks Career Campus-
es, Laurel Oaks Campus, in Wilm-
ington, Ohio, won $1,000. Both
schools also won tools for team
members and their classrooms.
TCI Precision Metals adds
duplex milling system
TCI Precision Metals, Gardena, Ca-

lif., has installed an Amada THV800
duplex milling machine for the
production of its Machine-Ready
Blanks™.
The blanks are milled in width
and length, using the machine’s
twin spindle, in one setup instead
of two. One or more blanks can be
produced together, up to the ma-
chine’s overall dimensional capac-
ity of 16.93 by 16.93 by 9.6 in.

NAM survey: “Manufacturers across the coun- Institute—the workforce and edu- two SAIC armored reconnaissance
Workforce shortage is top issue try are telling us nothing concerns cation partner of the NAM—found vehicle (ARV) hulls for the U.S. Ma-
for manufacturers
them more than the workforce that 2.4 million manufacturing jobs rine Corps in support of an Office
The National Association of Man- crisis,” said NAM President/CEO could go unfilled by 2028. of Naval Research-funded effort.
ufacturers (NAM), Washington, Jay Timmons. “This quarter’s sur- The survey found that trade un- CTC has been manufacturing
D.C., has released the results of the vey also provides more evidence certainties among manufacturers ground vehicle demonstrators for
“Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey” that a slowing global economy and rose to 63.4 percent in Q3, up from the military using advanced mate-
for Q3 2019. For the second con- uncertainties have manufactur- 56.0 percent in Q2, as Congress and rials and manufacturing processes
secutive quarter, the survey shows the administration work to approve
ers on edge. If we get the United since 2001. Through use of high-
a significant drop in manufactur- the USMCA, secure a U.S.-China
States–Mexico–Canada Agree- strength materials and joining
trade agreement, and reauthorize
ers’ optimism amid uncertainties, ment [USMCA] passed, the trade methods such as friction stir weld-
the Ex-Im Bank.
a softening global economy, and war with China turned into a trade ing, the company achieves lighter
For more information on the sur-
a worsening workforce shortage. agreement, and the Export-Import vehicle weight while meeting or ex-
vey, visit www.nam.org/2019-3rd-
Nearly 68 percent of manufactur- Bank reauthorized, manufacturers ceeding operational performance
quarter-manufacturers-outlook-
ers had a positive outlook for their will be able to hire even more work- requirements.
survey/.
business in Q3 2019, down from ers and grow our operations with CTC is an independent, nonprof-
Concurrent Technologies
79.8 percent in Q2 and 89.5 per- more certainty.” awarded $1.2 million it, applied scientific research and
cent in Q1. The inability to attract Manufacturers have an all-time subcontract from SAIC development professional services
and retain a quality workforce re- high of 522,000 open jobs, accord- Concurrent Technologies Corp., organization that works with affili-
mained manufacturers’ top busi- ing to the most recent JOLTS data, Johnstown, Pa., has been awarded ates Enterprise Ventures Corp. and
ness concern (69.9 percent) for and a report published last year by a sole-source, $1.2 million contract CTC Foundation on R&D, testing,
the seventh straight quarter. Deloitte and The Manufacturing to help design and manufacture and evaluation.
ROLLA-V
The Solution for perfect bends
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■ Improved angular consistency and slots near bend lines
■ Improve productivity— ■ Consistently form short or
eliminate secondary tapered flanges
operations ■ Virtually eliminate die marking
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Making robotic bending work for the job shop
LVD Strippit introduces its Dyna-Cell at Technology Day event
Robots found in front of press brakes are not a totally Steven Lucas, LVD’s international product manager
unique sight. Some job shops have found the right mix for press brakes, said his company recognized these
of products and volumes to justify their use. concerns and has spent the last couple of years trying
A majority of job shops are still leery, however. They to address them. The result is the Dyna-Cell, a 16- by
are concerned about the time it takes to program the 16-foot robotic press brake cell that will make its North
robot and how it might fit into their high-mix, low-vol- American industry debut at FABTECH, Nov. 11-14, in
Steven Lucas of LVD Strippit demonstrates
ume world of manufacturing. Chicago. how a file is imported into the CADMAN
software and how it is then used to program
the robot and press brake in the company’s
Dyna-Cell automated bending cell.
“We have worked to eliminate

the need for knowing how to pro-
gram a robot,” said Lucas at the
company’s Technology Day event
at its North American headquar-
ters in Akron, N.Y., on Sept. 17.
Programming has always been a
turnoff for many fabricators, who
either don’t have a lot of experi-
ence with robots or who know well
just how long it could take to pro-
gram a robot to complete one task.
Lucas estimated that a fabricator
could spend from one hour to 90
minutes programming a robot for a
typical press brake job. That sort of
time span can really affect the cost-
per-part scenario for a job. The
more time assigned to a job that
doesn’t actually involve making the
part, the more costly it becomes.
Lucas said that LVD has achieved
its goal of creating a robotic bend-
ing cell that takes less than 10 min-
utes to program and less than 10
minutes to set up and produce the
first part. He estimated that it takes
about two minutes to load a file
into the company’s CADMAN-SDI
software, which takes the files and
stores them as Open Sheet Metal in
the software’s database, and create
the program in the bending soft-
ware, CADMAN-B. Another eight
minutes is required to program
the robot, which is also done in the
bending software. The remaining 10
minutes is spent setting up the tool-
ing and proving out the first part,
which should go smoothly based on
the software’s 3D simulations.
“No robotic knowledge is re-
quired to run this cell,” Lucas said.
The cell comes with a Dyna-
Press Pro 40/15 press brake with 40
tons of bending force and a 59-in.

working area. It can bend parts at Alro Steel completes Missouri expansion
speeds of up to 1 IPS, according to Jackson, Mich.-based Alro Steel, a distributor of cut-to-
the company. A Kuka robot with a size metals and plastics, has completed the expansion of
26-lb. payload also is included. its facility in Earth City, Mo. The project added 54,180 sq.
Lucas said that LVD engineers ft. to the plant, bringing the total to 162,450 sq. ft.
focused on designing a “universal” The expansion includes the addition of a new plas-
gripper that could work with as ma cutting machine and a new bay. Additional racking
many parts as possible. This was also was added to allow for expanded inventories of
important because, again, time can plate, sheet, alloys, stainless, aluminum, and various
be eaten up with a robot having to red metals products.
switch gripping tooling between
small-volume jobs, which is time
that the robot actually could be
bending parts.
The robotic arm presents the metal part

to the press brake’s backgauge as it works
its way through one of three different jobs
demonstrated for visitors at LVD Strippit’s
Technology Day on Sept. 17.
The robot’s gripper bends on

three different sides of a part with-
out regripping. Suction cups are ac-
tivated according to part size. The
gripper is designed to handle part
sizes from 1 in. by 3.9 in. up to 11.8
in. by 15.7 in. and up to 6.6 lbs.
In the event a fabricator finds it
much quicker to bend a part manu-
ally, the robot can be depowered,
and an operator can gain quick ac-
cess to the front of the press brake
for the job.
Matthew Fowles, LVD’s group
marketing manager, said that fu-
ture editions of the Dyna-Cell will
include the company’s Easy-Form®
bending correction technology,
which uses a laser to check in-
process bend angles and adjusts
the ram and punch positioning to
deliver the correct form. LVD also
is considering this automated ap-
proach for larger press brakes, but
will commercialize the technology
only if it is cost-effective enough to
compete with manual bending of
larger sections.
—Dan Davis, Editor-in-Chief

INDUSTRY NEWS
Bystronic looks forward to new facility opening, FABTECH The event was meant to give fab-
Fabricators learn about company’s new equipment offerings ricators a chance to get a look at
what the company will be debut-
“This is the last event like this that we’ll have here,” Brody Fanning, Bystronic’s
ing in North America at FABTECH®
vice president of sales, told a gathering of fabricators at the company’s Sneak
2019 in Chicago’s McCormick Place,
Peek event on Sept. 25 at its headquarters in Elgin, Ill.
Nov. 11-14. However, it also was an
opportunity for Bystronic officials
Bystronic Inc. President Bob St. Aubin shares a computer-generated rendering of what
the new company headquarters will look like when it opens in early 2020 with fabricators to provide a peek at how its new
in attendance for the Bystronic Sneak Peek event, which showcased equipment to be on headquarters is shaping up just 7
display at FABTECH 2019 in Chicago Nov. 11-14.
miles east on Interstate 90. Come
the start of 2020, Bystronic will
have a much larger building it can
grow into as it looks to expand
its presence in North and South
America.
The new facility will be 165,000
DEBURRING
sq. ft., dwarfing the current
48,000-sq.-ft. facility. It will have a
30,000-sq.-ft. showroom, double
the size of the Elgin showroom.
Bob St. Aubin, Bystronic Inc.
president, announced that the new
facility also will be the company’s
first manufacturing location in the
OF PUNCHED, LASER CUT AND MACHINED PIECES U.S. The BySmart laser cutting ma-
chine, which at one time was made
only in China, will be the company’s
FLEXIBLE, EFFECTIVE, FAST, AUTOMATIC, first “world” product, St. Aubin
OSCILLATING DEBURRING SYSTEM FOR STAINLESS, said. Now the BySmart lasers made
in China will be sold to customers
ALUMINUM AND OTHER MATERIALS in the Asia-Pacific region, and the
same lasers made in Europe and
the U.S. will be sold to customers
in those regions. The new Bystronic
• NO CRITICAL HEATING
facility, which will have 95,000 sq.
OF THE SURFACE
ft. dedicated to manufacturing,
• NO DESTRUCTION should start producing laser cutting
OF PROTECTIVE FOIL machines by the spring of 2020.
“We’re bringing manufactur-
• ROUNDING EDGES ing here. We’re bringing jobs here.
WITHOUT DAMAGE We’re bringing machinery here,”
TO THE SURFACE St. Aubin said. “So in the future if
you want the laser cutting machine
• DEBURRING OF
we’re talking about [BySmart],
3 DIMENSIONAL
you’ll know that you’ll be getting
PIECES IS POSSIBLE
one made here in the U.S.”
• ENERGY FRIENDLY The new facility also will have
a “factory of the future” setup,
which will comprise connected ma-
chinery and advanced automation,
St. Aubin said. Almost 10,000 sq. ft.
of office space, on the second floor
of the administrative office, will not
FLADDER.COM be immediately occupied once the

building opens in anticipation of fu-
ture growth.
The fabricators in attendance
also had the opportunity to see
3402 OAKCLIFF ROAD, SUITE B-7 | ATLANTA GA 30340
PHONE: 770-452-1271 | FAX: 770-452-7090
equipment that will be showcased
FLADDER@BELLSOUTH.NET at FABTECH:
HANSEN & HUNDEBOL INC.

• The ByStar 3015 (5 by 10 ft.) brake comes with European-style manual tool clamp- brake can adjust accordingly, such as by tilting the ram
and 4020 (6 by 13 ft.) laser cutting ing; CNC wedge-style crowning (on the larger Xpress a bit, to ensure the correct bend angle is achieved. As
machines are now available with brake only); 4-axis backgauge; and laser guarding at the part of this advanced programming, the press brake’s
12-kW fiber laser power sources. point of operations. control software amasses corrections such as this and
Brendon DiVincenzo, Bystronic Inc. • The Xpert Pro press brake has a new level of arti- adds it to its database as it “learns” from these differ-
product manager for lasers and au-
ficial intelligence to assist in the production of quality ent applications, according to LeTang.
tomation, said that this new high-
bends. For example, load sensors in the hydraulic cir- This equipment will be showcased in Booth A2122 at
powered laser can cut 25 percent
cuit can pick up in real time when the ram is encoun- FABTECH.
faster than a 10-kW fiber on 3/8-in.
tering a hard spot in the metal blank, and the press —Dan Davis, Editor-in-Chief
stainless steel.
“We’re bringing
manufacturing here.
We’re bringing jobs here.
We’re bringing machinery
here. So in the future if you
want the laser cutting
machine we’re talking
about [BySmart], you’ll
know that you’ll be getting
one made here in the U.S.”
—Bob St. Aubin, Bystronic
• To keep up with the incredible

speed of parts being produced by
these high-powered lasers, Bys-
tronic has rolled out its BySort
automated parts sorting technol-
ogy that is available on its ByTrans
Cross modular material handling
system. It can accommodate parts
in the 6- by 6-in. range in thickness-
es from 16 gauge to 5/8 in. Each of
the two vacuum grippers can pick
up a maximum weight of about 110
lbs. BySoft programming software
automatically determines the best
sorting patterns to speed up the
process and how parts are placed
on pallets or bins.
• The ByStar Fiber is now avail-
able in extra-large formats. The
6225 has an 8- by 20-ft. table, and
the 8025 has an 8- by 26-ft. table.
This allows fabricators to process
smaller sheets consecutively with-
out interruption.
• The Xpress 50 (55 U.S. tons)
and Xpress 160 (176 tons) are en-
try-level press brakes that are de-
signed to give new users some of
the features found on more com-
plex press brakes for an affordable
price, said Paul LeTang, Bystronic
product manager for press brakes.
For example, the brakes have a sim-
plified touchscreen interface so
that inexperienced operators can
program a part quickly. Also, the

INDUSTRY NEWS
TRUMPF event marks 50 years in America
Connecticut governor and German ambassador attend
On Sept. 30 the governor of Connecticut, Germany’s ambassador, and fab-
ricators from more than 30 states traveled to Farmington to participate in
an event recognizing TRUMPF’s 50 years in the U.S.
“This is the golden era for advanced manufacturing,” said Connecticut
Gov. Ned Lamont to an audience of fabricators. Lamont, along with Am-
bassador Emily Margarethe Haber, had just toured TRUMPF’s manufactur-
ing facility. “It’s our job to remind our kids and their parents that this is
great work, important work, work you should be proud of, and work that
has ushered us into the 21st century.”
TRUMPF Inc. remains the German manufacturer’s second-largest
foreign subsidiary and, especially in recent years, has been important to German Ambassador Emily Margarethe Haber, second from left, and Connecticut Gov.
Ned Lamont, third from left, join TRUMPF leaders on a tour during the company’s event
the company’s overall growth. While TRUMPF’s overall global sales in fiscal recognizing 50 years in America.
2018-2019 of US$4.3 billion “was not as strong as we planned due to a
slowdown in global growth, they were very good, thanks in large part to Berthold Leibinger, the company’s longtime managing partner who served
our customers here in North America … After Germany, the U.S. was once as chairman until 2012 and died in October of last year.
again our second-largest single market, with $607 million in sales. That “This is a sentimental journey,” Leibinger-Kammüller said. “As many of
puts it ahead of China. When we include Mexico and Canada, sales totaled you know, I was born in Ohio.”
US$775 million.” Her speech recounted her days growing up in the states, where her
So said TRUMPF Group President, CEO, and Chairwoman Dr. Nicola father worked at Cincinnati Machine Inc., now Milacron, before returning
Leibinger-Kammüller, who spoke at the event. She is the daughter of to Stuttgart to work at TRUMPF, where he had apprenticed years before.
She recalled viewing home movies her father took in the states, including
a memorable moment on July 4, an early morning arrival by ship (the QE2)
in 1976 to New York, the Statue of Liberty in the background, during what
happened to be the nation’s bicentennial.
“I remember the feeling that something special was going on, as I looked
at the Statue of Liberty, and the country was gearing up for the presiden-
tial election that autumn, Carter against Ford. There was a taste of free-
dom and a new world that I’ve never felt before ….
“Mobility and sharing of ideas across international borders are two es-
sential conditions for our business. I truly believe in the idea of global,
honest, free trade.”
In a subsequent speech, German Ambassador Haber echoed that senti-
ment. “Let’s continue free and fair trade,” she said. “Let’s underline how
much we’ve benefited from those close nations in this global trade system,
one that is based on rules.”
Beyond these mentions of trade, the event primarily focused on how the
industry has changed in the past half-century.
“Many of you know what a metal fab shop looked like in the 1960s,” said
Peter Hoecklin, president and CEO of TRUMPF Inc. in Connecticut. Hoeck-
lin’s speech described the evolution of safety and ergonomics, of segment-
ed press brake tools and laser-based safeguarding systems. He spoke of
productivity, including increased punch and laser cutting speeds, as well as
flexibility and the increased importance of short changeover times.
“Manufacturing in America today employs about 10 percent of the work-
force, accounts for 12 percent of U.S. GDP, but drives 35 percent of pro-
ductivity growth and accounts for 60 percent of exports,” Hoecklin said.
One slide showed an advanced laser system not common in metal fabri-
cation, but one he said will be instrumental in driving future technologies,
especially regarding communications and Industry 4.0.
“This laser is an integral part of the production process of the world’s
most advanced semiconductor chips,” he said. “These chips are so fast and
energy efficient, they will allow us to take full advantage of 5G, make com-
puters and cellphones smaller, and batteries last longer.” Such communica-
tions technology, he added, will help make the smart factory—one built on
artificial intelligence and machine learning—a reality.
“Artificial intelligence is coming to a job shop near you.”
—Tim Heston, Senior Editor

INDUSTRY NEWS
HK Laser celebrates first year in new facility on Sept. 19. These fabricators had
the chance to see three laser cut-
A year after moving into its new 25,000-sq.-ft. facility in Bartlett, Ill., Rob-
ting machines in action, including a
ert Won, HK Laser & Systems’ vice president, said the company has had
6- and 8-kW machine.
reason to celebrate.
The laser cutting machines all
“We’ve sold a lot of lasers over the past several months,” he said.
used Corona™ laser generators
The company kept at it in late September as it invited customers for sev-
from nLIGHT, Vancouver, Wash. This
eral open house days the week of Sept. 16, culminating with a golf outing
fiber laser power source is capable
Fabricators attending the HK Laser open house event discuss the capabilities of the of adjusting the size of the beam in
Falcon-FL 6-kW laser cutting machine.
the generator compartment, not
the cutting head. As a result, it can
adjust quickly between cutting jobs
from thin to thick materials.
A Laser Mechanisms FiberCUT® 2D proc-

essing head cuts through a sheet of 0.25-
in. steel. A Corona fiber power source
from nLIGHT is used to generate the
8-kW laser beam.
The machines also featured Fiber-

CUT® 2D cutting heads from La-
ser Mechanisms, Novi, Mich. The
cutting heads have a fully-sealed,
purged design that minimizes the
chance of internal contamination.
Won said that HK Laser plans to
feature its 6- and 8-kW laser cut-
ting machines at FABTECH in Chi-
cago, Nov. 11-14, in Booth A2948.
—Dan Davis, Editor-in-Chief
Indiana Custom
Fabrication to expand
Indiana Custom Fabrication, a pro-
ducer of racks for the automotive
industry, has purchased property
near its current location in Hope,
Ind., for an expansion.
According to Columbus, Inc.-
based The Republic, the 15-employ-
ee company plans to construct a
10,000-sq.-ft. shop for fabrication,
cutting, and welding, including new
laser cutting equipment. The com-
pany will maintain finished assem-
bly, painting, and stenciling opera-
tions at its current facility.

Quest Industrial wins Kobelco Aluminum Products & Extrusions holds opening ceremony in Kentucky
three FANUC awards Tokyo-based Kobe Steel ricated products. Integrated production, from melting
Ltd. has announced that its and casting to final processing, began in November
U.S. subsidiary, Kobelco Alu- 2018. The company decided to increase the production
minum Products & Extrusions capacity of all processes. It will add a melting furnace
Inc. (KPEX), held an opening and extrusion press to have two of each when the ex-
ceremony on Sept. 18. pansion is complete. Production capacity is expected
Established in April 2016 in Bowling Green, Ky., KPEX to increase to 1,000 tons per month, from the current
manufactures and sells aluminum extrusions and fab- 500 tons per month.
Robotic systems integrator Quest
Industrial, Monroe, Wis., has re-
ceived three awards for its robotic
engineering and sales support from
FANUC America, a supplier of ro-
bots, CNC systems, and factory au-
tomation.
Quest received the Intelligent
Robotics Award for its sales leader-
ship of intelligent products includ-
ing vision, force, and learning vibra-
tion control; the Growth Award for
outstanding growth of robot sales
from 2017 to 2018; and the Sales
Leadership Award with 100+ Dis-
tinction for an exemplary level of
sales in 2018. The 100+ distinction
acknowledges the achievement of
integrating more than 100 FANUC
robots in its automation systems.
Cincinnati Inc. joins Hendrick
Motorsports as official sponsor
Machine tool manufacturer Cincin-

nati Inc., Harrison, Ohio, has joined
12-time NASCAR Cup Series cham-
pions Hendrick Motorsports as
an official partner with a 10-year
agreement that will begin in 2019
and run through the 2028 racing
season.
Cincinnati will be showcased
as primary sponsor of driver Alex
Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Cama-
ro ZL1. In addition to being named
Hendrick Motorsports’ Official
Metal Fabrication and Additive
Equipment Provider, the company
will become a full-season associate
sponsor of the team’s entire four-
car stable for the next decade.
Hendrick Motorsports will use
Cincinnati’s equipment in the de-
velopment and construction of its
full fleet of race cars, including la-
ser cutting, press brake, and addi-
tive manufacturing machinery.

INDUSTRY NEWS
Vested Metals named one of the Eighty to 90 percent of its clients are domestic. Foreman Fabricators
fastest-growing companies in America The company also has been ranked No. 7 on Jackson- announces new ownership
Vested Metals Intl., a specialty metals raw material dis- ville Business Journal’s 2019 Fast 50 list, and founder After decades of leadership at St.
tributor in St. Johns County, Fla., has been listed at No. and President Viv Helwig has been named as one of Louis-based Foreman Fabricators,
324 on the 2019 Inc. 5000 List, a ranking of indepen- the 50 Alumni of Distinction by Flagler College, listed in Brian Foreman has announced his
dent businesses. Jacksonville Business Journal’s 2019 40 Under 40, and retirement and change of owner-
The company supplies titanium, cobalt alloys, copper, was chosen as a finalist for the SMU NexGen Leader- ship to Vice President Rob Rolves.
brass, bronze, and other metals to such industries as ship Award sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers As- Rolves has been with the compa-
aerospace, medical, automotive, industrial, and energy. sociation. ny, a full-service custom architec-
tural metal fabrication shop, since
1990, serving as vice president
since 1995. He intends to pursue
more custom short-run manufac-
turing opportunities in the future
and plans to continue to grow the
company’s metal fabrication capa-
bilities and services for the com-
mercial construction industry.
O’Neal Industries
acquires G&L Mfg.
O’Neal Industries, a metals manu-
facturer based in Birmingham, Ala.,
has acquired G&L Mfg., which has
facilities in Cookeville, Tenn., and
Denver.
G&L Mfg. produces small-diam-
eter, thin-wall tubing with propri-
etary forming and seam welding
technology, using stainless steel, ti-
tanium, nickel alloys, and MONEL®
nickel-copper alloy. It will retain its
name with a new tagline: “An ONI
Company.”
3D Hubs launches sheet metal
fabrication services
Netherlands-based 3D Hubs has
added sheet metal to its manufac-
turing services, expanding the tech-
nologies available to engineers on
its online manufacturing platform.
Through the platform, engineers
can choose from aluminum (6061-
T6, 5052, 5754), stainless steel (303,
304, 316L), mild steel (1018), and
copper (C110) sheet metal. The
sheet metal can be processed with
laser cutting (up to 10 mm) and
bending (6 mm).
Users upload their designs, spec-
ify their requirements, and are
given an instant quote. Once the
quote is accepted, the sheet metal
is fabricated by a match among a
network of 250 verified manufac-
turing partners.
The company also offers dis-
tributed manufacturing for the 3D
printing, CNC machining, and injec-
tion molding processes.

INDUSTRY NEWS
Getec Industrial adds stir welding services to Thermal Solutions division Farris Group to open third
North Carolina facility
Torrance, Calif.-based Getec Industrial, a provider of ing a rotating mechanical tool that seamlessly fuses
turnkey manufacturing, has added stir welding services the surfaces of two smaller heat sinks, used for heat Farris Group, a metal fabricator
based in Cherryville, N.C., has an-
as part of its Thermal Solutions division. The compa- dissipation in electronic components. For instance, the
nounced plans to open a third lo-
ny’s capabilities also include aluminum extrusion, die company can stir weld three 12-in. heat sinks together
cation in Gastonia, N.C., as part of
casting, CNC machining, metal stamping, plating, and to create one seamless 36-in. heat sink without die
a $5 million expansion, reports the
assembly and packaging. tooling and the large minimum metric ton runs associ-
Gaston Gazette. Operations at the
Friction stir welding joins two surfaces together us- ated with large extrusion presses.
new plant currently are dedicated
to assembly and kitting for Otis El-
evator Co.
The company has added a num-
ber of services and recently re-
branded from Farris Fab & Ma-
chine Inc. Ranked No. 32 in The
FABRICATOR®’s FAB 40 list, the
firm offers fabrication, machining,
mechanical prototyping, powder
coating and wet painting, assembly
and kitting, and retail display.
In addition to facilities in Cher-
ryville and Gastonia, Farris Group
operates a paint shop in Bessemer
City, N.C.
TG Mfg. acquires
TurnKey Fabrication
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based met-
als manufacturer TG Mfg. (TGM)
has acquired TurnKey Fabrication,
which operates a 55,000-sq.-ft.
facility in Grand Rapids. Its capa-
bilities include laser, autofeed laser,
CNC brake press, machining, as-
sembly, and welding.
TGM will carry forward the op-
erations of the existing TurnKey fa-
cility, which will become a division
of TGM’s Craft Steel operations in
Byron Center, Mich.
“TurnKey Fabrication will focus
on its integration and assembly
of electrical gaming products and
outsource its fabrication to TGM,”
said TurnKey Fabrication CEO Les
Onan.
“The move from one shift to
three shifts will allow the joint op-
erations to manage existing Turn-
Key Fabrication business as well as
TGM’s growth in several sectors,”
said TGM’s COO Kevin Kyle.
Toll Co. achieves
ISO 9001 certification
Toll Co., an employee-owned gas
and welding distributor in Plym-
outh, Minn., has announced it has
earned ISO 9001 certification.
The company operates four re-
tail store locations in the Minneap-
olis-St.Paul area.

Eagle Aviation Technologies CNC Machines, Sanford, Fla., a national used CNC to the field, as well as information on their skills, goals,
to expand in Virginia machine marketplace, has announced it is accepting ap- and future plans. Applications are due Jan. 17, 2020.
Eagle Aviation Technologies LLC plications for a $2,500 scholarship for students pursu- For more information, visit www.cncmachines.com/
has announced plans for a $207,500 ing a certification, certificate, associate degree, or bach- scholarship.
expansion of its manufacturing fa- elor’s degree in a manufacturing-related area of study. ERS Eng. Corp. has
cility in Newport News, Va. It will
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must announced its entrance
add new production equipment
submit a 1,000- to 1,300-word essay about why they into the North American
and create 75 new jobs.
chose to pursue a career in manufacturing and what market for sales of roll
The company offers concept de-
velopment, design, analysis, manu- they think can be done to attract younger generations (continued on page 34)
facture, and testing of prototype
systems and components for the
aviation, space, and marine indus-
tries. It currently employs 75 people.
Plant News
Commercial truck and bus manu-
facturer Navistar has announced
plans to begin building a more than
$250 million facility in San Antonio,
Texas, in late 2019. The plant, ex-
pected to create about 600 jobs,
will produce Class 6-8 vehicles. The
facility is scheduled for completion
in late 2021.
Iowa-based RV, trailer, and boat
manufacturer Winnebago has an-
nounced its acquisition of Newmar,
which produces Class A and Super C
motorized RVs. The deal is expected
to close in Q1 2020. Newmar will re-
main a distinct business unit based
in northern Indiana, with Matthew
Miller continuing as president.
Supplier News
(From left) Beckhoff has opened its

Boston-area sales and support office
in Burlington, Mass., and Philadelphia
Technology Center in Wayne, Pa.
Savage, Minn.-based Beckhoff

Automation recently expanded its
footprint in the northeastern U.S.
with new offices near Boston and
Philadelphia. Both locations pro-
vide applications engineering, sales,
and training resources.
The Philadelphia Technology
Center in Wayne, Pa., comprises
about 5,000 sq. ft., while the Bos-
ton-area sales and support office,
located in Burlington, Mass., occu-
pies 3,500 sq. ft. Automation Tech-
nology showrooms at the two offic-
es offer hands-on experiences with
the company’s PC-based control,
advanced motion control, mecha-
tronics, and EtherCAT industrial
Ethernet technology.

INDUSTRY NEWS
(continued from page 33) Exact Laser Measurements automotive and aerospace sec-
forming processing equipment. The company, with a Inc., Rockville, Md., a division of tors, has been awarded Top Exter-
U.S. facility in West Bloomfield, Mich., has implement- Automated Precision Inc. and nal Provider 2018 by Valiant TMS
ed more than 2,000 pieces of equipment throughout provider of portable metrology in recognition of its metrology ser-
services to the North American vices support.
Europe, processing materials from 0.2 to 12 mm.
Based in Windsor, Ont., Valiant
The manufacturer can build different types of roll David Dreffs, metrology specialist at
Exact Laser Measurements, displays
TMS is a provider of integrated pro-
forming machines and customized lines to meet spe- duction systems including welding
the Top External Provider 2018
cific requirements. certificate from Valiant TMS. and joining systems, assembly sys-
tems, parts cleaning systems, ma-
terial handling systems, and leak-
testing equipment.
Germany-based Felss Group

has announced that its acquisition
of the HMP companies has added
rolling technology to its portfolio.
Felss Group’s rolling mills will con-
tinue to run under the HMP brand.
The line includes equipment for
wire reduction, flat and profile wire
rolling, ultraprecision rolling, strip
rolling, and cross-section rolling.
The machines can be customized
with any number of stands and
measuring technology.
Stärke Material Handling
Group, Thorold, Ont., has added
Liftboss Materials Handling as
master distributor for its forklifts
and material handling equipment
in western Canada and the north-
western U.S. Liftboss has locations
in Calgary and Edmonton, Alta.
Material handling equipment
manufacturer UniCarriers Ameri-
cas, Marengo, Ill., has announced
its collaboration with Vecna Robot-
ics, Waltham, Mass., a provider of
autonomous material handling sys-
tems, to offer a line of self-driving
vehicles for warehouses, distribu-
tion centers, and manufacturing
applications.
Vecna Robotics will equip UCA’s
center rider pallet SPXe and elec-
tric tow tractor TGXe models with
its autonomous navigation tech-
nology, learning algorithms, and
work flow orchestration software
to create autonomous mobile ro-
bots for moving bulk material up
to 10,000 lbs.
(continued on page 36)

INDUSTRY NEWS
(continued from page 34) business was initially set up to commercialize the bud- Website News
The two models also will be integrated with Vecna’s ding technology of machine vision, in which cameras DP Technology, Camarillo, Calif.,
pivot.al™ orchestration system, which is an AI-based are used to acquire images of manufactured goods and has unveiled a revamped product
fleet manager that analyzes operations to coordinate send them to computers for processing. website at www.espritcam.com
and distribute real-time tasks among employees, ro- Over the years the company has developed inspec- featuring its ESPRIT® CAM system
bots, and associated systems based on capabilities, lo- tion systems for the automotive, semiconductor, elec- for CNC programming, optimiza-
cation, and availability. tronics, and steel industries. It currently focuses on tion, and simulation. The new site
Burlington, Ont.-based Xiris is celebrating its 30th supplying camera systems for inspecting and monitor- includes an up-to-date layout, im-
anniversary. Founded in 1989 by Cameron Serles, the ing welding processes. proved navigation, and custom
translations in three languages.
United Performance Metals,
a distributor of specialty metals in
Hamilton, Ohio, has released a new
corporate video developed as part
of the International Titanium Asso-
ciation’s Industry Spotlight series.
The video, available for viewing at
www.upmet.com/videos, pro-
vides an inside look at the company,
including how it started, locations,
industries served, and products
and services.
Versa Machinery, Elkhart, Ind.,
has established a new website at
www.versapullers.com featuring
its motorized and nonmotorized
puller assemblies for material han-
dling applications. The pullers can
be used as stand-alone units or as
components within a larger system.
They are available in pinch wheel
and caterpillar designs, with or
without AC or DC motors, in a va-
riety of speeds and belt materials.
The motorized pullers are suit-
able for applications such as han-
dling of pipe, profiles, tubing, and
steel materials. The nonmotorized
units offer speeds from 0 to 900
FPM with options such as left-to-
right configuration, air operation,
and OSHA or fully enclosed CE-
style guarding packages.
People News
Bunting Magnetics
Co., Newton, Kan., has
hired Robert Claus-
ing as lean manufac-
turing coordinator. He
previously worked at TECT Power
Inc. as general operations manager,
Carlson Products LLC as supply
chain manager, and The Coleman
Co. Inc. as global quality manager.
Bunting Magnetics is a manufac-
turer of permanent magnets and
magnetic equipment for mate-
rial handling, magnetic separation,
metal detection, and printing.

INDUSTRY NEWS
Bystronic Canada Ltd., Toronto, a Cleveland-based Cutting Systems many within the industrial gases
manufacturer of laser cutting, bending, Inc., a manufacturer of precision CNC and plasma automation industries.
and automation systems, has appointed plasma and oxyfuel cutting machines, Fronius USA, Portage, Ind., a
Sylvain Robidoux as direct sales engi- has appointed Tim Rice to serve as di- manufacturer of welding and so-
neer for the western region of Quebec. rector of business development. lar equipment, has named Jasen
Friedrich as sales director for its
Robidoux has more than 10 years of manufacturing, A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Rice holds degrees
Perfect Welding business unit.
technical, and sales management experience, with a fo- and certificates from Community College of the Air
He joined the company in 2014 as
cus on automation in sheet metal production and capi- Force, Belford University, NAU, and numerous OEMs
area sales manager, moving up to
tal equipment procurement strategies. in the industry. He has more than 30 years of service, regional sales manager.
Manufacturing sen-
sor and software pro-
vider Hexagon Mfg.
Intelligence has ap-
pointed Maja Fos-
ter as global marketing director of
its production software business.
She joins the company after seven
years at machine tool manufacturer
Mazak, including the last three as
European marketing manager.
After earning bachelor’s degrees
in civil engineering and internation-
al business and marketing, as well
as a master’s degree in structural
engineering, Foster worked for
British, German, and Japanese B2B
organizations and has held senior
marketing positions for 13 years.
Standish, Mich.-
based Magline Inc.,
the manufacturer of
Magliner® aluminum
material handling
equipment, has added Karen Perry
as customer service manager.
Perry brings experience in hu-
man resources, operations, and
marketing to the position.
Metabo Corp.,
West Chester, Pa., a
manufacturer of hand-
held power tools and
accessories, has ap-
pointed Christopher Berg as pres-
ident/CEO for the U.S. and Canada.
He succeeds retiring President/
CEO Joseph S. Smith.
Berg holds a bachelor’s degree
in finance and operations research
and an MBA from the University of
Wisconsin, Madison. He comes to
the company from Medix, where
he served as chief strategy officer.
He also has worked for Kohler Co.,
for Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp.,
and for Bombardier Recreational
Products, ultimately as the global
director of marketing and strategic
planning for the Evinrude brand.

St. Louis-based non- Dalsin Industries named as finalist Dalsin Industries, a Bloomington, Minn., contract man-
for Manufacturing Excellence Award
ferrous metal provider ufacturer, has been recognized as one of five finalists
Metal Exchange for Twin Cities Business magazine’s inaugural Manufac-
Corp. (MEC) has pro- turing Excellence Award.
moted Rick Merluzzi This designation recognizes the company’s consis-
to CEO. He succeeds Mike Lefton, tent growth at twice industry averages, application of
former chairman/CEO, who assumes technology to improve operations, and management
the title of executive chairman. of a global fabrication supply chain program.
In this position, Merluzzi oversees
all MEC businesses, including Metal
Exchange Trading, Pennex Alumi-
num Co., Continental Aluminum,
and Electro Cycle Inc. He joined the
company 15 years ago as president
of subsidiary Pennex Aluminum and
has served as president/COO of
MEC for the past five years.
Sudbury, Mass.-
based Methods Ma-
chine Tools Inc., a
supplier of machine
tools and automa-
tion, has appointed Mark Wright
as president/CEO. In his career,
Wright has held nearly every level
of operating responsibility in such
industries as software, hardware,
machinery, and services.
The company operates eight
sales and technology centers, em-
ploying more than 300 people.
Hermitage, Pa.-
based Solar Atmo-
spheres of Western
PA has hired Gregory
Scheuring as plant
metallurgist. He previously worked
at A&T Stainless, AK Steel, and the
Ellwood Group.
Scheuring holds bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in materials sci-
ence and engineering from the Uni-
versity of Pittsburgh.
TTG Automation,
Temperance, Mich., a
Tooling Tech Group
company and supplier
of secondary tooling,
fixtures, and automation systems,
has appointed Eric Fisher as project
manager and applications engineer.
Fisher has been in manufactur-
ing for more than 30 years, with
extensive sales engineering expe-
rience in automated systems for
paint, finishing, packaging, and ma-
terial handling applications, as well
as experience in purchasing. He has
a bachelor’s degree in mechanical
engineering from Bowling Green
State University.
Nov19FAB_IndustryNews2.indd 39 11/5/19 8:53 AM

INDUSTRY NEWS
QuickBooks Enterprise survey shows manufacturers are still hiring, investing in the future moderately easy. Only 7 percent
After conducting a survey of about 1,070 manufactur- 10 percent answering that they would not hire more of manufacturers currently find it
extremely difficult to hire skilled
ing executives and hiring managers, QuickBooks Enter- skilled employees. The most in-demand job titles in-
labor. If current workforce trends
prise states that reports of a manufacturing crisis may clude production supervisor, machinist, and picker/
continue, scales are expected to tip
be premature. packer.
in the direction of moderately and
Despite a slowdown, manufacturers plan to hire ad- Forty-two percent of manufacturers are finding
extremely difficult to recruit skilled
ditional skilled labor over the next 12 months. Seventy- it moderately difficult to hire skilled workers, while
talent.
eight percent of those surveyed still have plans to hire 26 percent reported it was neither easy nor difficult
Nearly half of respondents said
more skilled workers within the next year, with only to hire skilled talent; 18 percent reported that it was on average it takes three to four
weeks to fill a skilled manufactur-
ing position. Nineteen percent of
respondents were able to fill vacan-
cies within one to two weeks, while
another 22 percent required two to
three months to fill skilled positions.
How quickly employers are able
to fill skilled vacancies depends
on local economic conditions and
the regional talent pool, but also
the strength of their communica-
tion strategy, whether or not they
have invested in developing a tal-
ent pipeline, and the appeal of their
company culture and compensa-
tion package.
Of the survey respondents not
planning to hire additional skilled
workers over the next 12 months,
37 percent said they expected busi-
ness to hold steady, with no growth
and no decline. Twenty-five percent
forecast slower demand in the near
term, and another 25 percent listed
hiring budget as a limiting factor.
Thirteen percent of respondents
cited recession fears as the primary
reason for curtailing hiring. Similar-
ly, 13 percent cited tariff concerns
as the primary reason for not hir-
ing additional skilled workers in the
next 12 months.
H+M Industrial EPC to triple

fabrication capacity
Pasadena, Texas-based H+M In-

dustrial EPC has begun an expan-
sion of its on-site fabrication shop.
The project, which will triple the
current production capacity, is ex-
pected to be completed in Q1 2020.
Phase two of the expansion will in-
clude a new office building.

Trane acquires Pennex Aluminum completes expansion in Ohio Worthington Industries acquires
Arctic Chiller Group Heidtman facility in Cleveland
Pennex Aluminum, part of Pennsylvania-based Metal
HVAC systems manufacturer Trane Exchange Corp., has announced the completion of a Value-added steel processor Worthington Industries Inc.,
has announced its acquisition of Columbus, Ohio, has acquired Heidtman Steel Products
$23 million expansion of its Leetonia, Ohio, facility.
Arctic Chiller Group (ACG).
The facility, which employs 175 people, provides alu- Inc.’s pickling and slitting facility located in Cleveland.
Based near Toronto with a facility
minum fabrication and extrusions for the automotive, The 278,000-sq.-ft. plant, located adjacent to the Ar-
in South Carolina, ACG produces
air- and water-cooled magnetic construction, HVAC, landscaping, and off-road vehicle celorMittal steel mill, includes pickling and slitting of
bearing, modular, and process chill- markets. The expansion, which primarily includes new hot-rolled carbon flat-rolled steel for the automotive,
ers for commercial HVAC and pro- equipment, is expected to create about 50 jobs. heavy truck, agriculture, and heavy equipment markets.
cess cooling applications.
U. S. Steel acquires 49.9 percent
of Big River Steel
Pittsburgh-based U. S. Steel Corp.
has announced a joint venture part-
nership agreement under which it
has taken the first step toward ac-
quiring Big River Steel through the
purchase of a 49.9 percent owner-
ship interest.
Big River, which operates a
LEED®-certified Flex Mill™ in north-
east Arkansas, produces a variety
of automotive and electrical steels
and products for the automotive,
energy, construction, and agricul-
tural industries. Its recently an-
nounced Phase II-A expansion is
expected to double the mill’s hot-
rolled steel production capacity to
3.3 million tons annually.
Allied Metal earns ISO
9001:2015 certification
Allied Metal Ltd., a metal fabri-

cator based in Calgary, Alta., has
announced it has achieved ISO
9001:2015 certification. The pro-
cess for certification took the fab-
ricator more than 18 months and
began with the design and imple-
mentation of its quality manage-
ment system.
Desmond Peddle, operations
manager, and Sabrina Bennett,
business administration manager,
acquired their Internal Auditor Cer-
tificates of Achievement and com-
pleted two internal audits for each
department in the organization be-
fore applying for the external audit.
On Aug. 27, 2019, SAI Global com-
pleted an external audit, with zero
nonconformances recorded.

INDUSTRY NEWS
Xometry launches Xometry Finishing Service ders in one location. Customers also can invite their MEC named to Wisconsin 75 list,
approved vendors to join the network to help stream- earns finalist slot in “Coolest
Xometry, an online marketplace for custom manufac- Things” contest
turing, has launched the Xometry Finishing Service, an line the process further.
Mayville Eng.
online platform where customers can source postpro- Customers can receive quotes from suppliers for
Co. Inc. (MEC),
cessing work for custom parts that have already been such finishing services as Type II and Type III anodizing,
Mayville, Wis.,
manufactured. chem film, heat treatment, conversion and pretreat-
has been rec-
The service allows customers to send RFQs seam- ments, mechanical finishing, adhesives and coatings, ognized by
lessly to Xometry’s postprocessing manufacturing metal plating, painting and marking, and military spec the Wisconsin
partners, receive and evaluate quotes, and manage or- coatings. 75 program as one of the largest
closely held companies in the state.
This is the 16th consecutive year
that the company has received this
honor, which recognizes business
contributions to the communities
in which the firms operate, the indi-
viduals who shape the business, and
the overall Wisconsin economy.
In addition, MEC Outdoors was
named one of four finalists in the
“Coolest Thing Made In Wisconsin”
contest, out of more than 150 com-
panies nominated, for its 400 De-
fender clay target machine. The an-
nual contest is hosted by Wisconsin
Manufacturers & Commerce and
Johnson Financial Group to high-
light the state’s manufacturing in-
dustry.
MEC has 21 facilities in eight
states, offering conventional and
CNC stamping, shearing, fiber laser
cutting, forming, drilling, tapping,
grinding, tube bending, machining,
welding, assembly, finishing, and lo-
gistic services.
Solar Mfg. moves to
new location in Pennsylvania
Solar Mfg. Inc., a manufacturer of

vacuum heat treating, sintering,
and brazing furnaces, has relocated
from Souderton, Pa., to a newly
constructed building three miles
away in Sellersville, Pa. Situated on
a combined 8.5 acres, the $10 mil-
lion facility offers 40,000 sq. ft. of
manufacturing space, with 17,500
sq. ft. designated office space.
Jim Nagy, president, said, “So-
lar Manufacturing has expanded
throughout the many years since
our inception, resulting in our em-
ployees working from several dif-
ferent buildings. With this move we
are finally united under one roof.”

FROM THEFABRICATOR.COM
Still Building America: Ohio welder, farmer, jack-of-all-trades
In this installment of the ongoing web series, we meet Tarheelbilly Farm owner Charis Walker
By Darla Welton world. Eventually her education and life experience led
Charis and husband, Ben, to establish their homestead
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on thefab
and begin farming full-time in southern Ohio.
ricator.com blog on Oct. 5.
Charis, a North Carolina native, spends her days Charis Walker sits on a tractor on her
Not only is Charis Walker still building America, she’s sheepherding, cultivating, shearing, weaving, welding, Tarheelbilly Farm in Southern Ohio.
Photos courtesy of Charis Walker.
farming it too. Her growing interest in farming de- and homeschooling her daughter in the rolling hills of
veloped right alongside her path in the skilled trades the Appalachian range on Tarheelbilly Farm. Darla Welton: When you men-
tioned that you had worked as a
full-time welder and that now you
are a farmer, I knew that I had to dig
a little deeper and share your story.
Charis Walker: Yes, I am currently
a full-time farmer. I raise sheep,
goats, cattle, and chickens on a
farm that I co-own with my hus-
band, Ben. He taps maple trees and
keeps honeybees.
DW: And how many years did you
work as a full-time welder before
that? What type of welding work
were you doing?
CW: I worked as a full-time welder
for three years, welding in the fab-
rication shop of a major forklift
company. I learned to operate and
maintain a welding robot in addi-
tion to welding structural parts.
I was pretty proud of that. Even-
tually I moved from the floor to a
position in supply chain, working as
a production scheduler for a very
busy product line. I missed work-
ing in the fab shop, but I enjoyed
the challenge and got to work with
the guys back in the fab shop on a
regular basis.
DW: How did you move from work-
ing as a full-time welder to starting/
operating a farm full-time?
CW: The first spring after my
husband and I married, I started
acquiring chickens and began gar-
dening. We lived in North Carolina.
Over the first few years, we started
keeping bees and I bought goats,
then a Jersey cow. Tarheelbilly Mi-
croFarm was born and we started
planning for a larger farm. We kept
the cow on our neighbor’s proper-
ty, and Ben learned to make maple
syrup by tapping maple trees on his
family’s Ohio farm. He’d bring the
sap back to our house in N.C. and
then boil it on a fire pit that he built
in the backyard.

I’d wanted to farm when we met, I got hired as a welder midway through my first sees. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner. I am not
so I started learning on our small mester. After I worked at the plant for a while, I went afraid to try new things and I’m not afraid of failing at
½-acre property and just bloomed back to the community college to learn more about ro- something until I master it.
where I was planted. While I was bots. I took classes in PLCs, hydraulics, motors, and ba- DW: What type of repair work do you do most around
a full-time welder, I still milked my sic electricity. Had we not moved to the farm, I planned the farm?
goats every day and tended the gar- to pursue a career in industrial maintenance or robot-
den. We didn’t have a ton of space CW: Since our equipment is older and some of it is a
ics. Ironically, those classes now help me understand mish-mash of components, I fix a lot of old welds or add
to grow as much as we wanted. Our
how my equipment works, enabling me to maintain the reinforcement to machinery that has seen better days.
neighbors were gracious enough to
machines better and adapt equipment to new purpos- (continued on page 46)
allow us to pasture our goats on
their land in the summer, but we
didn’t have the space to farm in
earnest.
After my husband retired from
the military, he wanted to return
to his family’s farm in southern
Ohio. He had toyed with tapping
maple trees on that property, but
moving allowed him to build that
operation and expand our apiary
for beekeeping. It also afforded me
the opportunity to raise sheep and
a few cattle, and it gave our goats
much-needed space.
DW: Who influenced your welding
and farming?
CW: My grandparents were farm-
ers. They raised a large garden each
year and preserved a great deal of
food for the family. My dad was a
tool- and diemaker for a tool com-
pany, and my mom also worked in
manufacturing. Despite growing up
around trades and farming, I never
saw a woman drive a tractor and I
never considered learning a trade
growing up. I didn’t know women
who farmed, welded, or who were
machinists. It wasn’t until I got old-
er, earned a few college degrees,
and entered the workforce that I
learned how cool and well-paying
trades were. It was life experience
that taught me that I needed to
learn a few new skills.
DW: What type of welding training
did you have?
CW: I took welding through adult
continuing education classes at the
local community college. A super-
talented welder named Silvando
Perez taught me. I was the only
English speaker (and female) in my
class. I took more continuing edu-
cation welding courses where I was
exposed to MIG and TIG. I enjoyed
it so much that I eventually enrolled
in the welding program.

Some things we fabricate out of old implements that for the tractors. I have a pretty big repair looming for welding where I worked, and it felt
won’t otherwise work with the tractor that we have the tractor, and we have plans to fabricate the handling like a big deal to have a small wom-
here. Ben handles all of the woodworking projects. equipment for the sheep and corral panels for the an weld huge beams of metal. Not
cows. My husband is the design guy. It’s nice to be able only were the welds structurally
DW: You mentioned that you still do some fabrication
to design and build things to your own specifications. integral, but there were aesthetic
projects for fun. What type of things have you done?
considerations too. It filled me with
CW: Welding itself is fun, so I’m always game to build DW: Do you have a favorite welding project or welding
pride to see the parts I welded on
something. The biggest project I’ve done so far is fab- achievement of which you are particularly proud?
completed trucks, my identifica-
ricating the stove for my husband’s maple syrup op- CW: I am most proud of welding critical components at tion stamp prominent enough for
eration. I have fixed trailers and a host of implements my previous welding job. There weren’t a lot of women me to see. I can go into big-box
stores and show my daughter the
parts that I welded on certain fork-
lifts. That’s cool.
DW: What has been the most chal-
lenging part of operating your farm?
And what is the most rewarding?
CW: Working for myself can be
rough—I can be very hard on my-
self and can easily overwork if I am
not too careful. A farm never stops,
and there is always more work to
do. The biggest challenge is giving
myself permission to take a day off.
Eating a meal prepared 100 per-
cent from what is grown or raised
on the farm is quite rewarding,
though. Welding/fabricating/repair-
ing something for the farm to make
it work the way it was intended is
also rewarding.
For me, farming is about connec-
tion—with my farming ancestors,
my farming grandparents, my fam-
ily, my community, and with the en-
vironment. In a time when so many
are disconnected from their food,
fiber, and the natural world at large,
my farm provides an opportunity
to share and educate people about
food. Perhaps educating was not a
responsibility of farmers a genera-
tion ago, but the “why” I raise heri-
tage livestock is just as important
as the “how.”
DW: I want to touch a little on your
experience as a woman of color
who has worked in the welding and
fabrication world. Did you face any
particular challenges?
CW: Initially, I think my primary
challenges were mental. I wanted
to be taken seriously as a welder,
so I worked very hard to prove
that I could do my job in the same
way the guys did. I didn’t want
help lifting parts, moving stuff, or
welding—I wanted to do it myself.
I am stubborn and I wanted to be
treated like anyone else. I think

I earned the respect of the guys DW: What’s your future goal or dream? maple operation, so I’ll get to TIG weld quite a bit of
who worked with me because I stainless too. I homeschool my daughter, so working
CW: Right now I am focused on growing and improving
could stand the heat, I worked 50-60-hour workweeks isn’t in the cards for me right
my flock of Tunis sheep. I started my flock three years
hard, I showed up ready to work now. I toy around with pursuing opportunities that
ago, and though I had goats for many years before
every day, and I was serious about would allow me to work shutdowns a few times a year.
learning the craft. I also didn’t want starting with sheep, I still have a lot to learn. I have
Right now I am content farming and keeping my skills
to have the worst welds in the several repair and fabrication projects on the horizon, sharp whenever I can.
shop, so I worked hard to be a good so I have ample opportunity to burn rods and wire Freelance writer Darla Welton can be reached at
welder. I don’t think I was treated around here. My husband has plans to expand his darla@browndogwelding.com.
any differently than the average

newbie welder. I just had to prove
that I could actually weld.
I had some great guys mentor
me when I got started, and worked
with some amazing welders. They
taught me how to go from welding
in a lab setting to how to really burn
wire. I really appreciate that. I had a
great time working in the fab shop
and I am still friends with a few of
the guys I worked with.
Charis Walker uses her welding skills to

fix the farm’s tractor, old welds, or add
reinforcement to older machinery.
DW: What advice would you give

to young girls who are considering
skilled trades opportunities or even
farming?
CW: I wish that I would’ve known
that I didn’t have to choose be-
tween college and trades. I loved
math and physics in high school,
but I wasn’t interested in going into
engineering. I really didn’t know
there were cool opportunities out
there that would engage my curios-
ity and intellect and would allow me
to pursue higher education.
A lot has changed since I gradu-
ated from high school. There are
apprenticeships, dual enrollment,
and other flexible opportunities
that allow kids to graduate from
high school with both skills and de-
grees. I would advise girls to con-
sider such opportunities. Trades
offer tremendous opportunity for
financial stability and upward mo-
bility. For those girls who love math
and science, welding/machining/
robotics (and trades in general)
can provide a pathway to integrate
those interests and can open doors
to careers in engineering, quality,
design—the sky is the limit.

Managing skilled worker turnover at a small job shop quantities that it’s been hard to
How one metal fabricator has handled replacing skilled tenured employees take in. Most of the changes have
been good, but others have come
By Nick Martin with some sacrifices, restructuring,
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on thefab- and recruitment.
ricator.com blog on Oct. 12. Personnel changes are always
going to be a challenge in any small
Barnes MetalCrafters has been through a lot of chang-
shop. Good or bad, you can’t help
es recently. To be honest, some of the changes have what families need to do or want
been a blur. They’ve been happening so fast in large to do. We had one employee leave
very unexpectedly, and within a few
days another employee put in a
three-month notice.
Personnel changes are

always going to be a
challenge in any small shop.
Good or bad, you can’t help
what families need to do
or want to do.
The three-month guy happened

to be one of our tenured fabrica-
tors, George Boydstun. We lost him
due to a family decision to move
out west to New Mexico to be with
some extended family. He told me
he didn’t want to leave but it was
best for the family at that time. I
very much respect that decision, as
family is very important to me too.
George wasn’t your average 9-to-5
employee. He went above and be-
yond, and often saw problems with
fabrications before it was too late.
Finding the next job or task came
naturally to him, and it was com-
pleted in a diligent manner. We like
that. Every shop likes that.
With the two changes happening
close together, we had to do some
recruiting. We called up a recruiter
and decided to get the ball rolling.
I even contacted another friend
to see if he had any advice on how
they found employees in the avia-
tion industry. That turned out to be
a great choice as within roughly five
weeks, we found an engineer, Wil-
liam “Vasili” Brown. He moved right
into stride with the shop. As we
were passing him jobs, each one was
a little more challenging. But he was
comfortable with the work flow.
Shortly after we found a fabrica-
tor, Corey Harr, who George could
mentor for the remainder of his
stay. That was the master plan, any-
way. But, as always, there is never
enough time to train when you can

George kept tabs on the little parts needed to com- ployee changes, it would be that this is an opportunity
plete assemblies and often went straight to the laser to improve our processes or get new ones established.
operator to ask him to work them if there was time. I know everything is going to work out in the long
This made it easy on all of us in the shop. We never had run. Change is inevitable so we need to embrace it.
Without a doubt, one of the biggest changes without
to worry about it. The new guy will get to that point
George at the shop will have to go unsaid. He had a
soon, but there will be a learning curve.
way of making everyone smile with his odd humor and
One advantage we have with the new shop compared unusual ways. I’ll just leave it at that.
A Barnes MetalCrafters employee looks to the old facility is the ability to be more organized. So
down a 35-foot rebar cage. Experienced Nick Martin is a product designer, Barnes MetalCrafters Inc.,
workers help complex projects flow more if I could say one thing positive about these two em- www.barnesmetal.com.
smoothly through the shop floor. Photos
courtesy of Barnes Metalcrafters.
see the time coming to an end.

Overall, the new fabricator has been
pretty good. It is hard to compare
a new guy to a tenured employee
since he had so much time invested
in learning the shop culture.
The tunnel of training came to
an end and George said his good-
byes. He actually left in a U-Haul
right from the shop. It was kind of
surreal since I got so used to hang-
ing out with this character for sev-
eral years. Let’s face it, every shop
needs a George. So, without one, it
was going to be strange.
This aluminum carrying case with

money slot, made for the Pedalling for
Parkinsons Bike Box Project, is another
recent project from Barnes Metalcrafters.
The saying “you don’t know what

ya got until it’s gone” comes to
mind. Now that he was gone, the
unanswered started to sink in. The
new guy could learn only so much
in that mentoring time period.
Simple things are always taken for
granted when the answer is always
by your side. The new guy wanted
to know what was next. Vasili and I
started to get question after ques-
tion about drawings and parts.
These were all new to Vasili, but I
haven’t been asked some of these
questions in years. They’ve always
been handled by George.

TECHNOLOGY » PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
Cobot offers 35-lb. payload capacity IoT-based remote-sensing service monitors
industrial dust collectors
Universal Robots has introduced the UR16e collaborative robot, which fea-
tures a 35-lb. payload capability, 900-mm reach, and pose repeatability of
Donaldson Co. Inc. has introduced iCue™ connected filtration service.
± 0.05 mm. The cobot is suitable for automating tasks such as heavy-duty
This IIoT-enabled remote-sensing subscription service sends real-time
material handling, heavy-part handling, palletizing, and machine tending.
data and maintenance alerts directly to facility management teams.
According to the company, the cobot can be unpacked, mounted, and
The service gives factory personnel access to detailed equipment per-
programmed to perform a task in less than an hour. It includes built-in
formance data via an online dashboard and sends simple, actionable no-
force sensing; 17 configurable safety functions, including customizable
tices and email reports to their laptops or mobile devices. Maintenance
stopping time and stopping distance; and an intuitive programming flow.
teams can tailor the information parameters to their specific applications
Universal Robots
and dust management needs.
www.universal-robots.com
The service is compatible with major dust and fume collector brands,
and a subscription includes hardware, automated reports, real-time main-
tenance alerts, and an online interface for more detailed analysis.
Donaldson Co.
www.donaldson.com
Vacuum lifter includes internal diagnostics

for improved serviceability
Blue Water Eng. developed Vaclift vacuum lifting equipment based on ex-
perience and testing when loading its four in-house waterjets in its engi-
neering workshop. The equipment is designed to withstand harsh work-
shop environments around waterjets, lasers, and similar CNC machines.
Units can be configured to suit specific user requirements. The forklift
units can handle loads safely and efficiently without any external power
source, according to the company.
The company recognizes that machinery faults are an occasional fact
of life. To help reduce equipment downtime, the company has designed a
built-in diagnostic fault-finding system for the equipment, which allows its
factory technicians to offer remote assistance in tracking any faults that
may occur.
Blue Water Engineering
www.vaclifts.com
Nov19FAB_ProdHighlights.indd 50 10/22/19 9:15 PM

Automated tube cutter offered Service gives users access
with 2-kW fiber laser to forming software in the cloud
AutoForm Eng. GmbH
has announced Auto-
Form in the Cloud, a
service that gives flex-
ible, browser-based ac-
cess to the company’s
software to users who
lack sufficient on-site
BLM Group USA has announced that its LT5 Lasertube now can be ordered software or hardware
with 2-kW fiber laser capability. This entry-level automated laser tube cut- resources. Both soft-
ter is suitable for small to medium-sized round tube applications up to 4.75 ware and hardware can be used directly from the browser, making on-site
in. dia. It can process mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, installation, maintenance, and updates unnecessary.
and galvanized materials. This service is suitable for users who are interested in the full suite of
The machine can produce complex end cuts and features in tubes, or it AutoForm Forming R8 products but have rarely or never used them. It
can be used for sawing to produce straight cuts with a kerf of only a few allows users to complete their tasks through parallel computing on eight
tenths of a millimeter. cores. With the service, the manufacturer’s software can be used in com-
The compact system is designed for continuous production of small- bination with the optimum hardware architecture in terms of processor
diameter and thin-wall tubes, featuring automated tube handling from bar type and core memory, storage, and parallel processing.
loader to piece unloader. Different parts can be sent to multiple unloading AutoForm Eng. GmbH
positions: front, rear, and onto a specific metal-belted conveyor designed www.autoform.com
for short parts. This eliminates the need to separate the parts discharged
to a single container by hand.
BLM Group Boschert-Gizelis
www.blmgroup.com/en/home
G-Cut CNC
Wet scrubbers help prevent
combustible dust explosions
Metalworking processes like machining, saw-
ing, grinding, buffing, polishing, fettling, brush-
ing, drilling, cutting, and abrasive blasting
can create fine metal particles that become
airborne and present an explosion hazard, if
these metals are combustible. To help reduce
this risk, Camfil APC offers Venturi and Vortex
wet scrubbers. These low-maintenance dust Three Features:
collectors provide a safe way to collect and re-
move combustible metal dust from the work-
A Cut Above
place. They also are suitable for metalworking the Rest
processes that generate sparks.
The Venturi wet scrubber is designed for
Three reasons to choose the Boschert-Gizelis G-Cut CNC
applications with high dust loading. It injects swing beam hydraulic shear:
water via a pump into the inlet of the unit and 1. Return to Front – Finished and appearance-sensitive pieces return to the
generates extremely high velocities to mix the scrubbing liquid and the operator instead of behind the machine. Reduces repetitive motion. Increases
contaminated airstream. The particle-laden droplets then are separated efficiency, productivity and safety.
2. Narrow Strip Cutting – An unconventional approach to thin strip shearing
from the airstream by centrifugal force. eliminates waste and delivers a quality finished component nearly twist-free.
The Vortex is a compact wet scrubber designed for processes that gen- 3. Auto Thickness Measurement – A simple sensor measures material to
erate sticky or fibrous dusts. It brings the particle-laden air into contact optimize blade gap. Protects your blades. Eliminates guess work. Reduces
waste and downtime from fold-over jams. Safer, easier, more efficient.
with water, which creates turbulence and atomizes the liquid into fine
droplets. These fine droplets then are separated from the airstream by
centrifugal force.
The wet scrubbers also are suitable for processes that emit a mixture of
dust, gas, aerosols, vapors, and fumes.
BENDING, CUTTING & PUNCHING MACHINERY
800-354-3737 | www.boschertusa.com
Camfil Air Pollution Control sales@boschertusa.com | youtube.com/boschertsales
www.camfilapc.com

BoschertHV_Gizelis_Nov19FAB.indd 1 10/22/19 8:37 PM
Nov19FAB_ProdHighlights.indd 51 10/22/19 9:15 PM

TECHNOLOGY » APPLICATIONS
Steel processor uses EDI to improve data communications, partner onboarding
and when transfers failed (which happened about 20 percent of the time),
resending those files triggered a host of manual processes. The system
depended heavily on internal customization and manual intervention to
keep connections up and working, provided no real-time alerts to indicate
communication errors, and was limited in its reporting capabilities.
“Every time we wanted to implement a new FTP connection, we had
to modify the program to get it working,” explained Senior Software En-
gineer Mike Hoben. “It was taking two months to onboard a new trading
partner because there was so much code to change. It was extremely dif-
Situation
ficult to manage, and we had no visibility into dropped communications.”
Louisville, Ky.-based Steel Technologies produces flat-rolled steel to And with the company’s recent entry into aluminum processing and in-
specific requirements for customers in a variety of industries, including creased business from the automotive sector, it was facing new customer
automotive, appliance, lawn and garden, office equipment, agricultural, demands and more complex integration requirements.
machinery, and construction. The organization operates 24 facilities
throughout North America, processing more than 3.1 million tons of steel
Resolution
for more than 1,000 customers. Hoben, who had worked with Cleo technology previously, approached
The steel processor exchanges nearly 2,000 EDI documents a day with Cleo, a provider of ecosystem integration software, about a more ad-
customers, suppliers, and vendors over FTP and SFTP. These include in- vanced communications system for Steel Technologies. The steel proces-
voices, inventory inquiries, advance ship notices, and order status reports, sor deployed the Cleo Integration Cloud integration platform and upgrad-
but the communications layer on its PC-based EDI system, which the com- ed its critical EDI communications.
pany had been using for more than four years, wasn’t very user-friendly. The integration platform enables a business to connect, move, trans-
The system lacked adequate monitoring and error handling capabilities, form, and orchestrate ecosystem, cloud, application, and big data inte-
gration flows via self-service and managed-service experiences. It offers
automation and intuitive controls to help users connect and consolidate
their systems, applications, services, people, and processes.
With the new technology, the company gained faster, easier partner on-
boarding and the ability to respond rapidly in the event of communication
errors. In addition, better system-generated alerts, notifications, tracking,
and reporting have improved real-time visibility and control. The steel
processor now has a secure, stable platform that can scale as needed,
allowing the company to meet customer service-level agreements and im-
prove order-to-cash cycles with its manufacturing partners.
Cleo
www.cleo.com
Nov19FAB_Applications.indd 52 10/23/19 7:34 AM

Electrocoat finisher gains flexibility with zinc phosphate coating system
JEMS Coating also is able to use Chemetall’s proprietary Gardometer®
to measure zinc and manganese phosphate coatings on steel, galvanized,
and aluminum sheet. It replaces ASTM and ISO weigh-strip-weigh with
a simplified, automatic, digital option that eliminates chemical waste,
requires no technician, and provides instant results.
Chemetall
www.chemetallna.com
Situation
JEMS Coating is a provider of electrocoat finishing for customer-supplied
metallic components used in automotive, electrical, construction, recre-
ational, and general commercial applications.
The finisher’s focus is high-volume automotive production, and it has
acquired OEM process approvals for automotive manufacturers such as
GM, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and VW.
“Our process flow features a seven-stage zinc phosphate pretreatment
with a choice of immersion or spray, depending on the parts to be e-coated,”
said Robert German, majority owner. And, of course, the company’s success
depends on production that is reliable, reproducible, and cost-effective.
“For years we have electrocoated most parts flawlessly, with systems in
place to ensure this,” German continued. “However, as a job shop, we face
periodic setbacks tying into the variability presented by the lubricants and
substrates of some of our customers’ product.”
Resolution
JEMS Coating contacted Chemetall for assistance.
“We began the troubleshooting process by sending an assortment of
parts back to our laboratories for process simulation and defect analysis,”
explained Marino Zoratti, Chemetall’s senior technical sales manager for
Ontario. “Our experts also reviewed every step of the electrocoating pro-
cess at JEMS Coating.”
After this analysis, Chemtall recommended the Gardobond® system.
The Gardo® line uses advanced pretreatment products and synchronized
process steps to provide automotive-quality zinc phosphate coating on
all substrates. This multimetal capability, with a focus on aluminum, made
the customizable system an appropriate choice for JEMS.
“Our Gardobond 24 process was developed to better engineer zinc
phosphate processes to meet the ever-changing market demands,” said
William Jones, technical service manager for Canada. “The key is the ver-
satility of the solution we are able to offer JEMS Coating, as a job shop, so
they can handle a variety of jobs efficiently.”
“We granted Chemetall a one-week trial in February of 2018 on our
immersion line,” said German. “The quality improvements and cost ef-
ficiencies were striking. We no longer needed several additives. Further,
the initial conversion itself was timely and flawless, an incredibly smooth
and successful process. Chemetall experts, working closely with our ex-
perts, really came together with care and attention to deliver a safe and
effective changeover.”
The Gardobond 24 process now has been further enhanced to be-
come Gardo® Flex, which allows for high throughput on all substrates,
with an emphasis on aluminum and new substrates like zinc manganese.
It imparts a zinc phosphate layer that provides corrosion protection and
paint adhesion properties, while its low-temperature processes and re-
duced phosphate sludge help decrease energy and maintenance costs.
Nov19FAB_Applications.indd 53 10/23/19 7:24 AM

TECHNOLOGY » TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT
AI gives the big assist in quoting and nesting
Shortening the time between quoting and cutting
Using a spreadsheet does save time, and quote
turnaround can make the difference between
winning and losing a job. According to Jencks,
though, PEP can automate the file conversion
and programming of the majority of parts, in-
cluding those sent in as a PDF.
According to Jencks, within a few minutes, the
software can produce a part drawing that can
be nested and quoted. It has logic that tells it to
find and categorize lines, texts, and title blocks.
After categorizing the CAD data, the logic finds
the flat pattern and develops a continuous path.
“And if the drawing has dimensions, the soft-
ware compares the dimension to the part and
scales everything in the file automatically,” Jen-
cks said. For instance, the software scans the
document for dimensions and scales the part
By Tim Heston horrible,” Jencks said. “And typically, the cutting to those dimensions. After scaling the part, the
M
machine operator can’t see these errors in the logic compares each internal cutout and exter-
etal fabricators know what it’s like to program.” To maintain quality, “the machine nal geometry to the dimensions.
scramble for time, an odd situation operator will cut all jobs at the slower cutting “The software can convert about 80 per-
when you consider just how quickly speed needed to cut the short consecutive cent of vector PDF files,” Jencks said, adding
modern lasers cut and press brakes bend. Why lines.” If that curve had been converted to that converting PDFs of old drawings that were
do fabricators scramble, exactly? a tangent arc, the head would have moved faxed (creating raster PDFs) has a success rate
The root causes will depend on a shop’s situa- smoothly through the contour. of around 20 percent.
tion, of course. Bob Jencks, the founder of CAD/ Next comes the common-line-cutting and ma- When creating a nest layout, the software
CAM provider PEP Technology, sees one of those terial yield variables. Jencks sees inefficient ma- looks for areas ripe for material savings while
root causes happening when technicians sit all terial utilization as leaving cash on the table. But also considering other attributes, including lead-
day in front of computer screens, correcting and pushing the limits of a nest layout—considering in placement; the cut sequence; and material
manually redrawing part files for nesting. both maximum material utilization and process utilization, including the potential for common-
Problem is, interpreting and correcting all stability—takes time and, if not done properly, line cutting. It weighs each factor against an-
those drawings isn’t easy and can take serious introduces risk. other variable common to any thermal cutting
time. Deep interpretation that factors in all the An operation might delve into common-line process, from oxyfuel to laser: heat dissipation.
variables—including all the other jobs being cutting and run into part instability issues, like
routed through the shop—is simply outright im- pieces tipping between slats. Or a programmer
possible for people to do manually for every cut- might nest a series of long, thin parts next to each
ting program. This is why software and artificial other that end up bowing upward and crashing a
intelligence are playing an increasing role. head. Or the lead-in and cutting sequence might
“Most shops employ a person that manually “push the heat” to the wrong area of the nest,
spends the day cleaning up drawings,” Jencks causing parts to distort and the whole process
said. “People shouldn’t spend their days doing to become a mess.
that. It’s a waste of valuable resources, and we “There are so many variables, and program-
can now eliminate that waste.” mers simply don’t have time to deal with them
Why are shops employing people to clean up all,” Jencks said.
drawings? Much of it has to do with the ellipse The process of importing or drawing files, be
and spline data in 2D and 3D CAD files, as well as it a PDF or from 3D CAD, and then cleaning and
PDFs that have to be redrawn. exporting them to machines involves a host of
Jencks pointed to a contoured, rough edge. It considerations, and it’s ripe territory for soft-
looks as if, instead of a smooth arc, the machine ware. According to Jencks, this has been PEP
tried to cut a series of short, straight lines—and Technology’s primary focus.
that’s exactly what it was doing. The software ex- For most job shops, the order cycle starts with
ported the curve as a series of short lines, which the estimate itself. “So many job shops quote
causes the cutting head to move inefficiently based on spreadsheets about 80 percent of the
through the contour, adding heat to the part. time,” Jencks said, adding that estimates for
» Strategically placed “bubbles” in the web enable edge
“In some cases, the machine will lose the new work might be based on assumptions that starting in multiple places in the nest, avoiding the need
cut, and in other cases the edge will just look don’t reflect reality if and when the job runs. for chain cutting or multiple pierces.
Nov19FAB_TechSpotlight_PEP.indd 54 10/23/19 7:32 AM

Change the location of the lead-in or the cutting sequence, and excess
heat rears its ugly head to cause a bad edge that requires secondary de-
burring, or just outright scrap. To mitigate heat effects, programmers se-
quence the cutting head to rapid frequently. They place teardrop “loops”
to avoid excess heat buildup around sharp corners. And when flame cut-
ting thick plate, they place locking lead-ins to prevent pieces from shifting
due to thermal expansion.
“We don’t rely on that,” Jencks said, referring to a photo of a cut nest in
3-in.-thick plate, with cut parts having only 3/8-in. separation. At first glance
the plate looks to be chain-cut, with kerfs connecting one profile to the
next—but they aren’t chain-cut at all. If they were chain-cut, the nest layout
would have lead-in-location constraints that would limit how each piece
could be oriented in the nest and, in so doing, reduce material yield. They
wouldn’t have small round cutouts placed throughout the web either—and
those small cutouts, what PEP calls “bubble technology,” are key.
All the variables of programming—file imports;

unfolding; sequencing; identifying and converting
shapes like tangent arcs; material type and thickness;
grain restraints for forming; strategic tabbing (or the
avoidance thereof); the effects of heat—encompass Two + Three = Savings
a host of factors that need to be considered quickly
and all at once.
The torch performs an initial pierce and then cuts around the part, add-
ing a bubble in a strategic location on the profile before continuing on to
cut the rest of the first part. When the torch completes the first part, it
moves to the previously cut bubble to edge-start and cut the next piece.
The location of the bubble, along with numerous other variables, “push-
es the heat” toward areas that will have the least effect on the process and, Boschert TWIN/TRI
hence, allow for those very thin web sections. Jencks added that not every
thick plate nest requires those bubbles for thin webs and high material
Punching Machines
yield, but it’s there in the software’s toolbox if needed. Deliver More
Predicting the behavior of heat (among other things) is also key for Than Efficiency
stable common-line cutting, as is typical slat conditions and orientation.
Besides the obvious material savings, if stable and reliable, common-line Why buy a 50-tool turret machine to do a three-function job?
cutting reduces the distance a cutting head needs to travel to complete a Boschert’s TWIN/TRI Series CNC Punching Machines’ two or three
nest—with many kerfs creating edges for two parts. For this reason, the independent punch heads combine versatility with efficiency—with
zero tool-change times. With Revotool, Boschert’s multi-tool solution,
software typically common-cuts when it can do so without sacrificing ma-
fabricators can apply up to 16 tools in the TWIN and up to 24 on the
terial yield. TRI Punching Machines—combining both punching capability and
Of course, all that savings would be for naught if the cutting system forming up to a 50-ton capacity. Boschert’s powerful software also
crashed into a bowed part or poor edges required secondary deburring. It enables automatic repositioning and turning/flipping of large sheets to
also would be for naught if it took forever to output such a nest in the first extend working capacity. Gain versatility and save with the Boschert
place. All the variables of programming—file imports; unfolding; sequenc- TWIN/TRI Series.
ing; identifying and converting shapes like tangent arcs; material type and
thickness; grain restraints for forming; strategic tabbing (or the avoidance
thereof); the effects of heat—encompass a host of factors that need to be
considered quickly and all at once. According to Jencks, this is where the
BENDING, CUTTING & PUNCHING MACHINERY
potential of software and artificial intelligence shines.
800-354-3737 | www.boschertusa.com
PEP Technology sales@boschertusa.com | youtube.com/boschertsales
www.peptechnology.com

BoschertHV_TwinTri_Nov19FAB.indd 1 10/22/19 6:42 PM
Nov19FAB_TechSpotlight_PEP.indd 55 10/23/19 7:32 AM

Advances in MG’s 4-roll plate rolling technology
Shorter prebends, wider versatility, higher control
Synthesis. Synthesis is an option on 4-roll machines with a 4-power

drive: It means that each roll is driven by its own drive. The machine has
more dragging force, which can be useful on high-tensile-strength materi-
als that require additional bending passes.
Calibration System. The operator can put the central roll down, block
it hydraulically, and perform the bending using the other three motorized
rolls on the top and sides. This way the machine also can be used as it is a
3-roll type.
K Model. These 4-roll machines are able to perform nearly any type of
rolling.
The lower central shifting roll allows fabricators to obtain a shorter pre-
bend. It also provides additional options for conical rolling. The top roll
» The MG srl K model can be used as both a 4-roll and as a variant of the 3-roll
variable geometry. moves on a vertical stroke, which helps when pressed rolling is required.
M
It adds versatility to the standard features of a bending machine, such as
G srl has made advances on its 4-roll plate bending machine.
being able to be used as both a 4-roll and as a variant of the 3-roll variable
Electronic Parallelism. A dedicated electronic control en-
geometry.
hances precision and repeatability on each roll. Two proportional
The parallelism of the side rolls is controlled and stabilized by an
electro-valves, two digital readouts, and transducers grant the positioning electronic system. Two proportional electro-valves, two digital reading
of each roll. The oil flow is controlled and directed as well. Models ME are transducers, and a dedicated electronic control ensure roller precision
the machines with this kind of control. and repeatable positioning over time, independent of temperature and
Linear Guides System. On each rolled piece, no matter the length and mechanical wear. This ensures maximum precision.
thickness, there is a flat section of the plate that does not get bent. MG The MG system, with the rolls assembled on sealed bearings and without
machines are engineered to reduce the flat end so that it is from 1.5 to two secondary components, reduces the dissipation in the applied force gen-
times the sheet thickness. With the linear guides system, it is even shorter. erated with the frictions of the various components.
When the space between the side and central lower roll is shortened, less The side rolls move on a rectilinear axis, which reduces the space be-
space is needed to pinch the material and a shorter flat part results. A rec- tween the rollers themselves. The clamping point of the sheet between the
tilinear stroke of the side rolls brings even smaller diameters in the worked side and the top occupies less space. This allows fabricators to use very
pieces. These linear guides are the ML models. These models are equipped small-diameter rolls and to have a shorter straight part.
with electronic parallelism as well. MG srl, https://mgsrl.com/en
Nov19FAB_TechSpotlight_MG.indd 56 10/23/19 9:22 AM

Nov19FAB_TechSpotlight_MG.indd 57 10/23/19 9:22 AM
A novel way to address
the machine tech shortage
App connects techs to those who need their services—now
By Tim Heston
I
t’s no secret that machine techs are in short supply across the machine The company ultimately devel-
tool industry, including metal fabrication, and that shortage has severe oped the app, aptly named The
ripple effects that can hinder productivity in a serious way. When a UP! App, and rolled out a soft
fully automated laser cutting machine crashes or otherwise shuts down launch in late 2017. “We recruit-
unexpectedly, the entire shop can be starved of work. ed 120 service providers in the
Some techs are true road warriors, a life not everybody wants. At the [Midwest region] and marketed
same time, boomer techs from machine manufacturers and distributors to mom-and-pop shops and con-
are retiring in droves, and many of them are choosing to continue working tract manufacturers,” Rhodes
on machines independently. said, adding that the initial launch
“The irony with the service tech shortage is that a lot of techs have a lot focused on the machining busi-
of downtime.” ness. App usage grew through
That was David Rhodes, director of sales and customer success at The 2018, and this year the company
UP! App, a Columbus, Ohio, startup that’s tackling the tech shortage in a is ramping up its presence in the
novel way—with an app. metal fabrication market.
The skilled tech shortage is a nuanced problem. Many machine techs, Here’s how it works. Service
especially those who focus on specialized technology or within a specific requesters (like job shops) download the app or access it at theupapp.
geographic region, work in a feast-or-famine world. When it rains, it pours, com. They create a profile and enter machine information, including the
as multiple customers call at once. Then the storm passes and the phone machine’s serial number. The app accepts uploaded photos, videos, and
doesn’t ring. anything else that would help the potential tech understand the problem.
As Rhodes recalled, “Before this all started, we started thinking, you can They also choose whether the machine is operational, semi-operational, or
hail a ride with an app. You can even find a date with an app. Considering completely down, and request a completion date.
the high cost of downtime, wouldn’t it be great to have an app like that for “Our algorithm then matches the request to a network of service pro-
industrial machine maintenance?” viders in the area,” Rhodes said, adding that this involves scanning a tech’s
The app could effectively strengthen the connection between those qualifications, expertise, and specialization.
who needed machine maintenance and those who could provide it—and The techs receive an email or phone notification, visit the app, and see
ultimately help mitigate the tech shortage by better utilizing available tech the request. If they have availability, they create an itemized quote, includ-
capacity. With the app, techs could broaden their customer base and make ing their hourly rates; attach price sheets, certifications, and other mate-
those long stretches of downtime a rarity. rial; and specify when they can arrive at the plant.
The requester then receives the quotes, reviews them, looks at each
tech’s average star rating, and selects the best fit. From there the requester
and provider can ask questions via the in-app chat feature, panning out
any details before the tech arrives on the shop floor.
The star rating system mirrors those used by ride-share services, but
according to sources, that’s where the similarities end. UP! does not handle
financial transactions or hold online bid auctions. When money changes
hands, it occurs directly between the service requester and provider.
Of course, this begs the question: How does UP! make money? As sources
explained, the company does make money on in-app advertisements, and
it does have additional revenue models in the works. But now the service
remains free for both providers and requesters.
For the past two years the service has been building up a critical mass
of requesters and providers. After all, if a requester continually submits a
request for providers, and no one is available, that requester will just stop
using the app. The same thing goes for providers who use the app to find
more business.
But according to Rhodes, many techs have started to use the app
regularly. “They’re finding they have less downtime, and they can make
more money.”
The app essentially aims to increase the market’s machine maintenance
capacity by broadening a tech’s customer base and evening out the peaks
and valleys of a highly variable business. And as anyone in manufacturing
knows, less variability is a very good thing.
UP! LLC, www.theupapp.com
Nov19FAB_TechSpotlight_UpApp.indd 58 10/23/19 9:31 AM

Nov19FAB_TechSpotlight_UpApp.indd 59 10/23/19 9:31 AM
TECHNOLOGY » PRODUCT NEWS
Hydraulic-free part Offset vise holds long,
leveling machine handles vertical work
thicknesses to 25 mm Dawn Tools of-
Kohler Maschinen- fers cast engi-
bau GmbH offers neers’ offset
the Peak Per- vises. The offset
former part level- feature allows the tool to hold long,
ing machine. Em- vertical work with the full width of
ploying direct-drive technology, the jaws, without obstruction from
the machine can level sheet up to the main body.
25 mm thick. It works completely The vise is available with 4-, 5-,
without hydraulics. and 6-in. jaws. It comes in a stan-
The unit features turnable level- dard cast-iron Red model and a su-
ing rollers and a cleaning system for per grade ductile iron Green model.
the leveling and supporting rollers. Dawn Tools & Vices Pty. Ltd.
Kohler Maschinenbau www.dawntools.com.au
www.kohler-germany.com
ERP software in the
Programmable 5-kW fiber cloud offers nearly
laser produces high- 30 applications
quality thick metal edge Global Shop Solutions’ Cloud ERP
The nLIGHT ® software provides manufactur-
5-kW Corona™ ers with the same capabilities as
CFX-5000 uses on-premise software, but with in-
an all-fiber creased accessibility, speed, and
beam tuning ca- security, says the company. It elimi-
pability to give end users thin sheet nates concerns about hardware re-
cutting speeds characteristic of a quirements and software updates.
6-kW fiber laser. According to the The software functions in the
company, thick metal edge qual- Amazon Web Service cloud with a
ity is similar to that of a CO2 laser, guaranteed uptime of 99.95 per-
without the need to change optics. cent, according to the company.
With just 5 kW of laser power, the Nearly 30 applications are available
system offers a compact form fac- from quote to cash—the same as an
tor, low power consumption, and on-premise deployment method.
high process reliability, according Global Shop Solutions
to the company. www.globalshopsolutions.com
nLIGHT
www.nlight.net Hardness testing line
expanded
GMAW pliers serve
multiple functions
Strong Hand
Tools® has in-
troduced its
Deluxe MIG
pliers. This
new, multi-
function version features a 90-de- The L.S. Starrett Co. has expanded
gree side pull V-notch in the plier its line of benchtop hardness tes-
jaws for pulling wire or grasping ters, adding seven Rockwell sys-
small items, such as nuts. tems, eight Vickers systems, and
The tool features both a round- one Brinell system.
face and flat-face hammer. The re- The hardness testers range from
tention chain attaches to the com- basic analog and manual control to
pany’s ReadyRest™ GMAW gun rest advanced digital and fully automat-
to prevent them from getting lost. ed systems.
Strong Hand Tools L.S. Starrett Co.
www.stronghandtools.com www.starrett.com
Nov19FAB_ProdNews.indd 60 10/24/19 8:11 AM

S
Wet dust collectors Optional controls turn
redesigned stretch wrapper into
Midwest Automa- automated system
tion has introduced TAB Industries
a redesigned line of LLC has intro-
Niagara wet dust col- duced Smart
lectors for cleaning Controls, which
and filtering contam- transform its
inated air in a variety semiautomatic TAB Wrapper Tor-
of metal grinding, nado standard models into auto-
deburring, and sanding operations. mated wrapping machines.
The SSE series offers 100 percent The controls enable a forklift
stainless steel construction, elec- driver to operate the stretch wrap-
tronic high/low water-level control, per with a single press and release
and automatic refill. It meets NFPA of the start and stop buttons in-
484 requirements for combustible stead of requiring the start button
metals with an optional kit. The to remain manually pressed during
SSC series also is 100 percent stain- the wrapping process. Once the
less steel but uses a mechanical start button is pressed, the con-
high/low water-level sensor and au- trols use a position encoding sys-
tomatic refill. The CS series is made tem to set the dispensing unit at its
of heavy-gauge sheet metal, and all home location in the wrapping ring,
interior surfaces are coated with apply the plastic film, and cut it,
an abrasion-resistant, cross-linked holding on to the stretch wrap for
epoxy-phenolic material. It includes the next pallet load.
a mechanical high/low water-level TAB Industries LLC
sensor and automatic refill. www.tabwrapper.com
Midwest Automation
www.midwestautomation.com Interface helps simplify
welding process control
Fiber-backing disc handles Universal Weldcom Interface
variety of surface finishing (UWI), a new pendant application
applications from Yaskawa Motoman, enables
full utilization capabilities on select
Miller® and Lincoln Electric® digital
welding power supplies. The inter-
face simplifies control of any weld
process or parameter, including
voltage, amperage, and wire feed
speed, through a common user in-
PFERD Inc. has introduced the PO- terface for either brand.
LINOX® fiber-backing disc, with The unit can filter weld modes
nonwoven abrasive flaps with fiber- based on process type, wire size,
glass backing for face-down finish- wire type, and gas type. Up to 16
ing work. According to the com- processes from the power source
pany, the disc is designed for long library can be defined for easy ac-
service life and working on large cess within the interface, and up
surfaces with variable-speed angle to 1,000 custom arc files with spe-
grinders. cific processes and parameters are
The disc is suitable for manufac- available for use in motion pro-
turing a variety of products, such gramming.
as hand pads, drums, discs, belts, Up to six weld process param-
mounted points, and grinding eters in a weld sequence can be
wheels. Using aluminum oxide A set. A new dual-pulse function al-
abrasive, the disc handles a variety lows alternating between GMAW
of metal machining and grinding parameters and settings for GTAW-
applications. like cosmetics.
PFERD Inc. Yaskawa Motoman
www.pferdusa.com www.motoman.com

Laser lens withstands harsh conditions tance to harsh or extreme environmental conditions, Alkaline detergent
BEA Lasers has intro-
such as welding arc flash, abrasives, dust, and coolant. designed for ultrasonic
The MIL laser diode modules use a low-profile ³₈-in. cleaning
duced a new lens for
laser housing, fitted with an M12 connector, a 2-m-long
use with its MIL series PVC jacketed cable, and an integrated power supply.
lasers. The E²L Ex- An optional sensor-style bracket, or multi-adjustable
treme Environment LB bracket, completes the laser system.
Lens incorporates a BEA Lasers
quartz glass lens into the end ferrule, providing resis- www.bealasers.com
RADIUS TOOLING for Madison Chemical has introduced
PRESS BRAKES
Clean-Gard 83, an alkaline deter-
gent for removing aged, oxidized,
To bend ANY RADIUS in ANY GAUGE in ANY METAL burned-on oil; grease; and other
INNOVATION IN ACTION difficult-to-remove substances. It
Bend ANY RADIUS with is designed for immersion applica-
the same URETHANE
BOTTOM DIE tion, including ultrasonic and agi-
3 NEW lift, as well as recirculation spray
Patent washers up to 25 PSI.
Pending The formulation produces low to
Designs moderate foam. When the clean-
ing solution is not rinsed, it offers
1/4” thick
rust protection. Suitable materials
STAINLESS STEEL, 8”R include ferrous, aluminum, and zinc
10’ Long Formed in 3 HITS
alloys.
Custom Tooling is our specialty:
Polyurethane Madison Chemical Co. Inc.
Products
We can make Steel Punches...up to 30’ in length www.madchem.com
NO-MAR Brake Die Film • Urethane V-Dies • V-Pads
POLY-DIES from stock AND MORE! For-hire welding cobot
allows automated arc
Polyurethane 31 WEST Industrial ROAD
Addison IL 60101 USA
welding with no capital
Products 800-772-7072 investment
Corporation WWW.polyprod.com The new for-hire BotX Welder—
developed by Hirebotics and using
Universal Robots’ UR10e collabora-
tive robot arm—lets manufactur-
ers automate arc welding with no
capital investment, handling even
small batch runs not feasible for
traditional automation.
The system comes with the cobot
arm, cloud connector, welder, wire
feeder, GMAW welding gun, weld
table, and configurable user-input
touch buttons. Users can teach the
system the required welds via an
app on any smartphone or tablet
using welding libraries. With cloud
monitoring, manufacturers pay
only for the hours the system actu-
ally welds.
The cobot does not require safe-
ty fencing, so less space—some-
times less than half the floor space
of traditional automation—is re-
quired to produce the same size
part, according to the company.
Hirebotics
www.hirebotics.com

T-beam production line Industrial washer offered Two wraparound stainless steel spray bars are
helps improve Viking Blast & Wash Systems
equipped with 32 quick-disconnect nozzles for maxi-
shipbuilding efficiency has released the MBW3612 mum coverage. The same spray bars provide side
SS industrial washer. The re- spray for 360-degree coverage, along with a 7.5-HP
designed unit has a 36- by 12- pump with 400-gal. tank reservoir pumping at 60 PSI.
in. wash zone on a stainless steel mesh belt conveyor. The pumps do not contain bearings, seals, or gaskets
Belt flow speeds are adjustable from 2 to 10 FPM on a to replace.
continuous pass-through basis. The cabinet is made of Viking Blast & Wash Systems
fully insulated 10-ga. stainless steel. www.vikingcorporation.com
In shipyard steel manufacturing,
the size and shape of the parts sig-
nificantly affect productivity. In T- HR • HRPO • CR • GALV • ELECTRO GALV • ALUMINIZED
beam and web assembly on panel
Building a Legacy
and block lines, deformations of
welded T-beams tend to cause a lot
of unnecessary rework.
To address these issues, Pemamek
offers the Pema T-beam automated with Steel
production line. The line offers high-
capacity output and dimensional Quality, service and on-time delivery are our top priorities.
accuracy for panel fabrication and Supplying critical dimensions and flatness for all of your
flat rolled steel requirements.
other shipbuilding processes, with-
Sustained solutions for; Appliance, Agriculture,
out postweld processes. Automotive, Construction, Display,
The line receives the prepro- Electronics, Furniture, HVAC, & Transportation
cessed flanges and webs, cuts the Utilizing decades of industry knowledge.
flanges to correct lengths, shapes
the ends, and places reference
marks. It cuts webs to correct size
and shape using thermal cutting
in the plate prefabrication area.
The cleaned web edge against the
cleaned flange enables high-speed
welding. Clean welding zones help
708.924.1200 • WWW.ALLIANCESTEEL.NET • INFO@ALLIANCESTEEL.NET
ensure impurities to not cause
welding defects.
Pemamek
https://pemamek.com
Kit helps software

developers create
programs for weld
camera integration
Xiris has released WeldSDK for
Linux operating systems. The soft-
ware development kit allows devel-
opers to create their own programs
to integrate Xiris weld cameras into
their equipment. It incorporates
camera controls, image recording
and playback, and various image
processing functions.
The Linux operating system is
an open source operating system
suitable for real-time processing
on PCs. By supporting Linux, Xiris
can provide users with the ability to
process videos from welding cam-
eras on a real-time basis.
Xiris Automation Inc.
www.xiris.com

Aluminum plugs seal pipes carrying fluids The heavy-duty plugs are manufactured with a low- Delivery system feeds
HFT® Pipestoppers® alumi-
friction washer to ease tightening of the ring nut that garnet from bulk bags to
expands a rubber ring and make a completely leak- waterjet cutters
num plugs are designed for
tight seal. In addition, because the plugs are neutrally
plugging or sealing pipes buoyant, they can be used in subsea environments.
carrying fluids. They are Standard plugs are fitted with a natural rubber seal,
available up to 36 in. and but silicone, nitrile, neoprene, or Viton can be supplied.
can accommodate temper- Huntingdon Fusion Techniques HFT
atures up to 482 degrees F. www.huntingdonfusion.com
The new JET-FEED™ garnet delivery

system from Flexicon automatically
feeds garnet directly from bulk bags
to waterjet cutters. A BFF series
BULK-OUT® bulk bag discharger
allows floor-level connection of
bag straps to a lifting frame, which
is forklifted onto cradles of spring-
loaded POP-TOP™ extension posts.
The full bag’s weight compresses
the posts, which stretch the bag
upwards when it empties and
lightens to promote flow.
The bag outlet spout is pulled
through an iris valve which then is
closed, preventing material flow
while the spout is untied and the
access door is closed. Releasing the
valve slowly prevents uncontrolled
bursts of garnet into the hopper and
dust into the plant environment.
Flexicon Corp.
www.flexicon.com
System provides
fast external length
measurements on
manufactured parts
Mahr Inc., a provider of dimen-

sional metrology products, has in-
troduced the new Precimar® SM 60
length measurement instrument.
With a measuring range of 60 mm,
it is suitable for external measure-
ments on shop floor parts.
The unit can be configured with
the company’s readouts to pro-
vide a system tailored to the per-
formance level required for the
measurement application. It incor-
porates a 25-mm sensitive contact
and a fixed reference jaw with a 35-
mm adjustment to obtain the full
60-mm measurement capacity.
Mahr Inc.
www.mahr.com

Final line manifold Trimmable flap discs allow longer use The discs are available in 41/2-, 5-, and 6-in. sizes in C-
designed for simple Prime ceramic grain and Z-Prime zirconia grain. Both
Weldcote, a division of
installation materials are offered with a patented 5/8-11-in. built-in
Zika Group, has intro-
hub and with a standard 7/8-in. arbor hole. They are suit-
duced trimmable flap
able for use on carbon-based steels and stainless steel.
discs. The ability to trim
the nylon 6 back plate Weldcote
www.weldcotemetals.com
allows operators to use
the discs for a longer period of time, increasing disc
life by up to 65 percent, says the company.
HeckBM_3.375x4.875_Heck_BM_3.375x4.875 2/15/17 4:01 PM Page 1
The Harris Products Group, a Lin-

coln Electric company, has intro-
duced the model 1030 final line
BEVEL-MILL®
manifold system that regulates the
Model Model
pressure and flow of cryogenic gas- 9000 PRO21-G
es from a bulk tank or micro bulk
World’s Up to 10
tank into facility pipelines. Largest feet per
The system can be used for ap- minute
plications that involve nitrogen,
oxygen, argon, and C02 gases. It HAND OPERATED POWER FEED
comes with a dual regulator setup PLATE BEVELERS BEVELERS
for redundancy and has multiple Bevel up to 13/16”
pressure-relief valves for safety.

Model
The manifold uses the company’s WS625 Model
model 3550-250 ultrahigh-flow reg- BB27
ulators that are constructed with
stainless steel diaphragms. They
can deliver up to 250 PSI, and cus-
tom pressures are available. Flow
WELD BEAD
SHAVER BENCH TOP
rates up to 10,000 SCFH can be Machines weld beads flush DEBURRING
achieved at 350-PSI inlet pressure. to work piece. Precision finish chamfers.
Harris Products Group 800-886-5418

www.harrisproductsgroup.com
Fax 810-632-6640
3D scanner offers point www.heckind.net
accuracy up to 0.004 in.
Exact Metrol-
ogy has an-
nounced the
availability of
the new Artec
Micro 3D scanner. This automat-
ed desktop scanner handles tiny
mechanical parts, such as engine
valves or connectors, for inspec-
tion and reverse engineering, as
well as other small objects for in-
dustries such as heritage preserva-
tion, dentistry, and medical.
Twin cameras and blue LED lights
are synchronized with the scan-
ner’s dual-axis rotation system,
creating a digital copy using mini-
mal frames. The scanner creates a
high-resolution color 3D scan that
offers a point accuracy up to 0.004
in., one-tenth the size of a single
grain of salt.
Exact Metrology Inc.
www.exactmetrology.com

Sapphire fiber laser windows the company says. Featuring Mohs 9 hardness, which Tandem welding delivers
function as debris shields is second only to diamond, they have A/R coatings on high deposition rates
both sides to provide transmission of greater than 99.5
Laser Research Optics has intro-
duced sapphire fiber laser windows. percent at 1.06 microns with more than 80 percent at
They are suitable for use as debris 650-670 nm. Reducing focus shift and the deteriora-
shields on high-power lasers from 4 tion of beam quality, the windows can withstand steel
kW up and have lower bulk absorp- splatter, flash, and debris.
tion with about 30 times higher ther- Laser Research Optics
mal conductivity than fused silica protection glasses, www.laserresearchoptics.net Fronius now offers its tandem
welding process on the TPS/i
welding platform. The compact,
network-capable TPS/i Twin Push
BUILT FOR METAL welding system provides high de-
BUILT FOR YOU position rates and welding speeds,
as well as increased efficiency in
PREMIUM QUALITY & PERFORMANCE
production due to a reduced need
Large Format Fiber and CO2 Lasers for prefabrication and rework.
The high deposition rate permits
HyperDual Motion Package
a high weld seam volume or high
Unmatched Safety welding speeds, which is relevant
when joining high-volume com-
ponents or long seams for con-
struction machinery, commercial
vehicles, automotive parts, and
shipbuilding. Precise control of the
welding process enables controlled
droplet detachment and low heat
input into the component, permit-
ting low-spatter results with mini-
FiberCELL OptiFlex mal distortion, says the company.
Class I Fiber Laser Class 4 CO2 Laser
Stainless, CRS, Aluminum & More Plastic,Wood, Metal & Foam Fronius
www.fronius.com
K E R N LA SER S.CO M | 8 8 8 -6 6 0 -2 7 5 5 | MADE IN USA

Tag provides bar code
identification for
high-temperature
environments
InfoSight has
introduced a
new tag, the
TigTag™, to
bring bar code labeling capabilities
to environments in excess of 2,000
degrees F. The tag is a Cerami-
Code™ high-purity alumina ce-
ramic plate mounted to a 316 stain-
less steel baseplate. The mounting
technique is designed to permit
rapid temperature cycling without
stress on the ceramic plate.
The tag can be attached to met-
als using small GTAW or GMAW
welds. The 2- by 3-in. tag provides
a high-contrast bar code for trace-
ability of pieces that experience
multiple cycles of extremely high
temperatures.
InfoSight
www.knovation.com/
ceramiccodes

EDI-ready exchange platform designed The platform reduces the complexity of setting up Laser optic equipped with
for metal industry EDI by providing intermediate tables that contain EDI integrated wire feeder
X12 data. This eliminates the need for customers to
Invera has released Stratix/Edix, an EDI-ready exchange
platform that natively integrates with Stratix ERP to obtain information from their ERP directly or to for-
facilitate and accelerate the implementation of EDI mat data to X12. It supports custom data extraction for
for metal service centers. This allows users to reduce outbound data and validation/modification of inbound
manual data entry and reconciliation efforts among data through the use of stored procedures.
customers, vendors, and outside processors using Invera
their EDI engine of choice. www.invera.com Scansonic has introduced the new-
generation ALO4 processing optics
for laser brazing and welding. Ac-
cording to the company, it is the
only optic on the market equipped
with an integrated wire feeder
made by Abicor Binzel. An addi-
“The Best is Now The Simplest” tional control box for the module is
not required. Operators work with
Dot Peen Marker a single user interface.
ER
00
IAL: 011 7
-
Swivel arm performance has
been improved with even finer tilt
TS
21
-17
ARC TEX
18:27
sensors. 3D weight compensation
2D DATA MATRIX Impo rt Graphics enables precise control of the wire
MIRROR TEXT TE
X T contact pressure in all positions.
R
LA With additional torque, the swivel
GU
REVERSE TEXT AN
REVERSE TEXT
ANGULAR TEXT arm brings more power into the
application.
Type or teach positioning Motor-driven wire positioning
r r r r r r
Compact flash card memory extends the scope of applications

Automatic serializing in highly automated production
Date/time shift coding lines. Right and left applications are
Mark virtually any material possible, enabling a single optic to
The KM-64 True chipless engraving process different components in
the same laser cell.
info@kwikmark.com (815) 363-8268 www.kwikmark.com MADE IN USA Scansonic MI GmbH
www.scansonic.de
Pneumatic toggle clamps

provide positive lock
during closing
JW Winco offers
the GN 860 and
GN 862 pneumat-
ic toggle clamps.
They use the
over-center principle, which pro-
vides a positive lock during closing
to maintain the retaining force even
after loss of pressure at the cylinder.
The low-wear design and the op-
tion to detect the position of the
clamping element by means of
magnetic sensors help improve de-
pendability. The retaining force is
transmitted to the clamping point
by a clamping arm or piston rod.
A hybrid toggle clamp employs a
hand lever to combine manual clos-
ing with pneumatic opening.
JW Winco
www.jwwinco.com

Brochures published on anodize, cialty finishes include copper anodize, brushes stain- Industrial part marking
paint, and specialty finishing services less anodize, terra cotta coatings, antimicrobial paint- guide released
ed finishes, spattercoat, and wood grain. Durable Technologies has pub-
Linetec has published five new brochures covering The capabilities brochure highlights the company’s lished “Guide to Traditional Indus-
anodize finishes, paint finishes, specialty finishes, and value-added services: aluminum stretch forming, ther- trial Part Marking.”
wood grain finishes, as well as service capabilities. mal improvement services, stock flat sheet and extru- The guide presents detailed in-
The finish brochures present benefits, specification sion, managed inventory and trucking, brake metal and formation about character styles;
criteria, and care and cleaning instructions. They de- fabrication, on-site repair and restoration, and shipping. hand stamps and holders; ham-
scribe the company’s color choices, processes, quality Linetec mers and safety considerations;
control, material size guidelines, and warranties. Spe- www.linetec.com steel stamps and dies; roll dies, em-
bossing dies, and inserts; steel type
and holders; and hot stamping.
Durable Technologies
www.durable-tech.com
Wire feeder features

adjustable wire
run-in speed
Lincoln Elec-
tric® has intro-
duced the new
LN-25X™, a
portable in-
dustrial wire feeder with CrossLinc®
and True Voltage Technology™.
Designed for construction, pipe,
metal fabrication, shipbuilding, and
rental fleet applications, it provides
increased control with a reduced
number of cables.
Features include adjustable wire
run-in speed for softer starting,
an arc hours meter, bright digital
meters for easy viewing, English or
metric unit configuration, and a
Maxtrac® wire drive system.
Lincoln Electric
www.lincolnelectric.com
Interface for end-of-arm

tooling fits variety
of robotic systems
OnRobot A/S offers a unified me-

chanical and electrical interface
for its end-of-arm tooling (EoAT)
that helps simplify automation. The
single One-System platform is de-
signed for a variety of collaborative
and light industrial robotic systems.
The platform gives manufactur-
ers access to a full range of tools
and full robot compatibility.
OnRobot A/S
www.onrobot.com/en

Steel container 50-kA capacitor discharge The unit is suitable for welding high-strength steel,
holds 4,000 lbs. welder introduced aluminum, and large projection and ring projection
parts. The technology combines the capabilities of a
Steel King In- Dengensha America has expanded its capacitor discharge welder with a 15,000-Hz bipolar
dustries Inc. has LinearWave capacitor discharge weld-
introduced the medium-frequency converter. It provides direct cur-
ing machine product family to five rent configuration of weld current values for simplified
ScrapHopper in-
models, adding a second 50-kA ver- setting of parameters.
dustrial steel con-
tainer. Its thick, sion that combines a standard NDZ Dengensha America Corp.
corrugated steel sides make it suit- welder and a LinearWave controller. www.dengensha.com
able for use at any workstation.
The container features two-way
entry tubes; fully rotatable, heavy-
duty casters; and a push handle for
maneuverability. Each unit features
a 4,000-lb. capacity. It is available in
two standard sizes (32 by 40 by 24
in. and 40 by 48 by 24 in.) and four
standard colors.
Steel King Industries Inc.
www.steelking.com
Spray rust preventive

redesigned for eco-
friendliness
Cortec® Corp. has
introduced the re-
designed EcoAir®
line of surface
prep and rust pre-
vention products
packaged in bag-on-valve spray
cans. These cans are powered by
air rather than traditional flamma-
ble propellants.
The line includes options for bio-
based rust removal, water-based
void space protection, and water-
based cleaning/degreasing with
flash rust protection.
Cortec Corp.
www.cortecvci.com
Quick-change tool system

allows robot-based
cutting, deburring, grinding
Suhner Industrial
Products offers a
system of machine
tools that can be
mounted directly on a robot arm
for continuous use.
Tools are available for brushing,
polishing, filing, and belt sanding.
Applications vary from automotive
manufacturing to deburring and
stainless steel machining to drilling
and tapping.
Suhner Industrial Products LLC
www.suhner.com/en

MANAGEMENT » BIZ TALK
A metal fabricator’s sense of place

Why the place where manufacturing occurs matters
Read more from Tim Heston at

www.thefabricator.com/author/tim-heston
By Tim Heston stock flows to cutting, which flows to bending
I
and other downstream processes, all in a classic
n 2007 I walked the halls of a massive soft- U shape; no more scurrying across the street to
ware conference that had a broad (or “hori- get a part welded or inspected. The place also
zontal,” in business-speak) focus, everything has a large machine shop that feeds work to
from supply chain management and trucking sheet metal assemblies, though it also does a fair
to retail to manufacturing. I was there for the amount of machining-exclusive work.
manufacturing track. Looking around, I noticed Being part of a new industrial park, Vining
the screens—the BlackBerries everywhere and his team have met their neighbors, includ-
(this was pre-iPhone) and, especially, laptops. ing an upholstery manufacturer, one so similar
I’m betting some spent more time looking at to SMI that they could have been cut from the
screens than talking with each other. You didn’t same cloth (pun intended). They just happened
see that back then, outside certain circles. Now, to process different materials.
well, you know what happened. “It’s a family business like ours,” Vining said.
All those screens gave me an odd feeling. “They almost seem to be running parallel to us.”
People were there but not there. Yes, all those Like SMI, the fabric manufacturer moved from
screens represented a triumph of efficiency. an older part of Middleton because it needed
People could do their jobs from anywhere. But space to expand. Vining recalled touring his
what was happening to the sense of place? neighbor’s factory and seeing shelving not un-
That unique sense of place sets a manufactur- like their material handling towers, but for fabric
» With its new building, Salem Metal Inc. finally has room instead of sheet metal. And the two companies
er apart from just about any other business in to grow.
our modern economy. When I walk into a healthy have space to grow.
fabricator, I feel this sense of engaged, friendly our older building and find a bigger place,” Vin- On SMI’s shop floor, you’ll see spaces left
urgency. Other businesses occur in physical ing said. “My initial reaction was, ‘You’re crazy. empty for a strategic reason, both in the office
spaces: agriculture, warehousing, server farms, Do you know what it would take to move all the and in the shop. “If we look five, 10 years down
and the remaining brick-and-mortar retailers. equipment, the air lines, and electrical work?’” the line, and we need space for another press
But manufacturers make things. We hear about But then he was shown the plans for the new brake, a robotic welding machine, or a punch/
the digital manufacturing revolution, but no industrial park, and it didn’t take long for Vining laser combo, whatever it might be, we can drop
matter how “digital” manufacturing becomes, to realize that the time was right. The company those machines right in place without having to
metal cannot be made out of ones and zeros. had grown steadily since the Great Recession. reconfigure everything.”
Fabricators require space, and the nature and Its customer mix included a number of medi- On another level, those empty spaces im-
location of that space can define a company’s cal device customers that aren’t as sensitive ply forward-thinking. SMI has 70 employees,
culture. Consider Salem Metal Inc. (SMI), a cus- to economic cycles. All that provided a steady up from 45 in 2011. When it hires more people,
tom fabricator that recently moved from a small foundation for future growth—but that growth managers will show them the plant, its layout,
building in an older part of Middleton, Mass., to a required a new place. In his early 40s, Vining has and those empty spaces that represent expan-
sleek facility in a new industrial park nearby. at least two more decades to take the company sion and future changes. Those prospective em-
“I was approached in August 2016 by a local to the next level, and he needed the right place ployees might get a sense of the company’s cul-
developer,” said Jason Vining, company presi- to make that happen. ture, one that looks forward and not backward,
dent. That developer had toured SMI’s plant and Earlier this year SMI completed its move into and doesn’t shy away from change.
witnessed some of the company’s challenges. It an expansive building where it uses 70,000 sq.- In manufacturing, a place tells everyone—
operated out of 30,000 square feet and in an- ft. of manufacturing space and a 6,500-sq. ft. employees, customers, prospects, the commu-
other 8,000 sq. ft. at a facility across the street, second story, overlooking the floor, plus another nity—so much. Manufacturing places aren’t for
which it had purchased in 2014. “It was really a 18,000 sq. ft. it’s leasing to another company. vacant screen-staring, like coffee shops or con-
Band-Aid solution,” Vining recalled. Parts and The place has the hallmarks of modern manu- ferences full of people who are there but really
people traversed back and forth for welding, in- facturing. It’s well-lit. It has ceilings high enough aren’t. They’re places where people don’t prob-
spection, and other manufacturing steps. for material towers and large, open spaces with lem-solve with email or texts. They work to-
“The developer and I were joking around, and no walls. Even new employees can see where gether, face to face, to get the job done.
he asked me when I was going to move out of work is coming from and where it’s going. Raw Salem Metal Inc., www.salemmetal.com
Nov19FAB_BizTalk.indd 72 10/23/19 12:50 PM

Nov19FAB_BizTalk.indd 73 10/23/19 12:50 PM
MANAGEMENT » AROUND WASHINGTON
EPA considers air emissions

status reductions
Certain manufacturers that apply coatings
might qualify for less stringent oversight
Read more from Stephen Barlas at
www.thefabricator.com/author/stephen-barlas
By Stephen Barlas One of the metal sectors the EPA looked at in making the above guess
M
was “miscellaneous metal parts and products, whose NESHAP is referred
any metalworking sectors are watching with interest as the En- to as “subpart MMMM.” In this segment, the EPA identifies 371 major
vironmental Protection Agency decides whether to allow major sources. (This segment includes a variety of products, such as automo-
sources of air emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) to bile parts, heavy equipment, and metal buildings.) Other NESHAP that will
reclassify as area sources, which are less regulated.
come into play, for example, are those for surface coating of metal coils
Major sources are facilities that emit 10 tons/year of any single HAP or
and surface coating of metal furniture.
25 tons/year of any combination of HAP. Once classified as major sources,
One issue that has arisen is that some NESHAP do include deadlines for
those facilities have to implement maximum achievable control technol-
companies covered to apply to become area sources. In some cases, those
ogy (MACT), which the EPA specifies. Those emission control limits can
are very specific deadlines established when the NESHAP first went into
be costly. It is then difficult under current regulations for major sources to
effect. Many of those deadlines have passed.
reclassify as less regulated area sources, which are subject to a generally
Wayne D’Angelo, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing the Steel
achievable control technology (GACT) standard, which are less onerous
Manufacturers Association and the Specialty Steel Industry of North
and, in many instances, prescribed by the state in which the facility is lo-
America, said the EPA should extend those deadlines for facilities doing
cated, not the EPA. The EPA wants to allow a major source to become an
surface coating of metal coil and those doing surface coating of miscel-
area source at any time by limiting its HAP “potential to emit” (PTE)—a
laneous metal parts and products. D’Angelo did not respond to a request
term of EPA regulatory art—to below the major source thresholds.
for further comment.
Part of the issue is whether reclassifying as an area source, and thereby
shucking the MACTs associated with their specific National Emission Stan- “The ability of a firm to reclassify from a major source to an area source,
dards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, would result in greater emissions of and therefore be subject to less expensive and time-consuming area source
HAPs if the facility qualified for the less stringent GACT. The EPA has hy- requirements, is an important economic incentive to firms to reduce their
pothesized that wouldn’t happen because many facilities under NESHAP PTE to below major source thresholds,” said Christopher Shanks, presi-
also have non-HAP emission controls, which would also limit HAP emis- dent, Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society, which represents manufacturers of
sions if they became area sources. metal castings used in many manufactured products.
The PTE definition, which is used to establish both MACT and GACT stan-
dards, is based on various emissions tests a company must perform. The
EPA would make some changes to that definition as part of any final rule,
a decision welcomed by, among others, The Aluminum Association, which
has members complying with the surface coating of metal coil NESHAP.
“The association supports EPA’s proposal to revise the definition … by
removing the requirement for federally enforceable PTE limits and requir-
ing instead that PTE limits meet the effectiveness criteria of being both
legally enforceable and practically enforceable, and providing relevant def-
initions for those new terms,” said Curt Wells, senior director of regula-
tory affairs, The Aluminum Association. “The association does not support
that public notice and comment procedures should be part of the new
required effectiveness criteria.”
Environmental groups oppose making reclassification easier. These
groups argue the rule, if finalized, would vastly increase emissions of air
pollutants, whose danger to public health Congress firmly instructed EPA
to minimize, and unwind decades of progress toward that statutory goal.
The Aluminum Association, www.aluminum.org
Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov
Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society, www.nffs.org
Specialty Steel Industry of North America, www.ssina.com
Steel Manufacturers Association, www.steelnet.org
Nov19FAB_AroundDC.indd 74 10/23/19 12:57 PM

Nov19FAB_AroundDC.indd 75 10/23/19 12:57 PM
MANAGEMENT » STEEL NEWS
Have steel prices hit bottom?

Some steel buyers see a chance for lower prices still
Visit www.steelmarketupdate.com
for more information
By John Packard and Tim Triplett
E
xcept for a brief uptick this summer, steel prices have been on the
decline since March and breached the $500/ton level in mid-Octo-
ber—a psychological line in the sand that leaves steel buyers won-
dering: Have prices hit bottom? Is it time to replenish inventories?
Flat-rolled steel prices took a steep dive last month, with hot-rolled coil
dropping below $500 for the first time since early November 2016. Steel
Market Update’s survey of the market placed the average price for spot
orders of hot-rolled at $480/ton ($24.00/cwt) FOB the mill east of the
Rockies, with lead times of just two to four weeks. Similarly, cold-rolled
dropped to $670/ton ($33.50/cwt), with lead times from the mills of three
to eight weeks. The benchmark price for 0.060-inch G90 galvanized steel
decreased to an average of $739/ton delivered, with lead times of five to
eight weeks. The price of steel plate was unchanged in October at an av-
erage of $675/ton ($33.75/cwt) delivered to the customer’s facility within » Figure 1
Steel buyers are growing increasingly pessimistic about current business conditions.
four to six weeks.
Several factors are weighing heavily on steel prices: Ferrous scrap prices declined by $30-$40/gross ton in both September
• Steel supplies are outpacing the tepid demand heading into the fourth and October. Scrap prices are at their lowest level in years after dropping
quarter. eight out of the last 10 months. Scrap prices are a function of supply and
• The monthlong strike at General Motors is having lingering effects on demand. Demand is down as mills have begun to ease back on production
the supply chain. in light of the low-finished steel prices and weak pull-through from man-
• Ferrous scrap prices continue to decline. ufacturing. Weakness in economies overseas has made demand for U.S.
• And political strife in Washington only serves to deepen the market’s scrap exports unpredictable. As a result, it’s more difficult for the mills to
anxiety over trade issues and the health of the U.S. economy. justify an increase in steel prices when their raw material costs are down.
President Trump’s decision to
move U.S. troops out of Syria, clear-
3 R O L L H Y D R AU L I C P I N C H P Y R A M I D P L AT E B E N D I N G M A C H I N E S ing the way for Turkey’s assault on
the Kurds, prompted new trade sanc-
tions against the Turkish government
and its economy last month. One of
those sanctions was a plan to raise
the tariff on Turkish steel exports to
the U.S. back to 50 percent from the
25 percent level to which it was low-
• The 101 Series from WDM. ered back in May. As analysts pointed
• Over 40 years of experience with out, Turkish steel exports to the U.S.
3 generations working in the business. have been near zero for the past year
• Built in USA with American components.
anyway, so the change in the tariff is
• 30 gauge to 3” thick, 1’ to 26’ wide.
likely to have little incremental im-
• Custom and built to order options available.
pact on the Turkish economy—or
Have a rolling question? Call and speak directly to the designer, engineer on the pressure being applied to the
Waldemar Design & Machine LLC
and manufacturer of WDM machines, right in Tennessee, USA. 900 Highland Drive Turkish government to moderate its
Spencer, TN 38585
931-946-8474, or brutality on the battlefield.
606-787-8474 Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers
Sentiment Index has been trending
downward since April and declined by
26 percentage points to a reading of
+26 in September, reaching its lowest
Nov19FAB_SteelNews.indd 76 10/23/19 1:44 PM

level since 2013. (Based on the annual rate of change in the three-month is taking all the oxygen out of the room, with trade wars contributing to the
moving averages, both current and future sentiment have been trending uncertainty. I foresee additional uncertainty as we move into 2020.”
downward since 2017, as shown in Figure 1.) To put the latest figures in • “Service centers are holding back and not ordering much. This is keep-
perspective, over the dozen years SMU has been tracking industry sentiment, ing lead times shorter than normal. I think service centers will have to jump
readings have ranged from highs of +78 to lows of -85 during the Great back into the market after the holidays. We might see pricing start to rise
Recession. Not counting the years prior to 2011 that were impacted by the again in late Q1.”
historic recession and thus were highly anomalous, sentiment has generally • “Close [to a bottom], but no cigar. We see a further drop for December.
moved within a 60-point range, from roughly +14 to +74. Therefore, the The mills will only be able to raise prices if they stick together, which rarely
happens.”
recent 26-point drop is significant and shows a troubling level of pessimism
• “Based on current scrap prices and no change in the same for Novem-
in the business community.
ber, I think the HR index could fall to $470-ish per ton, with extremes to
So, when will flat-rolled prices reverse course? The answer to that ques-
$450 and lower. There’s literally only one solution to get the HR price to
tion is unknowable, but SMU data and what history tells us about service
sustain and hold above $550/ton: reduced domestic output. Given that we’re
center spot prices suggest a transition could be in the works.
now into a lower demand environment, the supply side takes on most of the
Seventy-three percent of the manufacturing companies responding to
burden in this market for now. We may continue to experience these micro-
SMU’s questionnaire in early October reported their service center suppli- cycles where prices drop, price increases are announced, and a buying binge
ers were lowering spot prices below levels seen just a couple weeks before. ensues, and then we’re back to crickets. We’ve wrung out all of the excess
Likewise, service centers reported deepening price cuts as 89 percent imports that were possible via tariffs, and the resolution of Section 232s
said their company was lowering spot prices. Thus, the steel distribu- with Mexico and Canada, our largest steel trading partners, cemented this
tors have moved beyond the SMU “capitulation” level, which historically phenomenon, putting in a fairly firm floor level of imports. That leaves only
has been 75 percent. That’s the level at which spot selling prices begin domestic output as the remaining lever the mills can control. Unfortunately
to create issues with inventory and profitability and service centers begin for them, it falls mostly onto the integrated mills to cut since their structure
to consider higher prices rather than discounting to win orders. Service is such they cannot tweak output as easily as the EAF mills can.”
centers hit the 75 percent mark twice before in 2019. In both instances
the mills announced price increases and achieved modest price recovery Upcoming Events
before prices began to slide once again. Much will depend on the timing of For those looking to learn more about the steel industry, SMU is conduct-
the next mill price increase and whether the service centers have suffered ing “Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals” in
enough to support it. Fontana, Calif., Jan. 7-8. The workshop includes a tour of the California
Steel Industries mill.
What Steel Buyers Say About Prices If you are interested in attending the Steel 101 workshop, you can find
Here are some comments that have been collected from steel buyers in more information at www.steelmarketupdate.com/events/steel101, or you
recent weeks: can send an email to info@steelmarketupdate.com.
• “Are we close to the bottom? I don’t think so. I think some capacity John Packard, president/CEO of Steel Market Update, can be reached at john@steelmarketup-
needs to come out of the market. Demand does not have the legs to push date.com. Tim Triplett, executive editor for Steel Market Update, can be reached at tim@steel-
prices up.” marketupdate.com.
• “We’re not yet at the bottom, but close. We believe we’ll test the $470
level before seeing a bottom. For prices to rise again, the high-volume buy-
ers will come in near the bottom, place huge blocks of tons, lead times will
move out, and the mills will raise prices. Our third cycle this year. Will an
increase be sustainable? Absolutely not without an increase in demand.”
• “We are close to the bottom, but how close? It’s ugly today and maybe
for another four to six weeks. For prices to rise again, we need a market
shaker. Maybe the tariffs going back to 50 percent on Turkey? The mills will
need an increase soon. If there’s no recession, prices will go up after the
December order book is mostly filled.”
• “A reasonable person would have to believe we are close to the bottom,
but stranger things have happened, and with reports of discounting to $23-
$24/cwt, it suggests that input costs and profitable sales are not the current
mill objective. For prices to rise we need to have trade deals in place that
won’t continually change like the situation in Turkey. The laws of supply and
demand trump all. The mills would have to remove enough tons to gain the
upper hand with buyers in order to have any effect on prices.”
• “It’s very confusing. The mills are talking about a price increase com-
ing. Demand is horrible, however, so I expect prices to keep falling into
November. For prices to rise, the recession talk needs to subside and de-
mand needs to pick up. The economy is not as robust as expected, and that
is affecting all aspects of our business. Demand is the key driver [behind a
price increase], and it’s truly in the dumps right now.”
• “I think we are likely close to a bottom. I would expect pricing to
start to rebound in February. It really depends on the trade and political
environment. Should things settle down, prices will rebound. Impeachment
Nov19FAB_SteelNews.indd 77 10/23/19 1:44 PM

MANAGEMENT » CHIEF CONCERNS
I ran the business for a long time. In that time
the service center industry has substantially
changed, as all industries have over the last 40-
plus years.
One of the things that I saw was that the World
War II generation who were transitioning their
businesses to the next generation of family had
difficulties. In some instances, the children just
didn’t want to do it. They did something else.
So to make that transition, you need the right
leadership and the right ownership structure.
With the right people in place, you can make this
Working to ensure
work, decade after decade after decade. You
end up having great customers who support you
because you’re providing them with products
manufacturing’s and services and you’ve helped them to increase

the value of their own products and services.
future in the U.S.

FAB: What does it mean to you to be recognized
with the Steel Executive of the Year Award for
2019?
Hickey: Well, I was pretty shocked because I’m
still remaining an active member. He is also past really not doing a lot in terms of the day-to-day
The Association of chairman of the Illinois Manufacturers Associa- operation of the business. But I am involved in a
Steel Distributors honors tion, on which he still sits on the board of direc- fair amount of discussions about the right types
Bill Hickey as its 2019 tors, and a trustee for the Precision Metalform- of policies we need as a country in order to have
ing Association Educational Foundation. a better manufacturing environment.
Steel Executive of the Year Hickey’s successful career leading a major You have to remember that manufacturing
steel distribution company and continued dedi- creates wealth. Wealth that is created in manu-
By Dan Davis
T
cation to promoting manufacturing and the steel facturing is really spread amongst all the partici-
he official work history of William “Bill” industry on the national stage have earned him pants in the system. And if you look at the pro-
M. Hickey Jr. may be complete, but Hickey numerous awards throughout the years. The cess of taking raw material to creating a finished
is still writing his story. The focus is no latest is the Steel Executive of the Year Award product, everywhere along those steps in the
longer on the family business, Lapham-Hickey for 2019 from the Association of Steel Distribu- supply chain, somebody gets the opportunity to
Steel Corp., but on something much larger—the tors, which made it a point to call Hickey “one of get a job and to create income for themselves
steel distribution and manufacturing segments the steel industry’s strongest advocates” in the and their family.
of the domestic economy. news release announcing the honor. (The Steel That’s one of the things that certainly the Chi-
After 40 years as company president, Hickey Executive of the Year Award ceremony and din- nese understand. But the problem is that in China
gave up the day-to-day operations of the ner will take place on Tuesday evening, March 3, the state owns the means of production. It’s cer-
service center, which was founded in 1926 2020, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort tainly not a free enterprise system or a market
and now has 10 locations with approximately in San Antonio, Texas. The ceremony is part of economy that we still have here in the U.S.
700 employees, to the fourth generation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association’s But part of it is our own fault because we al-
the family members about a year ago. Brian Annual Meeting.) lowed it to happen. A lot of companies moved a
Hickey is now president, and Will Hickey is chief The FABRICATOR had the chance recently to lot of assets to China, and a lot of people were
commercial officer. Laura Hickey works as a interview Hickey and learn more about his ca- put on the unemployment line here in the U.S.
project manager, heavily involved in operational reer and what he’s doing with his time now. An
and systems integration with the company’s edited transcript follows.
multiple locations, which includes a couple of The FABRICATOR: After 40 years leading
acquisitions made in recent years. Lapham-Hickey and being able to hand the busi-
Now Hickey is looking to continue his indus- ness over to the fourth generation of Hickeys,
try work, in which he was already actively in- would you say that steel is in your blood?
volved during his work career. In the past he has
Bill Hickey: Well, I would think so. We all seem
served in national leadership positions for the
to have picked up the same hereditary gene.
Metals Service Center Institute and is currently
a member of the Chairman’s Emeritus Council. FAB: How do you think you’ve been able to suc-
Because of his willingness to be recognized as a cessfully keep the family company thriving from
spokesperson for the industry, he also was ap- one generation to the next, which is not the easi-
pointed to the ITAC 7, an advisory committee est thing to do?
to the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Hickey: That’s a great question. I really don’t
» The Association of Steel Distributors named Bill
Trade Representative, holding the position of know the answer to that, but I can give you some Hickey, chairman, Lapham-Hickey Steel Corp., as its
chairman of the committee for four years and of the insights. My father passed away in 1977, so Steel Executive of the Year for 2019.
Nov19FAB_ChiefConcerns_BillInterview.indd 78 10/23/19 1:36 PM

over the last 20 years. And anybody who believes that you’ll be able to have because these marketplaces have driven them to be like that. There was
a stable supply chain coming from China over the next couple of decades the massive consolidation in the domestic steel industry. Then you had the
certainly has to be naive. newcomers, like Nucor and SDI.
FAB: With the threat that China poses, what do you think are the biggest That’s why the American industrial economy is the most productive in-
obstacles to maintaining a vibrant manufacturing economy here in North dustrial economy in the world. And we’re going to continue to be produc-
America? tive for several reasons.
One of the main reasons is the energy situation in the U.S. With frack-
Hickey: Around 2002 I gave my first public speech about currency valua- ing and natural gas, energy is affordable, and you’re certainly not near
tions, specifically targeting the devaluations the Chinese government had peak production. It has been an economic boon for an extended period
done to become a powerhouse in manufacturing. I certainly believe that of time for some parts of the country, and this raw material extraction
the world has changed and we have a global economy, but there has to be and refinement brings wealth to everybody in the supply chain.
some type of system of balancing these economic actions that countries
take. For instance, in the European Union, all the manufacturing goods we FAB: What advice do you have for a young person who is looking for a ca-
send there have a [value-added tax] attached to them of at least 20 per- reer path but has not looked at the steel industry or manufacturing?
cent. That’s about a 20 percent increase in the cost of the product. So the Hickey: I always look at people and say, “Do you want to do something
$40,000 to $50,000 Ford Explorer we make on the South Side of Chicago that’s unique? Do you want to do something different? Do you as an indi-
has that tax applied to it when it’s shipped to Germany. Now the $100,000 vidual have a dream to do something that nobody’s done before? Do you
Mercedes that is shipped out of Germany gets at least a 20 percent tax like to create things?” Then what I come back to is that there are so many
rebate because they get the VAT rebated from the German government. opportunities, especially now with the new technologies.
When that $100,000 car lands in the U.S., it basically lists above $80,000, They will be able to find satisfaction at the end of the day when they go
depending on the freight cost. So they’re subsidizing their exports and tax- home. They can look back at what a great job they did making a part, an
ing our manufactured goods. assembly, or an end product.
What do you think the merchandise balance of trade is with Germany? Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis can be reached at dand@thefabricator.com.
It’s very positive for Germany, and it’s all exports. The German economy
has about 8 to 10 percent of its GDP in surplus, and it’s exports. Yeah. We
have 4 to 5 percent of our GDP in deficit. It’s all imports from places like
Europe, China, and Mexico.
You know, if Congress would do something about approving the U.S.-
Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, that would certainly help level the
playing field. When we got into NAFTA, one of the first things that the
Mexicans did was devalue their currency. At that time the peso was 33
cents to the dollar. Today it’s 5 cents to the dollar. Since this has happened,
people are not increasing their standard of living. They are working for
slave wages. That’s why you have this huge problem with the balance of
trade and you also have this huge problem with the migrants.
FAB: Did you see yourself becoming this type of an industry spokesperson,
doing what you can to support domestic manufacturers?
Hickey: I really didn’t see it happening. It just came up. We started to
do town hall meetings about industrial manufacturing through the Met-
als Service Center Institute, and I remember the first one we did was in
2002 in the suburbs of Chicago. We had a couple hundred people there,
and we invited some politicans, some showed and some didn’t. And for
everyone who didn’t show, we shared their phone numbers with those
in attendance. We asked them to call and find out why they didn’t want
manufacturing in the U.S. Over the next couple of days, we got calls back
from all those offices saying, “We blew this. We should’ve been there.”
That’s the point. The majority of the elected officials in this country, es-
pecially in the U.S. Congress, just absolutely have no clue about manufac-
turing. They’re lawyers. They become county prosecutors. They become
district attorneys and state attorneys. Then they get elected to the House
or the Senate. They just don’t have the understanding about manufac-
turing and the understanding of risking your money to build a dream of
making a product or service. The problem is, when they make the rules,
American manufacturers have it harder than competitors in other parts of
the world. Somebody has to start talking about leveling the playing field.
FAB: Do you get a sense that the steel distribution and manufacturing in-
dustry is in a better place compared to when you first entered it?
Hickey: The industry is in a good place because of the fact that people
in the service center business and the fabrication business are certainly
smarter, better decision-makers, and more nimble than their predecessors
Nov19FAB_ChiefConcerns_BillInterview.indd 79 10/23/19 1:36 PM

MANAGEMENT » CHIEF CONCERNS
The reality of the situation is that a welder can make a decent living, even
at the entry level, but he or she generally won’t be earning top dollars right
off the bat. Like any job, most have to start at the bottom.
Also, wages are rising, but maybe not at the rate that equates to the hype
surrounding the skilled worker shortage. The WELDER, a sister magazine
to The FABRICATOR, asked its subscribers in its last three readership
studies how much their companies pay entry-level welders per hour (see
Figure 1). In 2015, only 26 percent paid more than $17 per hour. By 2017
that had climbed to 28 percent, and this year it was 43 percent.
Rob Abfall, chief operating officer, Amerequip Corp., a fabricator of
custom equipment for the lawn, landscape, agricultural, and construction
markets, said the company was turning away work in 2017 and early 2018
because it had difficulty attracting and retaining workers. It went from 125
employees in 2012 to 300 by 2017. One of the first steps it took later in
2018 to stabilize the workforce was to boost wages.
“We opened up the contract [with the International Association of Ma-
chinists and Aerospace Workers union] and gave more significant raises
than what were built into the original contract,” Abfall said.
In addition to boosting starting wages to more than $15 per hour,
Amerequip raised starting wages for welders to more than $18 per hour.
That wage bump and an agreement to go to a weekend shift that paid
employees, including welders, 40 hours for a 36-hour shift over a Friday,
a Saturday, and a Sunday, really helped to stabilize the workforce, so man-
agement could focus on filling open production capacity and becoming
more efficient to introduce new capacity.
The straight dope That need to boost welder wages is not unique to Kiel, Wis., home of
Amerequip. With Amazon opening distribution centers all over the U.S.
on welder pay and larger metropolitan areas moving to a $15 minimum wage, more fab-
ricating companies have been forced to boost wages. As The WELDER’s
readership survey suggested, companies have had to be aggressive in ad-
You won’t get rich right away, justing wages to attract entry-level workers.
Of course, this is only part of the story when it comes to welders and
but a wealth of opportunities await their pay. Let’s look at some more factors that determine what welders
can expect to earn.
By Dan Davis Experience Pays
W
The couple of times as a kid you played with your dad’s welding power
ith any shortage, you expect costs to rise. It’s simple econom-
source that he kept in the garage does not count as welding experience,
ics: If something is in demand and there’s not enough to go
or at least the kind that manufacturers are looking for. Having said that, it
around, consumers can expect to pay more than what they
doesn’t keep people from believing that they are ready to hit the ground
might have had to pay when demand was less or more was available.
running as a welder.
That’s left more than a few welders scratching their heads over the past
Reality, however, has a way of setting the record straight. A welder has to
several years as the industry continually beats the drums of a shortage of
put in the time under the hood if he or she wants to maximize the craft’s
workers. The American Welding Society believes that the U.S. industry will earning potential.
have a shortage of more than 450,000 skilled welders by 2022. That’s quite
a shortage. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that almost 425,000
welding jobs existed in 2018.) In fact, someone might look at it as a mo-
ment when wages should be increasing in anticipation of this epic shortfall.
Exacerbating the situation are talking heads and the internet. Listen
to enough people and you might think the starting salary for a welder
is $40,000. That amount is thrown around quite a bit, but it’s really the
median salary. The BLS reports that the 2018 median salary for welders
was $41,380 per year. (The median average means that 50 percent of the
welders in the U.S. made less than that and 50 percent made more.) Then
you have an editorial headlined “Welders Make $150,000? Bring Back Shop
Class” that appeared in The Wall Street Journal in April 2014, and it lives
on as propaganda to entice young people to enter the welder ranks even
if the focus was on one type of welder and his specific skill set. And let’s
not forget anyone that happens to type “underwater welder salary” into
» Figure 1
an internet search engine. If an underwater welder can make $300,000 in Over the past five years, the number of shops paying welders at least $17 per hour has
a year, surely a welder on terra firma can make half of that, right? risen dramatically.
Nov19FAB_ChiefConcerns_WelderPay.indd 80 10/23/19 1:58 PM

Employment Per Hourly Annual are a lot better than a lot of their contemporaries that went to college and
Metropolitan Area Employment* Thousand Jobs Mean Wage Mean Wage are struggling.”
Anchorage, Alaska 160 0.93 $34.41 $71,570 Again, those who work at their craft will be in a better place than those
Santa Maria-Santa 160 0.87 $34.26 $71,270 who don’t because the highly skilled welders will be able to remain em-
Barbara, Calif.
ployed in the event of an economic downturn, which will definitely happen
Fairbanks, Alaska 70 1.97 $33.59 $69,860
again even if the U.S. hasn’t seen one in 12 years.
Kahului-Wailuku- 60 0.83 $32.94 $68,520 “When the market declines, more people are going to go to school to
Lahaina, Hawaii
become welders. So companies that are needing maybe 30 welders to-
Lake Charles, La. 1,170 10.08 $31.45 $65,410
day will only need about 20 when the economy is not as strong,” Mazzulla
Wheeling, W.V.-Ohio 150 2.50 $31.08 $64,640
said. “So the competition to get those jobs is going to be at a higher level.
Baton Rouge, La. 3,130 7.91 $30.77 $64,000
What’s going to happen is that the poor to mediocre welders are going
Charleston, W.V. 300 2.69 $29.85 $62,090
to continue to look for work because they don’t have the skill set to land
Waterbury, Conn. 120 1.74 $28.71 $59,710
those jobs.”
Bermerton- 660 7.44 $28.70 $59,690
Silverdale, Wash.
Some Jobs Pay More Than Others
» Figure 2
If you want to maximize your salary as a welder, you need to go where there aren’t that Have welding skills and are willing to travel? You can pocket a lot more
many welders or go where there is a need for a lot of welders. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics dough than the guy working in the fab shop 10 miles down the road from
for “Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers,” May 2018. *Jobs number does not include self-employed individuals.
his house.
Mazzulla said of the 2,500 open jobs available to Hobart Institute gradu-
That doesn’t always fit with the stereotype of millennials, who now rep- ates from 400 different employers, a couple on the job board offered $40
resent the largest generational group in the U.S. workforce (56 million), ac- an hour and an $85 per diem. It’s pipeline work, and the welding school
cording to the Pew Research Center. They want the money right now, even graduates have to be willing to go where the work is.
if they might not have the experience or skills to justify it. That’s not unusual as specialized welding skills are going to garner higher
“Everybody talks about being an underwater welder, but they just want wages than those that don’t require certifications. For instance, according
the pay of an underwater welder,” said Scott Mazzulla, president and CEO, to the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association’s 2019 Salar/Wage & Ben-
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy, Ohio. “It’s just unrealistic efit Survey, a code welder working in the metal fabricating industry has a
expectations that fade quickly because reality soon sets in.” median salary of $53,000, which is higher than a welder with just two years
Mazzulla said that the current job market is very strong. He pointed to
of experience and who earns a median salary of $44,096.
the quit rate, the rate at which people quit a job usually to move to a higher-
Blythe mentioned that certain companies make it very clear what weld-
paying position, as evidence. The U.S. Labor Department reported in early
ers can make so that it’s not a mystery. He said Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pas-
October that the quit rate hit a postrecession high in July. Mazzulla said con-
cagoula, Miss., spells out to welders that if they can pass a welding test for
versations he has had with Hobart Institute alumni back these reports up.
a certain level, they will earn a certain wage. With more experience, the
“They can get what they want from you today, or they could probably
welders can then take another skill test for an increase in pay.
look for a dollar or more per hour elsewhere because the demand is so
Of course, wages differ according to geographic location (see Figures
high,” he said.
2 and 3). Places like Alaska and North Dakota have some of the highest
Ryan Blythe, founder of the Georgia Trade School in Acworth, Ga., said
hourly wages for welders, but those economics are closely linked to jobs
after eight years of training welders at the private technical school, he’s
in domestic energy production—building, maintaining, and repairing pipe-
starting to see what awaits welders who hone their craft over several years.
lines and rigs. Other places, like Hawaii and California, also are in the top
It’s not unusual for successful alumni to be making $30 to $35 per hour.
10 states for highest hourly welder wages, but the cost of living in these
“I’m noticing the graduates from four or five years ago are starting to
places is much higher than in places such as the Deep South states.
buy houses and have kids,” Blythe said. “In many instances, their situations
Employers Will Pay for Leaders
Employment What is often not discussed or is dismissed by many involved in debating
Nonmetropolitan Per Thousand Hourly Annual how much welders should be paid is that employers don’t just want warm
Area Employment* Jobs Mean Wage Mean Wage
bodies that can lay down a consistent bead. They need someone who is
Northwest Colorado 170 1.42 $36.07 $75,030
Nonmetropolitan punctual, intellectually curious, and works well with others. There’s also
Area that need to pass a drug test.
Alaska 270 2.53 $30.02 $63,690 “Watching the evolution of our graduates from 2013 to now, employers,
Nonmetropolitan
Area
especially in fabrication shops, are looking for somebody who could be a
Eastern Wyoming 670 7.99 $30.60 $63,650
shop manager or a foreman. They want someone that can climb the lad-
Nonmetropolitan der,” Blythe said.
Area These employers want someone they can mold to be successful in their
Western Wyoming 350 3.55 $29.77 $61,910 own manufacturing environment. When they find that right skilled worker,
Nonmetropolitan
Area they should be interested in keeping him or her around. That’s a symbiotic
West North Dakota 810 6.73 $29.66 $61,700 relationship that should keep both employer and welder happy.
Nonmetropolitan
Area Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis can be reached at dand@thefabricator.com.
» Figure 3 Amerequip Corp., www.amerequip.com

Welding wages outside metropolitan areas aren’t as high as some near cities, but the
cost of living is typically lower in those more isolated parts of the country.Source: Bureau Georgia Trade School, www.georgiatradeschool.com
of Labor Statistics for “Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers,” May 2018. *Jobs number does not include
self-employed individuals. Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, www.welding.org
Nov19FAB_ChiefConcerns_WelderPay.indd 81 10/23/19 1:58 PM

& Manufacturers Association, International ®
News and information from the Fabricators
A Note From the

Foundation Director
2019 has been a year of great accomplishments for Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs® (NBT),
in the and we couldn’t have done it without the incredible generosity of our supporters. This
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With your help, NBT can provide even more camp grants and scholarships in the following
years. A gift of any amount is greatly appreciated.
Edward C. Dernulc On behalf of NBT, we are truly grateful for the impact your generosity has made on the
Foundation Director next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators in our industry.
Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs Sincerely,
Edward C. Dernulc
Give the Gift of Opportunity This

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Author of Fabrinomics
Read more from Chris at

fmanet.org/blog/author/ckuehl
By Dr. Chris Kuehl
The good news is that the U.S. economy

still appears to be pretty healthy despite the
challenges that have started to appear. The
consumer remains in a good mood, the rate
of unemployment is down to a 50-year low,
inflation is not showing its ugly head, and some
sectors have even surged a little. That is the
good news. The bad news is that the U.S. is
nearly alone in sporting any of this good news.
The rest of the world appears to be teetering
on the edge of recession, and some countries
are already there. The real question for the U.S.
and the world is, What happens now? Does
the global economy slide toward recession,
eventually taking the U.S. down as well, or
does the U.S. manage to bring the rest of the
world along with it?
In 2017 the rate of global growth was 3.7%,

and that was seen as pretty anemic as
compared to what had been the case in prior
years when growth numbers were routinely
in the 5.0% range. The current rate of growth
is even worse — down to 2.9% and likely
drooping even farther in 2020. The challenge drags everybody else down with it because global economy. It is not that global business
started with the decline in manufacturing as it is a key factor in every nation's export and doesn't matter, but the U.S. economy is
the trade wars affected export and import import community. 15% dependent on exports as compared to
numbers. The decline has been spreading Germany's 55% reliance. A global recession
to other sectors since — everything from the The bulk of the U.S. manufacturing sector will most certainly affect the U.S., but it means
financial community to retail to energy and depends on U.S. consumption and is therefore a decline of maybe 1.0% to 1.5% of the U.S.
construction. The manufacturing slowdown somewhat protected from the vagaries of the GDP, and that still leaves growth around
1.5% to 2.0%. Obviously, this is not booming
growth, but it is hardly the crisis that Germany
and others are experiencing. The real issue
DOES THE GLOBAL ECONOMY SLIDE is sectoral. Some companies are much more
dependent on global sales than others, and
TOWARD RECESSION, EVENTUALLY TAKING

there are whole sectors that rely on global
demand. These will be where the casualties
will develop.
THE U.S. DOWN AS WELL, OR DOES THE Fabrinomics is the exclusive newsletter
U.S. MANAGE TO BRING THE REST OF THE

for FMA members. If you’d like more
economic insights delivered straight to
your email, become an FMA member at
WORLD ALONG WITH IT? fmanet.org/join. To ask a question of Dr.
Kuehl, send it to
Fabrinomics@fmanet.org.

EXPERTISE » PRECISION MATTERS
Design for manufacturing makes more
sense than modeling for procurement
Design intent for the 3D modeling technique may anticipate
the BOM preparation for the purchasing department
Read more from Gerald Davis at
www.thefabricator.com/author/gerald-davis
By Gerald Davis BOM Rules
D
Very similar to each other, both BOMs list a
esign and CAD modeling tasks include
standpipe and an end cap, and both BOMs have
determining the form of raw material
the same entry for item 2: the end cap with our
for fabrication of the product—billet,
assigned part number P00541. The difference
sheet, or something off the shelf. If the purchas-
between these two BOMs is in their item 1—the
ing department can obtain it without sending
standpipe. Is it made or bought?
out a drawing, then it is easy in CAD, requiring
M00121 and P00784? In 3D CAD, half-pipe
just an entry in the product manufacturing in-
M00121 is an assembly file that cuts full-pipe
formation (PMI) system. In contrast, modifying
P00540 in half. P00784 is a part file for a ready-
something that is almost finished can lead to in-
made half-pipe.
teresting modeling and documentation issues. » Figure 2 These part numbers lead us a bit further into
We will review the bittersweet inspiration This drawing has a bill of materials table that shows the
parts required: a pipe and a cap, M00121 and P00541, digression. “Why not use the vendor’s part num-
for this article in a moment, but feel compelled
respectively. See Figure 3 for the drawing for the pipe. ber instead of assigning our own?” BOM item 1
to start with a happy scenario to protect the
in Figure 4 is 9157K776. That is something that
innocent. Whack It in Half
can be googled. P00784 is an alias that has little
Figure 2 presents one method of manufac-
meaning to the world.
ture—cut an off-the-shelf, double-ended stand-
pipe in half and weld a cap onto it. This creates
two parts out of one billet. Note that Figure 3 is
required to explain how to cut the pipe in half.
Well, why not just buy a single-ended thread-
ed standpipe and weld a cap onto that? That’s
» Figure 1 a good idea as well. Please see Figure 4. That
The product starring in this episode features a welded
cap on one end and machined pipe threads on the other alternative method of fabrication gets it done
end. The end cap is easy; just buy it. How to make the with just one drawing instead of two drawings,
threaded tube is the question we are left to ponder.
one assembly instead of two assemblies in CAD.
Cap It Good It eliminates the mystery of the kerf width (re-
Figure 1 shows an example product, a welded quired to cut finished parts in half). In the situ-
end cap on threaded pipe. Of course, one should ation where an off-the-shelf length for a single-
model weld beads for magazine articles. In the ended standpipe is suitable, we have a winner. » Figure 3
The BOM on this drawing shows that an off-the-shelf,
real world, our objective is to document how to In the event that the design is likely to change double-ended pipe is the raw material. Cut the pipe in
fabricate this product. We are fully enabled CAD to call for a unique overall length and that the half to make the single-ended part we need.
jockeys, with power to issue part numbers and part-off piece also could be used, making the
to determine raw materials. two-parts-from-one-billet idea somehow practi-
Warning. Harmonious analogy lies ahead. The cal, then Figure 2 might be an approach.
part numbers used in this scenario will be a cho- The efficient-minded tendency in 3D model-
rus to the verse of BOM tables. ing is still to model a single-ended standpipe to
A welded cap on a chunk of pipe may seem to some finished length. There’s no need to model
be a trivial design problem. For our purposes, it both ends in CAD and then delete one of them,
is a useful example of modeling for when modifi- unless the CAD model needs to show the se-
cation of any off-the-shelf item is the plan. quence of fabrication. Oh, such is the agony of
Possibilities for this product include carving opportunity.
the parts from billet or tubing, which would This tempest in a teapot puzzle regarding
give better quality control on wall thickness and modeling-for-procurement is useful for illustrat-
thread engagement, but we don’t really need ing some nuances in the bill of materials—the » Figure 4
An alternative method of fabrication is to purchase
that in this scenario. Our goal is to use off-the- BOM table. Please compare the BOM in Figure 2 a single-ended pipe and weld an end cap to that. No
shelf material at every opportunity. with the BOM in Figure 4. custom drawing is needed for the pipe.
Nov19FAB_PrecisionMatters.indd 86 10/23/19 2:24 PM

Glad you asked that question. The use of in- source and PMI for the raw material, in this ex- half; welded caps onto the pair; and proclaimed
house part numbers for everything has two ben- ample an off-the-shelf item. it to be a design, which they conveyed with a
efits—consistency and the opportunity to use Policy and procedure drive how the 3D model thump onto the desk of the CAD department for
“equivalent” items. As may be seen in Figure 2, contains the PMI. In other words, the organiza- proper documentation.
the BOM table has a column titled “Equivalent The CAD jockey followed instructions. The
tion and naming of models in 3D space must
Okay.” Neatly prepared drawings are a blessing. P00540 part file was modeled in an assembly
comport with rules for names and tables. Every for the benefit of being cut with an assembly-
Vendor part numbers have random lengths and
can sometimes mess up our pretty BOM table. organization has its own evolving policy. Our cut feature CAD technique. The resulting body is
By assigning part numbers, we can predict how AMP (A series-Make this-P!) naming convention the “part” that carries the PMI of M00121, as well
they will appear in the BOM table. is offered for reflection more than as advice. as P00540, into the database that is corporate
If an equivalent item is commonly available memory. The design intent used was simple—
from several vendors, such as an end cap for “model it the way it is made.” The result is a part,
pipe, our assigned alias part number can allow another part, an assembly, and another assem-
Policy and procedure drive
any of those alternative vendors to be part of bly was not necessarily simple.
the supply chain. The meaning of equivalent is how the 3D model contains PMI. When the design for cost optimization was
tricky. Metal is not equivalent to wood—usually. reviewed, it was noted that a large inventory of
In other words, the organization
One can imagine situations where they might be, welded M00016s were out in the barn—twice
but common sense must prevail. and naming of models in 3D space as many as needed. CAD policy had created the
While sharing the secrets of our in-house part need to create a custom version of an off-the-
must comport with rules for
number system, the world is made up of A, B, and shelf item, produced at twice the rate needed,
C. We assemble things in-house; those are the “A names and tables. without informing purchasing. The guys in pro-
series” players. Some of the things we assemble duction couldn’t help themselves. They welded
per our A series drawings are made to our speci- caps onto every M00121 pipe that they sawed
fication; those are the “Make this” items. Most into existence.
The Worst-case Scenario Thus Figure 3 is obsolete. We could have start-
of the things we assemble are purchased de-
Back in the day when Company B came up with ed with that, but then this would have been a
signs that we trust others to fabricate and thus
this part number system, it needed a 24-inch very short article.
document. You already figured it out! “P” in the
part number means it can be purchased without standpipe. Wonderfully, 4813K81 was available
Gerald Davis would love for you to send him your comments
sending out a drawing to get it right. online so the CAD department assigned P00540 and questions. You are not alone, and the problems you face of-
ten are shared by others. Share the grief, and perhaps we will all
Why model a part with two threaded ends and to it. As time passed, the R&D guys grabbed one share in the joy of finding answers. Please send your questions
then cut one of those ends off? To preserve the of those P00540s out of inventory; whacked it in and comments to dand@thefabricator.com.
Nov19FAB_PrecisionMatters.indd 87 10/23/19 2:24 PM

EXPERTISE » CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
How benchmarking
accelerates improvement
A catalyst for when everyone is too comfortable
Read more from Jeff Sipes at
www.thefabricator.com/author/jeff-sipes
By Jeff Sipes field; and for competitive benchmarking, it’s a sons learned. The benchmarking team should be
O
direct competitor. cross-functional. Its players should come from a
ne thing you can say about a successful For competitive benchmarking, partner col- variety of organizational levels and have a vested
lean journey, you never stop learning. laboration might be limited or nonexistent, de- interest in the target process.
Another truism: You must exhibit hu- pending on the nature of the competitive rela- To effectively benchmark, you must have a
mility, both as an individual and as an organiza- tionship and the metrics being benchmarked. firm grip on the current-state performance
tion. Sometimes you run into a roadblock. You of the target process. Develop a process map;
But for internal and functional benchmarking,
stop learning and you cease to be humble. What
the partner will almost certainly benefit from define and measure the process performance;
are the signs this might be happening? Perhaps
the benchmark initiative you launched. This use cause-and-effect diagrams to analyze is-
you cease to be curious. The passion to improve
win-win proposition is essential for both par- sues; define the process weaknesses; and de-
has plateaued. Everything is just business as usu-
ties to stay engaged and interested. velop the future state. In short, you must un-
al. Perhaps everybody is just too comfortable.
derstand your process thoroughly before you
Benchmarking can help break through the How to Structure Benchmarking look at someone else’s process.
plateau and coziness. If done right, benchmark-
Before launching a benchmarking initiative, you Next, the two benchmark point persons
ing can be a tremendous source of new ideas,
need a reason to do so. It could be a process start coordinating interactions. They develop
a confirmation of current practices, and an ex-
weakness or a catalyst to jump-start to the next an agenda and jointly decide what and how to
citing catalyst to take performance to much
level of performance. Whatever the reason for share information. They might even do a virtual
higher levels. If done haphazardly, benchmark-
benchmarking, you and your management team or a physical gemba walk.
ing is simply a scenic journey that wastes most
should know it and be aligned around it. The point persons essentially sort out the de-
people’s time. Let’s explore how to do bench-
A solid starting point for formal benchmark- tails before the benchmark teams meet. Who
marking right.
ing is to create a project charter that clarifies shares process information first? Will you do
the purpose of and expectations for the initia- the benchmark meeting by conference or video
What Is Benchmarking?
tive. It defines the project background, scope, call or site visit? Or will you simply share data
Benchmarking is a structured way to compare
products, strategies, programs, and processes. approach, timing, and outcomes. And it instills about each other’s processes via email? Any of
To focus the discussion on the lean journey, discipline and structure into the project right these ways and more are acceptable as long as
we will zero in on process benchmarking. This up front. it meets everyone’s needs.
involves identifying which processes need im- Next, identify your potential benchmark part- When the teams meet, they should follow an
proving, understanding how other organizations ner. In most cases, the partner will not be a di- agenda to learn about each company’s perspec-
perform their processes to achieve targeted rect competitor. Instead, the partner will prob- tives, challenges, and best practices. The teams
performance, and converting this newfound ably come from a different industry but has a ask questions and really dig into the process
knowledge into action. The goals are to harvest process similar to the one you’re targeting. The topic. This might involve detailed discussion
improvement ideas that will make a difference partner might even have similar business chal- about a process flow, method for performing a
to your business and develop actionable ideas lenges. Once you’ve identified your benchmark certain task, or the exact resources those tasks
for process improvement. partner, develop a joint project charter that require. A designee should take thorough notes
There are three types of benchmarking, clearly defines how the two parties will work to document key points and lessons learned.
each with its own focus and nuances. Internal together. As the benchmark meeting draws to a close,
benchmarking looks within your own plant or Next, identify the people involved, including one point person provides a recap. He or she
perhaps sister plants; competitive benchmark- a benchmarking team and point person. People then asks for next steps, thanks everyone, and
ing looks at direct competitors within your in- have other jobs, of course, so these are part- brings the meeting to a crisp adjournment.
dustry; and functional benchmarking compares time roles. That’s why structure is so impor- In some cases, benchmarking partners have
similar processes (welding, cutting, etc.) at a tant; you don’t want to waste anyone’s time. only one or a few meetings or interactions.
noncompeting company in another sector. Each benchmarking partner has a point person. That’s perfectly acceptable if it meets the ob-
Each type of benchmarking also has a bench- As the benchmarking process owner, the point jectives set forth in the charter, and everyone
marking partner. For internal benchmarking, person is the focal point for communicating, got what they sought, be it technical insight,
the partner could be another production line scheduling, and coordination. The person makes technical or process knowledge, or anything
in the plant; for functional benchmarking, it’s sure the right people are involved throughout else. In other cases, benchmarking partners
a company outside your competitive playing the process and documents outcomes and les- meet indefinitely as they dig deep into targeted
Nov19FAB_ContImprovement.indd 88 10/23/19 3:32 PM

processes, or as they jointly analyze the end-to-end process. Wherever
you fall on that spectrum, expect benchmarking to be a catalyst to ac-
celerate improvement.
Benchmarking Done Right

Suppose your company is a heavy fabricator of complex weldments and
you are not satisfying a major OEM customer. Confusion between engi-
neering and production has resulted in missed shipments and defects
caught at the OEM’s assembly line. Among the many alternatives for tack-
ling the problem, you think benchmarking could be the most effective.
You have a benchmark partner in mind. Producing different products, it’s
not a competitor, but it does perform heavy fabrication of complex weld-
ments. Further, the company serves a different industry and has very dif-
ferent customers, so there is little risk of poaching each other’s business.
Your CEO knows their CEO. With that high-level connection, you reach
out to determine interest in benchmarking the engineering-to-produc-
tion process. Turns out they have some of the same issues and are very
willing to establish a benchmarking partnership.
Point people collaborate on the project charter and get organized.
Both companies document the current state and objectively evaluate the
performance of the target process. Your benchmarking team includes
the production manager, the production supervisor, a manufacturing
engineer, a product engineer, a final assembly welder, and a customer
service rep—plus, of course, the benchmarking point person.
Your benchmark team travels to the partner’s plant on the other side of
town. Everyone knows the agenda, which was sent ahead of time. It spells
out the meeting’s focused topic: how to handle tolerances that appear to
be overly restrictive. All players are on the same page.
The visit starts with a quick gemba walk through engineering and pro-
duction. In the conference room, both parties give process overviews
and describe the challenges they face regarding the meeting’s focused
topic—which again is on restrictive tolerances. The conversation begins,
and the questions commence. How early do you recognize a tolerance is
too tight? How do you engage the customer in the tight-tolerance discus-
sion? What process engineering approaches do you use in the tight-toler-
ance situations? How do you handle the costs of those tight tolerances?
Turns out your benchmark partner has some creative solutions that
your team hasn’t identified, while your team has insights that benefit
your benchmarking partner. Everyone comes away with ideas that can
be implemented—and everybody wins. Both teams recognize there is
more territory to cover, so they decide to continue with a visit to your
company in two weeks.
During the meeting, the point persons documented the knowledge
gained. Soon enough, those documented ideas turn into actionable im-
provement plans, accelerating improvement.
You Don’t Have All the Answers

Most companies will hit a plateau at some point on the lean journey. There
comes a time for an infusion of new ideas or the need for a catalyst. Bench-
marking just might be an economical and effective way to make that happen.
If you are determined to never stop learning and have the humility to
recognize that you do not have all the answers, then you might want to
give benchmarking a try.
Jeff Sipes is principal of Back2Basics LLC, 317-439-7960, www.back2basics-lean.com. If you have
improvement ideas you’d like to read about, email him at jwsipes@back2basics-lean.com or Se-
nior Editor Tim Heston at timh@thefabricator.com. 
Nov19FAB_ContImprovement.indd 89 10/23/19 3:32 PM

EXPERTISE » BENDING BASICS
A deep dive into tonnage
and the sharp bend, Part I
Where do tonnage formulas come from,
and how can we improve upon them?
Read more from Steve Benson at
www.thefabricator.com/author/steve-benson
O
By Steve Benson Force This tonnage equation (found in literature
ver the years I’ve discussed how sharp from both SSAB and Pacific Press) includes the
bends affect bending at the press die radius (Rd), which, as we will see, can affect
Deflection
brake. In that time I have had several bending force significantly. That said, it doesn’t
questions about why I used 63 percent of the Simply Supported Beam
seem to work well when applied to the middle
material thickness as the average starting point » Figure 2 and softer ranges of material.
in mild cold-rolled steel. That is, when the in- Some of the industry’s tonnage calculations have their
side bend radius decreases to about 63 per- origins in the construction industry, including simple Intro to Beam Theory
beam theory.
cent of the material thickness, the bend “turns Where did the formula originate? More specifi-
sharp” as the punch tip starts to penetrate and cally, where did the 575 value come from, and
crease the bend. This is just an example of die ratios from one what does that value represent? In a previous
I’ve spent the last year studying the topic, dis- chart; other charts might be based on different column I stated that I was unable to determine
cussing it with some of the smartest and most die ratios, and it’s usually notated on the chart the origin of the formula or where the 575 value
knowledgeable people I know in the industry. itself. Regardless what the die ratios are, pay at- came from. I guessed it dated back to the 1950s
With some confidence, I can explain the precise tention to them (see Figure 1). If your die widths and was probably from the construction indus-
value where a sharp bend occurs in each type of aren’t even close to this, your tonnage calcula- try. While I still do not have definitive proof of
material. tion from the chart will be entirely inaccurate. the origin of this formula, the formula itself does
We’ll cover the details of the sharp bend next When you find the force figure, you then plug seem to be based on simple beam theory.
month. But to really understand why these sharp it into a formula that accompanies the chart or When we bend sheet or plate, it is no more
bend calculations work, we need to have a deep otherwise published by the press brake manu- than a supported beam spanning across two
understanding of how tonnage is calculated in facturer, tooling vendor, or material supplier. points, the top shoulders of a V die, with a con-
forming. These formulas use a multiplier value that might centrated load in the middle created by the de-
be higher or lower depending on the material scending nose of the punch (see Figure 2). The
The Air Bend Force Chart type you’re working with— a fudge factor, if you length of the “beam” is equal to the width of the
When air bending, you can refer to a tonnage or will. The higher a material’s tensile strength, the press brake die opening, and the load is equal to
force chart, usually with a material gauge on the larger the tonnage multiplier, a practice that’s the force exerted on the plate by the ram and
vertical axis and V-die width on the horizontal consistent with most forming tonnage formulas punch.
axis. Note that the forming force values in these used throughout the industry. Beam theory gives us a hint—albeit only a pos-
charts are based on specific die width-to-mate- For many years I have used the following for- sible hint—about where that 575 comes from
rial-thickness ratios (or die ratios), such as the mula to calculate the forming force that would in the tonnage formula. If you’re interested in
following, with material thicknesses to the left of be required to complete a bend: delving into the formulas, check them out in the
the equal sign and die ratios to the right: Forming tonnage per inch = sidebar.
0.078 in. = Die width 6x material thickness (575 × Material thickness2)/Die opening/12
0.118 in. = Die width 8x material thickness From there, the answer would be factored for Why Not Yield Strength?
0.354 in. = Die width 10x material thickness material type, length of bend, and method of Traditional tonnage formulas use material tensile
0.551 in. = Die width 12x material thickness forming. This formula works rather well for the strength, not yield strength. But why is this, ex-
middle-of-the-road materials like AISI 1015 steel actly? After all, isn’t bending rooted in the prac-
M ickn
Th
at es
with 60,000 PSI tensile strength—our baseline

er s
tice of material “yielding” to forming pressure?

ial
value. The reason for using the tensile strength, or

Of course, plenty of other tonnage formulas ultimate tensile strength (UTS), is the consis-
Inside Radius exist. Consider the following: tency of values. Consider Figure 3 and compare
P=(b×t2×Rm)/[(W–Rd–Rp)×9,800] the yield strength numbers to those of tensile
Where: strength. While the tensile strength climbs con-
P = Required force, metric tons sistently, the values for yield strength are all over
t = Material thickness the map, making those values hard to use in any
Die Width
W = Die width, mm rational manner.
b = Bend length, mm Some formulas do use yield strength, and
» Figure 1 Rm = Tensile strength, MPa some of them are rooted in formulas for calcu-
The die ratio is the die width divided by the material
thickness. The greater the ratio, the less bending force Rd = Die entry radius lating the bending moment in a supported beam.
an application requires. Rp = Punch radius Again, if you’d like a taste, check out the sidebar.
Nov19FAB_BendingBasics.indd 90 10/23/19 3:35 PM

materials being bent and the tooling material
Material Type Yield (PSI) Tensile (PSI)
also play a role. Friction also can contribute to
5052—0 Aluminum 13,000 28,000
increased tensile stress and outside surface
5052—H32 Aluminum 28,000 33,000 cracking.
Hardox 450 Steel 34,800 52,200 The bending speed, or punch velocity, also in-
2024 T3 Aluminum 43,100 63,800 fluences the required bending force. As forming
6061 T6 Aluminum 52,100 65,000 speed increases, the bending force decreases.
The friction coefficient varies with the sliding
ASTM A606 Cold-Rolled Steel 45,000 65,000
velocity of the material, and that sliding velocity
Hot-Rolled Steel 50,000 70,000
is proportional to the bending speed. Increas-
304 Stainless Steel 29,700 74,700 ing sliding velocity during bending reduces the
316 Stainless Steel 42,100 84,100 friction coefficient and bending force, but at the
Domex Steel 113,000 116,000 same time increases material springback.
Sheets with a rough surface texture create
» Figure 3
Tensile strength tends to rise consistently among material grades, but the same can’t be said for yield strength. It’s more friction and, hence, a greater required
one reason most tonnage formulas use tensile strength and not yield strength. bending force. Sheets with heavy surface rough-
ness will exhibit a considerable amount of fric-
tion because of an increase in asperity. And
Predicting tonnage is never going to be a perfect science. bends with increased asperity require a larger
However, we can calculate a reasonably accurate answer as to bending force and will produce less springback.
how much force will be required in a given situation. That said, the die radius and punch velocity play
more significant roles when it comes to friction.
The Die Effect: Width and Shoulders it drags the sheet over the die radius, and you
As a die opening gets smaller in relation to the get sliding (see Figure 4). Grain
material thickness and inside radius, the more This sliding and rolling motion during form-
force it takes to bend the part. Similarly, the ing is a function of punch displacement, or the
greater the required tonnage to form, the more depth of penetration into the die opening. It is
friction there is between the material and the also time-dependent. The time component is a
function of velocity (bending speed), the dis-
» Figure 5
die radius. Similarly again, the larger the die ra- Anisotropic behavior means the bending results change
tio, the smaller the tonnage load. placement between the point of contact (pinch with their relationship to the grain direction.
Your machine, be it mechanically, hydraulically, point), and the distance penetrated into the die
or electrically driven, is designed to bend to a opening. Grain Direction
rated capacity. That capacity is calculated where The coefficient of friction also will change A material’s grain direction in relation to the
the die ratio is 8-to-1 and you have a “perfect” when you use surface films or lubricants. If the bend line also affects the required forming ton-
surface of the metal is clean and not lubricated, nage. Ideally, the part should be bent transverse
bending relationship, where the material thick-
the friction will be higher, increasing the chance (across) the natural grain direction, or the direc-
ness equals the inside bend radius.
for seizing and material galling, and increasing tion of roll.
The die ratio for thinner materials can be re-
the required forming force. Reduce the friction Materials with a grain direction are subject to
duced to 6-to-1, and if you are forming thicker
and you’ll decrease the chance of seizing and what’s known as anisotropy. Change the bend
materials, you might have to increase your die
galling, but you’ll also increase the amount of line’s relationship to the natural grain direction
ratio to 10-to-1 or 12-to-1 to reduce the bending
springback in the material. (see Figure 5) and you change the bending re-
force and keep the application within the capac-
If no lubrication is present, like urethane sheets sults, including the bend angle, springback, and
ity of the press brake.
or other types of lubricant, the friction between inside bend radius. If you bend across the grain,
The radii on the die shoulders (the die radius) you’ll achieve a stronger bend that can accept a
the die and the sheet is controlled by friction
also influences force requirements. The smaller smaller inside bend radius.
adhesion. This will cause a noticeable increase
the die radius, the higher the force necessary to That said, bending with the grain can reduce
in the friction occurring between the die and
bend the material. For example, a 0.196-in. die tonnage requirements. You sometimes can re-
material, creating less material springback and
radius will require more bending force than a duce the tonnage requirements by as much as 15
requiring more force to bend the part. The
0.314-in. die radius. percent by bending with the grain, and by up to
The smaller die radius also dramatically in- 7 percent when bending diagonal (45 degrees)
creases the two die radii’s asperity, or uneven- Leg of workpiece to the grain.
ness of surface roughness. The rougher the being formed
surface, the greater the bending force required. The Tensile Ratio
This also causes greater plastic deformation in Tool As you might have guessed by now, I’ve spent
the sheet. quite a bit of time digging around and work-
ing with tonnage formulas. There are plenty to
The Effects of Friction » Figure 4 choose from besides the ones discussed here.
With air forming, the V die effectively performs When the bend forms in the die, both rolling and sliding Unfortunately, while there are many ways to cal-
occur. The material “rolls” as it rotates over the die
both rolling and sliding. As the sheet rotates into radius and “slides” as the punch pushes the material culate tonnage, they all use an approximation, or
the die, you have rolling; as the punch descends, into the die space. fudge factor.
Nov19FAB_BendingBasics.indd 91 10/24/19 10:10 AM

Predicting tonnage is never going to be a perfect science. However, we factors. Whether you look at the tonnage force chart or calculate the
can calculate a reasonably accurate answer as to how much force will be numbers yourself, those values represent the estimated tonnage to bend
required in a given situation. Rather than using a fudge factor, we can use material in a given die opening.
the tensile ratio. That is, we simply divide the tensile strength of the mate- The bending force is not the same thing as machine capacity. A machine’s
rial at hand by the tensile strength of our baseline A36 steel, 60,000 PSI. tonnage capacity should exceed an application’s bending force value by at
Forming tonnage per inch = least 20 percent.
[(575 × Material thickness2)/Die opening/12] Here again, you can use the tonnage ratio. Divide your material’s tensile
× (Material tensile strength in PSI/60,000) by the 60,000-PSI baseline, then multiply the tensile ratio by the mild steel
That last part of the equation—the material tensile in PSI divided by capacity value of your press brake. This will give your machine’s capacity
60,000—is the tensile ratio. Here are some tonnage ratio examples: for bending the specific material you need to bend.
Domex®, 116,000 PSI tensile: All this boils down to there being multiple ways to estimate the amount
116,000 / 60,000 = 1.933 tensile ratio of force required for a piece of sheet or plate to be bent. Some formulas
304 Stainless, 74,770 PSI tensile: are better than others, depending on the circumstances, but various op-
74,770 / 60,000 = 1.246
tions will work. Whatever method you choose, never exceed the tonnage
5052 H32 Aluminum, 33,000 PSI tensile:
33,000 / 60,000 = 0.550
capacity of your machine and tooling. Doing so can destroy your brake and,
even worse, put your operator in an extremely dangerous situation.
5052-0 Aluminum, 28,000 PSI tensile:
28,000 / 60,000 = 0.466
Steve Benson is a member and former chair of the Precision Sheet Metal Technology Council of
The tensile ratio works with other tonnage formulas too. Take the ton- the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International®. He is the president of ASMA LLC,
nage value from the calculation method of your choice and multiply it by steve@theartofpressbrake.com. Benson also conducts FMA’s Precision Press Brake Certificate
Program, which is held at locations across the country. For more information, visit www.fmanet.
the appropriate tensile ratio to get the tonnage force value. org/training, or call 888-394-4362. The author’s latest book, Bending Basics, is now available at the
FMA bookstore, www.fmanet.org/store.
Machine Capacity Versus Forming Tonnage
Many things influence the bending force: kinetic friction between the
material and the die, material thickness and strength (and variations in Beam Theory, Adapted for Bending
both), the rolling direction of the sheet, and work hardening, among other Most tonnage formulas use tensile strength, not yield strength, simply
because yield strength tends to vary. If you change material grades
and the tensile strength rises by a certain amount, chances are the
yield strength will not increase by the same amount.
That said, it is possible to use material yield in tonnage calculations
if we adapt some formulas from the construction industry. They ini-
tially were written to describe the bending moment induced in a sup-
ported rectangular beam, with a load in the middle.
The following formula adaptations are based on the maximum force
needed to bend material to an internal angle of 120 degrees. They
also assume a standard amount of friction, or drag, during bending.
To adapt these formulas correctly, the die opening is assumed to be
as close to geometrically perfect as possible. As the die opening gets
smaller in relation to the material thickness and inside radius, the
more force it takes to bend the part, and the higher amount of fric-
tion you have between the material and die radius.
With all this in mind, we can use the following formulas from beam
theory to calculate the force required for a bend.
M = Bending moment (in.-lbs.)
W = Span length (Die width, in.)
P = Force exerted (lbs.)
Fy = Bending stress = Yield stress of material (PSI)
Z = Plastic section modulus (in.3) = b × t2/2
b = Beam width (Bend length, in.)
t = Beam thickness (Material thickness, in.)
M = P × W/4
Fy = M/Z
P (lbs.) = 2 × b × t2 × Fy/W
P, expressed in tons per foot = (24/2,000) × t2 × Fy/W
This simplifies to:
P, expressed in tons per foot = 0.012 × t2 × Fy/W
P, expressed in tons per foot, with Fy in KSI = 12 × t2 × Fy/W
That 575 figure might play a role in beam theory too, and it hints at
a possible history behind that mathematical constant we use in our
common tonnage formulas. Dividing 575 by 0.012 and we get 47,916
PSI, a reasonable yield strength for our 60,000-PSI-tensile baseline
material. Know that this is only a possible explanation of the 575
constant’s origin, but it’s an intriguing one.

A do-it-all shop
COVER looks to do
STORY
more
» A collaborative robot, or “cobot,” welded this part at

PMI leans on its metal processing know-how PMI LLC in Bloomer, Wis. In fact, Hirebotics, the company
behind this automated welding cell, has updated the
cobot’s welding capabilities after receiving feedback
and automation to stay on top of its opportunities from PMI’s robotics team. These updates are delivered
to the cobots via the cloud.
By Dan Davis involved with the local food bank, the town’s
E
emergency services, and vocational programs opportunities. That’s why it has been successful
ric Lewis is the plant manager for PMI at Bloomer High School and Chippewa Valley in diversifying its customer base over the years,
LLC, a service center/stamper/fabricator Technical College. serving the appliance, automotive, defense, and
in Bloomer, Wis. His title wouldn’t sug- “We want to be seen as a leader in the com- energy industries.
gest that he’s an aquatic vegetation specialist, munity and as a place the people want to come As these companies have grown, so has PMI.
but he was on a lake in September scooping out work for,” Lewis said. Over the last couple of years, the company has
weeds as part of a community effort to clean Some may view PMI’s community philanthro- seen 10 percent year-over-year growth, accord-
up the body of water. py as being a natural extension of life in a small ing to PMI President Chris Conard. Today the
That’s not out of the ordinary for the com- town. That’s true to a certain point, but this is manufacturer has about 145 employees; three
pany. It’s a fixture in this Chippewa Valley town part of a bigger plan. PMI needs manufacturing years ago it was only a 70-employee operation.
of 3,500, and management views this type of talent. So the community engagement is not only
activity as being important to raising the profile Situated between the Twin Cities in Minneso- about being a good corporate citizen. PMI
of PMI with not only the community, but also ta and the large Chicago metropolitan area, PMI wants to attract workers so that it can continue
its employees. That’s why the company also is finds itself in the middle of plenty of economic to grow with its customers.
Nov19FAB_PMI.indd 94 10/23/19 3:57 PM

for manufacturers outside the residential home
construction sector. (One of PMI’s first jobs
was taking overrun from window production at
the door company and creating a part from it
for a freezer application for a major appliance
company.) Those employees took their coil
processing knowledge and got to work building
up a business that ultimately led to more metal
forming and fabricating work.
In 1998 PMI moved into its current location
» PMI is somewhat unique in that it is a major coil
near some tracks, which would prove beneficial processor as well as a stamper and a metal fabricator. Its
for receiving coil by rail. Since then it’s added building has rail access so that coils can be shipped cost-
on several times for additional manufacturing effectively to its facility.
and office space. The campus on 21st Avenue is

now approaching 150,000 sq. ft. production challenges that can help you meet
The company’s evolution has become a wel- the goal of being an on-time provider of qual-
come occurrence for some stressed purchas- ity and cost-effective parts. That’s why PMI has
ing agents, Conard said. In many instances, PMI been aggressive in manufacturing technology
is able to handle several aspects of the part investment over the past three years, Conard
production cycle, allowing customers to rely on said. Specifically, it has spent about $6 million in
one vendor. capital equipment over that time. Technology is
For example, because PMI maintains a stock helping PMI stay true to its mission and giving
of metal inventory, when an urgent order it the opportunity to continue to grow with its
comes across, it might already have material customers.
in stock. The customer doesn’t have to worry
about wasted time, whereas another fabricator Cobots Help out Stamping
might have to chase down the material. Addi- PMI has a robust stamping operation. It has
tionally, because the material is on hand and it presses ranging in size from 75 to 2,000 tons,
is one of the few steel manufacturers that also handling gauges from 0.008 to 0.375 in. Twelve
has in-house coil processing capabilities, PMI presses are coil-fed, and five are manually fed.
can turn around large jobs more quickly than (PMI has some very large stamping projects. For
other stamping and fabricating competitors. example, it stamps about 1 million steel door
It also helps that, in addition to common hot- skins per year for a major door OEM.) Earlier
rolled carbon steel material, PMI works with this year the company introduced cobots to the
cold-rolled, galvanized, and prepainted steel; material handling mix.
aluminum; and stainless steel. (The word cobot is short for “collaborative
“Any customer saying that they are not mak- robot,” a light-duty robot that is designed to
ing a decision based on cost is lying to you,” Co- work alongside humans without the need for
nard said. “Of course, they need delivery. But guarding. If these robots come into contact
the price has to be right, and that’s what we with a human, they are designed to shut down.
work to address.” Because they move more slowly and are much
“We were offering $15 per hour for new That’s a little bit more difficult when you lighter than industrial robots, they don’t pose
entry-level workers for a long time before you simply can’t throw more labor or expertise at as much of a risk to humans.)
started hearing the call by politicians to raise
the minimum wage to that level,” Conard said.
The Value Proposition

PMI is somewhat unique in that it serves a vari-
ety of roles to manufacturers. Conard estimated
that the company earns about 20 percent of its
revenue from service center processes such as
coil slitting, blanking, and leveling; 50 percent
from stamping; and 30 percent from metal fab-
ricating.
How did PMI become involved in all of these
activities? Well, the answer requires a short his-
tory lesson.
Processed Metals Innovators was created in
the early 1990s when six employees from a local
door and window manufacturer were charged
with starting a company to develop products » A Hirebotics cobot removes a part from the stamping press. It’s one of two cobots on this particular press line.

Since this spring PMI has been using two of
the cobots on the generator stamping line. The
cobots feed and remove generator parts from
the dies of a 400-ton Danly press and 250-ton
Warco press. The two presses are sandwiched
between a manually fed press on the front end
and a back-end operation where an employee
manually finishes off the freshly stamped parts
for downstream operations. Instead of the
stamping line operating with four employees,
only two are needed. Conard also pointed out » PMI has been involved in automated welding for more
than 14 years.
that the use of the cobots is just another exam-
ple of the company trying to keep costs down
The thought process evolved a bit after Hol-
for customers. loway read about Hirebotics in some industry
Using robots to feed and remove parts from a trade journals in 2017, one of which was The
stamping press is not unique. Applying the use FABRICATOR. The Hirebotics cobot technology
» A cobot welds a joint around a cylinder attached to a of cobots to welding, however, is something to-
plate. The part is one of several the cobot welds for PMI. looked interesting, but it had never been used
tally different. in welding applications before. Also, Holloway
PMI officials reached out to Hirebotics, Nash- wondered if it were scalable, so that it could be
ville, Tenn., to help integrate some material Cobots on the Welding Job made available to a large portion of manufactur-
handling cobots into a stamping line for gen- The lack of people pursuing welding training is ers in the U.S. He decided to begin conversations
erator parts. The cobots would help to free up worrying industry quite a bit. In fact, the Ameri- with Hirebotics to see what might be possible.
some labor from the task of loading parts into can Welding Society estimates suggest that in- Around this time Holloway took the opportu-
a press, removing them, and loading another dustry will be short some 200,000 welders in nity to collaborate with Air Liquide colleagues
2020 and nearly 375,000 welders by 2026. at the Advanced Fabricator Center in Delaware,
blank into the press.
Joe Holloway, senior vice president, Red-D-Arc where they were researching and developing au-
“This type of investment is important be-
Inc., Atlanta, said his company has been watch- tomated welding cells involving cobots. (Airgas is
cause it helps us to keep up with work even as
ing this trend develop over the past couple of the parent company of Red-D-Arc, and Airgas is
the market is getting tight for labor,” Conard
decades. The welding equipment rental com- a subsidiary of Air Liquide.) The effort was about
said. “You don’t want to have to say no to a cus- pany had long been involved with the fixed au- to take off with the introduction to Hirebotics.
tomer because you can’t take on their work.” tomation side of welding, providing turning rolls, Hirebotics had a good control system, but it
Hirebotics is giving companies like PMI the manipulators, and positioners to manufacturing had not been adapted to welding. Air Liquide’s
chance to dabble in automation without hav- customers, but they had never been heavily in- engineering talent was able to help them devel-
ing to make a large investment in equipment volved with “flexible” automation, Holloway said. op recipes that would allow the easy-to-program
and adding robotic specialists to the payroll. “It never looked to be a rentable product just cobots to start laying beads after only a short
The company rents the cobots and helps to set because of the complexity of the robots and amount of teaching time. Gone would be the
them up for the particular application. teaching people how to program,” he said. pendants and the advanced robotic knowledge
necessary to get industrial robots
and automated cells working. The
You won’t believe what we saw! BotX Welder was born.

“We wanted to make it as simple
as possible for people to use,” Hol-
KMT C370 A-NC loway said. “What we’ve done is
Fully Automatic Cold Saw develop this library of welding reci-
Heavy-duty vertical column for pes that not only have the voltage
vibration-free sawing and wire feed speed for whatever
the application is, but it also con-
Infinitely variable blade speed trols the robotic arm as far as trav-
from 13-89 RPM el speed and the proper angle of
the torch. The customer can then
Air-over-hydraulic system for
test and fine-tune to achieve their
optimum sawing rates engineered specifications.”
Mitering up to 45° left or 60° right With PMI already being a cus-
tomer of Hirebotics, the fabricator
Pendant mounted control console was a natural—and willing—par-
with soft-touch controls for all setup ticipant to try out this technology.
and sawing operations It decided to rent two BotX Welder
Kalamazoo Machine Tool packages, which included a Uni-
$29,990 6700 Quality Way, Portage MI 49002

Phone: 269-321-8860 Fax: 269-321-8890
www.kmtsaw.com wesaw@kmtsaw.com
versal Robots UR10e cobot arm,
a connector to the cloud-based
Price valid til 12/31/19 internet, a Miller Electric welding
power source, a wire feeder, a ro-
96 The FABRICATOR
KMTHHJune19FAB.indd 1 NOVEMBER 2019 5/7/19 8:46 AM

botic gas metal arc gun, a modular welding table, and the Hirebotics app “Now we can take that coil and basically stretch it on the leveler line so
and software to control the system. PMI has to provide the operator, gas, that something like the edge wave goes away. Then you have a flat sheet.”
wire, and parts. Because the collaborative robots do not require safety This line installation wasn’t a simple task. Not only did PMI personnel
fencing like industrial robots do, they take up about the same amount of have to install the line, they were looking to customize the equipment for
room as a manual welding cell. In some cases, it could be about half the their own needs. They built the line’s feeder system, the edge trimmer,
floor space of traditional welding automation. and added a coil-to-sheet modification for customers that might want to
The results from a summer working with the two cobots have proven receive flat blanks from coils once deemed defective. (PMI also has coil-
promising, according to PMI officials. Erik Larson, PMI’s vice president, to-coil capabilities attached to the leveling line in case customers want to
operations, said a lead from the stamping area, who had worked with the receive their newly leveled steel back in coils.)
Hirebotics cobots, was assigned to work with the welding cobots. He had “We hope now word gets out to the mills and service centers that they
no welding experience. don’t need to go to the subprime market and lose half the value of their
“When you watch them program one of these cobots, it’s move the coils [if there are deformities in them],” Conard said. “We can revitalize
arm, press a button, move the arm, press a button. You don’t need weld- the coils, getting the shape out of them. Then they have prime coils again.
ing experience to get it working,” Larson said. They don’t have to reject them.”
Larson added that the modular table aids quick turnaround on small
welding jobs. While the programming can take about 30 to 45 minutes, Getting It Done in Bloomer
the table can be set up in a fraction of that time because of similar-sized PMI has a lot happening under its roof. Conard said customers really don’t
bore holes that accommodate the same size brackets and fixtures. The grasp what the company can do until they see it with their own eyes: two
fixtures are made to be used with the welding table. Clamps can be used significant coil processing lines; the new leveling line; the large coil bay; a
easily with the table as well. No custom fixturing is required. railcar filled with coils waiting to be unloaded; stamping presses; automat-
Additionally, Hirebotics is constantly updating the control’s recipe list. ed welding; manual welding; a punching machine; and three laser cutting
Holloway said if an improvement is made on something like a cobot’s cy- machines, one of which is a TRUMPF TruLaser 2030, a 4-kW solid-state
lindrical welding capabilities, the updated recipe is uploaded to the cloud, laser that was put into service in the spring. When those customers actu-
and all BotX Welders are updated, often unbeknownst to fabricators not ally do visit, they can grasp the possibilities.
involved with the initial improvement request. That’s all that the company is asking for, according to Conard. It wants
Lewis said the cobots have improved the quality of welded parts be- to show current and potential customers that it can be very cost-compet-
cause of their ability to deliver the same welds repeatedly, part after part. itive because it has so much to offer. It may stop short of offering aquatic
It even makes welders’ contributions more valuable when they are needed. weed removal as part of its service offering, but PMI feels like it has made
“We can have a welder acting as the operator, and he can take more the investments in people and technology to be a best-price partner.
time to look at the parts welded by the robots,” Lewis said. “He can look “That’s what we’re addressing. We’re looking at things to get custom-
for porosity and see if there are concave or convex welds.” ers’ overall costs lower,” Conard said.
PMI has about 50 different parts stored in the control software. To Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis can be reached at dand@thefabricator.com.
switch between stored jobs, an operator can use the app on a smartphone. PMI LLC, www.pmillc.com
The addition of the cobots to the welding area has been a good fit, ANDRITZ Herr-Voss Stamco, www.herr-voss.com
Larson said. It’s allowed the company’s 14 certified welders to work on Hirebotics, www.hirebotics.com
larger and more complex jobs that are, frankly, more engaging than ap- Miller Electric, www.millerwelds.com
plying a small weld repeatedly over a thousand-piece run. Also, when the Red-D-Arc, a Div. of Airgas, www.red-d-arc.com/robotic-welding.aspx
cobots aren’t welding, PMI isn’t paying for their use. Cloud monitoring of TRUMPF, www.trumpf.com
the cobots notifies Hirebotics when welding is taking place and allows for
24/7 virtual support.
“We have read that the number of available workers between 18 and 65
is going to continue to go down over the next decade. So our assumption
is that we’ll be fighting even harder for that labor pool as we go along,”
Conard said. “The introduction of automation like this helps us become
less dependent on trying to find the right people. We can still grow and
offer additional capacity to our customers when needed.”
On the Level
PMI is a longtime supplier to the appliance industry. One of the reasons
that it has been able to maintain those relationships over the years is that
it has been responsive to industry trends.
In fact, that led to the acquisition of a used Pro-Eco tension leveler
about two years ago. Over the past several years, appliance-makers have
moved to thinner-gauge materials for the exterior of refrigerators and
freezers because insulation has gotten much better. The thinner mate-
rial, however, is not as forgiving as the thicker material that was used to
make appliances a generation ago.
PMI already had built a reputation for coil processing with its 60-in.
Cincinnati slitting line, 60-in. Herr-Voss cut-to-length line, and emboss-
ing capabilities. The new leveler line, which came online in August 2019,
is meant to add another dimension to the company’s coil capabilities—
particularly in material 0.030 in. and thinner.
“When the coil comes in, sometimes you’ll see the odd shaping as you
try to run it. You’ll need to get it flat because you can see the edge wave
or center buckle in the coil,” Larson said.

The day of
bending
dangerously
Top press brake hazards and how to avoid them
By Douglas Raff Poor Training and Company Practices But today his luck changes. He’s tired from a
L
Over months and years, Doitrong has developed late night and he gets distracted. He is not so
et’s not kid ourselves. No matter how well some bad habits that put him in harm’s way. For fast, and his thumb catches between the part
we guard our press brakes and no mat- instance, he sometimes forms parts in which and the upper tool (see Figure 1). Doitrong
ter how experienced operators are, every most of the workpiece is behind the dies, op- should have followed the “hands below” rule
time they stand in front of a machine and bend posite the best practice of bending with most (see Figures 2 and 3) by supporting every
parts, they are at risk of injury. The repetitive, of the workpiece in front of the dies. Occasion- part from below the workpiece at all times.
hands-on operation requires 100 percent focus ally Doitrong even reaches behind the dies to This leaves every finger and thumb of the hand
to complete without making a mistake. Any slip support an awkward part during forming, an below the workpiece and away from the pinch
in concentration can result in serious injury. extraordinarily hazardous act that no operator point.
Because of this, it is of the utmost importance should ever be forced to do. Doitrong escaped serious injury this time. His
that hazards be mitigated and best practices be Today Doitrong is forming several different co-worker came over and depressed the yellow
followed. parts, each requiring a tool change. The first “ram up” button and released him from the
The following are a few of the most common part is a channel with a 2-inch web and 0.5-in. machine. Next time, though, he might not be so
circumstances that raise, rather than lower, flange. As he begins to make the part’s second lucky.
the likelihood that a press brake operator is bend, Doitrong grasps the piece with his thumb Doitrong happened to be working on an old
in harm’s way. For the purpose of this article, on top of the first flange. He’s always bent the press brake without the safeguarding features
part this way, and he’s never had a problem. He most new and retrofitted machines have. If he
let’s use a hypothetical example of a seasoned,
quickly lets go of the part when the bending had been working on a newer brake in the shop,
but not very good, operator who learned
starts, so as not to catch his thumb between the he would have had a better chance of avoiding
all the wrong techniques. His name is Will
top of the first flange and the upper tool or ram. injury.
Doitrong, and he works for Darned Dangerous
Enterprises (DDE).
For each of Doitrong’s risky behaviors or cir-
cumstances, best-practice recommendations
are offered explicitly or by implication. Many
can be found in ANSI B11.3-2012, Safety Re-
quirements for Power Press Brakes.
Doitrong never fails to, well, do it wrong, but
it’s not his fault. Trace all the safety missteps
back to their root causes and you’ll find that
Doitrong isn’t maliciously bending dangerously.
He and his co-workers simply aren’t given the
proper training or equipment. In fact, they really
don’t know how dangerous their jobs are, and » Figure 1
this makes everything even more hazardous. Grasping a piece this way, operators risk getting their thumb caught between the part and the upper tool.
Nov19FAB_PBSafety.indd 98 10/23/19 3:22 PM

Why? Because that brake had a three-posi- needed tooling at his machine before the tool
tion safety foot switch. This device operates change, and, if possible, to load the upper and
like a traditional foot switch where the top po- lower tools into the machine as a punch and
sition is “off” and the second position is “run.” die set. If that’s not possible, it is best to grip
But unlike the traditional foot switch, the three- the tooling from the sides so as not to have any
point safety switch has a third position at the part of one’s hands between the punch and die.
bottom where, with a little resistance to down- Operators (or anyone else) should never under
ward pressure, it can create a stop condition, any circumstances place their hands between
requiring a reset. the upper and lower tools.
Extensive accident prevention research has Ideally, dies should correctly match the part
shown that during pain or distress, like when » Figure 2 being fabricated. The upper and lower tools
catching the thumb between the part and the This illustrates the proper “from below” technique.
Even for small parts, thumbs and fingers stay safely
should be the same length as the part, and the
tool, operators often don’t remove their foot away from pinch points. Source: ANSI B11.3-2012. punch and V-die dimensions should match the
from the pedal. In fact, most of us are condi- Reprinted with permission. material and bending criteria. The machine’s
tioned to press our foot down to “slam on the tonnage setting should never exceed the tool-
brakes” while pulling our hands away from Doitrong has some dies he needs at his ma- ing’s tonnage capacity, and off-center loading
the danger. A properly installed three-position chine, but the other tools had been used by should be avoided. Some of the most horrific
safety foot switch can turn what could have his co-worker, and to retrieve them he walks injuries have happened after tools explode and
been a big mistake into a small mistake. from one side of the bending department to send shrapnel flying in all directions.
For the next job, Doitrong reaches for a long, the other. Of course, he leaves his machine in
floppy piece. His press brake has only a single run mode, as DDE never taught him the good Machine Problems
operating station. Try as he might, he can’t practice to turn the brake to the “off” position Doitrong’s employer assigns him to one of three
seem to hold the part in the die for bending when it’s not actively being cycled. different hydraulic press brakes of varying ages,
without assistance. So he calls one of co-work- Carrying his tools on the way back, Doitrong each with different safeguarding. The oldest
ers to help support the part. negotiates his way past other operators doing machine has no safety device at all. The second
their own tool-retrieval trot, through in-pro- machine has a light curtain that provides point-
Like so many other press brake cess material on skids and carts in the walk- of-operation safeguarding. The third, newest
operators, Doitrong faces way, even a little fork truck traffic. Returning machine has a close-proximity active optoelec-
to his machine, he continues his unsafe setup tronic protective device (AOPD), commonly
dangerous circumstances every
by promptly loading the punches into the up- known as a laser-based press brake safeguard.
day. But with regular training, per clamps, supporting the tool with his hands The safeguarding scenario at each brake can
correctly installed safety devices, between the dies. present different sets of problems that make
and methodical machine During this exercise in wastefulness, he risked operating less safe than intended.
dropping the tool on his foot, tripping over the Safeguarding challenges are obvious at the
maintenance, Doitrong’s job
material, getting run into by a fork truck, and oldest machine, which has no safety device
need not be dangerous. smashing his finger between the upper and whatsoever. To avoid spending any additional
lower tools. Best practice would have been to capital on a machine nearing the end of its life
Bad move. Why? When two operators support turn the press brake’s mode-select switch to cycle, DDE has implemented a policy that lim-
a workpiece during bending, it is not only good the “off” or “setup” position, to have all the its the machine’s stroke to only 0.25 in. This
practice but also an OSHA regulation that each
operator has his or her own operating station.
Doitrong thinks calling on a co-worker is the
right thing to do; after all, he doesn’t want to
hurt himself or the part. But having that co-
worker support the part without an indepen-
dent control station significantly increases the
possibility of injury should the helper cycle the
ram before his partner is ready. Alternatively,
Doitrong could have used simple material sup-
ports. Or if his employer had planned ahead, he
could have fabricated this piece on another ma-
chine with two operating stations.
Setup Problems
Doitrong next tackles a forming job requiring
the dies be staged across the bed of the press
brake. DDE has never had a good tooling pro-
gram that outfits each machine with a dedicat-
ed tooling rack. So to set up the job, Doitrong
has no choice but to perform one of the most
wasteful and, at times, treacherous activities in a » Figure 3
fab shop: the tool-retrieval trot. The operator grasps the work from below, using a front table for extra support.

method of safeguarding relies on the setup in- ANSI B11.19, Performance Criteria for Safe- the point of operation through the light curtain
dividual to safely maintain compliance. While guarding, states in section 6.1: because it isn’t at the correct safe distance, he
this method satisfies both OSHA regulations When a component, module, device or sys- also can reach around the light curtain into the
and ANSI B11.3 standards, it is not practical for tem failure occurs, such that it or a subsequent point of operation, thus violating two of the
bending many parts. failure of another component, module, device four tenants of proper safeguarding: Prevent
When Doitrong uses this machine, he knows or system would lead to the inability of the the ability to reach the point of operation by
he has no choice but to break the official policy safety-related function(s) to respond to a nor- reaching over, under, around, or through the
and use a stroke greater than 0.25 in.—a severe mal stop command or an immediate stop com- barrier. DDE has over and under covered, but
limitation that would require him to slide bent mand, the safety-related function shall: not around and through.
parts out the side of the die. He makes it easier • Prevent initiation of hazardous machine The third, newest machine is retrofitted with
on himself and, with the ram open far more motion (or situation) until the failure is cor- a laser-based safeguarding device. Doitrong
than 0.25 in., ensures he can remove the part rected or until the control system is manually and other DDE operators like this machine
straight out the front. reset; or because the safeguard rarely gets in the way
It might be easier to make the part, but he • Initiate an immediate stop command and of productivity; it’s almost as if the safeguard
also is more likely to catch his fingers between prevent re-initiation of hazardous machine mo- wasn’t there. The safety device monitors the
the dies and the part. Along with being very tion (or situation) until the failure is corrected area immediately beneath the upper tool.
dangerous, breaking the 0.25-in. policy is also or until the control system is manually reset; or In fact, they only notice the safeguard when
not compliant. • Prevent re-initiation of hazardous machine bending internal flanges or staging tooling
The 0.25-in.-stroke method presents prob- motion (or situation) at the next normal stop with different passlines across the bed, which
lems that go beyond Doitrong’s unsafe prac- command until the failure is corrected or until causes the laser beam to be blocked above the
tices. When turned on, the old press brake re- the control system is manually reset. 6-mm muting point. When this happens, opera-
quires the ram to open to the full length of the Many safety devices, especially light curtains, tors complete the bend by using the alternative
stroke in order to origin its axes. If the tooling are connected to the stopping circuits of the safeguarding method of “safe-by-slow-speed”
has been previously loaded, a dangerous condi- machine without the proper level of control built into the system.
tion exists. reliability using a single, unmonitored contact Unfortunately, in this case the installer
Best practice is of course to have a device that could fail undetected in an unsafe condi- did not add the three-position hold-to-run
that safeguards the operator. A light curtain or tion. The light curtain could send the stop signal foot switch as required by the B11.3 standard.
a laser-based press brake guarding device typi- when interrupted, and the machine would nev- Though the ram travels at the required 10-mm-
cally provides this protection. However, these er receive the signal and continue to operate. per-second speed, the operators still need to
too can be less safe than they appear when The second machine Doitrong operates does follow the “hands below” rule to prevent injury
installed or used incorrectly. A safety device indeed have a light curtain mounted in front of while in slow speed mode. If they don’t follow
sometimes is not interfaced to the machine ac- the dies. At first glance, Doitrong appears to be the rule, without the three-position foot switch
cording to the required level of control reliabil- guarded safely when he operates the brake. On they have no fallback to prevent serious injury.
ity. It’s a hidden, all-too-prevalent problem on closer inspection, however, we find that this Again, this machine presents greater danger to
machines with retrofitted safety devices. machine is no safer than the older machine the operator than needed.
with no safety device whatsoever.
Why? The second machine’s light curtain is No Need to Bend Dangerously
mounted using adjustable brackets that have Like so many other press brake operators, Doit-
been adjusted so that the light curtain is a mere rong faces dangerous circumstances every day.
4 in. from the dies. If DDE had performed regu- But with regular training, correctly installed
lar stop-time testing per the ANSI B11.3 stan- safety devices, and methodical machine main-
dard, it would have learned that the stop time tenance, Doitrong’s job need not be dangerous.
of this machine was 125 milliseconds. Plugging Understanding and following the tenants of
this number into the safe distance formula, the ANSI B11.3 standard by all persons involved
found in ANSI B11.19, reveals the safe distance. with the press brake operation help create a
Ds = K(T) + Dpf safer environment. So can attending industry
Ds is the safe distance, K is the 63-inches-per- training, such as FMA’s Precision Press Brake
second hand constant, T is the stopping time Certificate and Press Brake Safeguarding Cer-
in seconds, and Dpf is the depth of penetration tificate courses.
through the 14-mm-resolution light curtain—in These and other training opportunities help
this case, 0.275 in. keep fabricators up to date on best practices
Ds = 63 (0.125) + 0.275 and OSHA and ANSI requirements. Taken to-
Ds = 8.15 in. gether, all these efforts can hold the day of
The safe distance of 8.15 in. is more than dou- bending dangerously at bay.
ble the one in use. This light curtain, though
Douglas Raff is a CMSE® Certified Machinery Safety
functioning correctly, provides no safeguarding Expert (TÜV Nord) and an owner of Paragon Indus-
at all. trial Controls Inc., 18001 Irvine Blvd., Suite 202, Tustin,
Even worse, when DDE’s maintenance crews CA 92780, 714-564-9925, www.paragon-ind.com. As a
member of the Safety Council within the Fabricators &
adjusted the brackets, they removed the side
Manufacturers Association (FMA), Raff conducts safety
guards and placed them on the ground next to certificate and other educational courses for FMA and
the machine. Now, not only can Doitrong reach other organizations.
Nov19FAB_PBSafety.indd 100 10/24/19 9:46 AM

Sometimes the machines in the shop are
old and communication protocols are un-
wieldy. Connecting them can be difficult and
expensive, and the cost of upgrading to mod-
ern equipment might be prohibitive. To move
forward with digitalization, companies need to
make sure that they have machinery that com-
plies with the latest communication standards.
Enter the Universal Machine Tool Interface
(UMATI) initiative. Launched in 2018, UMATI is
a joint effort of VDW (the German machine tool
manufacturer association) and 17 technological
partners that aim to achieve ease and speed in
machine integration. Up to now this could be
achieved only with tailor-made projects that
entailed high costs and long implementation
times. With UMATI, all machines will speak the
same language.
UMATI relies on OPC UA, which solves all the
What makes a factory
smart?
basic connectivity problems, like data access,
data transfer methods, and security. This opens
the door to resolving difficulties in IT/IIoT in-
tegration, key to Industry 4.0 and essential to
building a smart factory.
These integration mechanisms allow any ma-
chine to communicate real-time production
Machine and software communication, status data to other systems in the network.
without barriers Once the operator has prepared the job on the
machine, all events (such as “start,” “pause,”
By Carlos García Villate capabilities will usher in a new level of collabo- and “end of job”) are transmitted to cooper-
I
ration among machine builders, software pro- ating systems. In one sense, these mechanisms
ndustry is changing at high speed, enabled by viders, automation integrators, and other play- make it possible for a traditional machine to
new technologies framed by Industry 4.0 and ers in the sheet metal supply chain. be converted into a cyberphysical system that
the industrial internet of things (IIoT). New “talks” to cooperating software like materials
approaches for software systems and machines Evolution of Machine Communication resource planning (MRP), manufacturing ex-
are being unveiled all the time. The need for machines to “talk” to software isn’t ecution systems (MES), enterprise resource
Driving it all has been mass customization. new. For years sheet metal industry stakehold- planning (ERP), and other systems that manage
Consumers demand personalized products, ers have integrated this ability in various scenar- manufacturing processes.
but at the same time manufacturers must con- ios, typically for an automated cell or line, such These mechanisms will help the development
tinue to produce at low costs despite new mar- as when a sheet metal stacker loading a punch of many different systems that monitor the ma-
ket demands. All this has forced a radical re- or laser machine forwarded cut parts to a panel chine status. They will, for example, show key
think of supply chains. Industries are relocating bender. In these cases, machines had to inform process indicators in real time—including load
to take advantage of lower labor rates, cheaper software systems when they were ready to exe- capacity and overall equipment effectiveness
and sustainable transport, and less regulation cute a new operation or when they had finished (OEE)—monitor current load capacities, and
and taxation, among other reasons. But as ma- it. In this way the company could run a complete produce quotations based on a machine’s situ-
chines, factories, and software become smart- shift, usually at night, so that the line could work ation and availability.
er, information-sharing and collaboration have unattended. Such lights-out automation used Machines will start fruitful communication
stepped to the fore, and industry is rethinking a validation software system to control all the with cooperating software that works with IIoT,
supply chains once again. machinery involved, detecting when a machine advanced sensors, security, and other systems.
Smart machines in a smart factory, collabo- finished its work and was ready to load the fol- These new resources present new opportunities
rating in a network of smart factories, will lowing process. not only for machine and cellular automation,
be governed by a single brain that considers Common protocols such as OPC UA (Open but also for factory and even multifactory au-
all aspects of production, such as the load of Platform Communications, Unified Architec- tomation. New machines incorporate software
each plant, transport costs from the plant to ture) and MTConnect solve basic problems layers that enable them to communicate with
the place of delivery, availability and cost of involving security and access to data, but they other software systems and applications in a so-
raw materials, and delivery dates. Artificial in- do not solve the problem of semantics. Despite phisticated way, either locally or in the cloud.
telligence (AI), machine learning, and related these advances, it is still very difficult and some- The interconnection between the two worlds,
models will create the intelligence necessary to times impossible for systems to communicate. the local and the cloud, will be critical, and it’s
make a smart factory possible. Different machines from different manufactur- already possible thanks to mobile technologies
In a truly smart factory, software and ma- ers, or even different models from the same like 5G. A new standard in communications, 5G
chines “talk” to one another seamlessly. These manufacturer, can speak different languages. will allow the cloud to become the default envi-
Nov19FAB_SmartFactory.indd 102 10/23/19 2:28 PM

ronment where data will be stored, processed,
managed, and consumed at any time and from
any device in a completely secure manner.
This also will change customer and supplier
relationships as information systems through-
out the value chain reveal previously untapped
opportunities. The industry is moving from ef-
ficient machines to intelligent machines, and
software will elevate these machines to a whole
new level.
Data Security Vital for Digitalization

Connecting the plant to the IIoT has enormous
and indisputable advantages, but it also can ex-
pose hidden elements to a new world full of cy-
bersecurity threats. For reliable production and
confidentiality, intelligent machines in an intelli-
gent factory must be secured. In the smart fac-
tory, machines as well as local- and cloud-based
software all cooperate, but such robust interop-
erability requires the latest security technologies.
The type of functions that need to be se-
cured include data transfer (both real-time and
batch), data retention, and flexibility when add-
A smart factory effectively has a “brain” capable of
ing new information sources or destinations. orchestrating all the elements involved in production,
With these types of security measures, cloud from order entry through planning, purchasing, and execution.
computing becomes a viable solution.
The Manufacturing Brain in a SCADA system. A smart factory effectively ficiency. It should not only produce the best
Today most machine tools are subject to the has a “brain” capable of orchestrating all the ele- nest, but also generate the best processing
demands of external software. They wait to re- ments involved in production, from order entry method that satisfies quality requirements and
ceive a CNC program. With the right data and through planning, purchasing, and execution. minimizes processing time on the machine. To-
logic, external software determines what tasks The functional structure of a sheet metal fac- day, to maximize margins for each production
machines execute and when they execute them. tory will change. To manage an environment of order, a skilled programmer must generate the
The machines send status information to exter- continual change, planning, engineering, and best possible nest, optimize material use, and
nal software while people monitor the operation operations functions will overlap more than select the most efficient cutting method.
with the machine control or via supervisory con- ever as more processes become automated. The smart factory will challenge the tradition-
trol and data acquisition (SCADA). The manufacturing brain will change just al role of production engineers and change the
This is all going to change. A smart factory’s about everything in the sheet metal factory. relationship between CAM and machines. Ma-
automation requires intelligently applied control Consider computer-aided manufacturing. Any chines and software will take on repetitive tasks
that goes beyond the control loop implemented CAM system should minimize waste and inef-
that people currently perform. They need only
know certain manufacturing parameters, such
as quality, geometry, quantity of parts, the ma-
terial, and thickness. With this information, the
machine will generate the best nesting and pro-
cessing method. AI and machine learning will be
key, but exceptions will still need the supervi-
sion and knowledge of the production engineer.
The smart factory will change MESs too, re-
acting automatically to incidents like machine
failure, absence of material, change in order
priorities, and other events during production.
Incorporating intelligence, MESs will determine
the best time to perform a task, the best rout-
ing, and the best order of execution. And they
will analyze order and customer characteris-
tics, material availability, the required delivery
date, and make immediate adjustments that
consider the current work load—all in a matter
of microseconds.

The Cloud’s Potential Fabricators will see more machines come with powerful software, both
With the help of AI, the manufacturing brain will select the best plant, the in the machine control and in the cloud. Using data and logic, intelligent
best routing, with the most appropriate machines. That said, the nature of systems will decide what to do next and what information to exchange
AI makes the cloud essential. The cloud has created computing capacity with various machines. These machines will be immersed in a factory
that until now has been unimaginable. choreography, dancing their part while synchronized with the rest of the
Some purists will say that an MES can only be in the plant. Is it possible manufacturer’s systems.
to solve production scheduling in the cloud only, and leave the control of Machines started to “talk” a long time ago, and they keep on learning
production execution in each of the plants? These are some of the ques- more vocabulary and languages. Today machines and software are merg-
tions that need to be answered. ing, and to function properly they need the right architecture based on
Regardless, the cloud’s potential is undeniable. Cloud-based MESs pre- solid protocols that support real-time interoperability. Above all this, a
pare the way for powerful manufacturing systems that make extensive strategic approach for collaboration among machine tool builders, soft-
use of new levels of computing capacity that can manage multiple plants ware developers, and system integrators will be essential to unleash the
at new levels of efficiency. For example, it will be able to make the deci- amazing concepts yet to be imagined. By working together, we will define
sion to send part of the production to one plant or another based on the sheet metal factory of the future.
information sent in real time from each plant. The MES in each plant will Carlos García Villate is research and development director at Lantek Sheet Metal Solutions in
orchestrate production orders, and the MES in the cloud will orchestrate Miñano, Spain, www.lantek.com.
overall programming. And in all of this, 5G will play a pivotal role, handling
the large flow of data between plants and the cloud.
The Future Requires Collaboration 5 Elements of the

The future will bring a machine that decides autonomously. It will do this
based on its own status and information from a host of interconnected Smart Factory
systems, including MES and CAM. Their interaction will be largely auto-
matic. People will intervene only to handle the exceptions. 1. Digitization
Machines, software, customers, and suppliers interact and communicate
electronically both locally and in the cloud. Built-in intelligence makes
decisions to coordinate supply, production, and delivery of goods in a
highly efficient way.
2. Automation
This optimizes machine and decision-making performance. It includes
mechanical devices for handling raw material, components, and
machine operation, as well as equipment such as robots for performing
other operations. It also includes automated quotations, ordering,
manufacturing planning, and similar activities.
The aim is to minimize human involvement, such as routine
decision-making, and maximize machine utilization.
3. Provisioning
This ensures materials and resources are available when required.
This can include product specifications, raw material, functioning
machinery, CAM programs, manufacturing capacity, means of delivery,
quality audits, and other factors necessary to complete production on
time and to the desired quality and cost.
4. Intelligent Machines
Machines securely communicate with software systems around the
factory and in the cloud to report their status, including the machine
condition and what is being manufactured. Intelligent machines will
make decisions and, rather than be told what to do by external systems,
be part of the decision-making process, requesting information and
equipment necessary to complete the job.
5. Dispatch
This coordinates manufacturing resources to achieve on-time delivery.
Increasingly, companies have multiple manufacturing plants, and
parts or assemblies can be produced at different locations. Customer
delivery needs to be coordinated across multiple manufacturing sites
so that products are delivered at the right time.

WANT TO ACHIEVE A SPECIFIC
Abrasive choice is key

Nondirectional finishes, on the other hand, don’t have a clear directional
pattern. Fabricators create a consistent, nondirectional pattern by step-
ping up to a high-grit hook-and-loop or pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA)
sanding disc on an orbital sander. Fab shops apply most nondirectional
finishes as the final stage before some kind of surface treatment, such as
By Elliot Shepherd and Ron McCarthy
tinted clear coat, patina, steel blackening, bluing, painting, or waxing.
A
part surface can require a specific metal finish for many reasons, Some jobs have a mirror-polish finish requirement. Mimicking a ma-
be it cosmetic, product functionality, or customer preference. chine-made mirror polish by hand isn’t easy. If done manually, a mirror
Certain metal finishes also can help the material resist damage polish is one of the most labor-intensive visual finishes, and one of the
or rusting. most difficult to keep consistent. To achieve a flawless mirror-polish fin-
Some applications require a precisely measured finish on metal parts, ish, operators must follow specific grinding and polishing steps. Because
while others need only look visually appealing. On many jobs, the con- the finish is so difficult to achieve, many companies buy pre-mirror-pol-
sistency of surface appearance is the most important factor in judging ished metal, cut it to size, weld it as needed, and then blend it by manually
a metal finish. Each finish also can have a variety of coatings and treat- grinding and polishing only the areas around the weld.
ments like clear coating, patina, and steel blackening. Which abrasive Common Abrasive Discs
product you use for the job, the grit type and size of the abrasive grain, Ideal for pure stock removal, flap discs—as well as their mini-flap-disc
and operator technique all affect surface finish and can produce differ-
cousins that can reach into tight areas—remove material quickly and cre-
ent results.
ate a consistent profile. To achieve smoother finishes, operators can step
Measured Versus Visual Finishes down to finer grain sizes, such as from a 36 to an 80 or 120 grit. That said,
Metal is ground and polished to either a visual finish, which is subjective, or a flap disc alone usually can’t provide a visual finish. An application that
a measured finish, which is objective. Metal surfaces might appear smooth ends with a flap disc typically involves products with no specified finish or
to the naked eye, but they actually contain peaks and valleys that can be workpieces that will have surface treatment applied.
precisely measured, usually with the Ra (roughness average) or RMS (root Flap discs come in various grain types, including ceramic and zirco-
mean square) metric. Measuring these is critical if an operation needs to nia alumina. Ceramic flap discs often come with a topcoat, which can be
produce a measured finish. ideal for heat-sensitive applications. Heat can discolor the base material
Quality personnel measure the surface roughness with a profilometer, (especially stainless steel) and cause a rough finish. Both the ceramic
which determines Ra values by moving a diamond stylus across the sur- grain and the topcoat reduce that heat.
face for a specified distance and using a specified contact force. They Resin fiber discs, which can blend the base material around a weld,
then assign the Ra value as an average of the surface deviations. A low might also be used in place of flap discs. A skilled operator can use these
number represents a smoother, or less deviant, surface. discs to blend and create surface patterns. To achieve an extremely
While less common than visual finishes, measured finishes might be smooth finish, operators can use an orbital sander with a high-grit resin
needed in applications where two parts come into contact with one an- fiber abrasive in the proper sequence. To increase the sander’s effective-
other and require a precise, smooth finish to avoid friction. Measured ness, an operator can add a compound or perform wet polishing.
finishes are almost always specified in food-grade and aerospace applica- The finishes resin fiber discs achieve reflect the grain size chosen and,
tions that require stringent quality testing. as with the flap disc, the same general rules of grain and grit size apply: The
In applications where the material will be powder-coated or treated, finer the grit, the smoother the finish. A finish that ends with a resin fiber
the finish might not be as critical, and a visual finish or a nonmeasured disc typically has no specified finish or will have a surface treatment applied.
finish is often acceptable. Still, if a part will be painted, it should be rela-
tively free of deep abrasions.
Common Metal Finishes

Fabricated metal components have a wide range of finishes. Four common
ones are mill, directional, nondirectional, and mirror-polish finishes.
A mill finish (also called a 2B finish) is the unabraded material from a
producing mill. It’s how the material—be it carbon, cold-rolled, or hot-
rolled steel—appears straight off the production machine. Mill finishes
can be difficult to match with a hand-held tool or abrasive product, so
it’s important to make sure the surface isn’t scratched significantly dur-
ing welding or finishing. Applying any type of abrasive to a mill finish will
produce scratches or swirling.
Directional finishes are common on stainless steel products, such as
a refrigerator door. These finishes come in several varieties, including
hairline and #4 finishes. Hairline finishes have light, “hairline” directional » Different grinding tools, including wheels, discs, and brushes, serve unique
markings, while #4 finishes are coarser with more pronounced striations. purposes and create specific finishes.
Nov19FAB_MetalFinishes.indd 106 10/23/19 9:51 AM

An excellent choice for finishing a variety of metals, nonwoven abra- Paying attention to scratch patterns makes a difference too. Unless
sives create a consistent, cohesive smoothness on metal surfaces. They they need to achieve a directional finish, operators can rotate each step
work well for achieving cross patterns, and they can remove discolor- 90 degrees from the previous step. This removes and blends the previ-
ation on stainless steel. They’re available in hand pads, unitized wheels, ous step more efficiently.
and surface conditioning discs.
Surface conditioning discs or nonwoven abrasives come in varying Maintain Quality and Consistency
grades, from very fine to medium and coarse. Starting the process, a Training employees in the proper techniques helps prevent rework and
coarse disc takes out the surface imperfections and prepares the sur- makes a shop’s finishing department more consistent. That said, the best-
face for refinement. The medium disc enhances the surface left from the looking finishes in the world can’t overcome the waste brought about by
coarse grade and leaves a bright, satin finish. The very fine grade contin- poor communication. This rings true when producing visual finishes. Cus-
ues the finish enhancement, leaving a glossy, silken finish. tomers who want visual finishes aim for a certain look, and it’s important
Wire brushes work well when metal removal is not allowed or desired. to understand exactly what that look is.
Brushes with small wire diameters apply slight scratch patterns to blend To this end, finishing operations can keep samples and finish codes to
and improve visual finishing, though wire brushes typically are not rec- illustrate the exact steps taken to achieve certain finishes. They’re often
ommended for painted surfaces. The finer the wire, the smaller the re- displayed in a code book or on a board that provides customers and em-
sulting scratches, and the better the finish. ployees alike with a visual template incorporating high-quality photos or
Keep in mind that wire brushes can’t remove scratches left by a flap actual samples. Customers then can choose the finish they want from
disc; they can only refine the existing finish. Because they don’t remove the very start of a project, eliminating rework and confusion.
base material, wire brushes often work well for removing heat discolor- Think of a well-supported finishing operation as a three-legged stool.
ation on stainless steel. A nylon abrasive product or nylon product can Proper training sturdies one leg; having the right tools and abrasive prod-
also remove heat discoloration, remove burrs, radius edges, and provide ucts sturdies the second leg; good communication, with customers and
a scratch finish, which may improve surface finishes to some degree. between employees, sturdies the third. With all three legs of the stool
Applications that specify a very fine, measured finish, such as for some secure and stable, inefficiency in finishing can be a thing of the past.
commercial and retail appliance workpieces, may require mechanized
Elliot Shepherd is associate product manager and Ron McCarthy is abrasive specialist at Weiler
buffing and polishing. Manufacturers sometimes integrate mechanized Abrasives, 1 Weiler Drive, Cresco, PA 18326, 800-835-9999, www.weilerabrasives.com.
grinding systems for time-consuming work on repeating products. How-
ever, most industrial applications have basic finishes achievable with the
right abrasive products installed on bench wheels, right-angle grinders,
and other hand tools.
The Best Abrasive for the Job

Whichever tool a finishing operation uses, it will produce very different
results with different grinding and polishing wheels, each with a specific
type and size of grain.
If the base material has a lot of mill scale that must be removed, a 120-
grit flap disc will take much longer to remove it but will provide a nice
surface finish. A 36-grit or 40-grit flap disc, by comparison, will remove
mill scale much faster but leave deeper scratches that require more time
to achieve a smooth finish.
Achieving a specific finish generally requires using a progression of
products. An operator can start with a coarser-grit flap disc that will re-
move material quickly and bring the weld down to almost surface level,
then move to higher, finer grits such as 60, 80, or 120 (or even higher) to
provide a smoother finish.
Depending on the desired finish, the next step might be a nonwoven
abrasive to blend in the directional scratches. High-grit flap discs and
nonwoven abrasives allow operators to produce measured finishes that
allow for painting.
Pressure, Grit Size, and Technique

In grinding, pressure matters. If operators (or machines, for that mat-
ter) apply different pressures using the same abrasive product, they can
achieve significantly different results.
Lab tests have proven this, especially when more pressure is applied
to low- grit (36 and 40) discs. More pressure applied to smaller-grained
abrasives—like 60, 80, and 120 grit—produces less varied results. In oth-
er words, applying more pressure on a 36-grit disc makes a bigger differ-
ence in the finish than putting more pressure on a 120-grit disc. This is
important since pressure is one of the few variables operators can adjust.
Operators grind differently, and their technique affects results no
matter what abrasive product they use. For example, crossing the initial
grinding pattern, whether it’s north to south or east to west, improves
the finish and can reduce the number of finishing steps a job requires.
Nov19FAB_MetalFinishes.indd 107 10/23/19 9:51 AM

Tubes
on the
move
By Adi Buerkler and Thomas Burdel
Laser tube processing goes fully automatic
L
aser processing of tubes and profiles has
been one of the fastest-growing areas of
piece for each hole to be manually drilled on For example, if you need to make simple
metal fabrication during the past decade.
a drill press; clamping the cut-and-drilled piece 90-degree metal brackets, you’d usually cut the
It’s easy to see why. The tube laser allows fabri-
onto a workbench to tap holes for fasteners; flat blank on a laser and bend them at a press
cators to simplify part design and eliminate an
and even loading the part into a milling machine brake. If you want to speed the process, you
array of time-consuming manufacturing steps.
to add features such as notches and windows. might cut a few brackets attached to each oth-
Still, walk onto a shop floor with a tube laser
Between each step are the handling and tem- er by break-away tabs so that the press brake
and there’s a good chance you’ll see the ma-
porary storage costs. All this requires significant can form several at once.
chine sitting idle. Why? Because it’s waiting for
labor and long lead times, creating high potential Laser tube cutting, though, creates another
material.
for mistakes and mishaps (read: waste). It also option. The tube laser can cut a bracket shape
Taking the broader, order-to-ship view, laser
ties up significant amounts of factory floor space. out of a square or rectangular tube, with the
tube cutting still makes the entire operation
Lasers can cut extremely complex contours, “bend” in the bracket cut out of the corner of
extremely efficient. It can simplify or eliminate
numerous downstream manufacturing steps, creating tubular parts with a highly aesthetic, the tube. The tube laser, able to cut complex
so some machine downtime for material han- unique appearance. They also create interest- shapes quickly, could easily eliminate an entire
dling is a small price to pay. But material loading ing opportunities to reduce product costs. manufacturing step. Brackets could emerge
technology for the tube laser has evolved sig-
nificantly. For many laser tube operations, ex-
tensive downtime for material handling might
soon be a thing of the past.
The Business Case for the Tube Laser

Tubular product designs have many benefits.
Metal tubes have a very high strength-to-weight
ratio, creating structures and frames that can
stand up to demanding usage without the need
for heavy, expensive construction.
But tube and profile fabrication, especially
using conventional techniques, comes at a cost.
Utilizing conventional manufacturing tech-
niques such as saw cutting, boring, milling and
deburring is time consuming and expensive. To
make even a simple tubular frame component
with conventional methods can require many
» Figure 1
steps. These include measuring and positioning A laser tube cutting machine has conveyors where operators can grasp parts for sorting. Parts can also drop directly
the raw material for sawing; fixturing the work- into bins, which can be taken to the next manufacturing step. Photo courtesy of EMIT Technologies, Sheridan, Wyo.
Nov19FAB_TubeCutting.indd 108 10/23/19 2:36 PM

Many laser tube cutting operations use a lot of floor space to handle
and move the material. Moving raw material often requires a crane,
which is not only slow but also a safety hazard. Odds are that the laser
will spend a fair amount of time sitting idle, waiting for tubes.
The automatic tube loader addresses these problems and makes the
provisioning of raw material to the machine more compact on the floor,
safer, and faster (see Figure 2). The system receives a bundle of raw ma-
terial, separates individual tubes, and delivers them to the rotary chuck
on the tube laser. A loading device takes the huge time savings already
provided by the tube laser and multiplies it.
Automatic bundle loading does come with some limitations, however.
Once a bundle of raw material has been placed in the loader, it needs to
be emptied before switching over to new material (see Figure 3). Some
loaders include a secondary raw material conveyor that bypasses the bun-
dle space and allows a few sticks of various tubes to be inserted into pro-
» Figure 2 duction. But this is a manual process and feasible only for small batches.
An automated loader separates a bundle of tubes and delivers them into the machine’s
rotary chuck. Photo courtesy of EMIT Technologies, Sheridan, Wyo. If the operation needs to switch profiles often, a fork truck or crane
operator will need to keep loading and emptying the bundle space. Even
from the laser ready for finishing and final assembly, bypassing the press
if the tube laser runs the same material for long periods, the bundle
brake department altogether.
space will limit how long the machine can run before a crane operator or
The tube laser can tackle the processing steps of positioning raw ma-
lift truck driver needs to reload it.
terial, trimming, notching, creating internal features like holes and win-
Walk through any factory today processing tube or structural material
dows, beveling edges to prepare them for welding, and even adding
with a rotary laser and the picture will be the same: Automatic process-
threads for fasteners. In many cases, every manufacturing step to get
ing occurs only as long as a single bundle of tubes lasts. Beyond that,
from raw material to the finished tube component can be accomplished
work comes to a halt, and employees must intervene to deliver additional
by one laser tube cutting machine.
material.
In some instances, a laser can cut a geometry in a tube or other 3D
shape that can actually be bent by hand. Think of a thin-walled rectan-
Automated Storage and Retrieval for Tube
gular tube with a cutaway, shown on a print as rectangular when viewed
A tube processing operation that switches between jobs without excessive
overhead, V-shaped when viewed along the sides. An assembler can bend
wait time, or achieves maximum uptime on long-running jobs, requires
this tube by hand to a specific angle, determined by the V shape. The
another level of automation. Instead of loading the tube cutting process
tube wall material at the bottom of the V effectively becomes an outside
one bundle at a time, a fully automated system needs a direct connection
radius in the final assembly.
between the tube laser and an automated material storage and retrieval
And this is just a start. With the tube laser’s ability to add aligning and
system.
interlocking tabs and slots onto parts, the whole bent assembly could be
The latest equipment advancements make this kind of automation a
welded with little or no fixturing, dramatically reducing both the welding
reality. It is now possible to completely automate the tube laser process
time and the chance for errors and rework.
chain from material storage to finished part drop-off. Vertical storage
Evolution of Laser Tube Cutting systems designed around tubular raw materials are paired with an auto-
The earliest iterations of these machines were not much more than a CNC matic crane and shuttle table. These work together to deliver various raw
rotary chuck positioned beneath a laser cutting optic identical to the ones materials to a tube cutting laser on demand (see Figure 4).
used for sheet processing. They were a big step up over sawing and milling
but still limited in the scope of parts that could be made.
Over the past two decades, the state of the art has evolved. Tube laser op-
tics have become more specialized and refined, allowing for finer processing
and opening up the equipment to a wider range of raw material shapes, such
as flat bar, channels, structural steel, and even extrusions. Tube lasers today
can bevel-cut, thread holes, and locate and automatically orient weld seams.
Offloading Considerations
Tube lasers offer several offloading options. Conveyors can gently offload
parts with cosmetic requirements. In batch production or one-piece-flow
situations, the conveyor lets a machine operator quickly and ergonomi-
cally sort parts coming off the machine.
When minor scratching isn’t a concern, the machine can unload parts
to a bin or basket. This saves space and helps manage delivery of finished
tube parts to the next manufacturing step (see Figure 1).
The Loading Challenge

Material offloading from the tube laser can be quick and efficient—but
the same can’t always be said for material loading. Raw tube stock can be
» Figure 3
between 20 and 30 feet long and weigh a few hundred pounds, so staging Automatic tube loader with part separation is ready to be loaded with a new bundle of
and handling obviously can also be unwieldy. tubes. Photo courtesy of EMIT Technologies, Sheridan, Wyo.

Floor space tends to be storage eliminates that waste. Unlike flat stock, tubes fly according to a production plan
at a premium in most fac- and profiles do not exactly stack neatly. And when em- means that the tube laser now can
tories, and even if it’s not, ployees move these oversized, heavy loads—be it with be just as flexible and adaptable as
constantly shuffling pal- a crane or lift truck—they introduce all sorts of haz- any other automated machine tool.
lets around the floor is in- ards as they transport the awkward material. Greenlight time now can approach
herently wasteful. Vertical There’s an obvious benefit in moving this unwieldy 100 percent, and the more minutes
» Figure 4 material to an automated shelf system. Tower storage over a shift a fabricator can keep
Paired with an automatic cart
systems also tend to simplify inventory management, the tube laser adding value rather
to move the material from the
storage area, the system delivers providing quick transparency on the current stock lev- than sitting idle, the more profit-
various raw tubes and profiles to els for raw materials. able the operation will be.
a tube laser on demand. Photo
Such automation reduces setup and handling time at
courtesy of EMIT Technologies Tubes in Motion
in Sheridan, Wyo. the tube laser. Being able to switch materials on-the- Much of the savings from laser tube
cutting comes from reducing indi-
rect costs inherent in conventional
sawing and drilling: measuring, lo-
cating, handling, fixturing, stacking,
and all the other steps people per-
form to get tubular parts through
production, as well as the floor
space requirements and inventory
costs all this creates. These savings
have made laser tube cutting a true
success, providing benefits that far
outweigh the challenges, including
downtime related to tube loading.
For many applications, automat-
ic tube storage and retrieval sys-
tems eliminate this final challenge.
Integrated with the tube laser, they
help manage the inventory of raw
material and deliver it as needed
to the tube loader. Automatic tube
loaders measure the incoming
material dimensions precisely and
feed one stick at a time into the ro-
tary chuck of the machine.
The tube laser itself nests and
orients components within the
stick for maximum material effi-
ciency and creates all the needed
features on the parts, including
extruded and tapped holes. Parts
then are separated from the stick
and are deposited onto a conveyor
or bin, ready to move on to the
next manufacturing step.
Automated tube storage systems
have some limitations depending
on weight and material shape for
automatic loading onto the tube la-
ser. But in many cases, these limita-
tions far outweigh the benefits
such automation provides. Elimi-
nating downtime, it closes the
manufacturing chain for tubular
and structural components, from
start to finish.
Adi Buerkler is the TruLaser Tube product
manager and Thomas Burdel is account man-
ager for TruLaser Tube at TRUMPF Inc., 111
Hyde Road, Farmington, CT 06032, 860-255-
6000, www.trumpf.com.

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Understanding and selecting a
material verification technology
XRF, LIBS, and OES techniques vary in unit. From there the OES system determines the
chemical composition of the sample being tested.
portability, applicability, processing speed LIBS analyzers ablate the surface of the sam-
ple with a highly focused laser, which produces
a plasma of excited atoms and ions. As these
atoms begin to decay to their ground states,
By James Stachowiak It can be difficult to differentiate between the
O
techniques available—X-ray fluorescence (XRF), they emit wavelengths of light that are unique
n any given day, a typical fabrication laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), to each element, which are analyzed by a spec-
shop deals with a handful of materi- and optical emission spectroscopy (OES)—and trometer in the LIBS device. As with XRF, LIBS
als—carbon steels, stainless steels, to determine which one is optimal for a given analysis can be used for both quantitative and
aluminum alloys, maybe even magnesium from application. qualitative measurements.
time to time. The accompanying paperwork OES and LIBS are minimally destructive. They
identifies the material, but how does a fab- How They Work leave a minute burn mark on the sample.
ricator determine if it really received what it XRF, a nondestructive test, irradiates a metal
ordered? In many cases, it would be beneficial sample with high-energy X-rays produced by How They Get Around
to determine if the metal shipped matches the a miniature X-ray tube in the instrument. This Metal fabricators should keep several consider-
material test report (MTR). To do this without causes atoms in the sample to emit second- ations in mind when choosing a technology, in-
sending the material to a testing lab, fabricators ary (or fluorescent) X-rays that are unique to cluding portability, speed, and ease of use.
can use elemental analysis devices. the elements present in the sample. The in- Portability can have a substantial impact on
Elemental analysis technology has come a long strument detector measures and analyzes the productivity. Fortunately, both LIBS and XRF
way from the days when metal fabricators had secondary X-rays to determine their chemical analyzers are lightweight and hand-held. This
to rely on expensive, time-consuming labora- identity and their concentration in the metal means analysis can be conducted easily in nearly
tory tests or rudimentary spark or acid testing under test. This capability makes XRF useful any location in a shop or a warehouse, even in
for material verification. Technological advance- for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of difficult-to-reach areas. OES is a mobile technol-
ments enable portable instruments to carry out material composition. ogy, but it isn’t hand-held. It requires a push cart
analytical processes, meaning laboratory-grade OES instruments send a high-voltage electri- that can be hard to maneuver in confined work
elemental analysis now can be done in seconds cal pulse to excite atoms in a sample. The sample areas. Today’s most advanced LIBS analyzers
right on the shop floor. This capability helps mit- then discharges an arc spark that can be mea- weigh as little as 6 lbs. (2.9 kg), while a mobile
igate risks and greatly enhances productivity. sured and analyzed by a spectrometer in the OES OES can weigh up to 80 lbs. (36 kg).
Nov19FAB_AlloyID.indd 112 10/23/19 2:44 PM

Concerning speed of use, the main factors in- analyzers are essential for material verification are not always accurate, so a “trust but verify”
volve instrument setup and maintenance, sam- of these finished components. approach is necessary to confirm the alloy’s
ple preparation, and analysis speed. The introduction of silicon drift detector chemical makeup.
• Of the three technologies, XRF is the easi- (SDD) technology into hand-held XRF instru- In such situations, analytical technology comes
est to use. It is a point-and-shoot device that ments has produced significant performance into play. By performing due diligence, fabrica-
doesn’t require daily setup or maintenance. LIBS improvements over traditional XRF capabilities, tors can be sure to protect their reputation and
setup is relatively minimal, requiring a two-step enabling them to identify these alloy types posi- business by performing these on-site tests
process that takes about 10 minutes. Daily setup tively. It’s worth noting that some LIBS devices themselves.
of OES requires several steps and takes any- on the market today are also capable of analyz-
James Stachowiak is technical sales manager for Thermo Fisher
where from 15 to 20 minutes to complete. LIBS ing light elements like aluminum, while the more Scientific, 168 Third Ave., Waltham, MA 02451, 800-678-5599,
and OES instruments require regular cleaning. advanced units are dedicated to carbon content corporate.thermofisher.com.
• Sample preparation is required when us- analysis instead. Aside from OES, LIBS is the only
ing OES and LIBS. Trace amounts of contami- analytical technique capable of detecting car-
nants, such as grease, paint, or even oxidation, bon, even down to low levels.
can interfere with the test and yield unreliable When considering both LIBS and XRF in this
results. Sample preparation involves clean- application, it’s important to remember that
ing and grinding a testing area on the metal, while LIBS is the faster of the two for analyzing
normally 1 square inch. Alternatively, XRF aluminum alloys, XRF has the ability to analyze a
rarely requires any sample preparation at all. wide range of alloy types nondestructively.
• Depending on the material being tested, ad-
vanced LIBS and OES analyzers can test most
samples in about 10 seconds. This includes ma-
MTRs are not always accurate,
terial in which the carbon content is of interest. so a “trust but verify” approach
An XRF analyzer, for most materials, can give is necessary to confirm the alloy’s
an identification and valid chemistry composi-
tion for many alloy types in three to five seconds. chemical makeup
However, this does not include carbon analysis,
and the analysis time could increase slightly for
other light elements present in the alloy. The dif- Aerospace Applications. XRF and LIBS are
ference between several seconds adds up when complementary techniques that can provide
the fabricator considers that several readings or analysis and verification necessary for the full
multiple samples (or several readings of several range of aerospace alloys. In aerospace manufac-
samples) may be necessary, thus demonstrating turing, parts must be made with the precise alloy
why choosing the right technology is critical for according to the engineering specifications. This
the operator’s specific application. is necessary to ensure they exhibit high strength
and high corrosion resistance at the higher tem-
Application Considerations peratures where they are put into use.
Metal fabricators should think about more than Chemistry, Grade, and Coating Thickness.
just productivity when choosing an elemental XRF not only provides quick chemistry and
analyzer. A key consideration is matching the grade verification of incoming raw materials and
analytical capabilities of the technology with the final products, but it also can be used for com-
application. positional analysis and thickness measurements
Low-carbon Metals. LIBS is extremely use- of alloy coatings.
ful for differentiating among various alloys and In aerospace manufacturing, for example, this
quantifying carbon concentrations in carbon technology can analyze the coatings on engine
steels, low-alloy steels, and stainless steels, in- parts and other components, which is necessary
cluding L-grade stainless steels (which indicates to help protect against short-term and long-
low carbon). LIBS also can detect aluminum, term damage from demanding use at high tem-
chromium, copper, iron, manganese, molybde- peratures. This capability can be used to ensure
num, nickel, silicon, titanium, vanadium, tung- quality control and that expensive coating mate-
sten, carbon equivalency, and pseudo-elements. rial isn’t being wasted or underapplied.
New Aluminum and Magnesium Alloys. New
lightweight grades of aluminum and magnesium Trust but Verify
alloys are now being used in automotive As the industry continues to globalize, many
manufacturing to make cars more fuel-efficient. fabricators are increasingly purchasing material
Automotive frames and components are from overseas and from new vendors they have
manufactured from specific alloy grades that not worked with previously. Inexperienced or
have tightly controlled specifications for alloying unreliable suppliers sometimes try to cut costs
elements. The material properties are so specific by not performing positive material identifica-
that even slight variations from the specification tion or by using an outside testing lab to verify
can render the parts defective, so elemental the material they ship out. Unfortunately, MTRs
Nov19FAB_AlloyID.indd 113 10/23/19 2:44 PM

Learning lean in
learning a trade, as a culture, we learn how to
learn. Instead of just learning to weld, I can
learn how to learn how to weld, or to be an IT
the plain community person, or a shipping manager. I’ve learned how

to learn. Then the door swings wide open.”
Amish manufacturer embraces continuous improvement The Technology Line

Pioneer defies the Amish stereotype of a simple
life separated from the outside world and mod-
ern technology. Reality is more nuanced.
“There are many different groups in the plain
community,” Eddie said. “Every group draws a
line [regarding technology use], and it’s decid-
ed by the group, not by the individual.”
“We look at technology in a unique way,” Ste-
ven said. “We always ask, ‘How can we use parts
of it?’ There are elements of technology we use
as tools, but we don’t fully embrace them.”
The factory operates off the electric grid. A
400-HP natural gas generator near the back of
the shop powers everything from the lights and
computers to robot welding automation. The
compact front office has sit-standing desks, air
conditioning, and desktop computers for ac-
counting and plant scheduling. The company
has a phone land line and a few flip phones
shared by the sales team and others who travel
for business.
A Unique Ag Market
Although the technology line varies, for most
Amish certain attributes of life are likely to stay
the way they have been for generations. For ex-
By Tim Heston stored logically and clearly, job routing paper- ample, tractors aren’t unknown entities among
S
work is clear and intuitive. Even a novice on his the plain people, but horse-drawn agriculture
tanding by an open door by Pioneer first day could find his way around. still dominates, and that’s not likely to change
Equipment’s fab shop floor, adjacent to The place even has a few single-piece-flow anytime soon.
a gravel lot outside, I shook hands and
cells dedicated to repeating jobs, complete with The market really wasn’t viable for small fab-
exchanged pleasantries as the company’s 40
welding robots and pneumatic quick-change ricators until surprisingly late into the 20th cen-
employees left for the day. I was glad to meet
fixtures. Cross training abounds. The company tury, thanks largely to manufacturing giants like
them, especially considering what company
has several OTC Daihen robot welding cells, a Deere & Co. “In the early part of the last cen-
managers had told me.
Mazak laser with load/unload automation, a new tury, Deere made a million walking plows in a
“When it comes to having trouble finding
Bystronic press brake, and has invested in off- year’s time,” Steven said. “But as the Industrial
skilled people, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 be-
line bend programming and simulation along Revolution took hold, people left horse-drawn
ing the worst, the outside world is at a 10. It’s
with SolidWorks. agriculture.”
dire right now. It’s what keeps people up at
The company works with outside banks and As more farmers adopted tractors, they
night. But not here. I’d say we’re about a 2.”
accounting firms, of course. On occasion it sold their horse-drawn equipment to the used
That was Steven Wengerd, director of sales,
and just after he spoke, I glanced outside. I collaborates with outside engineers. And it
heard no cars, saw no traffic leaving the white recently hired a marketing professional who
gravel parking lot where my rental car sat isn’t Amish. But like everyone else in the plain
alone. Everyone walked or rode bicycles, a qui- community, not one Amish worker at Pioneer
et departure in the late afternoon October sun. attended school beyond eighth grade. Many
Such is rush hour in the plain community amid started working when they were just 13, help-
rolling farmland outside Dalton, Ohio. ing and learning the ways of the shop before
They left the shop floor highly organized, with working with large equipment at 18. As manag-
a mature 5S program full of labeled, modular ers explained, Amish education doesn’t stop
workstations—designs they’ve trademarked, when they’re hired. In many ways the education
patented, and are selling to others through the never stops.
» This grid panel, part of a cell dedicated to buggy
company’s Pioneer Industrial Workflow Solu- Eddie Wengerd, general manager (and Ste- undercarriages, was where the idea for Industrial
tions (IWS) subsidiary. Fixtures are labeled and ven’s older brother), said it best: “Instead of Workflow Solutions was born.
Nov19FAB_Pioneer.indd 114 10/23/19 3:05 PM

couldn’t find a tool to form a particular part, he
worked with the shop machinist to create the
tool he needed.
Work-in-process was everywhere. It took weeks
or months for new workers to learn how to find
tools they needed quickly. Healthy margins were
there, but overall, inventory levels were high and
inventory turns were extremely low.
Pioneer’s outside accountant pointed this
out in 2008 and suggested that the Wengerds
consider a new strategy: lean manufacturing. » This kanban replenishment space holds a maximum of
The brothers were unsure but decided to reach 15 components; reaching seven (designated by the red
out to a lean consultant—and Six Sigma black card) triggers an order for more.
belt—associated with the accounting firm. and—to the brothers’ amazement—began

They conceded that it wasn’t an easy step. changing things immediately. People discarded
After all, the consultant came from outside the any tool they hadn’t used for eight weeks, and
ag industry, didn’t know the first thing about before long they created an enormous pile in
farming, and here they were hiring him to re- the middle of the shop. “We ended up selling
» This IWS station, designed for a welding operation, can view their processes. Moreover, would the lean more than $10,000 of stuff that our people just
be reconfigured to suit the work at hand.
consultant preach the virtues of the Toyota didn’t need anymore,” Daniel said
equipment market. Deere and others couldn’t Production System and force-feed the meth- Steven recalled one drill press operator who
sell their existing inventory either. So over the odology into their high-product-mix operation? returned to his station, took a piece of half-
decades, truckload after truckload of walking Pioneer managers knew the company was mak- round bar stock, and drilled holes in it—creat-
plows and sulky plows (which have a seat for ing good money. When the bottom line’s healthy, ing a simple tree for holding the drill bits, cus-
riding) made their way to the Amish commu- why change a good thing? The shop seemed in- tom built for just what he needed.
nities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. credibly busy, and the business was growing so Eddie nodded in agreement. “People started
“They were everywhere,” Steven said, “and quickly that they were running out of space. doing things that we just never would have
they were available for pennies on the dollar.” But they ultimately made the leap. The con- thought of.”
By the 1970s, though, the horse-drawn sys- sultant toured the shop but didn’t simply start Leon chimed in. “And I know we said we
tems were rusting beyond repair, and new barking orders about what was right and wrong. made $10,000 on all the equipment we didn’t
equipment just wasn’t available. Amish made He listened, learned shop practices and its cul- need, but we spent much more than we saved.
do, often turning to local blacksmiths or fabri- ture. Then he suggested everyone in the orga- We knew we needed to give people the right
cating their own plows if they could, but it cer- nization take a crash course in 5S, shut down tools they needed to succeed. If we as leaders
tainly wasn’t ideal. the plant for a day, and give everyone time to didn’t support them, the whole effort would
In the mid-1970s, an industrious Amish farm- improve their workstations. have failed.”
er and his father attached a beam to a Raydex Hearing this, the brothers were taken aback. This included spending a few dollars on new
“easy pulling” plow bottom. They tested a new “We thought we were doing well,” recalled Leon wrench sets and other hand tools to ensure
walking plow design, running it behind a hill, Wengerd, second from the oldest brother and each station had just the right number of tools
away from prying eyes. It was Henry Wengerd Pioneer’s CFO. “It was almost an insult to us.” it needed. Determining that number is key, be-
and his son Wayne, grandfather and father, re- But they came to consensus and invited the cause 5S falls apart quickly if someone spends
spectively, of the eight Wengerds (seven broth- consultant in for a morning to teach the ba- too much time hunting for tools that aren’t at
ers and one sister) who work at Pioneer today. sics of 5S. Everyone returned to their stations his workstation.
“They didn’t want to make a big show of it,” The “right tools” also includes some of the
said Daniel Wengerd, Wayne’s oldest son and shop’s biggest capital expenditures, like the
today Pioneer’s president and CEO. “They went Mazak laser and Bystronic press brake. “The
behind the hill near the farm, which is just a mile price tag for this equipment can be scary,” Leon
south of where the shop is now, and made the said, “but if we look at the long term and the
first couple of rounds—and, lo and behold, it time savings, we can stay ahead because of that
worked. It needed refining, but it was enough to investment. But it has to be the right machine
build a prototype, and it continued from there.” for our processes.”
Not one of the brothers mentioned cutting
Too Much WIP inches per minute or formed parts per hour.
Even though Pioneer produces niche products They instead described how the machines fit
for a unique corner of the ag market, its evolu- into process flow, which has evolved into a mix-
tion is anything but unique. The company began mode model incorporating make-to-stock pull
as a relatively low-mix product line manufactur- systems as well as make-to-order production.
er of horse-drawn farm equipment. Its service Before becoming lean, the shop used to spot-
center plasma-cut plate components and deliv- buy raw stock every month. Post-lean imple-
ered blanks, which made their way through the mentation, the company works with its sup-
shop in large batches. Most forming occurred on » A robot lays a circumferential weld around the inside pliers on quarterly commitments and small,
several Piranha ironworkers, and if the operator diameter of the landside wheels of sulky and rock plows. partial-truckload deliveries every other day—

enough to fill a pallet on the laser’s automated horse-drawn equipment manufacturing on a the parts and tools needed for the current un-
load/unload system that runs all day and unat- large scale essentially disappeared after the dercarriage product mix. “This is where Indus-
tended at night. 1950s. Farmers first repaired or built what they trial Workflow Solutions was born.”
Planners receive orders from multiple sourc- needed and perhaps visited a blacksmith for For several years employees built various it-
es, including custom orders as well as orders some advanced work. erations of the modular cart, always on wheels
triggered by a kanban replenish system in As the brothers found, that “just build it” so it could be maneuvered where needed, but
finished goods inventory. The laser is pro- character also helped Pioneer’s lean initiative. A always designed with modularity in mind. As
grammed two days out using dynamic nesting prime example hangs above the assembly bay: Eddie recalled, “Eventually our lean consultant
exclusively. Those parts then are transported an overhead bridge crane that has a maximum saw this and asked, ‘Why don’t you sell this?’”
to the fab shop, where they’re staged at initial capacity of just 850 pounds. Not only would other job shops and high-
fabrication and welding stations. Some stations “When you need to move it, you just do this,” product-mix manufacturers find use for these
are dedicated to custom and make-to-order Steven said, grabbing a rope and moving the modular carts, but so would other sectors. Re-
work, while others are dedicated to specific re- bridge crane manually across the shop. Assem- tailers, for instance, could use them as flexible
peating parts. blers need not operate fancy hydraulics or wait point-of-purchase displays.
Outside the high-product-mix work, the com- for a bridge crane operator to maneuver a de- “At first we just didn’t have the time,” Eddie
pany has two multiprocess cells. One is dedicat- vice that has far more lifting power than they’ll said. “But then, when we installed our laser and
ed to wheel production, a make-to-stock item ever need. Employees just reach up and pull. new press brake, we took our productivity to a
used on various horse-drawn ag equipment Steven smiled. “See? Simple.” new level.”
models. Blanks with short flanges (formed on That “build it” character trait played a key This, he said, gave the company the resourc-
the new press brake) are fed into a roller, weld- es it needed to launch Pioneer IWS.
role in sustaining the company’s 5S efforts. Pio-
ed, ground, cleaned, assembled, and painted. Employees started using double-sided
neer faces similar challenges as custom fabrica-
Another cell produces a make-to-order un- wheeled carts, one side with all the tools nec-
tors and other job shops in that needs change
dercarriage, sold under the Pioneer Carriage essary, the other side with the job traveler
over time. For a few weeks or months, a work-
brand, that’s assembled and sent to buggy- paperwork and quality documentation. Other
station might need a certain set of tools, but as
makers nearby and in other plain communities. carts had dedicated tool sets in various areas. If
the product mix changes, so does the tool mix.
Pioneer in 2019 looks nothing like it did in the product model changed, the worker simply
At first Pioneer employees fabricated carts to
2008. Not only does it have 50 percent less WIP
suit their needs. Then several weeks or months turned the cart around and grabbed from the
and 25 percent less finished goods inventory, it
later their needs changed, and they built a new new tool set.
makes a wider range of products.
cart. It worked at first, but it wasn’t very sus- The company now produces an IWS catalog
“For us, our lean journey happened at just
tainable, especially as product lines diversified. showing different work center configurations,
the right time,” Eddie said, adding that the in-
Then one day, within the newly created cell all touting the slotted panel, now branded as
creased efficiency has allowed the company to
dedicated to undercarriages, one employee the Gridlok™ system. Since its launch in 2016,
invest more in research and product develop-
designed a sheet metal panel with slots where the product line has gone through several it-
ment. “I really don’t know where we would be
different shelves, rods, and hooks could attach. erations, and development continues. In early
without lean manufacturing.”
This created a modular workbench that—with October the company was prototyping a flex-
Work Flow Through Modularity no tools at all—could be assembled, reassem- ible weld table concept with fixturing pins that
Amish culture fosters unique needs that the bled, and relabeled over and over as needed. could be placed on the table itself, then stored
wider market doesn’t fulfill, so they build what During the shop tour, Eddie paused and neatly to a Gridlok panel on the table’s sides.
they can’t buy. This kept Amish farms going as pointed at the slotted panel, today holding all
Learning to Learn
The Wengerds don’t hide the fact that Pioneer’s
history stands apart from most fabricators’. The
company hand-drew its prints until 2011, when it
leapt past 2D CAD right into the latest 3D CAD
system from SolidWorks. In 2008 office person-
nel used manual typewriters and didn’t get their
first computer until 2011.
“We had to learn how to use a mouse,” Daniel
chuckled.
During an office tour, though, Eddie showed
just how far Pioneer had come in such a short
time. The company is weighing its options when
it comes to enterprise resource planning, but for
now the Excel sheet, tied directly into Pioneer’s
accounting software, works smoothly.
The company’s IT director, all of 18, also de-
fies stereotypes that all Amish (and anyone else
who grows up on the farm, for that matter) are
somehow wired to build things and work with
» Old ways meet new technology. This rock plow, fabricated by Pioneer, incorporates laser cut parts formed on CNC their hands. “He tried his hand at welding, and
press brakes as well as robotically welded wheels. that didn’t work out too well,” Daniel recalled.

Eddie added that the IT opera- “We had an engineer who helped us design a tine Ohio. “He helped us design this unit. And now we’re
tion does have an outside adviser, that had the right amount of spring for a horse-drawn using their beam kit from across the pond. Rather
but by and large, the shop’s own IT application,” Steven said. “By buying the very latest than reinventing the wheel, we’re very big on partner-
guru—again, someone who didn’t technology and combining it with content from way ships and collaborations.”
go to technical school, college, back when, we can make a machine that puts the Both in continuous improvement and in the plain
or anywhere else beyond eighth horse farmer at a very competitive edge in today’s community overall, one listens, thinks of the group
grade—has delved deep into writing market.” first, and learns to learn. Considering all this, it’s little
Eddie pointed to a prototype on the floor with a wonder Pioneer’s CPA thought lean manufacturing
computer code and developing the
beam component on a horse-drawn plow. Pioneer would be a good fit.
server architecture that meets the
Senior Editor Tim Heston can be reached at timh@thefabricator.com.
unique needs of an Amish fab shop. called an engineer at a Norwegian plow manufacturer, Pioneer Equipment Inc., Pioneer Carriage, Pioneer IWS,
Eddie paused, then went back built a relationship, and eventually flew him over to www.pioneeriws.com
to his point on how people in the

Amish community learn. “Learning
by doing” isn’t quite on the nose.
Diving quixotically into a project,
making the same mistakes over and
over, isn’t learning by doing. Doing
that would neither raise a barn in a
day nor grow sales at a rural Ohio
fabricator by 15 to 20 percent in
the past few years. “Learning to
learn” is much more apt.
How does one learn to learn,
exactly? Reading helps, of course.
Part of my interview with the
brothers occurred in a large meet-
ing room with one wall lined com-
pletely with books, from floor to
ceiling, with titles covering ana-
baptist history and the history of
farming equipment.
As the brothers explained, grow-
ing up in a community also helps,
where the group stands above the
individual. People learn to listen—
really listen. When they join a com-
pany like Pioneer, they learn from
their co-workers as well as their
suppliers and customers.
“That’s been a huge theme for
us,” Steven said. “When we meet
with our vendors, we want to learn
about their business model, and
we want them to know about ours.
We then ask, ‘How can the two
blend together?’”
The people at Pioneer also don’t
hesitate to collaborate with cus-
tomers and vendors within and
outside the plain community. For
instance, they collaborated with
engineers at a large combine
spring-tine manufacturer to de-
sign the tine springs on the com-
pany’s horse-drawn tine-weeder
designed for organic farming,
which has become more popular
as small farmers compete with big
agribusiness.
Nov19FAB_Pioneer.indd 117 10/24/19 9:30 AM

» A Hypertherm XPR300 plasma cutting system is
combined with a 5-axis cutting head to provide cutting
flexibility for structural steel fabricator Fought & Co.
plate columns that have to be manufactured in

pieces and a lot of pipes that sit on the back
side of the arena for support. Some of the pipe
configurations are fish mouth—or a V-shape—
so they require very sharp cuts,” Searle said.
“Producing them using pattern development
and layout with an acetylene torch would have
been cumbersome. We had to come up with a
way to be better at cutting.”
This is where creativity and investment
joined with automation. A Machitech Pipe Cut™
CNC plasma pipe and tube processing machine
Arena project leads to with a customized 60-ft. table was added to

the company’s equipment roster. The system
pipe cutting automation cuts miters, saddles, holes, slots, gussets, and
the fish mouths in pipe from 2.5 to 24 inches
Plasma cutting system reduces processing time in diameter and up to just short of the table
length. Large components are produced from
pipe with 14- and 20-in. diameters and run up
By Sue Roberts region. Its 180,000-sq.-ft. facility resides on 7 to 40 ft. long.
F
acres just outside of Portland. Overhead cranes and pipe grabbers load and
ought & Co., Tigard, Ore., is on track for a Two 10-hours shifts of 110 shop employees unload the pipe, which is stored next to the
very good 2020. A large track and field are- produce the always large components. Add in machine.
na that the company is building in the Pa- erection crews and shop personnel and the A floating chuck system prevents slippage
cific Northwest will be one of the world’s largest head count swells to about 350. Still, increased and handles out-of-round pipe, a motorized in-
when it is completed in 2020. Spectators in the demands, particularly in the summer, can make feed conveyor works with pipe up to 60 ft., and
12,650 permanent seats, expandable to 25,000, a few extra hands and increased efficiencies pneumatic support rollers position the material
will have unobstructed views of competitors on welcome. for processing.
a nine-lane track. Its interior will incorporate the “It is definitely a test to find good people “Since each of our jobs is different, the extra-
typical locker rooms, classrooms, offices, and right now. We try to treat people good so they long table gives us processing flexibility. Some
conference rooms plus a 140-meter, six-lane in- stay with us. We do a lot of in-house training, of the pipe bays we are working with are 18½
door practice straightaway. Unique exterior fea- and we try to be creative,” said Wayne Searle, ft. long with three pieces in each bay. I can lay
tures will include an 8-foot-wide concourse that company president. “We have a program called three bays down and cut the equivalent of nine
wraps around the upper bowl of the west stands Fought 500. If an employee brings us another pieces during one run,” Searle said.
and a multistory tower, shaped to resemble the hire, after 90 days they both get a $500 bonus.” A 5-axis cutting head directs the cuts made by
Olympic torch, that will house exhibits. the Hypertherm XPR300™ plasma system that
Work on the arena began in the summer Improving the Process cuts mild and stainless steels and aluminum.
of 2018 when Fought & Co. and its subsidiary That same creative spirit and willingness to in- Plasma gases are automatically mixed to pro-
REFA Erection were chosen for the job. Sixty vest are evident on the shop floor, particularly vide what the company terms X-Definition™,
years of experience completing complex struc- when projects have unusual construction speci- the next generation of its HyDefinition® cut.
tural steel projects—bridges, hospitals, malls, fications. Rotary Tube Pro™ tube cutting software, also
airport terminals, and government buildings, “A large number of components going into from Hypertherm, allows for programming cut
along with stadiums and arenas—made the fab- the current arena project aren’t typically part designs and importing and converting CAD/
ricating and erecting company a good fit with of that type of a structure. The arena has big CAM programs.
the project.
A full complement of heavy-duty equipment
resides under more than 4 acres of roof, mak-
ing it one of the largest steel fabrication and
surface treatment and painting facilities in the
» Fish-mouth cuts for structural supports for an arena

project go directly from the automated plasma cutting
process to fitting and welding. » A special 60-ft.-long table was built as part of the Machitech Pipe Cut CNC plasma pipe and tube processing machine.
Nov19FAB_PlasmaCutting.indd 118 10/23/19 3:15 PM

» Complex structural units require pipe with fish-mouth plasma cuts.
Making It Easy “Since each of our jobs is different, the extra-long table gives us processing flexibility.
Fred Butkovich, operations improvement man- Some of the pipe bays we are working with are 18½ ft. long with three pieces in each bay.
ager, said that the cut tubes go straight from the I can lay three bays down and cut the equivalent of nine pieces during one run.”
plasma cutting system to welding. —Wayne Searle, Fought & Co.
“It would have been very difficult for us to do
this project without this automation,” he said. Shifting the Focus of the automation allow us to bid on projects
“We take stock pieces of pipe and cut the parts Since adding the automated system, Searle said that we would have struggled to be competitive
any tube cutting issues, which would have been on before.”
we need in a fraction of the time it would have
the critical aspect of a job, have been cut away. Looking ahead, Searle also believes that there
taken using wraparounds and hand burning.
Stubs, pieces of plasma-cut pipe, are completed is an uptick in the use of pipe as aesthetic, as
The plasma cuts a lot faster than oxyfuel and
quickly and accurately, so production focus has well as supporting construction elements. He
provides a pretty clean cut. We just specify the
shifted to providing the best possible down- expects that trend will help fill the pipeline that
amperage based on the thickness and material
stream processes. will keep the automated plasma pipe cutting
of the pipe. We haven’t needed to do any sec-
“We keep track of the stubs cut each day. For system busy. Is more automation on the way
ondary cutting unless features require a steep-
example, in two 10-hour shifts the automated for the company?
er angle than what the machine can actually do.
system can cut 49 pieces of large fish-mouth “Definitely,” Searle said. “We got this ma-
“We import files from the detailer in a STEP
pipe. If we were cutting by hand, that count chine to shave hours off a particular project
program,” he continued. “They can go right to
would probably be two or three in that time and to give us versatility going forward. We
the machine; it strikes an arc and cuts at the
frame,” Searle said. plan on investing in other automation to help us
angle we need. We don’t even need drawings.
do the same thing in other areas.”
We specify the length of pipe and the features “We’re still in the middle of an arena project,
Freelance Writer Sue Roberts can be reached at
we want, and we are ready to go. Once the ma- and that will keep the system busy for a while sueroberts4545@gmail.com.
chine is done, the tube is done. longer, but we’ve already been approached by Fought & Co., www.foughtsteel.com
“And the program automatically nests the other people who want us to cut pipe. Beyond Hypertherm, www.hypertherm.com
cuts so we save material on jobs like that, the additional cutting speed and accuracy Machitech Automation, https://machitech.com
fish-mouth cuts.”
Prepping for Automation

Preparations for adding the new
equipment were minimal. The shop
floor had enough space for the
lengthy system, so adding a little
more electrical service and a dust ex-
traction system were the only things
that needed to be done.
Equipment training also didn’t
pose a problem.
“Machitech trained four or five of
our operators and their managers
to make sure that we always have
someone to run the system. They
helped with training for the soft-
ware, programming, actual cutting,
and safety,” Searle said.
“If we do have any challenges,
the machine is actively online with
Machitech. They can remotely look
at the system’s control at the same
time we do and recommend any
fixes.”
Nov19FAB_PlasmaCutting.indd 119 10/23/19 3:15 PM

» Summit Laser and Manufacturing, Elora, Ont., Canada, can generate about 15 quotes
a day, between two estimators, using a web-based quoting system. Getting more quotes
out on a regular basis increases the potential that the shop can win more work to keep
the shop floor humming.
and a semiautomated quoting system. The shop typically took three days
or more to complete a quote. Furthermore, jobs requiring nesting could
take up to a week waiting for a nest to be built for run-time and material
calculations.
Realizing the shortfalls of its old estimating process, the company began
searching for a dedicated and robust quoting system. They came across a
web-based quoting product and decided to put it to a test.
Modern Tool COO Dale Pahan said everyone noticed an immediate im-
pact when they used the software to process an RFQ for a complex job,
which consisted of more than 100 parts, welding, painting, subassemblies,
Accelerating growth through

sawing, and the need to coordinate outside purchases.
better
“Honestly, we probably would have passed on the opportunity to bid as
it would have taken several days to quote,” Pahan said. But he decided to
use the software and see what it could do. Four hours later the buyer had
the quote. The company later won that job.
quoting Automation and Standardization

In addition to speed, automated web-based quoting removes guesswork,
the possibility of human error, and subjective interpretation. Standardiz-
ing the quoting process across the company eliminates bottlenecks and
keeps the line moving. Now any estimator can work on a quote. This is im-
Spreadsheets and quoting modules that portant in meeting deadlines when the estimator who started the process
is absent or otherwise occupied.
require manual inputting just don’t cut it AWI Manufacturing Inc., Winsted, Minn., manufactures a full line of stain-
in today’s fast-paced world less steel products for the food and dairy industry, including floor drains,
trench drains, enclosures, components, hex hangers, tanks, and other cus-
tom products. It offers custom fabrication services—laser cutting, laser
By Robert Farrell and Brad Stropes
W
tube cutting, forming/rolling, welding, engineering, assembly, and finishing
hat keeps the lights on, sparks flying, and people working? (grinding and polishing)—to other industries as well.
The obvious answer is sales, of course. Sales is after all a com- While shop floor capabilities were cutting edge, AWI’s process for gen-
pany’s lifeblood, and quoting is at the heart of it all. erating quotes was stuck in the past. It relied on Microsoft Excel as its
Unfortunately, what isn’t so obvious to many fabricators, job shops, quoting platform, according to Stacey Hertzog, AWI’s vice president of
and metal service centers is that if they are still using spreadsheets, the technical operations and quality.
quoting module of their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, or “It was taking a minimum of several hours to get a quote out,” Hertzog
a semiautomated quoting system, they are waging a losing battle. These said. “What’s more, entering the numbers manually always presented an
companies are handicapped by the very quoting processes and tools they opportunity for human error—never a good thing when it comes to put-
relied on to grow their businesses. ting out bids.”
Companies can double or even triple the number of quotes they’re send- In a business where margins are tight, accuracy and speed go hand-in-
ing out and do it faster without adding resources. They just need the right hand. The only thing worse than losing a job is winning one that costs the
software tool.
Speed Kills (the Competition)

With all due respect, there isn’t much difference among all the shops vying
for one order. They all provide quality laser-cut parts and offer bending
and painting services. They all strive to provide the personal attention that
each thinks sets itself apart as they focus on the “relationship” instead
of just providing parts. So what sets one fabricator apart from the pack?
It’s responsiveness. In today’s digital world, everything is accelerated, even
expectations.
“Buyers have come to expect immediate RFQ turnaround,” said Dewey
Josephson, operations manager for Modern Tool, Coon Rapids, Minn. “In
many cases, if the quote isn’t in their hands within 24 hours, they’ve moved
on. Simply put, first in usually wins.”
» An automated quoting system eliminates the need to input information. A fabricator
Modern Tool was once a typical job shop in the way it provided respons- can get a print from the customer, drop it into the quoting software, and generate a
es to RFQs: It used a combination of spreadsheets, estimator experience, quote in minutes.
Nov19FAB_Quoting.indd 120 10/23/19 9:44 AM

Every company should be asking itself these questions:
• How many quotes are being sent out?
• What’s the average dollar amount?
• What is the success rate?
That’s when shops can find out how much gold dust is falling through
the saloon floor cracks.
How Today’s Quoting Is Done

In the past the quoting process was largely based on some tribal knowledge
peppered with a lot of manual measurements, calculations, phone calls, and
even a little guesswork. The approach became slightly more “automated”
and somewhat standardized through the use of spreadsheet applications.
» Metal fabricators that use ERP/MRP software’s quoting module are used to having Still, it lacked the sophistication needed to have a real and lasting impact.
to wait until cutting paths and nesting strategies are generated and then having to type
that information back into the quoting software. Web-based quoting software can When ERP and materials resource planning (MRP) came along, many took
generate quotes at the same time a nest is created, saving time and eliminating the a crack at adapting these systems for quoting. But estimating and quoting is
potential for typing in the wrong information. neither the intent nor strength of such systems. Most of today’s commercial
company money. ERP/MRP quoting systems remain heavily dependent on the user to provide
AWI found the answer to its quoting shortcomings in a dedicated web- very basic information such as perimeter length, surface area, and number
based quoting software tool, which had the added benefit of not requiring of holes. To get that information, the estimator is expected to load part
estimators to have to manually input multiple sets of information. geometry into a CAD/CAM system and wait for potential cutting paths and
“A process that took half a day or more is slashed to 30 minutes or less,” nesting strategies to be generated. Those results are then manually entered
Hertzog said. back into the quoting software. Such a process is slow, hardly automated,
AWI is in the process of integrating its new quoting software with its ERP and extremely inefficient.
system. Hertzog said the company is anticipating even bigger savings when To catch more fish, a fisherman needs more lines in the water. If a shop
the systems are fully integrated. wants more sales, it needs to get more quotes out and get them out faster.
What’s handicapping most fabricators isn’t the number of estimators
Looking at the Return on Investment they employ, but rather the quoting tools themselves. For a growing
Metal fabricators need to realize that quoting speed and accuracy are only a number of fabricators, web-based software is turbocharging the quoting
part of the equation. Getting more quotes out can pay huge dividends. Even process and ultimately the bottom line.
factoring in a conservative success rate can increase sales significantly. Robert Farrell Jr. is owner, FarrellMarCom Services LLC, 513-284-2618, farrellmarcom@gmail.com,
www.farrellmarcom.com.
For example, if a shop typically puts out five quotes a day using a spread- Brad Stropes is chief operating officer, SecturaSOFT, 513-813-8111, info@secturasoft.com, www.
sheet, with the average quote being $800, that’s $4,000 per day or $20,000 secturasoft.com.
a week in potential work. At a 25 percent success rate, that’s $260,000 in AWI Manufacturing Inc., www.awimfg.com
Modern Tool Inc., www.mtoolinc.com
business over a year’s time. Now, if a shop is able to put out twice as many
Summit Laser & Manufacturing, www.summitlaser.ca
quotes with web-based quoting,
that shop has the potential to dou-
ble its success rate.
Shops are always trying to in-
crease throughput but are usually
doing so downstream and missing
the true bottleneck. Most orga-
nizations pay hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars to add operations
to attract new customers. Howev-
er, they are missing out on a huge
growth opportunity within their
front-line estimating department.
Using the previous example, if a
shop is able to increase its produc-
tion of quotes from five to 15, be-
cause the task now takes hours or
minutes rather than days, its win
rate rises dramatically as it is beat-
ing the competition to the punch
and blocking their ability to turn a
quote. Now, rather than a 25 per-
cent success rate, the shop might
be able to improve on that number.
Nov19FAB_Quoting.indd 121 10/23/19 9:44 AM

» Before a welding cell is set up on a fabricator’s floor,
management needs to get the production team on board
with the project and to identify the leader who will make
the implementation successful.
If you’re considering automation, you must

also consider how this shift in the way of work-
ing will affect existing shop floor employees.
The most important thing to emphasize to
wary employees is that automated welding
processes still require human labor. In fact, the
best-case scenario for the success of automat-
ed welding is a driver who can own the process,
bring a nuanced understanding of welding, and
have the confidence and competence to oper-
ate cutting-edge digital technology.
If your vision of an automated process in-
cludes faster production speed and lower costs
from day one, you need to fully understand all
3 steps to prepare a fab shop for of your cost drivers first. Most customers fo-
welding automation
cus only on speed, rather than weld quality and
safety, which we find are often larger drivers of
hidden costs that will affect your return on in-
vestment calculations.
Open communication and proper training go a long way When it comes to weld quality, you’ll want
to ensuring a successful technology implementation to check that your process achieves the proper
size weld and required penetration and has the
correct shape. There also should be no weld
By Bill Pharmer Before you make the leap into automation,
Y
spatter, no undercut, no distortion, and no
here are some steps you can take to find the
our shop has run the numbers and real- right people for the job ahead and get your burn-through.
ized that the only way to get more done team ready to manage and adapt to the change From a safety perspective, you’ll need to ac-
now and stay competitive as innovation in process. count for fume extraction. Also check that your
continues is to strategically automate your safety procedures are updated to prevent inju-
welding or fabrication process. However, this Step 1: Prepare the Workplace ries related to heat and arc flash. A review of
key upgrade might not be as simple as it seems. for a Culture of Efficiency ergonomic risks associated with material han-
When I visit our small, medium, and large Keeping everyone informed about the changes dling and other production activities should be
customers who are looking to automate to help that will accompany a shift to automation is done as well.
them compare systems and select one that critical. Automation often can ensure consistent
will work for their needs, I emphasize one fre- Your workforce should know that there are weld quality and eliminate certain safety haz-
quently overlooked factor in deciding when to likely to be changes and growing pains that ac- ards because workers simply aren’t involved in
automate—the human aspect. For a company company a shift to automation, but the benefits the process. With the focus on weld quality and
to truly benefit from the gains in efficiency that associated with these changes will boost effi- safety, you can be assured that the production
accompany a transition to automated opera- ciency and keep the company profitable. speed will pick up.
tions, the team should be fully informed about
their role in the process.
This decision to automate may be met with
some hesitation from those who are afraid that
automation will render their jobs obsolete. The
truth, however, is that automation requires the
irreplaceable welding expertise of skilled work-
ers. Automation also creates new, more sus-
tainable jobs that present growth opportunities
for many skilled welders who are ready to grow
within their professions.
Successful integration of automated pro-
cesses requires a shift in how we understand
automation. For example, robots are not just
new tools, they’re new ways of working. For
automation to have worthwhile benefits, the
entire shop must adapt to support the changes
associated with adding a robot to the existing » Experienced welders make for good welding cell operators because they know what makes a good weld and can
work flow. troubleshoot if quality issues arise. A robot is only going to deliver the weld joint that it is programmed to deliver.
Nov19FAB_WelderRoboticCell.indd 122 10/23/19 9:36 AM

As technological innovations continue to improve our processes, it’s The transition to automation may be a slow one that requires certain
important to adapt how you work in order to stay competitive on a global early adopters (those competent enough to be trained as drivers of the
scale. Additionally, it’s important to update the way you identify talent project) to lead the charge. They also are helpful in championing the au-
among your workforce. tomation push with their peers, which might entice others to show inter-
est in automation as an option for career growth.
Step 2: Identify Someone Who Can Balance Deciding what projects you want to start out with also is key to setting
Both Welding and Digital Technology your team up for a smooth warmup. Many customers have noted that
Look around the shop floor. Do you see anyone with a new cellphone or they wished they had taken on smaller, simpler jobs as their first auto-
hear someone talking about playing video games with their friends? Is mation project to help flatten the learning curve. Consider looking at a
someone raving about the new navigation system or technology features subassembly as the first automation target instead of more complicated
in their truck? Even if the people involved in these conversations have nev- assemblies as your team begins automating.
er worked a robot, they could be the best choice to be in charge of operat- In addition, training from the American Welding Society and the OEMs
ing an automated welding system. of specific robots is integral to a successful ramp-up with automation.
To find the strongest employees on your team who can excel as your In-depth training with an OEM is critically important for the leader of
in-house automation experts, be on the lookout for those who have a the automated welding cell implementation. With this background, the
good mix of these characteristics, skills, and traits: project driver can navigate and overcome equipment-specific issues that
Understands welding mechanics. A majority of the questions or could otherwise hinder a smooth transition. The driver then can share
concerns a company has about production quality usually stem from the knowledge gleaned from training with the entire team so that every-
welding issues. Having an expert welder on-site helps the process move one has a richer understanding of the robotic technology.
more smoothly. A good distributor partner that has experience with various automa-
Open to learning how to use new technology. A potential owner of tion cell configurations can lend vital support throughout this transition.
the operation having the willingness to learn is a marker for further flex- A distributor with a strong service team can support you through the
ibility as innovation continues.
on-boarding process and provide maintenance support over the automa-
Proficient computer user. Existing computer skills are a strong foun-
tion’s life cycle.
dation for training to operate a robot.
Adaptive to new processes and ways of working. Have you noticed Bill Pharmer is national sales manager, advanced fabrication team, Airgas, an Air Liquide Co.,
259 N. Radnor-Chester Road, Radnor, PA 19087, 855-625-5285, www.airgas.com.
someone who has been eager to adopt new processes both on and off
the job? This quality lends itself to success as an operator of an auto-
mated welding cell. BUILT FOR A LIFETIME OF COLD SAWING
Eager and excited to take ownership of a piece of equipment. A
robot is an exciting new tool with plenty of features to learn and master. 2 Heavy Duty Cold Saws From Opposite Sides Of The World
The science involved will come naturally to some, but it’s more important
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Strong leader who can manage the change. An individual heading
up the operation will benefit from learning quickly and having the ability H90 SA400 - Semi-Automatic
Compound 16" (400mm)
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Supportive of other workers throughout the transition. Part of a
leader’s role is supporting his or her co-workers through the transition
to automation.
Bold enough to seek out the hardest tasks and rise to the chal-
lenges associated with new technology. The owner of the automated
welding process ought to be confident enough to work through the nec-
essary trial and error that will be needed as your company works out the
kinks inherent in any new technology implementation.
If you do not have a member of your team who is prepared to be the
“driver” on this type of automation project, you might consider hiring
someone or delaying your transition to automation while you train exist-
ing employees in the skills and programs necessary for project success.
Step 3: Facilitate Training for Those Working

Directly With the Robotic Welding Cell www.HaberleUSA.com www.BroboUSA.com
Although the transition to automation can be a tremendous opportunity
for welders looking to grow their skills, many welders on the floor are not •Burr free & milled finish
•Cuts steel, stainless,aluminum &
ready to run a welding robot, either because they have not been trained
other non-ferrous metals
for this new process or the extra training they have received at a tech •Miters 45° - 0° - 45°
school was inadequate. •Built for full time use
We typically see an engineer, supervisor, or middle manager take own- •Machine models from 9" to 18"
saw blades (max 6.3" tube)
ership of the process, but it’s important that highly skilled welders are •Saw Blades in stock
on board, as they are crucial to successfully navigating and adapting to •Sharpening and retoothing service
a changing process. Unfortunately, welders aren’t given enough time or
Ken Bergman & Associates, LLC
financial incentive to take on more work or additional training outside of Call 1-800-956-1313
their regular responsibilities. Located just outside of Chicago, Illinois USA
Nov19FAB_WelderRoboticCell.indd 123 10/23/19 9:36 AM

2019 FORMING & FABRICATING® WATERJET CUTTING MACHINE» BUYERS’ GUIDE©
Control and Software Pump
Work Area Travel, Accuracy,
Importable File Formats**

CAD/CAM Software Avail-
Maximum (Horsepower)
Machine Size and Repeatability
(GPM at Max. Pressure)

No. of Controlled Axes
From Machine Vendor
with Nesting Software
Pressure, Max. (KPSI)

(A=Auto, M= Manual)
Repeatability (± in.)
Machine Interfaces
Accuracy (± in.)*
Volume Output
Power Output,
Cutting Speed
Manufacturer
Length (in.)
Width (in.)
X Axis (in.)
Z Axis (in.)
Y Axis (in.)
Model
Model
able
Number
ESAB WELDING & CUTTING PRODUCTS, Denton, TX

Hydrocut HP
216- 888 183 - 301 672 220 8 .01 .002 3 A 4 DWG, DXF 4 KMT 200 90 1.43
LX Intensifier
FLOW WATERJET, Kent, WA
AI, D, I,
DWG, Direct
Mach 2
163 193 157 78 7 .005 .0025 3 A 4 SLDPRT, 4 Flow Intl. drive, 100 60 2
4020b Step, Catia, Intensifier
ORD
Direct
Mach 200 Same as
173 122 78 120 8 .0037 .002 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 100 60 2
2031 above
Intensifier
Direct
Mach 300 Same as
150 151 78 59 12 .0021 .0014 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
2015 above
Intensifier
Direct
Mach 300 Same as
178 170 118 59 12 .0021 .0014 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
3015 above
Intensifier
Direct
Mach 500 Same as
155 199 78 157 12, 14 .0015 .001 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
2040 above
Intensifier
Direct
Mach 500 Same as
199 413 78 236 12, 14 .0015 .001 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
2060 above
Intensifier
Direct
Mach 500 Same as
628 239 157 157 12, 14 .0015 .001 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
4040 above
Intensifier
Direct
Mach 700 Same as
284 278 157 314 12, 14 .0015 .001 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
4080 above
Intensifier
Direct
Mach 700 Same as
543 278 196 314 12, 14 .0015 .001 5 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
5080 above
Intensifier
Direct
Same as
NanoJet 47 25 6 .0008 .0004 3 A 4 4 Flow Intl. drive, 200 94 4
above
Intensifier
HYDRAPOWER INTL. INC., Marco Island, FL
SQ3020 120 80 .004 .004 .004 .004 .002 3 A 4 AI D IGES 4 KMT UHP 50 60 1
HYPERTHERM INC., Hanover, NH

HyPreci- Hyper- HyPreci-
70 34 4 15 60 .3
sion™ 15 therm sion™ 15
70 34 4 30 60 .6
70 34 4 50 60 1.0
73 36 4 15 60 0.3
sion™ P-15 therm sion™ P-15
73 36 4 30 60 .06
73 36 4 50 60 1
79 40 4 50 60 1
sion™ 50S therm sion™ 50S
79 40 4 60 60 1.3
79 40 4 75 60 1.6
HyPreci- HyPreci-
Hyper-
sion™ 86 45 4 sion™ 100 60 2.2
therm
100D 100D
HyPreci- HyPreci-
Hyper-
sion™ 81 56 4 sion™ 150 60 3.2
therm
150D 150D
This information is provided by the manufacturers. ©Copyright 2019 by FMA Communications Inc. Reproduction in full or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Buyers’ guides are a part of the Forming &
Fabricating Industry Directory.
Nov19FAB_WaterjetBG.indd 124 10/22/19 2:46 PM

©


From Machine Vendor

(A=Auto, M= Manual)
Machine Interfaces
Accuracy (± in.)*
Volume Output
Power Output,
Cutting Speed
Manufacturer
Length (in.)
Width (in.)
X Axis (in.)
Z Axis (in.)
Y Axis (in.)
Model
Model
able
Number
INTERNATIONAL WATERJET MACHINES, Alhambra, CA

96/ 48/
WC-
.0008/ .0008/ 6 3 A 4 DXF, G-code 4 IWM USA WIP5 50 55 .8
5WA2513H
.0004 .0004
WC-
120 60 6 3 A 4 DXF, G-code 4 IWM USA WIP5 50 55 .8
5WA3216H
WC-
120 79 6 3 A 4 DXF, G-code 4 IWM USA WIP5 50 55 .8
5WA3020H
WC-
120 61.75 6 3 A 4 DXF, G-code 4 IWM USA WIP5 50 55 .8
5WA6030H
48/ 48/
WC-
.0008/ .0008/ 6 3 4 DXF, G-code 4 IWM USA WIP5 50 55 .8
5WA1313H
.0004 .0004
JET EDGE, Saint Michael, MN
iP, xP
MR513 60 156 156 60 12 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
MR813 96 156 156 96 12 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
MR2113 252 156 156 252 12 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
HR44 48 48 48 48 12/18 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
HR614 72 168 168 72 12/18 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
HR1014 120 168 168 120 12/18 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
HR128 144 96 96 144 12/18 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 Ai, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
HR1414 168 168 168 168 12/18 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
HR1812 216 144 144 216 12/18 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 Ai, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
iP, xP
HR2410 240 120 120 240 12/18 .001 .001 3/5 A 4 AI, D, I 4 Jet Edge 200 90 4
Series
KMT WATERJET SYSTEMS, Baxter Springs, KS
KMT SL-V 15Plus 15 60 .30

Streamline
KMT 30 55 .6
E30
Streamline
KMT 30 60 .52
S30
Streamline
KMT 50 55 1.0
E50
Streamline
KMT 50 60 .88
S50
Streamline
KMT 50 60 1.0
SL-VI 50
Streamline
KMT 100 60 2.0
SL-VI 100
Streamline
KMT PRO-III 125 90 1.43
125
Streamline
KMT 200 60 4.0
SL-VI 200
Streamline
KMT 60 90 .78
Pro-III 60
KNUTH MACHINE TOOLS USA INC., Lincolnshire, IL
Water-Jet
136 197 81 159 8 .002 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
2040
Hydro-Jet
114 110 51 51 6 .004 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
Vario 1313
Water-Jet
136 79 81 41 8 .002 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
2010
Water-Jet
136 275 81 238 8 .002 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
2060
Hydro-Jet
146 165 118 59 6 .004 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
Vario 1530
Hydro-Jet
165 205 157 79 6 .004 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
Vario 2040
Water-Jet
175 98 120 61 8 .002 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
3015
Water-Jet
175 197 120 159 8 .002 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
3040
Hydro-Jet
146 146 98 59 6 .004 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
Vario 1525
Water-Jet
175 118 120 81 8 .002 .002 3 A 4 D, DIN/ISO 4 BFT 40.37 50 55 1
3020



From Machine Vendor

(A=Auto, M= Manual)
Machine Interfaces
Accuracy (± in.)*
Volume Output
Power Output,
Cutting Speed
Manufacturer
Length (in.)
Width (in.)
X Axis (in.)
Z Axis (in.)
Y Axis (in.)
Model
Model
able
Number
KOIKE ARONSON INC., Arcade, NY

Flashcut
CNC-
K-Jet 298 146 120 240 12 .005 .002 A DXF, DWG KMT KMT 125 90 1.43
Titanium
Series
OMAX, Kent, WA
OMAX
74 84 25 25 4.5 .0005 .0001 6 A 4 90 4 OMAX EnduroMAX 30 60 .72
MicroMAX
OMAX
139 67 52 26 8 .001 .001 6 A 4 90 4 OMAX EnduroMAX 100 60 2.25
2652
OMAX
225 110 126 62 8 .001 .001 6 A 4 90 4 OMAX EnduroMAX 100 60 2.25
60120
OMAX 80X 265 152 160 80 8 .001 .001 6 A 4 90 4 OMAX EnduroMAX 100 60 2.25
OMAX
662 260 560 160 8 .001 .001 6 A 4 90 4 OMAX EnduroMAX 100 60 2.25
160X-3
DWG, DXF,
Enduro-
MAXIEM ORD, AI,
169 130 120 62 12 .002 .001 5 A 4 4 OMAX MAX, Direct 100 60 2.25
1530 PDF, SVG,
Drive
Raster
Enduro-
MAXIEM Same as
216 146 166 79 12 .002 .001 5 A 4 4 OMAX MAX, Direct 100 60 2.25
2040 above
Drive
Enduro-
MAXIEM Same as
294 188 246 122 12 .002 .001 5 A 4 4 OMAX MAX, Direct 100 60 2.25
3060 above
Drive
Global- Same as
63 144 31 60 5 .003 .001 3 A 4 4 OMAX Direct Drive 30 45 .96
MAX 1508 above
Global- Same as
152 144 120 60 5 .003 .001 3 A 4 4 OMAX Direct Drive 30 45 .96
MAX 1530 above
PAR SYSTEMS INC., Shoreview, MN
Vector To spec. To spec. To spec. To spec. To spec. 5 A 4 To spec. 4 KMT 100
SEMYX LLC, Dalton, GA

AI, CDR,
CGM, DXF,
Genesis DWG, EMF,
268 120 236 78 7 .003 .001 3 M BFT 50
260 EPS, FH, PIC,
PCT, SWT,
SVG, WMF
Infinity Same as
382 158 315 79 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
280 above
Infinity Same as
193 201 158 118 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
340 above
Infinity Same as
193 244 158 158 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
440 above
Infinity Same as
543 158 472 79 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
2120 above
Infinity Same as
543 201 472 118 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
3120 above
Infinity Same as
543 244 472 158 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
4120 above
Optima Same as
111 178 78 120 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
320 above
Optima Same as
111 223 78 158 7 .002 .001 3 M BFT 50
420 above
Scorpion Same as
159 141 120 63 7 .003 .001 3 M BFT 50
316 above
SOITAAB USA, Naperville, IL
Water-
40-160 40-60 40-160 40-60 8 .004 .002 5 A 150 60
Tech PRO
DXF, DWG,
Water
60-240 60-120 60-120 60-120 12 .004 .002 5 A others 150 90
Tech RED
optional
Water DXF, DWG,
Tech 160-480 68-120 480 120 12 .004 .002 5 A 4 others 150 90
NOVA optional

©


From Machine Vendor

(A=Auto, M= Manual)
Machine Interfaces
Accuracy (± in.)*
Volume Output
Power Output,
Cutting Speed
Manufacturer
Length (in.)
Width (in.)
X Axis (in.)
Z Axis (in.)
Y Axis (in.)
Model
Model
able
Number
TECHNI WATERJET, Lenexa, KS

Intec-G2 Techni Quantum
168 92 120 60 8 .005 .001 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
i510 Waterjet NXT
192 102 144 72 8 .006 .002 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
i612 Waterjet NXT
Techni Quantum
TJ3000-X3 168 92 120 60 8 .001 .0005 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
Waterjet NXT
Techni Quantum
TJ4000-X3 192 102 144 72 8 .001 .0005 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
Waterjet NXT
Techni Quantum
TJ5000-X3 166 236 180 120 8 .001 .0005 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
Waterjet NXT
Techni Quantum
TJ6000-X3 166 315 240 120 8 .001 .0005 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
Waterjet NXT
Techni Quantum
TJ4100-G 94 173 156 84 8 .001 .0005 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
Waterjet NXT
166 236 180 120 8 .006 .002 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
i1015 Waterjet NXT
166 315 240 120 8 .006 .002 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
i1020 Waterjet NXT
94 173 156 84 8 .006 .002 3/5 A 4 DXF 4 66 66 .8
i713 Waterjet NXT
WARDJET INC., Tallmadge, OH
Hyper- HyPreci-
E-0606 59 59 25 25 12 .003 .001 8 A AI, D, I 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
J-138 118 195 97 147 12 .006 .002 16 A 4 AI, D, I 4 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
E-1530 180 90 120 60 12 .003 .001 8 A AI, D, I 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
R-1214 240 250 145 157 12 .003 .001 16 A 4 D, AI, I 4 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
Z-3064 315 156 120 252 12 .003 .001 16 A 4 AI, D, I 4 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
R-2014 360 250 241 157 12 .003 .001 16 A 4 D, AI, I 4 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
R-3014 480 250 361 157 12 .003 .001 16 A 4 AI, D, I 4 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
G-4018 655 256 480 216 60 .003 .001 32 A 4 AI, D, I 4 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
R-5014 750 250 600 157 12 .003 .001 16 A AI, D, I 150 60 3.2
therm sion
Hyper- HyPreci-
G-6018 900 256 720 216 60 .003 .001 32 A 4 AI, D, I 4 150 60 3.2
therm sion
WATER JET SWEDEN, Ronneby, Sweden
.00060 per
FiveX 127 236 60 .0010 5 58, 87
foot
WATERJET USA LLC, Geneva, IL
DXF, DWG,
WMF, EPS,
Classica KMT Streamline
96 90 50 50 7 .003 .002 3 A PLT, IGS, 50 60 1.2
CL44 Waterjet SL-VI Series
DSTV, Scan-
ner, Digitizer
Classica Same as KMT Streamline
180 90 133 72 7 .003 .002 3 A 50 60 1.2
CL510 above Waterjet SL-VI Series
Classica Same as KMT Streamline
210 90 168 84 7 .003 .002 3 A 50 60 1.2
CL612 above Waterjet SL-VI Series
Prima Same as KMT Streamline
168 90 120 60 7 .004 .003 3 A 50 60 1.2
LT510 above Waterjet SL-VI Series
Prima Same as KMT Streamline
192 102 144 72 7 .004 .003 3 A 50 60 1.2
LT612 above Waterjet SL-VI Series
Suprema Same as KMT Streamline
108 84 48 48 7 .002 .001 3 A 50 60 1.2
DX44 above Waterjet SL-VI Series
Suprema Same as KMT Streamline
210 90 156 78 7 .002 .001 3 A 50 60 1.2
DX612 above Waterjet SL-VI Series
Practica Same as KMT Streamline
72 90 48 48 7 .003 .002 3 A 50 60 1.2
FB44 above Waterjet SL-VI Series
168 90 120 60 7 .004 .003 3 A 50 60 1.2
204 90 156 78 7 .003 .002 3 A 50 60 1.2

ADVERTISERS
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
INDEX
USED MACHINERY FOR SALE SERVICES
Used Machine Source

. .
.
CO2 & Fiber Lasers Turret Punch Presses
Press Brakes
(844)4ALTMACHINE
www.AMADAONLINE.com
(844-425-8622)
PRODUCTS FOR SALE
Place your ad in The Power of Print

The FABRICATOR.
John Mathews
815-227-8219
johnm@thefabricator.com
JET EDGE FOR SALE

JET EDGE MODEL 36-100
36,000 PSI 100 HP ELECTRIC
1,756 HRS. EXCELLENT CONDITION $25,000
CONTACT: CHRIS FULMER
CESCO — 843-760-3000
PARTS & SERVICES

THE
Having Press Brake Control Problems?

Regain productivity of your press brake
with a new control for your backgauge.
We upgrade most competitors’ backgauges. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
Integrate your efforts to maximize your effectiveness by combining print ads with online classifieds
for added visibility and reduced costs. Reach thousands of fabricating professionals with the
82 Calvary Street, Waltham, MA 02453 strongest print and online publications in the market.
www.automec.com 781-893-3403 Use classified ads in the industry’s leading magazines to build exposure for your:
• Used equipment or rebuilt machinery
• Financing services and business opportunities
TOOLS & SUPPLIES • Auctions, open positions, machine time, and more
Standard Classified Rate:
LIFTING MAGNETS $120 per column inch. One inch minimum. No border, background and limited bold faced type.
Premium Classified Rate:
V bottom allows $140 per column inch. May include border, background, shading, reverse type and/or company logo.
lifting rounds and No photographs, drawings, or clip-art will be allowed.
flats. Compact Color Logo:
and made for For an additional $25 you can add your color logo to your premium ad.
years of abuse. (color will be converted to cmyk).
Column Width:
Model Capacity lbs Price The FABRICATOR: 1.73", The WELDER: 2.16", The Tube & Pipe Journal: 2.30", STAMPING Journal: 2.14".
Box Numbers:
M200 $399.00
220
“c/o FMA Communications Inc.” may be used in place of your company name and address. Add $15 to
M700 660 $699.00 cover the cost of handling and postage.
M1300 1320 $1199.00 Frequency Discount:
810-632-5400 The same copy used in 3 or more consecutive issues in a calendar year earns a 10% discount per ad.
M2200 2200 $1999.00 800-886-5418 All such ads payable in advance. Classified advertising is not subject to commission. Payment must
M4500 4400 $3699.00 www.heckind.net accompany order. Major credit cards accepted.
128-129 NOV19FAB.indd 128 10/23/19 4:24 PM

ADVERTISERS INDEX
Advanced Laser Machining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Fanuc Robotics America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
www.Laser27.com www.fanucrobotics.com www.parkindustries.com
Akyapak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Fladder - Hansen & Hundebol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Peddinghaus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

www.akyapakusa.com 770-452-1271 www.peddinghaus.com
Alliance Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Flexovit USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Pemamek Oy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
www.alliancesteel.net www.flexovitabrasives.com www.pemamek.com
Alternative Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Flow International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Polyurethane Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
www.altparts.com 800-446-3569; 253-850-3500 www.polyprod.com
Amada America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,12,13 Greiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Powder Coating Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
www.amada.com www.greinerindustries.com www.powdercoating.org/certification
ARKU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Haberle / Ken Bergman & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Prima Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
www.us.arku.com www.haberleusa.com www.primapower.com
Automec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Haeusler AG Duggingen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Profile Cutting Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
www.automec.com www.haeusler.com/en www.profilecuttingsystems.com
Beckhoff Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Hamilton Caster & Mfg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
www.hamiltoncaster.com
Punch-Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
www.beckhoffautomation.com www.punchtools.com
BLM Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Heck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
www.heckind.net Radan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
www.blmgroup.com radansales@radan.com
Bluco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 HGG Profiling Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
www.hgg-group.com RAS Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
www.bluco.com www.RAS-Systems.com
Boschert Precision Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,55 Hougen Mfg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
www.hougen.com Reliant Finishing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
www.boschertusa.com www.reliantfinishingsystems.com
Camfil Air Pollution Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Jinan Bodor CNC Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
www.bodor.com Rockford Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
www.camfilapc.com www.rockfordsystems.com
Kalamazoo Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Carell Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 www.kalamazooind.com/fab/ Rosler Metal Finishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
www.carellcorp.com www.rosler.us
Kalamazoo Machine Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Cidan Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 www.kmtsaw.com Safan Darley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
770-692-7230 www.safandarley.com
Kern Laser Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Cincinnati Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 www.kernlasers.com Salvagnini America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
www.e-ci.com www.salvagnini.com
Kinetic Cutting Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Clemco Ind / Zero Pdts Div . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 www.kineticusa.com Scotchman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
www.clemcoindustries.com
www.scotchman.com
KMT Waterjet Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
CMS North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 www.kmtwaterjet.com Shop Outfitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
www.cmsna.com
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KNUTH Machine Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
COLE-TUVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 www.knuth-usa.com
www.coletuve.com; 877-989-0700 Toll Free
SlatPro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
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Kwik Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
COMEQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 www.kwikmark.com
www.comeq.com Soitaab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Lantek Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 www.soitaabusa.com
CS Unitec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 www.lanteksms.com
www.csunitec.com Steelmax Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Lesta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,61 www.steelmax.com
DAVI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,5 degeeststeelworks.com/lesta-usa
www.davi.com/us Strong Hand Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
LINSINGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 www.StrongHandTools.com
Dener Makina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 www.linsinger.com
www.denermakina.com T J Snow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
LISSMAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 www.tjsnow.com
Diamond Ground Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,65 www.lissmac-usa.com; 518-326-9094
www.diamondground.com Therma - Tron - X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
LVD Strippit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 www.ttxinc.com
Diamond Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 716-542-4511 / 1-800-828-1527
www.waterjetdiamonds.com TheUpApp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Mate Precision Tooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 www.theupapp.com
Durma USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,17 www.mate.com
www.durmanorthamerica.com Trilogy Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mazak Optonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 www.trilogymachinery.com
Dynabrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 www.mazakoptonics.com
www.dynabrade.com TRUMPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,132
Metalforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 info@us.trumpf.com
ECi Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 770-631-0002
www.ecisolutions.com Uline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Metamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 www.uline.com
Electron Beam Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 www.metamation.com
www.electronbeam.com United Lens Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Mitsubishi Laser / MC Machinery Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 www.unitedlens.com
ERMAK USA Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 www.mcmachinery.com
www.ermakusa.com Voortman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Murata Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 www.voortman.net
FABTECH® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 1-800-428-8469
www.fabtechexpo.com Vytek Laser Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
MVD Makina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 www.vy-tek.com
Fabrication Solutions & Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 www.mvd.com.tr
www.fststeelfab.com Waldemar Design & Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Newcastle Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
931-946-8474
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Association, Intl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,15,42,89 Nissan Tanaka/Reger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Walter Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
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Fab Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 OMAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Watts Specialties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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Faccin USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 OTC Daihen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Wila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

www.faccin.com www.daihen-usa.com www.wilausa.com
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BACK PAGE
Scrounged, rusty metal and welding
expand artist’s forte
British Columbian Rabi’a calls herself “an artist who welds”
interesting pattern, and grout between the glass
pieces smooths the outer surface. The hat is
Read more from Sue Roberts at bronze because, Rabi’a said, “I couldn’t crumple
www.thefabricator.com/author/sue-roberts the steel.”
The sculpture was purchased by the city of
Revelstoke, about 10 miles north of Castlegar,
By Sue Roberts
F
for display at the public library entrance.
lower gardens, berry patches, straw-bale In its original form, “Let’s Go” had a third fig-
B&B cottages, and sculptures—lots of ure but the overall size was too bulky for the
sculptures—grace an artist’s 5 acres just Castlegar display. “I’m not above altering my
outside the community of Winlaw, B.C., Canada. work, so I took one of the figures off and it lives
All peacefully coexist under the watchful eye in my yard.
of Rabi’a, who embraced her artistic leanings as “I really like figurative sculptures,” she said.
she approached her 60th birthday. That was in “Once I learned to weld, I couldn’t believe how
2003. Since then her robust curiosity, appre-
» “Imagine the Stories,” by Rabi’a many of the oddest pieces could be joined to-
and Carl Schlichting, won the 2016
ciation for the environment, and dedication to Castlegar Sculpturewalk People’s
gether to become figures. Looking at a piece
sustainable practices are reflected in her art and Choice Award and is a permanent of rusty metal, you would never believe that it
addition outside of the city’s could be an arm, leg, or torso, but when I weld it
her material choices. district library.
In many cases, the inspiration and compo- all comes together.”
nents for her mosaics, fabric banners, magnetic
led to adding a Millermatic MIG welder to my Much More to Do
vinyl designs, and sculptures come from found
studio. I had help learning how to turn it on and Rabi’a doesn’t like the pressure that comes
or discarded items. About 10 years ago she dis-
work with the gas pressures. The rest was self- with commissioned work. “I make what I want
covered working with scrap metal.
taught. to make with materials I have. The only things I
“I was well into my 60s when I decided that
“I learned that if something is too rusty, you make for a purpose are for the Sculpturewalk.
welding was the next thing to do. I started col-
grind it clean where you want the weld. Most of Even then, I can still do what I want.”
lecting all kinds of scrap and bits of leftover met-
my pieces start off rusty because they’ve been Welding, she said, has had a great impact on
al. Some interesting pieces come from scrap-
outside for years, and stay that way.” the art she wants to do. So much so that she
yards or abandoned mining sites. Local weld
purchased new material for the first time. Clean,
shops let me scrounge through the scrap bins. Canada’s Sculpture Capital new 4- by 8-ft. sheets of steel were used to cre-
Sometimes I find stunning pieces. I love the neg- Castlegar, 30 miles south of Winlaw, is the self- ate the “Housing Crisis” sculpture.
ative spaces,” Rabi’a said. proclaimed Sculpture Capital of Canada. The city “My journey as an artist started late, so I feel
“When I first started working with metal, I sponsors a Sculpturewalk from May to October like I have a lot of catching up to do. So far, of all
would take my pieces to a weld shop to be tacked each year. Viewers vote for their favorite piece of my processes, I’m most enamored with welding,
together. That worked to create the sculptures, public art and the winner of the People’s Choice but I don’t call myself a welder. I call myself an
but it was hard to make any changes during the Award becomes a permanent part of the city’s artist who welds.”
welding process. collection. Other entries are available for sale or Contributing Writer Sue Roberts can be reached at
“My partner, Carl Schlichting, who is also an often are leased for display in other communities. sueroberts4545@gmail.com.
artist and welder, suggested I start welding. That Rabi’a’s first entry in the Sculpturewalk in
2008 was her first welded sculpture named
» Eight-foot tall “Housing “Huge and Foolish.” She said it was large and
Crisis” (right) was the first
had intricate angles that made it “foolishly” am-
welded sculpture Rabi’a made
using purchased, rather than bitious for a beginning welder, but it enhanced
found, steel. her welding skills.
Those skills continued to improve, and in 2016
another large sculpture, a joint project with
Schlichting, won the People’s Choice Award. The
4- by 4- by 12-ft. sculpture, “Imagine the Stories,”
» A rusty tapered steel spring became the base for steel
resides in front of Castlegar’s district library. figures in “Joy to the World.”
One of her two sculptures in the 2019 event
depicts a mother and child. The life-sized The FABRICATOR® (ISSN 0888-0301) is published 12 times yearly by FMA Communications
Inc., 2135 Point Blvd., Elgin, IL 60123. The FABRICATOR® is circulated free upon request to
sculpture, named “Let’s Go,” combines welding those who qualify and who are involved in metal fabricating; subscription to all others
is $75.00 per year. International subscription is $140.00 per year. Periodical postage
and mosaic art. Steel is used for the structure paid at Elgin, Illinois, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
» “Let’s Go” (left), a combination of rusty steel, glass change to 2135 Point Blvd, Elgin, Illinois 60123. Printed in the U.S.A. ©Copyright 2019 by
mosaics, and bronze, made its first public appearance in the and the woman’s purse. Mosaic pieces glued FMA Communications Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission
of the publisher is prohibited.
2019 Castlegar Sculpturewalk. to the steel using silicon provide color and an
Nov19FAB_BackPage.indd 130 10/22/19 2:49 PM

TRUMPF_TruBend_8000_Ad_FAB.indd 1 10/9/19 5:17
PM
S P E C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N
“Turkish machine builders invest in state-of-the-art technology and

thus ensure international competitiveness.”
Kutlu Karavelioğlu, President of Turkish Machinery
Turkey: more than a buying market
The Machine Builders

at the Bosphorus
The machine-building sector is considered to be the engine of the Turkish industry.
Thereby, the supply industry plays a critical role. With the policy “Quality for competitive
prices,” Turkey has become the focus of many purchasing managers.
As a highly developed economic nation, For medium-sized and large American We wish to grow and intensify our
the U.S. is both a role model and an companies, the Turkish mechanical partnerships. Research and development,
important customer market for the players engineering sector offers great potential personnel qualification, third-markets
in the Turkish mechanical engineering as a strategic procurement market. handling, the development of new sales
industry. The economic relations between In addition, there are the excellent channels, as well as new service concepts
the U.S. and Turkey in the mechanical framework conditions as an international are some of the areas in which we intend
engineering sector are based on solid location and for international investments. to further upgrade our technological
pillars due to the constant developments Large, well-known Turkish companies such cooperation.
of recent years, but this is not enough for as Dalgakiran (compressors), Ermaksan
us. (machine tools), Aktaş Holding (vehicle Background Information
supplier), and Durmazlar (machine tools)
are already very successful in the U.S. and Turkey’s Economy in Figures:
have established partnerships. American • Population, as of 2018: 82 million
companies invest in Turkey and vice versa. • Labor force, as of 2018: 32 million
We want to expand these relationships • World economic rank: 15
and double the volume of trade between • Growth Q3 2017: +11.1%
our countries in our sector in the coming • Distribution of branches, as of 2016:
years. Agriculture 8.6%
Industry 26.7%, Services 64.3%
Together, we are stronger
Our country’s strong supply industry offers
perfect conditions in the modularization On the following pages, we offer you an
of machine components. With a view overview of the structure, developments,
Kutlu Karavelioğlu, who has been the to IIoT, the potential of the Turkish firms opportunities, and potential of the
president of Machinery Exporters’ provides a great surplus value to their Turkish market in general as well as
Association (Turkish Machinery) since 2018, partners. And not least: The logistical the mechanical engineering sector in
already was active in the Board of Directors conditions recommend Turkey’s location particular. We invite you to benefit from
as well. these opportunities.
of the Association many years before.
Turkish professionals are experienced business partners.

Picture: Daniel Ernst/Fotolia
Turkey: The industrial country
Achievements plus Subsidies

Turkey has developed into an attractive business location in the recent years and has thus created a solid foundation
for further development. The figures prove the efficient structure of the Turkish economy – above all, the mechanical
engineering branch.
Between 2002 and 2017, the Turkish less than 0.6 percent in 2002 to almost 80 million inhabitants offer a persuasive
economy rose from 18th to 15th place in 1 percent in 2017. Thus, the Turkish location advantage.
the world economic ranking. During the economy achieved a comprehensive
same period, Turkey achieved an annual export diversification, both in terms of Growing young population
average gross domestic product of 5.7 the destinations as well as the exported Another bonus of the Turkish economy
percent. In 2017, the country had the products. The achievements of the Turkish lies in the structure of the population and
fastest-growing economy among the G20 economy are based on unique location working culture. The population is one of
members – despite all global and regional advantages: the youngest in Europe, with an average
challenges. During the last 15 years, age of 30 years. More than 30 million
Turkey has increased its overall economy Geostrategic location inhabitants are actively employed. An
from 236 billion USD to 851 billion USD. The logistical proximity of Turkey to important element of the Turkish working
At the same time, the per-capita income Europe and the Middle East is an essential culture is the exemplary workplace
has tripled from 3,581 USD to 10,597 USD. location advantage, in comparison to Asia, morale. The workplace is honored since
The economic growth was driven by a the Far East, and China. The geostrategic it gives people the possibility to use their
robust domestic market and a committed location between Europe and Asia offers talent and evolve. The involvement of the
private sector, which have both promoted favorable traffic routes to the markets of Turkish labor force is reflected in the high
investments and exports. Europe and towards Russia, Caucasus, productivity, the low absence rate, and
Central Asia, as well as the Near East. the rank as one of the countries with the
Turkey is considered as one of the nine So, Turkey is deemed as a significant highest annual working time.
national economies with a per-capita international energy turntable or as an
GDP of more than 10,000 USD among the intersection respectively for Europe’s Motivated, well-trained employees
countries with a population of more than energy supply. Furthermore, Turkey takes In general, Turkey has a well-trained labor
50 million. With an impressive average an important place in the Chinese project force. On the other hand, the wage level
export annual growth of 10.3 percent, of the New Silk Road. is comparatively low in comparison to
Turkey increased the export volume in Germany and other western European
the past 15 years, from 36 billion USD Large domestic market and even eastern European countries.
to 157 billion USD. Hand in hand with The size of the domestic market with
this development, Turkey’s share in the a GDP of about 766.4 billion USD (as of
worldwide exports has increased from 2018) as well as a population of about
High-tech in the Turkish textile industry. Picture:

fatihyalcin/Fotolia
Development of solid industrial base representation office which are already in operation and the
Due to massive investments, Turkey has • The equity contribution may be realized remaining 13 were approved and are
a well-developed infrastructure, which as cash assets; material assets; (used) under construction.
will continue to expand. According to the machinery and vehicles; investment
Logistics Performance Index (LPI) of the goods; or as patent, trademark, license, Organized Industrial Zones (OIZ) offer
World Bank 2018, Turkey positioned itself or know-how rights respectively. entrepreneurs an investor-friendly
at rank 37 in the upper third among 167 environment with a finished infrastructure
analyzed countries. Investment zones and social facilities. The existing
In Turkey, there are three types of infrastructure, which is made available
Subsidies and commercial law investment zones: TDZ, OIZ, and FZ. in OIZs, comprises roads, water, gas
Turkey offers entrepreneurs comprehensive Technology Development Zones (TDZ) and electricity supply, communication
investment incentives. The aim is to are regions in which R&D as well as networks, waste disposal, and other
minimize the current account deficit and investments in the services. Of the total 322 OIZs, 255 are
strengthen less developed regions. The already in operation and the remaining 67
supporting system consists of various Background Information OIZs are under construction nationwide.
programs from which both domestic and
foreign investors may benefit equally. Turkish Business Properties Free Zones (FZ), despite being located
Therefore, the focus is brought especially In the daily business routine, social within the political national borders,
to the middle high-tech sector – where interaction is conducted in a polite and are outside the customs area of Turkey.
the mechanical engineering sector in respectful manner. Forthrightness and The object of these zones is to increase
particular is benefiting from this. direct confrontation are unusual. For export-oriented investments. Legal and
As far back as June 2003, a law was Turkish businesspeople, it is important administrative regulations regarding
enacted for foreign direct investments, that the business partner never loses business, financial, and economical
which puts foreign companies on level face. Rejection and criticism often are aspects that are applied in the Free
with Turkish ones. Companies formed described in a lengthy communication Zones, which are effective in the customs
with 100 percent foreign capital are style that sometimes requires territory of Turkey, are either restricted or
treated in the same way as purely interpretation. Personal contact is highly eliminated altogether.
domestic investments. Therefore, several valued, so business meetings may take
opportunities are available to foreigners: longer than is the case in the U.S., for In Turkey, there are 19 FZs with access to
example. When these rules are followed, a the markets of the EU and the Near East.
• Establishment of a limited company or professional as well as relaxed and cordial 18 of them are in operation and another
joint-stock company pursuant to Turkish working atmosphere can be expected. one is currently being established. The FZs
commercial law offer a strategically favorable location
• Acquisition of shares in existing near the ports at the Mediterranean,
companies or buying of business high-technology area are promoted. the Aegean Sea, and the Black Sea,
establishments Actually, there are 69 TDZs – 56 of with direct access to international trade
• Foundation of a liaison office/ channels.
Turkey 2018: successful in mechanical engineering
Four Times Faster than

the World Market
In 2018 the Turkish mechanical engineering sector had, with an export amount of 17.1 billion USD, a
significant share in the overall export of 168.1 billion USD. Therefore, the branch’s 15.5 percent share was
four times more than the machinery export worldwide.
With about 243,000 employees in increased by 22.7 percent to more than 1.2 in the medium- as well as high-technology
17,000 Turkish mechanical engineering billion USD. Meanwhile, Turkey ranks 6th area. The price development verifies this
corporations in 2018, they achieved among the greatest European machine positive trend as well: it increased by 24
a turnover of 109.614 billion TRY and manufacturers and exports to more than percent in terms of volume, as well as by
a surplus value of 24 billion TRY. The 200 countries. The branch has more than 10 percent in terms of value.
machinery exports increased in the past doubled its production volume in the past The mechanical engineering sector
17 years by 10 times, while the machinery 10 years. 60 percent of the exports go to thus remains a significant mainstay of
exports worldwide just doubled. the EU and to the U.S. About one-tenth of the Turkish economy. Even though the
Exports to Germany, for a long time the the overall R&D expenses of the country uptrend of the Turkish economy has
most important market for the Turkish are in mechanical engineering. to fight various challenges for a while,
mechanical engineering sector, increased A further positive trend supports Turkish committed and dynamic corporations
in 2018 by 6.1 percent to more than competitiveness: the mechanical defy this trend and move on to the future.
2.4 billion USD. The export to the U.S. engineering sector gradually gets stronger
Facts and Figures About the Turkish Mechanical Engineering Industry
Exports have increased in 2018 by The most

a value of 15.5% and a quantity important export
of 12.8%. According to the annual markets of the
comparison, Turkish machine mechanical
builders have sold 300 tons more engineering
machines and have achieved a industry are the EU
2.6 billion higher turnover. and the U.S.A. with
over 60%.
Turkish corporations have exported

machines amounting to 17,1 billion
USD in 2018. The average KG price of the branch amounts to
6.1 USD.
In comparison,
the average
KG price
The main target of the in US exports
mechanical engineering amounts to
Ratio of industry is to increase the
exports to imports 14.2 USD.
annual export volume to
of Turkey is 75% - for 34 billion USD and the
the mechanical share of the mechanical
engineering sector this engineering industry
rate lies at 64%. in the country’s overall
export to 14% until 2023. Before the foundation of
the MAIB (Turkish Machinery
Exporters’ Association)
During the period from 2010 – 2018 In 2018, machines the export volume of the
the mechanical engineering sector amounting to 412 billion mechanical engineering
achieved USD have been exported sector amounted to 1,7 billion
a growth to Russia. In comparison USD in 2000. In 2018, the
of 70%. to the previous year, this is export volume reached the
an increase of more than 17 billion USD mark. This
38% by quantity of the represents an increase of
machines and of 39,2% more than 90% since the
by value. foundation of MAIB.
Turkey ranks 6th among the major European machine

manufacturers. Picture: nd3000/Fotolia
Machinery Exports of Turkey
Poland 2%
Russia 2%
Spain 3%
Algeria 3%
Romania 4%
France 4%
Italy 5%
UK 6%
USA 7%
Germany 14%
Others 50%
In 2018, Turkey exported goods and services in the mechanical engineering sector
amounting to 2.4 billion USD to Germany and 1.3 billion USD to the U.S. Source: Turkish Machinery
The mechanical engineering sector • Retain highly qualified personnel Distribution of Branches
primarily focuses on the following targets:
On these targets, the individual Turkey’s Economy in Figures:
• Increase exports, diversify product corporations work hand in hand with
groups, become the world market leader trade associations and organizations. • Turbines, Turbojets, Turbopropellers,
in selected product groups Therefore, economic relations with Hydraulic Systems
the U.S. plays an important role. The • Tractors, Agricultural and Forestry
• Increase added value in production and U.S. mechanical engineering sector is Machinery
export considered to be a significant engine for
technology innovation in Turkey. Therefore, • Cooling Machinery and Air
• Make higher investments in technologies it is of great importance for many Turkish Conditioners
and new partnerships corporations to closely cooperate with • Engines and Spare Parts
U.S. partners, thereby further developing
• Further develop the products and their own strengths, such as flexibility and • Pumps and Compressors
services in the upper technology segment the willingness to innovate and perform.
Nationwide centers promote the Turkish digitalization

with consulting services and pilot projects.
Picture: Kzenon/Fotolia
The digital transformation in Turkey
IIoT, AI, and 5G

Trade associations as well as the government have recognized the central significance
of digital transformation for the Turkish industry and are continuing to expand the
infrastructure in a targeted manner.
Under the coordination of the Turkish provide a solid information basis, which Telecommunication backs 5G
Ministry of Industry and Technology, a will then be further developed with Turkey shall soon shift to 5G technology;
strategy was formulated for the digital concrete advice on individual topics. due to delayed licensing, the current status
transformation of the country, and this For the implementation, many scientific is still 4.5G. The digital infrastructure shall
was published in a strategy paper at institutions, universities, R&D institutes, be improved immediately, at least for the
the beginning of 2018. It illuminates all as well as branch associations and unions producing trade in the industrial zones.
aspects of the digital change, formulates are involved in the project. The task areas This applies especially to companies that
targets, and serves as a digital roadmap. are worked up and coordinated by the are dependent on cloud solutions.
ministry in cooperation with the NGOs in
Projecting the digital infrastructure charge of the specific subject area or the Artificial intelligence is developing
Inter alia, the establishment of 10 relevant institutions, respectively. In the area of AI, Turkey is still in the
nationwide centers, is planned for starting phase. Although there aren’t
the digital change of structure. More These tasks include: any concrete strategies yet, there are
specifically, 7,000 companies from • Digital infrastructure currently about 50 AI projects. Currently
various industries will be advised on • Digital innovation mature and applied technologies move
digitalization and automation and • Big data cloud within projects related to the themes of
will then be accompanied during • Standardization image processing, speech recognition,
implementation. As a first step, seminars, • Law and patent Chatbot applications, and such.
workshops, and training programs • Education
Development and Intensification of the

American-Turkish Cooperation
Turkish Machinery
Turkish Machinery supports cooperation sheet metal parts, milling and turned • Mediation of efficient cooperation
and promotes the technology transfer parts, gear wheels, springs, coatings partners
as well as common research and and sealings, special joining elements, • Information about the Turkish
development projects. Special attention plastics injection molding, as well as mechanical engineering industry
is thereby paid to the areas of IIoT, the manufacture of special- purpose • Settlement and/or market entry support
digitalization, robotics, and automation. machines. • Active support in sourcing processes
Turkish suppliers are especially In the operative conversion, Turkish • Supplemental search in Turkey
competitive in the following technologies Machinery supports interested companies • Participation at international fairs and
and material groups: castings, forgings, in the following areas: representing our member companies
Henry Ford had the best quote about how to start our
cooperation with the United States. He said:
“Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is
progress. Working together is success.”’
Sevda Kayhan Yilmaz
Vice-President of Turkish Machinery
“The US market is huge and so are the USA based companies. To offer products
and services according to special demands of this big market can be the key to
closing big deals.
Turkish machinery manufacturers perfection, ability of building sophisticated
machines at competitive prices and short delivery times make it interesting to
work with them. It has already proven itself many times that the cooperation
of the US industry with our highly qualified machine manufacturers will lead to
numerous opportunities and profits for both sides.”’
Mehmet Agrikli
Vice-President of Turkish Machinery
“In the future, we shall focus on achieving a stable increase of the exports in the
medium and high technology sector. Turkey has an extensive industrial basis,
consisting predominantly of small and medium-sized businesses. Here, many
business firms have acknowledged their need for modernisation and are currently
technically upgrading their facilities, especially in the export-oriented branches
such as the automotive vehicle, food, textiles and metal industry. In order to
remain competitive, Turkish business establishments increase their added value
and improve themselves to become suppliers of high technology products.”
Ahmet Yilmaz
Turkish Machinery Germany
Turkey-U.S. Strategy: Target – doubling the trade

volume – 2.5 billion USD machinery exports.
The aim of our activities is to make the relations with the U.S. machinery sector more efficient and fruitful in the medium and long
terms. This will be realized by creating and developing technical and commercial cooperation. Therefore, we have prepared 5 target
activities to intensify our activities at the beginning:
01
Offer machinery products according to the needs of each state.
Provide competitive and innovative Turkish machinery products in accordance with the machine
import structure of each state in the U.S. To implement such a service, the demands of companies
in these states have to be identified and contact addresses in the U.S. have to be established.
02
Integration into existing Product Development Programs.
Developing a program according to the needs of the companies and integrate these
demands in existing ”Product Development Programs“ in Turkey and extend cooperation with
U.S. companies.
03
Fair Participation
Active participation in fairs and organizing b2b meetings
within the framework of those fairs.
04 Organize specialized machinery trade delegation and b2b

activities at least 2 times a year.
05 Offering business trips to Turkey
Invite U.S. companies to Turkey to present Turkey as a purchasing market. Show technologically
innovative projects and studies.
The most important branches and their representatives
The parent organization of the Turkish mechanical

engineering sector
MAKFED functions as the parent organization for 20 mechanical engineering associations, Federation: MAKFED
which represent around 2,000 Turkish mechanical engineering companies. As an NGO and Turkish Machinery
a nonprofit organization, MAKFED serves as spokesperson for the entire Turkish mechanical Federation (MAKFED)
President: Adnan Dalgakıran
engineering industry.
General Secretary:
Zühtü Bakir
MAKFED bundles the strengths of the associations of MAKFED represent Turkey in
MAKFED
diverse branch segments and represents the 21 European and international associations. Atatürk Bulvarı No: 193
mechanical engineering sector domestically In 2015, it became a member of Orgalim- ASO Kule 7. Kat Kavaklıdere
and abroad, in order to actively establish Europe’s Technology Industries, the European Ankara/Turkey
Turkey as a technological location and help business association for Mechanical www.makfed.org
shape economic policy decisions. Hereby, the Engineering, Electrotechnics, and Electronics E-mail: info@makfed.org
main principle is to promote the cooperation as well as Metal Processing, as the first Phone: +90 (312) 426 40 50
between member associations. 13 member nonstate organization of Turkey. Fax: +90 (312) 468 42 91
Pumps and Valves
The branch is characterized in Turkey by small 2018, a total of 36 percent of the entire export Association: POMSAD
and medium-sized companies. These are able volume of 586 million USD was delivered to President: Nurdan Yücel
to flexibly deliver worldwide in the medium to these five countries. Since the 1990s, pump General Secretary: Gökhan Sezer
high quality and price segment. In 2018, pumps and valve manufacturers have joined forces in Türktan
amounting to 543 million USD have been the industry association POMSAD (Association
delivered abroad. Main export countries in of Turkish Pump and Valve Manufacturers). POMSAD
the area of pumps are Germany, the U.S., Iraq, The export strength of the sector is also Çankaya Mahallesi Göreme
Sokak 7/2
China, and the United Kingdom. The same year, reflected in the international commitment of
Çankaya-Ankara/Turkey
the exports into these countries constituted an the association: For many years, POMSAD has
www.pomsad.org.tr
overall of 48 percent of the entire export. In the engaged in the European Union EUROPUMP E-mail: pomsad@pomsad.org.tr
area of valves, the main export countries are and is frequently active in the board of directors. Phone: +90 (312) 255 10 73
Germany, Iraq, Egypt, the U.S., and France. In Fax: +90 (312) 255 10 74
Agricultural Technology
Due to its favorable geographical location as not including a considerable number of farm Association: TARMAKBİR
well as the predominant climate conditions, tractor components. The main export countries President: Şenol Önal
Turkey features very good agricultural are the U.S., Italy, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and General Secretary:
Selami Ileri
requirements. In accordance with the diverse Uzbekistan. The structure of the sector varies
regional, climatic, and ecological conditions, from small and medium-sized companies to TARMAKBİR
Turkey has a differentiated orientation of multinational corporations. Meşrutiyet Cad. No: 31/6
agricultural production. Turkish machinery TARMAKBİR represents its members in national 06420 Kızılay - Ankara/Turkey
manufacturers have had a high export share and international organizations as well as vis-a- www.tarmakbir.org
for years due to a very good price-performance vis government departments. It informs about E-mail: tarmakbir@tarmakbir.org
relationship in the agricultural sector. In relevant technical and scientific innovations Phone: +90 (312) 419 37 94
Fax: +90 (312) 419 37 53
2018, they exported agricultural machines and statutory rules and scientific inquiries.
amounting to 830 million USD to 150 countries,
Mechanical engineering, equipment, accessories
Founded in 1990, MIB is also a branch Main export markets are the European Union, Association: MIB
association of the manufacturers of the U.S., Russia, as well as the countries of the President: S. Emre Gencer
machinery, equipment, and accessories, and Near East. The tasks of the association also General Secretary:M. Nail Turker
today represents more than 200 member include engagement in international industry
MIB
corporations. These produce high-quality associations. MIB has been a member of the Ankara Sanayi Odası Binası
products in the fields of food, packing, air CECIMO (European Association of Machine Atatürk Bulvarı No: 193 Kat:7
conditioning systems, machine tools, wood- Tool Industry and associated Production 06680 Kavaklıdere- Ankara/Turkey
working and plastic processing, working and Technologies) since 1999. www.mib.org.tr
construction machines, etc. E-mail: mib@mib.org.tr
Phone: +90 (312) 468 37 49
Fax: +90 (312) 468 42 91
Textile Machines
The textile and garments branch is, along growth of an average of more than 25 percent Association: TEMSAD
with the automotive industry, Turkey’s most was reached. Target markets are particularly President: Adil Nalbant
important industrial branch, considering England, Germany, Uzbekistan, Italy, France, General Secretary: Hayri Etci
employment, turnover, and added value. The Bangladesh, and India. 80 percent of the
TEMSAD
branch established itself worldwide among export consists of dyeing machines. Since Merkez Mah. Doğu Sanayi
the leading manufacturers of textiles and its foundation in 1998, the association of Sitesi Idari Bani Kat: 2
ready-made clothing and exported textile Turkish textile machines represents 193 Yenibosna–Istanbul/Turkey
machines amounting to 750 million USD in members, aimed at further developing the www.temsad.com
2018. competitiveness of the Turkish textile industry E-mail: temsad@temsad.com
In the past five years, an annual export domestically and abroad. Phone: +90 (212) 552 76 60
Fax: +90 (212) 552 76 80
Fluid Technology
While the fluid branch in Turkey concentrated cylinders, hoses, hydraulic and pneumatic Association: AKDER
on the production of spare parts until the valves, sealing devices, and connecting parts. President: M. Semih Kumbasar
1960s, the development of hydraulic and AKDER, the Turkish Fluid Power Manufacturers’ General Secretary: Abdullah Parlar
pneumatic elements was given prominence in Association, has represented its members
AKDER
the ‘70s. Today, worldwide operating Turkish since 1994. Primary tasks are the domestic Perpa Ticaret Merkezi B Blok Kat:12
companies of this branch offer complex and abroad representation, education and No: 2087 34384
product solutions and services to major training, development of technical standards, Okmeydanı-Şişli/Istanbul/Turkey
projects. Main export products are gear inquiry of data, as well as the establishment www.akder.org
and piston pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic and development of cooperations. E-mail: akder@akder.org
Phone: +90 (212) 210 34 23
Fax: +90 (212) 222 19 71
Construction Machines
In the construction machinery sector, Turkey important markets are Europe, the Near East, Association: IMDER
is the fourth-largest supplier in Europe, the Russia, Central Asia, and North Africa. The President: Merih Özgen
11th- largest supplier worldwide, and exports association IMDER has represented its members General Secretary: Oğuz Yusuf Yiğit
machinery to 133 countries. The most important since 2002 on a national and international basis.
IMDER
product groups are backhoe loaders, excavators, It informs public institutions and associations Bağlarbaşı Mah. /Kumru Sok. No.18/1
graders, bulldozers, rolling mills, loaders, concrete about the structures of the branch and stands Kat: 1 Evran İş Merkezi 34844
machines and devices, asphalt, road, tunnel, for their issues with public decision-makers, as Maltepe/Istanbul/Turkey
and mining machines, tower cranes, crushers, as well as in nonstate initiatives. It also safeguards www.imder.org.tr
well as screening machines. About 45 percent the Turkish interests in associations such as the E-mail: imder@imder.org.tr
of the overall production of Turkish construction CECE (Committee for European Construction Phone: +90 (216) 477 70 77
Fax: +90 (216) 441 70 71
machines are exported, whereby the most Equipment).

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