Leo Valerio, a veteran metal fabricator who has work experience of more than forty years in his metal fabrication shop, the Valco Planer Works Inc. that joined after his father had set it up with the top-notch machines of that time. It was 1986 and he has been around those machines ever since.
Of course, there had been changes to the laser cutting machines, metal bending press brakes, welding equipment, metal rolling equipment, etc. Some even got replaced entirely by their advanced, automated, and modern counterparts.
The metal fabrication company also changed its name along the way. Now you’ll find it as Valco Precision Works.
They have machinery for sandblasting, industrial finishing, fabricating, and of course, welding. So it’s safe to say that he has seen a lot of machines in his 40 years of experience.
This means he has seen the machines develop as new and automatic parts take over. The initial designs for many machines changed dramatically. But he can’t say that he has seen any drastic change to the traditional seam welding equipment.
After being charged with the building seam welders for a client, Valerio thought that he can do much better with the designs for traditional seam welding machines. He and his entire team put their thoughts and efforts to the limit and debuted their modern take on the seam welders at 2017s FabTech, the trade show at Chicago later that year.
These seam welding machines are being sold by another company called MITUSA Inc. Their name stands for “Made in the USA”. These MITUSA units are designed to help you achieve higher accuracy.
Generally, the traditional seam welding units track setups with the cam followers to move where the seam is being made on the metal pipe or tube. But these newly designed seam welders use linear rails that have bearing blocks. This gives the fabricators a great hold and free travel with the carriage. This way, the fabricators can put a lot more weight on them without having to worry about the carriage tottering or teetering.
This additional hold-strength gives the fabricators a higher rate of accuracy. Also, it lets the welding power source to be mounted on the wall.
The tracks are machined to a .005 inches straightness tolerance. This way, the seam can be straighter than it would be with a traditional one.
Once MITUSA was able to improvise the mechanical aspect, it was time to look for the best operation controls. They figured that the control needs to be rugged and also flexible enough to meet their customers’ applications. After a while, MITUSA found all these characteristics into the controls from Computer Weld Technology.
This company is well equipped to control any to all arc welding process and also has suitable memories to store different weld programs. Besides, it is very easy-to-use and the interface is smooth.
Overall, if the modern design gets the attention that it deserves, the changes will be clearly visible to the stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, and steel fabrication processes. And judging by the appreciation that modern and automated technology got in metal fabrication industry, it’s safe to say that not only this new take on welding but also everything that can help metal fabricators to achieve higher precision will get the attention it deserves. Besides, more and more reinventions in the design are becoming a demand for this industry.
Leo also believes that once their modern take is spread throughout the world, more and more fabricators will be interested to develop the existing models of machines to get even better products. Better results will in terms, result in greater company reputation and honestly, who doesn’t want that?
If we are being honest, metal bending press brakes are one of the most dangerous machines that metal fabrication industry is blessed with. According to The US Department of Labor, these press brakes causes more than 350 amputations each year. But these are only the reported ones.
This explains such strict words from labor safety-related organizations towards the metal fabrication shop owners.
But why Press Brakes are Dangerous?
Regardless of the age, your press brake can cause serious accidents. The main danger is in accessing the point of operation. Also reaching around its safety device to get exactly to the operation point at the machine’s end.
The quick backgauges and the pinch point pose great risks to the press brake operator too. It doesn’t stop here. Metal fabricators often get refurbished or used press brakes to save from the machine expenses. Most of the time, these press brakes conditions are not entirely safe. First of all, their primary controls can be faulty or the parts may be too old to work as planned. These faults always possess a great threat to the machine’s operator.
Basic Options for Press Brake Protection
There are several options available for the safety of a metal bending press brake.
The primary type of safeguarding the press brake is a fixed & interlocked barriers that are coupled with a two-hand control. This isn’t a functional approach as the work-piece is always held close to the operational point during its braking process.
Restraints and Pull-backs are other approaches towards physical protection. But both of them have limitation and restrictions. That’s why they are not popular among metal fabricators. They both shackle the machine operator with the press brake and restrict the mobility.
That’s why, be it stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication or steel fabrication, operators try other approaches. There are some more functional approaches that are far better than the previous two.
Two hands down or foot-through the device is a great approach for metal rolling or metal bending machine operators. In this method, operators need to place their palm on the pads and their foot pedal needs to be engaged long before the ram can come down.
In some events, this will work. But this one raises ergonomic issues. Besides, this method is much slower and given by the nature of metal fabricators, it’s safe to assume that this one is not metal fabrication shop owner’s favorite.
Electrosensitive Protection
This one is a new adaption to the safeguarding of these machines. This is Available to the fabricators centered around the electrosensitive protection devices. The light curtains are one of the most important and popular safety tools for this category.
It started as the simple device that can detect product but it evolved into a full-on machine guarding product.
Laser Focus on the Safety
AOPD is the newest addition to the press brake safety category. It gives the machine operators a close proximity to the operation point.
The biggest advantage of the AOPDs is that the operators can easily handle their workpieces up close to the dies during the time when they are using machine’s foot-switch to active machine cycle.
Conclusion: To avoid any causalities in your workplace, safeguarding your press brake isn’t enough. You need to adopt safety measure to the laser cutting machine, metal rolling machine, welding equipment or any other metal fabrication related tools that may possess a potential threat to the machine operators. Only then, you can say with confidence that your workers are safe with the machine and the overall structure of the facility, thanks to the safety measure you took.
Machine Maintenance is certainly a big part of managing a metal fabrication shop. No matter how good your machine is, if it is not maintained properly, it will start making the fabrication processes like laser cutting, metal bending, welding, metal rolling, etc. inefficient. That’s why to ensure the best results from your valuable machine is crucial for metal fabrication shop owners.
But maintenance for these machine requires labor force. However, sparing a machine operator for the maintenance work only is not a productive decision. This way, you are not utilizing his skills properly. But how about a machine or a program?
Wouldn’t it be great if there’s a machine or program always there in your shop to keep a close eye on the machine?
You know the answer.
Sebastian Christian, the CEO of OtoSense, never thought he would work with forging press owners. But technology doesn’t maintain any boundary. A new technology in one sector will leap into another in no time.
Christian’s AI did that. Although his AI wasn’t meant for metal fabrication industry, it certainly found its place there.
In the year 2015, the entrepreneur won the award for BEST APP at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) at Barcelona. His cloud-connected application was successful in creating an AI or Artificial Intelligence engine. It can mimic very efficiently how a human ear can hear and then interpret the sounds.
This application, at first, listens to the sound around it. For example, it may listen to a knock on the wall, the ringing of a doorbell or even a fire alarm.
But Sebastian didn’t intend to make the AI for industries. He meant it for health care and expected a call from them. But instead, he got the attention of industry tycoons. They approached him saying they have maintenance techs and engineers who rely on the sounds as the prime indicator of “something happening”.
The chief product officer at OtoSense, Jags Kandasamy, said the same. This AI sound-hearing engine is being used for the manufacturing processes and maintenance, especially in CNC Machining, as well as press forging. Jags also expressed his strong gut feeling that the technology will soon be wide-spread in the metal fabrication industry.
This AI tech uses multiple sensors as it is dictated by the application. Pressure sensors, optical sensors, microphone, and accelerometer are few of them. These sensors detect vibration, including the sound waves. Then it sends to the cloud-based Artificial Intelligence engine for interpretation.
The non-contact microphone sensors allow this AI-based technology to be used even in the harshest and sensitive environments. This ensures the use of the advanced AI application in stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, or steel fabrication.
But as any Artificial Intelligence, this one needs teaching. After all, the thing that makes AI this efficient at work is they can learn from the environment and the input data given by the operator.
People related to metal fabrication industry are feeding the AI system specific data so that the program can use the data and interpret in context.
If the people at metal fabrication industry can work to make it more and more compatible to the machines used in metal fabrication processes, the time is near when fabricators won’t have to rely on the operators to properly maintain their machines.
Who doesn’t want a precision plasma cutting? It’s shiny, glossy, and it works exactly how you want it to. You get minimal edge rounding & washout with the precision plasma cutting.
Since the development, mechanized precision plasma cutting made a long way. Although the approaches were different depending on the system, technology that led to the advancement of plasma cutting has similar ingredients: a shielding gas, a plasma gas, and the guide that allows to create just the right energy and pressure levels to cut precisely.
Cutting Challenges
Traditional Plasma cutting machines tend to leave a rounded-top edge and the edges aren’t perfectly squared, unlike laser cutting machines. These edges also pronounced lag striations while the torch “pulling” its arc along.
This lag usually causes challenges for the sharp corners, especially in materials re thicker than 0.5 inches. When the top of its arc makes a precise turn, that lagging bottom of the arcs is pulled around, resulting in rounded corners. But unlike metal bending, welding or metal rolling, the slightest mismatch in the edge may not give you’re the product you are supposed to deliver.
That’s why metal fabricators developed cutting programs that tell the torch to slow itself before it can reach to the corners. You can’t compromise with the precision for any metal fabrication process of any sort. So the metal fabricators had to develop these programs.
There is another challenge with such interior features such as, slots, holes, etc. that involve dealing with a lead-in & lead-out of the cut. For avoiding even the slightest amount of extra material on the corner, the technicians program their plasma cutting machine to cut a little beyond the starting point. This leaves a tiny area that’s essentially cut twice, washing out a little more material which is compared to the rest of the kerf.
Gas Flow Ballet
The precision plasma cutting technology has changed these challenges through gas flow ballet, for better of course. After the precision cutting is introduced, the challenges are minimized through something you can call a swirling gas flow ballet along with electrical resistance as the music.
The Main Players: Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen & Air
The VP of an ESAB Company, Global Plasma Automation for Thermal Dynamics, Mr. Dirk Ott stated that they have perfected the gas flow and pressure over the recent few years and added that there are multiple approaches to mix out the gases, whether it is shield gas or plasma gas for improved surface finish. This is great news for metal fabricators. But they should also remember that the values are constant for all fabrication projects.
For instance, in stainless steel fabrication, plasma gas usually works well for material with 0.375 inches of thickness or less. But for thicker material, there are different mixtures of gas like F5, H35, etc.
Similarly, for aluminium fabrication, things are not the same for all material. Nitrogen with plasma gas along with water gives an optimal cut and the conditions are different for steel fabrication too.
But only the right gas won’t do the trick. Fabricators need to bring the perfect gas mixture, automation program, and steady operators to get the cut they need and deserve. Otherwise, the motive of precision plasma cutting won’t be successful.
In every metal fabricator’s book, material is the most significant item for every and any metal fabrication process they offer. In 2017’s Financial Ratios and Operational Benchmarking Survey by FMA (Fabricators and Manufacturers Association Intl.), it is shown that the average of direct raw material purchase costs from the responders was 34% of total sales. This is more than the total labor cost, indirect or direct.
Some would say their fabrication process requires more labor power than others but still the material cost is far and large than the labor cost.
Whether it is laser cutting, metal rolling, TIG/MIG welding, metal bending, or just plasma cutting, material is the main item for the entire fabrication process. But scrimping on the material quality has its own costs. Managers and fabricators should know to distinguish between good quality and good coil processing for getting the best deal.
Stretching, Stress, and Compression
The processes that are used to produce sheet metals at the factory result in sheets with trapped stresses. Actually, the metal sheets are the product of balanced compression and tension.
The metal sheet becomes flat when these forces are at the equilibrium, which is the internal stresses in the sheet canceling each other. But the stresses are still there. These stresses are tugging on the ropes and when the laser cuts the material, some ropes that are holding the equilibrium snaps. This causes the workpiece to bow. That’s how you get your sheet metals to bend the way you want it to bend.
See, once the structure and formation of sheet metal is in your head, the concept of metal bending has become much easier.
Similarly, if you know the material you are buying, there’s a high chance you’ll get the fabrication process right. And what’s better than impressing your clients with precise products.
Know your material’s ins and outs
Besides knowing how the raw material for you stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, or steel fabrication came to you in this form, you should also know the physical properties.
To be honest, there are way too many properties of a sheet metal. But you don’t need to know about them all. You just need few common terms. For example, know the density of the material, evaluate the tensile strength, yield point, etc. for properly judging the quality of your material.
Don’t forget the chemical compound
Most fabricators don’t pay attention to the chemical compound or the ration of the elements used to produce the sheet metal in their hand. This is unwise. They do not know how significant the chemical compound and the molecular structure is for metal fabrication processes, especially for welding.
Also, the ratio of elements in your sheet metal tells you a lot about how the sheet is going to behave when put under pressure. You can assume the overall behavior of your material if you can access the chemical ratios and quantitates.
Conclusion: While most fabricators forget this stuff, there are some smart ones who will never buy any sheet material without checking then density. Yes, they exist. And they are the ones who are dominating this metal fabrication industry.
High-powered and efficient fiber laser cutting machine, High-precision press brake machine for metal bending, Super-fast welding robots, and robotic metal rolling machines comes to mind when we hear cutting-edge technology in metal fabrication.
Power tools aren’t granted as technology these days. They are left in the storeroom or toolroom. But fabricators might be missing some real potential for the shop floor efficiency if they continue to treat the power tools this way.
If you think about how much the platform for power tools changed over the last few years, you will understand the depth.
Thanks to the shifts from Alternate Current to Direct Current power sources, many fabricators are now working with cordless power tools. This efficient transition was led by the advancement in battery technology, such as evolving to long life lithium-ion platform from the traditional nickel-cadmium batteries.
As the cordless tools have moved to the brushless motor technology, metal fabricators and trades-people got more and more power in the hands.
But it wasn’t long that power tools manufacturer realized an astonishing fact about their electronically controlled and motorized equipment.
They asked themselves if the power tools are electrically controlled and motorized then why not add intelligence to the power tool itself and communicate with it. They realized the potential benefit of adding intelligence to their product line. It will start a new revolution in the power tools line up as well as make them more productive than the traditional ones.
This realization led many power tools manufacturer to take necessary steps to develop such power tools that not only make your money worthwhile but also keep your work going at a faster pace, leading to maximum productivity. Among such manufacturers, Milwaukee Tool is one pioneer. In the year 2015, Milwaukee Tool debuted their digital platform called ONE-KEY.
Honestly, the name justifies what it does. It is basically a platform where users can interact with their power tools and manage them. This is one platform for all your tools, as explained by Steve Matson, the senior product manager at Milwaukee Tool.
The initial inspiration and push for this ONE-KEY was centered around its configuration capabilities and inventory management. A user just needs to download the software in his/her smartphone, tablet, or PC to communicate and manage all the ONE-KEY enabled power tools.
Besides, managing the tools, a user can also check the tool’s purchasing information, maintenance schedule, performance history, etc. From the configuration standpoint, a user can easily adjust the parameters of the tool, like the run-time, power, etc. This allows him/her to optimize consumable usage and also to ensure the consistency in setting for similar repetitive jobs.
All these actions can help create a digital home environment for the tools and this is important because the latest era of cordless power tools was most likely to go missing from a big workshop or a wide-spread work site.
So whether it is stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, or steel fabrication, this ONE-KEY platform will help you get the things done more efficiently and quickly, with precision.
Modern Computer Aided Design or CAD in metal bending has automated traditional layout for the notch. But if you want to make better parts for your clients and impress them, you should know how these notched are made and measured.
If you could spend some time to learn how it works, you’ll be able to take better and efficient decisions regarding the notch in your metal part. You’ll know which notches are perfect for your job and select it from available ones in CAD menu. Trust me, it’s worth your effort.
The Lesson
First of all, you’ll need to know everything about the mold lines. On a flat pattern or on the drawing, the area of the radius that will be after forming is represented by the distance between two mold lines. Yes, there will be two of them, inside mold line and outside mold line.
But which line is outside and which line is inside?
This depends on which end of the metal part are you working on. Generally, the outside mold lines indicate the flange’s outer dimension and the inside mold line is actually a one bend deduction less. That is the subtraction value of the one bend deduction from the outer mold line location.
Once placed on a flat pattern, the mold lines work to reveal any small feature that lied on its radius. Therefore distort during forming while assuming that you achieved the expected radius in the metal part.
Two Axes, Two 90 Degree Bends
Sometimes, you’ll have two axes, thus two bends. They may be particular to one another. That means the metal part will have 2 side flanges with equal length, which are bent to 90 degrees.
To Layout desired notch, you need to use the mold lines again. Once we get to determine the inner and outer mold lines for each bend, we can define the center-line for them. We can do it by subtracting half a bend deduction.
The actual distance between the inner and outer mold lines is the one bend deduction. And the center-line splits up the distance, only a half a bend deduction for one mold line and another half a bend deduction for the second mold line.
Once we determine the centerlines, it is time for us to identify X-Y coordinates for both outer notch vertices. Now, the very point at which the center-lines intersect transforms to the innermost location. This is also called the top-center location of the notch.
However, if you are notching by your hand, it will be difficult to get the notch right.
But unless you are doing any prototyping work for a new stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, or steel fabrication project, you won’t even make the layout by hand. It’s just too much work and it’s not even worth it. So take some time to learn how notches work and then apply your knowledge to the corner selection in your CAD system. This will also help you in your laser cutting, metal rolling, welding or any other metal fabrication projects.
Metal rolling is getting more and more complicated since the requirements of versatile angle rolling increases. This is true for every metal fabrication process, especially, metal rolling, metal bending, laser cutting, welding, etc. But lately, the crying need for the massive upgrade in metal roiling process is being noticed by all the metal fabricators.
The next generation of metal bending machines, equipped with automation and other structural upgrades for stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, or steel fabrication, was introduced by Promau Davi at a conference in October which aims to push the company into the future.
Re-engineered features:
Seeing an opportunity for growth, Orazio Davi the president of the Promau Davi Italian headquarters, decided to change the company’s strategy and opt for a larger investment into the angle rolling market. By doing so, the company intends to make improvements to already existing technology. They accomplished this by investing in a research and development team to implement improvements based on customer feedback. This results in a complete redesign of the company’s angle roll line. Some of the re-engineered features include:
- Radius-Checking System: The most significant improvement to the company’s line of section roll machines is that it now comes equipped with a system called iRoll-camera, which serves as a radius checking mechanism. This allows workers to check and compare the radius of the part being bent with the model in real-time with the help of a camera, without having to remove it from the machine. This has not only improved the safety of the process since parts do not have to be moved around anymore, but it also allows for jobs that require different radii. This is done through templates displayed on a screen that the operator can use while rolling the part.
- Auto Learning: By using digital signals instead of analog ones, the independent elements of the machine can be monitored and diagnosed through the CNC. However, this is not new in metal fabrication industry bit t definitely a revolution in metal bending and metal rolling.
- Intelligent Hydraulics: This is a redesign to help the customer with larger part bending needs. The machine has independent hydraulic motors and pumps along with high-torque planetary drives that are attached directly to the rolls. This allows the system to intelligently adjust the torque and optimize the process.
- Compact Design: A redesign of the machine frame has allowed a more compact and safer structure, which helps prevents external damage to the machine. This makes the machine much more durable and sturdy.
- CNC Mandrel Bending: The primary objective of CNC mandrels is to effectively reduce or even eliminate cracking, thinning and other defects that occur during radius bending of thin and hard materials. This technology allows for the tightest possible bends.
All of these improvements are incremental but significant, and thus the next generation of Davi’s new angle roll machines help thrust the company into the future. But this is definitely not the end, it’s just the beginning of a new era of advanced angle rolling.
The use of Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) in laser cutting, metal bending, metal rolling, and in the auto has created a new challenge, especially for stamping tools, and the methods used to produce them in metal fabrication.
Tool-Hardening in Retrospect
Various steels that can be hardened have been used as dies for stamping and forming purposes. These have been either forged, cast, or mill-formed. These days, less hard cast iron and cast steel is used for the dies to reduce their cost and weight.
Hardening of the die depends a lot on the size and shape of the die itself. Heating up the die and then quickly cooling it again, often called quenching, hardens it. Afterward, the steel is tempered to prevent cracking, which in turn increases toughness, ductility and extends its life.
Flame hardening used in stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, or steel fabrication for large dies with more complicated shapes focused on hardening the surface of the die, with special precautions being taken to extend the useful life of the die. Although special coatings are not amply available, chromium plating has been used to protect stamping dies with success for several years.
Due to AHSS becoming harder, the drawbacks of using chromium became more pronounced. Frequent wear and galling means that the dies need to be recoated with chromium after a few runs. This greatly lowers the efficiency of chromium, making it a more costly method preserving the condition of the die used for stamping AHSS. Moreover, slug damage makes repairs much harder on the chromium-plated surface. This damage is extended if the weaker material under the material is exposed for too long, as it wears out faster than the chromium covering it. Finally, compounds of chromium are among the 189 HAP (Hazardous Air Pollutants), which means chromium plating is potentially a significant health hazard.
Ion/Plasma Nitriding
Ion/Plasma Nitriding is a technique which involves treating the die in a vacuum vessel with heaters and a plasma generator. To achieve the nitriding effect, the die’s parts are covered using glow discharge plasma. This new technique, implemented in recent years, produces much harder dies. Moreover, nitriding does not introduce a new layer of protection but provides depth level hardness required to withstand the much greater impacted forces when forming AHSS, this prevents significant slug damage. Furthermore, it does not create any changes in the shape of the die as well since the process ensures that it is applied evenly in all areas of the die.
This technique produces reusable, harder dies, making them a feasible alternative.
If you are lucky enough to pull over into the drive-thru on a rainy day for a burger, you might have benefitted from a common innovation that was made this much popular by the 60% metal fabrication shop at the northwest of Atlanta, a canopy that keeps everything dry.
According to the design manager for Kennesaw, Mr. C. J. Mays, 70-80% of a store’s annual comes from drive-thru. And it is possible that you lose 50-60% revenue due to the weather. Coming from someone who makes canopies on a professional level, really says something.
Actually, a drive-thru usually looks a plain architectural element, which can benefit from flexible tooling. But when you look closely, canopies at most QSRs have a narrow sheet metal panel lookalike extrusion, component that simplifies stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, and mild steel fabrication greatly.
This strategy of utilizing extrusions where and when possible is the most important element of Uni-Structures’ business plan. Extrusion has been the building blocks to help this business grow.
But surprisingly they added a new 4-kW fiber laser in their mechanical rooster. But the question is, is this investment a step to the inevitable transformation, one of precise laser cutting, welding, metal bending, metal rolling, without the need for design tooling or relying on any extruded shape?
According to C J Mays, this is not what’s happening. Instead, he said that this laser cutting machine will help them diversify and put their skills in special projects, like the ones that use visual elements from the core drive-thru businesses, and yet for most cases, this won’t be repeated anywhere else, most probably.
Signs indicating to the Change
CEO of Uni-structure, Michael Barnes was in the sign business once. When he used to put up others’ sign, he realized how unprofessional these are and the hilarious quality.
Then one afternoon, once he launched his company, he saw that people were lining up in the drive-thrus for rain. They couldn’t go out or keep their windows open for long. So he asked himself whether the people deserve more or not.
He got the answer; yes, they deserve. And it won’t be a joke if I say that they bought their laser cutting machine for one reason only, diversification.
Although before that their plasma cutting system was getting the job done, after getting the laser cutting machine, they have been able to take different projects.
Uni-Structures didn’t buy this new fiber laser just to defeat limit imperatives. The buy was rather a part of the organization’s long-haul procedure.
He clarified that the organization has developed into what it is today without a formal deals exertion. Proprietors and directors assembled associations with developers, contractual workers, modelers, establishment proprietors, and those at the corporate level of a portion of the country’s biggest QSRs. Uni-Structures is on the corporate-affirmed rundown of numerous chains; when the need emerges for a drive-through, Uni-Structures gets a call. All this goes back to the decision of them deciding to buy that laser machine.
