The Fabricator

The FABRICATOR serves as the essential resource for metal fabricators, offering valuable insights, in-depth analysis, the latest technology, and product information.

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Let's prepare for the reshoring wave

3 days ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

In early April, The Fabricator conducted a survey of its subscribers and members of the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, with one question asking them “Do you see these tariffs being good for bolstering U.S. manufacturing in the long term?” Forty-five percent of respondents said “yes,” and 16% said “maybe.”That’s a significant share of the metal fabricating community believing that manufacturing in the U.S. can grow, enabling the country to become a self-sufficient maker of goods.
Plate roller expands its tool chest

5 days ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

Modern metal fabrication often is defined by the advanced technology that dominates high-performance shops. Skills that were once locked inside the heads of craftsmen now have been programmed into control systems. An operator can hit a button and watch as parts are cut or formed on a CNC machine. The only other activity the operator might be involved with is removing parts from and then trashing the skeleton. That type of CNC is commonplace in many shops, but not all.
The laser/punch combination machine’s soft touch

3 weeks ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

Rob Stiels is the manager of Prima Power’s Training and Technology Center outside of Chicago. He gets a lot of customer requests and often helps those metal fabricators find out what can and can’t be done on the company’s machines.
The difficulty of untangling years of global commerce

3 weeks ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

For many in the metal fabricating industry, making America great again starts with a robust domestic manufacturing base. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen overnight, and the on-again/off-again tariff rollout isn’t doing anyone any favors. In President Donald Trump’s first administration, tariffs were put in place to shore up the domestic steelmaking industry.
Steel buyers frustrated with market uncertainty created by tariff rollout

1 month ago | thefabricator.com | Michael Cowden

The tariff roller coaster continues. Where it stops, I don’t pretend to know. Does the steel market like the ride? That depends on who you ask and when. As best as I can tell, a fair amount of support for Section 232 tariffs extended further downstream. Those tariffs benefited U.S. mills in a significant way in 2018. And to companies further downstream, it seemed only fair that they received some of the benefits their mill suppliers had seen.
Fighting for a future fabricating workforce

1 month ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

Editor’s Note: If you have interest in joining the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association’s board of directors, the annual nomination deadline is June 30. Please reach out to Deana Hill at 815-227-8238 for more information. Sarah Richards, visionary and CEO of Jones Metal in Mankato, Minn., is like many others who have found a home in the metal fabricating industry. She’s had to catch up with peers who have been at it for decades.
Hendrick Motorsports takes on new manufacturing challenge

1 month ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

The world of motorsports hardly seems to have anything in common with contract manufacturing, but if there’s one thing that the skilled welders and fabricators working for a race team both know, it’s flexibility. That’s the one thing that keeps the vehicles on the track and helps to generate improvements in lap times. It also happens to be the one thing that’s enabled Hendrick Motorsports to replicate its winning ways on the track in the competitive world of defense-related contract manufacturing.
How one shop uses hardware insertion to stay on top of critical processes

1 month ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

The big job of the afternoon has made its way to the hardware insertion department. A laser cutting machine cut the blanks, and a press brake operator worked his magic to add some louvers, creating the bottom of what’s to become electrical boxes. All that needs to be added to the 100 workpieces are five self-clinching nuts and 10 studs. That sounds a lot simpler than it is. Does the hardware insertion equipment operator know exactly where the nuts and studs are to go?
Angle grinders, abrasives, and you

1 month ago | thefabricator.com | Rafael Guerrero

The angle grinder, the abrasives mounted on it, and the user have an almost symbiotic relationship: Each affects the other. They all depend upon one another to get the job done and achieve successful results. The relationship may ultimately determine whether or not the time has come to replace that angle grinder of yours. It may determine how quickly you go through wheels and discs. It may determine your overall safety, well-being, and performance.
The heavy load that small shops must carry

1 month ago | thefabricator.com | Dan Davis

By now, the world is familiar with the fall out from President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day. On April 2, he signed an executive order that imposed a baseline tariff rate of 10%, as well as higher rates for dozens of other countries, some reaching as high as 50%. Empowered by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, Trump cited the country’s large and persistent trade deficits as a national emergency.