FABTECH 2018: METALFORM, Fabricating, Welding (Part Two)

FABTECH 2018 is North America’s largest collaboration of technology, equipment and knowledge in the metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing industry. This event takes place November 6-8 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, where more than 1,500 exhibitors and 35,000 attendees will have full access to special events, presentations, educational sessions and live demonstrations of the latest technology and integrated solutions, along with one-on-one exchanges with exhibitors and networking with industry leaders. There will also be opportunities to attend keynote presentations, discussions on key industry issues that influence manufacturing, and more. You don’t want to miss this!

Here are technical reviews of some of the metal forming and fabrication, welding, and tube and pipe machinery, tooling, systems and accessories that will be exhibited to help you navigate the show floor and manage your time while you’re there:

Cost Effective Forming of Various Part Shapes in Small Production Batches
The Flexcell system from Quintus Technologies is based on Flexform technology that uses a single rigid, shape-defining tool half in conjunction with a flexible rubber diaphragm under high hydraulic pressure to form complex-shaped sheet metal parts to close tolerances with little or no manual rework.

Mechanical C-Frame Press for Blanking, Punching, Forming, Coining and Deep Drawing
The T63 RCE Mechanical C-frame back geared press from Sangiacomo Presses uses an intermediate reduction gear to provide higher tonnage at reduced nominal speeds and the adjustable stroke helps achieve higher productivity, better component quality, longer die life, and increased flexibility.

Wedge Clamp Supports Upper Die if Pressure Loss Occurs
Actuated via hydraulic, electric or springs, this wedge clamp from Hilma features a patented safety notch added to the tapered clamping bolt to support the upper die in the event of a pressure loss.

Custom Engineered Compressed Air Systems
Complete systems from Kaeser include compressors, blower packages, boosters, vacuum packages, compressed air filters, refrigerated dryers, desiccant dryers, condensate management, piping, and more engineered to each application.

Fully Passive Safeguarding of Riveters, Spot Welders, Other Small Machines
The Soft Touch Pinch-Point Safety System from Rockford Systems prevents a riveter, spot welder or other small machine from applying full force if it detects fingers in the machine’s point-of-operation area.

Innovative Press Brake Tools Eliminate Secondary Operations, Lower Costs
The corner forming tool from Wilson Tool eliminates secondary operations by bending and finishing corners in the press brake, and their new Brake Partner holder mounts existing punch press tooling in a press brake to produce holes and forms in-house.

Affordable CNC Mill Cuts Stainless Steel, Titanium, Pre-Hardened Tool Steel
The 1100M CNC Mill from Tormach has the power to cut the toughest materials – stainless steel, titanium and even pre-hardened tool steel – and includes a power drawbar, stand, enclosure, basic tooling, coolant and free shipping, all for around $17,000.

ERP Dashboards and Workbenches Reduce Redundancy, Streamline Job Shop Processes
Cloud-based Manufacturing 5.06 for ERP from KeyedIn gives small and mid-sized job shops even more visibility to issues requiring immediate attention through standard role-based dashboards and workbenches that reduce redundancy and streamline key business processes.

Industrial IoT Application for OEMS and Equipment Distributors
Using AI and predictive maintenance that is designed specifically for the user’s equipment, MachineMetrics Service from MachineMetrics remotely monitors machine assets in the field and at customer sites in real-time to improve equipment uptime and reduce service costs.

High Powered, High Speed Fiber Laser Sheet Metal and Tube Cutting Systems
Offered only in the U.S., HSG fiber laser sheet and tube cutting systems from Preco integrate high power fiber lasers with high speed machine tools and material handling.