Manufacturing Monday!

If you're from Minnesota (like I am) or surrounding area, then you probably have noticed the huge drop in temperature today! It went from a high of 76° to a high of 56° in a day. So as I write this entry, I sit at my desk with a space heater by my feet, in September. And it's times like these that I remember why I just adore Minnesota...

Continuing onward, if you have been to our website lately (http://www.fedtech.com/) you may have noticed an addition to the left-hand navigation. I've added a "Cutting Method Quiz" and it seems to be a very popular portion of the website now! If you want to try it out and see for yourself, you can go ahead and visit the quiz page here: http://www.fedtech.com/Cutting-Quiz

The quiz asks you questions about your project (how thick? what material? etc.) and figures out the best cutting method for you and your project.

I also just want to give mad props to a recent business contact that I've established as far as printing our quarterly newsletters goes. I've talked to Jared from "The Goodprinter" in St. Paul, Minnesota and it was great to have some enthusiasm and hard work from him. As of now, I would definitely recommend him if you are looking to get things printed in the Twin Cities area.

Well that's it for today, questions of the week will come later this week so stay tuned :)

Peace, love and all things metal,
Sarah

Raindrops on roses and renewable energy...

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things...
(like the song? see the rest of the lyrics)

And amongst my favorite things... is my growing fascination with going green, renewable energy, and preserving the environment... I've found a few resources that are must-see's when it comes to being proactive with our planet :)

One of my favorite sites is called the "Green Guide" and it's actually hosted by National Geographic... What I love about this site is that it's everyday things that we can see or do. One of the featured items right now is about the stadiums around the U.S. that are becoming eco-friendly... You can click here to read "A Greener Playing Field" where they feature Miami, Atlanta, Washington DC, and Detroit's improvements.

"To distinguish it as ecofriendly, the American Airlines Arena includes reflective roofing materials, which reduce the need for forced cooling; water-efficient landscaping with drought-resistant plans and efficient "micro" irrigation; and underground parking instead of a heat-trapping asphalt lot" (The Green Guide).

Another article that I found there, was called "Tapped Out" which is a short story about bottled water and how Americans spent almost $11 million on bottled water in one year... then tossed over 22 billion empty plastic water bottles in the trash... Now I can say that I recognize the problem in this because I just wrote a speech a few months ago on the importance of recycling! Not that it matters, but I just wanted to take pride in a little bit that I've done my research... Anyways, that's a lot of trash... and a lot of waste.

Read that article if you get a chance, and then see how restauraunts have taken bottled water off their menus to help go green... There's obviously a lot more interesting facts in the article, so I'll let you peruse that as you wish.

Okay, next you have to see The Daily Green, which they call the "consumer's guide to the green revolution". Updated daily, the website features odds and ends ways to go green. My personal favorite is how to make one-of-a-kind home decor... an example? Using an old briefcase and turning it into a cat bed... where they took half of the briefcase, throw a pillow in it, and stick some posts on the end and voila! An upscale-looking feline-friendly home... Maybe you have to see it, to really grasp the wonder of it all... (in which, you'll want to click here)

Now if you're into do it yourself stuff, then you might recognize the website, "Do it Yourself" (or http://www.doityourself.com/) where the website helps with automotive repair, decorating, gardening and patio, plumbing, remodeling, woodworking, and more. Well now, the do it yourself site has an option to go green (and it even has a "NEW!" sign by it...) Here you can check out getting yourself a solar and wind kit... learn the secrets of green energy, find a contractor, or chat with other do-it-yourselfers in a forum. Either way, it's a site to check out.

Of course, who would I be to not mention that if you are in the industry of renewable energy (whether it be wind turbine manufacturing, solar panel manufacturing, or other means of getting the renewable energy taken care of on a major level), you will absolutely have to check out Fedtech's portion of the website that features how we help out companies like yours in renewable energy. Fedtech helps companies manufacture the large parts, intricate parts, or sensitive material, so that the green energy industry will live on!

Well hopefully these tips and tricks help you, help the environment, stay clean and liveable!

Have a happy Thursday!

Sarah

Man you fact sure ring

Well I just finished flipping through this season's copy of Micro Manufacturing (Fall 2009) and there were a few good articles but what always catches my eye are those tiny little parts that can be made from huge machines. These parts (page 12 and 13 if you have the magazine, otherwise I'll describe them) are apparently about 1/15 the size of a dime. Then on the other page, is an intricate 3/32" diameter bar that was machined on the end to a 60* angle from Harvey Tool. The machined tip of these parts are comparable to the size of a letter on an aspirin apparently. It's crazy.

Anyways, I was just impressed with the tiny, tiny parts. But I'll move on to the questions of the week here.

"How thick of metal can laser cut?"
It depends on the material, but typically it's 5/8" for carbon steel or stainless steel and 1/8" for aluminum.

In manufacturing, when people say, "rounds", what does that mean?
Well basically a round is a thick circle part cut from a long bar of material. Most often seen in stainless steel (sst). I'll attach a photo here to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Where can I see photos or videos of waterjet cutting?
That's an easy one. You can either google waterjet cutting and click the tab for images or videos... or you can visit Fedtech's site for waterjet cutting images or waterjet cutting videos.

Or if you want to videos of laser cutting too, you can visit our YouTube channel and see all of our videos that we have taken here at Fedtech. Our YouTube name is "Waterjetter08".

Well that's all I have time for this week to answer. Remember if you have a question, you can email me at sarahw@fedtech.com and maybe your question or statement will be featured in next week's blog! :)

Thanks for visiting!
Sarah

Questions of the Week in Manufacturing

Back to basics again today. I'm taking your questions and giving you answers. If in doubt, visit our website and find the answer yourself! lol well I'll get right into it, here goes:

1. Can aluminum be cut with a laser?

 - Answer: Yes, you can typically laser cut aluminum up to 1/8" thick.

2. Can you cut carbon steel and stainless steel on the same laser?
 - Answer: Heck yes you can! That's a good question, there are probably a lot of people out there wondering the same thing.

3. Can you custom make a football jersey?
 - Answer: If that's your way of seeing if we'll produce you a Favre vikings jersey, my answer is no. But I guess it's all in who you ask...

4. How can I cut acetal?
 - Answer: Well your best bet for cutting acetal is most likely waterjet cutting (or water-only cutting) that will be your call. Here's a link to a project that was waterjet cut from acetal.

5. How can I cut blocks of aluminum?
 - Answer: Have you seen our aluminum blocks case study? That's definitely worth checking into in your case, you can see the whole story with pictures here. I think you'll like that one. The answer to the question, is waterjet. Waterjet can cut up to 12" thick aluminum blocks very well.

6. What is the best file type to use for waterjet cutting?
 - Answer: Most machine shops prefer to receive files in DWG or DXF format which is most compatible with AutoCAD and readible by CNC machinery.

7. Do you custom manufacture caskets?
- Answer: No. I think you could probably find a better place to have that done locally.

Okay so it was less than a week...

But I see so many questions popping up already so I thought I should probably get on the ball and answer some questions. Not to mention, it's Friday and it only seemed fitting to blog it up!


The question I wanted to answer today is this;

"How do I cut ceramic tile?"


Depending on the quantity, size and detail you want your tile cut, your options can vary. If you're cutting a few tiles or just have a mild cut you'd like to do, then they do make tile cutters for that.. just make sure to practice first. If you have an intricate design and/or quite a few tiles to cut, then another option would be waterjet cutting in this case.


Abrasive waterjet cutting, to be exact... (depending on the type of tile though, I guess water-only waterjet has been used before as well.


Here is a case study for VCT tile (like linoleum)


and one for custom slat tile as well


Both turned out pretty cool, if I do say so myself :)

Manufacturing Forum - Open to All

Interested in manufacturing? Care to chat about what it is, how it works, how you do what you do when you do it? Me too. Well I have created an open forum for all of us who want to become a big happy manufacturing family and Bravenet was awesome enough to host this cavacade of fun for FREE!

Check out the Manufacturing Forum

Now don't let me down, because it's going to be a lot of fun. So go and check it out and add your two cents to the posts! I'd love to hear from you!

More Manufacturing Questions - Answered!

Well I return here with more answered questions! This week's ask Fedtech will feature questions that you yourselves have asked in the last week! So prep yourself, sit down, grab a cup of coffee and read on!

First question...

What's the difference between 17-4 stainless steel and 17-7 stainless steel?

That's a great question, typically the two grades just have different nickel content.

Next one, what are the advantages of using abrasive waterjet cutting?

There are some great advantages of abrasive waterjet. First off, you can cut through material up to 12" thick while still maintaining a smooth edge and minimal taper, depending on the material. Not only this, but it can cut hard materials like steel and titanium.

What is the best way to cut "AR" steel?

By "AR" I'm going to assume you mean armor plating, such as AR236, or AR400, AR500, etc. The best way to cut these materials is waterjet cutting. Since they are generally hard materials, it's often cut with abrasive waterjet.

What's the difference between waterjet cutting and laser cutting?

Since we answered this last week (but it's such a common question) I will redirect your answer to my latest discovery. This website now has a 'Cutting Method Assessment' tool that determines which process is best for your particular project. Give it a try, otherwise if you want to see waterjet and laser compared side by side, you can visit Fedtech.com for lots of information comparing the two.

How do I tell if an aluminum part has been laser cut?

Well if it's a matter between life and death, then you may be out of luck. But a general rule of thumb is to laser cut aluminum if it's thin, otherwise we use waterjet cutting for anything over 1/8" thick. You can usually tell what materials are laser cut as well because laser cutting sometimes leaves HAZ's, or a heat trail. You can see the edges where the laser cut, because there may be some discoloration.

How can I cut urethane?

We usually use water-only waterjet cutting for urethane parts.

Is AR500 used as ballistic armor?

Yes, it can be. But I wouldn't call it ballistic armor because it's not that strong. It's more mild, I'd opt to call it abrasion resistant instead.

What are some renewable materials used for waterjet cutting?

I think the question is intending to ask either, what makes waterjet cutting a green option, or what can waterjet cut as far as renewable materials go? I'll answer both. What we consider waterjet cutting green for, is because:
* recycle our abrasive that is used in our cutting process
* recycle our water from our RO systems
* recycle all of our metals
* test our air compressor system plant wide for leaks and reduce air pressure to optimum levels

As far are renewable materials that you can cut with waterjet, this could include bamboo, cork, plastic (polycarbonate, acrylic, nylon, polyethylene, HDPE) or rubber (foam, silicone, urethane, vinyl, neoprene) and more. We also process numerous composites with waterjet this can include glass, ceramics, linoleum, and others.

Well that's all the time that I have for this week. I'll be back next week to answer more questions that you guys send me! Comment on the post or email me at sarahw@fedtech.com and I'll get you some answers!

Have a great week!

Feed Shark

Some Manufacturing Questions

So as I browsed over our google searches, I found some questions that might not be addressed on our website so I thought it'd be a nice touch to address them here! I'll start from the beginning:

The question: Can magnetic sheets be laser cut?
My answer: I'm not positive, but I believe this wouldn't go over well with the lasers. As they're already sensitive to reflective materials, I think the magnets would likely be a rough cut for laser cutting.

Next!

Can waterjet hold better cutting tolerances than laser?
Well, it's funny you should ask that, because the answer is typically no. Laser actually tends to have tighter cutting tolerances than waterjet.

Another question, comes from a google searcher as the following:

Can you laser cut titanium?
Nope! We waterjet cut titanium.

Can you laser cut glass?
We do not cut glass with laser, we also use waterjet for that material as well.

Can you waterjet cut carbide?
Not typically, it's a very hard material and the cuts don't turn out very clean.

Does laser cutting leave smooth edges?
Typically, yes! Laser cutting has very clean cuts and rarely requires secondary operations unless you need a special finish on the parts. That's why a lot of people choose laser cutting as a more cost effective process.

Is there a difference between one waterjet machine and another?
Surprisingly, yes. There is. There are so many different kinds of waterjets out there right now that there's probably a rarity that you could find identical waterjets easily. Mostly because purchasing a waterjet table is one thing, but then you have all kinds of different options from there, as far as pumps and other tooling for the waterjets go. There are numerous suppliers for waterjet products and parts (Flow, Omax, Accustream, KMT) to name a few. Plus those are just parts, then you have Wardjet, Jet Edge, Flow, and more.

I hope this is beneficial for answering your questions! I'll check in again soon and answer any more questions that I see pop up!

Visit our website in the meantime to see other frequently asked questions: FAQ's

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