Have you ever seen our old blog? It's a little outdated, and not as cool as this one, but there are some memorable parts and events posted there. So if you are ever looking for some projects you've never seen before, maybe you just need to check that out!
Here's the link: http://fedtech.multiply.com/
There's old company picnic photos, along with some really cool projects and other cool stuff. Worth a look!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Manufacturing Blog Compilation
With so much buzz around social media, online networking, and just to take advantage of all the great sources out there, we've put together a list of some good blogs that were both submitted and discovered. The list is in no particular order. Be sure to comment or email me if you have your own blog to contribute.
1. Managing Automation Blog - Featuring numerous different authors on the topic of manufacturing and automation technology. (Thank you Chris!)
2. The Manufacturing Industry Blog - Featured by Xerox, she writes about industry trends and studies.
3. The IQS Newsroom - They say they are 'your source for industry news articles and industrial products and manufacturers'. I think that pretty much sums it up!
4. The Manufacturer - This website features articles from nearly any topic imagineable from all different sources. Founded in the UK, the information is cutting edge and very up-to-date. This particular link focuses in on sustainable manufacturing (eco-friendly/green).
5. IMAGINiT Manufacturing Solutions Blog - A personal, detailed blog about manufacturing software such as AutoCAD and Inventor. Moreso the engineering side of manufacturing here!
6. Lean Reflections - Featuring questions and answers (much like our blog) and observations, this one is set up by Karen Wilhelm whose specialty is lean manufacturing.
7. Green Inc. Blog - Featured in the New York Times, this green blog focuses on clean manufacturing along with environmentally friendly solutions.
8. Marki Microwave Blog - A different industry than the above, Marki discusses technology, innovation and lots more. (Thanks for the submission Kristen!)
Well this should give you more than enough resources to check out when you feel like learning something new. Of course, don't forget to check back in here to see what new things we have to say as well!
Take care now!
Sarah
1. Managing Automation Blog - Featuring numerous different authors on the topic of manufacturing and automation technology. (Thank you Chris!)
2. The Manufacturing Industry Blog - Featured by Xerox, she writes about industry trends and studies.
3. The IQS Newsroom - They say they are 'your source for industry news articles and industrial products and manufacturers'. I think that pretty much sums it up!
4. The Manufacturer - This website features articles from nearly any topic imagineable from all different sources. Founded in the UK, the information is cutting edge and very up-to-date. This particular link focuses in on sustainable manufacturing (eco-friendly/green).
5. IMAGINiT Manufacturing Solutions Blog - A personal, detailed blog about manufacturing software such as AutoCAD and Inventor. Moreso the engineering side of manufacturing here!
6. Lean Reflections - Featuring questions and answers (much like our blog) and observations, this one is set up by Karen Wilhelm whose specialty is lean manufacturing.
7. Green Inc. Blog - Featured in the New York Times, this green blog focuses on clean manufacturing along with environmentally friendly solutions.
8. Marki Microwave Blog - A different industry than the above, Marki discusses technology, innovation and lots more. (Thanks for the submission Kristen!)
Well this should give you more than enough resources to check out when you feel like learning something new. Of course, don't forget to check back in here to see what new things we have to say as well!
Take care now!
Sarah
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Spring has Sprung, it's time to update!
Update on our new website design: It's coming along well! We're expecting it to be live in under a month from today and it's going to be such an improvement! I wish I could tell you more about it, but that would spoil the surprise. But trust me, it's going to be dramatic!
Update on company news: We recently received a VERY honorable award where we were recognized as Supplier of the Year (2009) by a very well-known company. While the news and technical details are in that company's hands, we have to keep it confidential for now. But if you check back soon (maybe next week?) you will probably be one of the first to find out.
Now onto the questions of the week, where we take your questions and get you some answers!
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK
Q) Can waterjet cut hardened steel?
A) Yes it can! Waterjet cutting is one of the few that can manage to cut through hard material such as hardened steel.
Q) What's the difference between laser cutting and waterjet cutting?
A) We've answered this one before but it always seems to be getting asked either way. Check out our website here for the answer to this one.
Q) Can I buy stock in Fedtech? I can't find the stock ticker.
A) Sorry, no can do. Fedtech is a private company! I'd check on Apple next.
Q) Can you laser cut holes in rubber?
A) Although we don't laser cut rubber, we do use waterjet to process rubber material (and most of the time, we use non-abrasive waterjet cutting to be exact). But it is definitely something we can do, just not with laser.
That's all for today! Check back tomorrow for the Parts of the Week! It will be a good one!
Take care,
Sarah
Update on company news: We recently received a VERY honorable award where we were recognized as Supplier of the Year (2009) by a very well-known company. While the news and technical details are in that company's hands, we have to keep it confidential for now. But if you check back soon (maybe next week?) you will probably be one of the first to find out.
Now onto the questions of the week, where we take your questions and get you some answers!
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK
Q) Can waterjet cut hardened steel?
A) Yes it can! Waterjet cutting is one of the few that can manage to cut through hard material such as hardened steel.
Q) What's the difference between laser cutting and waterjet cutting?
A) We've answered this one before but it always seems to be getting asked either way. Check out our website here for the answer to this one.
Q) Can I buy stock in Fedtech? I can't find the stock ticker.
A) Sorry, no can do. Fedtech is a private company! I'd check on Apple next.
Q) Can you laser cut holes in rubber?
A) Although we don't laser cut rubber, we do use waterjet to process rubber material (and most of the time, we use non-abrasive waterjet cutting to be exact). But it is definitely something we can do, just not with laser.
That's all for today! Check back tomorrow for the Parts of the Week! It will be a good one!
Take care,
Sarah
Monday, April 5, 2010
Where Do You Store Social Images?
What do you use for photos on Twitter?  | |
| Twitpic | |
| Tweetphoto | |
| Flickr | |
| Photobucket | |
| Other | |
 | |
| Web Polls | |
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Down to the basics of custom manufacturing
Just got back from the Java Meet-Up (#JMU612 for all those following on Twitter...) and I am pumped about social media again. Not because I want to bombard followers with gimmicky sales stuff, or to push our company at them - no, just because it's such a great way to let people know what it is that we can do here, and if they are ever in need of the services, they'll know where to go.
I've never been the type of person to push or hard sell anything, so to me, just putting information out there for people to have is essential for everyone to really understand your business and learn to trust you as a company. A wise person once said,
I love it. Anyways, moving on to business in action... let's move forward.
Sarah's Super Sweet Pick of the Week
I love this part because of all the detail behind it. Now you're thinking to yourself, that looks like an average part that I might see every other day... but have you ever thought about what work goes behind it? Well wonder no more. Here we go.
The part started out as 6061 aluminum bar stock that was turned in our CNC lathe. From here, the parts went to our secondary operations department where we put in the cross holes, flats, and off-center hole on the CNC mill. The process will be cut shorter in a week or two when we install our new multi-axis lathe with a twin spindle (mill turn center) which will allow us to make parts like this all in one shot which will in addition make for shorter lead times. And customers really seem to like those.
The end product itself is used for housing another part (piston) that we also produced in-house. They go together as an assembly to control the sand flow on waterjet machinery (right up our alley!) and works to turn abrasive flow on and off.
And now as usual, we advance to the...
Questions of the Week...
Q) What's the best way to cut thick aluminum sheets?
A) Waterjet cutting. Waterjet cuts up to 12" thick material, and so depending on how thick you are aiming to go, waterjet is your best source to do so.
Q) Can Monel be laser cut?
A) Short answer is, no. Steel alloys are best suited for waterjet cutting (abrasive and non-abrasive) as they are very hard metals.
Q) What is the complete laser manufacturing process of gaskets?
A) Well if you must use laser cutting for your gaskets, then I'm assuming you're using aluminum or thin steel. Either way, you're going to start with drawing up your print (CAD or DXF, DWG files are good) and send them over to us. We get a pricing on material, the process used, and labor and send it out to you. Once you confirm that you're ready to go, we put the project into production with whatever steps necessary. Since almost all our machinery is CNC compatible, your drawings go straight to the production floor and get used to produce your parts. When the process is complete, we clean up the parts (remove any extra abrasive) and send them through our shipping department to get back to the customer. It's a pretty simple process and usually pretty quick as well. If you're not sure on whether you should use laser cutting or waterjet cutting, compare the two of them here...
Q) I'd like to get some custom letters cut. Could Fedtech do this?
A) We love signage projects. In fact, you can visit here to see a bunch that we've done in the past. Typically we waterjet or laser cut your signs from copper, brass, aluminum, plastic, stainless steel... etc.
Q) How thick can a laser cut? (This question was asked four times so it must need to be addressed)
A) Laser cuts aluminum up to 1/8" thick and stainless steel and carbon steel up to 5/8" thick.
Q) What is the best aluminum material for laser cutting?
A) This is a great question. Most aluminums cut the same on the laser, we haven't seen a difference in results with the different types of aluminum that has been laser cut.
Well that's all for this week! Thanks for checking in. Check back again soon :)
Sarah
I've never been the type of person to push or hard sell anything, so to me, just putting information out there for people to have is essential for everyone to really understand your business and learn to trust you as a company. A wise person once said,
"Ethics or simple honesty is the building blocks upon which our whole society is based, and business is a part of our society, and it's integral to the practice of being able to conduct business, that you have a set of honest standards. And it's much easier to do business with someone when you look them in the eye and say, "This is what we're going to do," and you understand what you each mean, and you can go away and get it done."
(Kerry Stokes)
I love it. Anyways, moving on to business in action... let's move forward.
Sarah's Super Sweet Pick of the Week
The part started out as 6061 aluminum bar stock that was turned in our CNC lathe. From here, the parts went to our secondary operations department where we put in the cross holes, flats, and off-center hole on the CNC mill. The process will be cut shorter in a week or two when we install our new multi-axis lathe with a twin spindle (mill turn center) which will allow us to make parts like this all in one shot which will in addition make for shorter lead times. And customers really seem to like those.
The end product itself is used for housing another part (piston) that we also produced in-house. They go together as an assembly to control the sand flow on waterjet machinery (right up our alley!) and works to turn abrasive flow on and off.
And now as usual, we advance to the...
Questions of the Week...
Q) What's the best way to cut thick aluminum sheets?
A) Waterjet cutting. Waterjet cuts up to 12" thick material, and so depending on how thick you are aiming to go, waterjet is your best source to do so.
Q) Can Monel be laser cut?
A) Short answer is, no. Steel alloys are best suited for waterjet cutting (abrasive and non-abrasive) as they are very hard metals.
Q) What is the complete laser manufacturing process of gaskets?
A) Well if you must use laser cutting for your gaskets, then I'm assuming you're using aluminum or thin steel. Either way, you're going to start with drawing up your print (CAD or DXF, DWG files are good) and send them over to us. We get a pricing on material, the process used, and labor and send it out to you. Once you confirm that you're ready to go, we put the project into production with whatever steps necessary. Since almost all our machinery is CNC compatible, your drawings go straight to the production floor and get used to produce your parts. When the process is complete, we clean up the parts (remove any extra abrasive) and send them through our shipping department to get back to the customer. It's a pretty simple process and usually pretty quick as well. If you're not sure on whether you should use laser cutting or waterjet cutting, compare the two of them here...
Q) I'd like to get some custom letters cut. Could Fedtech do this?
A) We love signage projects. In fact, you can visit here to see a bunch that we've done in the past. Typically we waterjet or laser cut your signs from copper, brass, aluminum, plastic, stainless steel... etc.
Q) How thick can a laser cut? (This question was asked four times so it must need to be addressed)
A) Laser cuts aluminum up to 1/8" thick and stainless steel and carbon steel up to 5/8" thick.
Q) What is the best aluminum material for laser cutting?
A) This is a great question. Most aluminums cut the same on the laser, we haven't seen a difference in results with the different types of aluminum that has been laser cut.
Well that's all for this week! Thanks for checking in. Check back again soon :)
Sarah
Monday, March 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Some thoughts, some answers, some fun stuff from Fedtech
Good afternoon everyone! I am probably a little behind in blogging this week but it's been pretty busy so you'll just have to get used to it! There've been some cool projects going on lately (as I'm sure you probably would have guessed) and I've got some good photos to just throw out here today. So instead of doing a focused case study, I'll just do little blurbs for each photo and I think it should be pretty fun!
Now how cool is this shield to the right? Waterjet cut from wood and aluminum and assembled at our shop. The fun part about it, was that it was done for two Air Force members for their wedding! Now we don't know the whole story behind their relationship, but to have something this cool at their wedding is definiately something to be proud of.
These silicone rubber parts were .25" thick and were custom made. The gaskets used non-abrasive (water-only) waterjet cutting to keep the white silicone rubber nice and clean.
We really have a good time with the projects here, and each one is always a new experience. We've been open since 1996 and the stories that the guys have to tell about projects they've done in the past; it's always something different!
Question of the Week
Q) I need a metal screen/filtration part. Is that within the scope of Fedtech's work?
A) Absolutely. We have done so much work with filtration parts, perforated plate and screen fabrication that we welcome any type of part in that industry. If you're interested in seeing more, you can visit a page on our website dedicated specifically to perforated material.
Believe it or not, that is our question of the week! We didn't have many curious people last week so this is a short list! Hope all is well and take care!
Sarah
Fedtech, Inc.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Fabulous Fedtech Feels like Florida
It's been so warm here in Minnesota, it may just get confused for Florida... We've been loving the weather and it finally feels like Spring time is here! Most snow is melted and if you ignore the otherwise constant rain we've been getting, it's kind of nice!
Things inside the shop have been moving right along. The new press brake has been working wonders with armor plating and with it, we've been pressin on. (pun intended) The waterjets have been busy with mostly gaskets and flanges (both large and small) these days. The lasers have been pretty focused on thin aluminum projects along with some stainless steel work. Most of the mind-boggling work comes off the waterjets, since they can cut through a variety of material types and thicknesses.
I've been pretty busy designing the new website and putting the finishing touches on it before it goes into production. I can't give any secrets out, but let's just say that it will look like a whole new website... I'm VERY excited - the makeover is long past due.
View our website 5 years ago - View our current website
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK
Q) I have 1/2" stainless steel, should I use laser or waterjet?
A) It depends on when you'd need the parts. Sometimes lead times vary depending on how busy the waterjets or lasers are. However, if the lead times are equal, you might opt to use laser cutting as it often times costs less. At the same time, laser cutting does entail heat affected zones, so depending on the application, you may want to look into weighing the pro's and con's of each here.
Q) Can aluminum be cut with water-only waterjet?
A) Although tempting, you're not going to want to proceed with that idea. Water-only waterjet would leave rough edges on aluminum and is not able to cut through the material like abrasive waterjet can. Aluminum is better left for abrasive waterjet or laser cutting (depending on the thickness).
Q) I have a retail design that I'd like to cut from glass, can I do this with waterjet?
A) Absolutely. We've cut glass with abrasive waterjet before and can definitely look at your prints to see if your project is another success story waiting to happen.
Q) What are the odds of warping material when using waterjet vs. laser cutting?
A) Waterjet will not warp the material, and seldom does laser cutting warp material.
That's all the time that I have this week for questions. Now I have to end this here, but check back for more updates soon!
Ta ta for now,
Sarah
I've been pretty busy designing the new website and putting the finishing touches on it before it goes into production. I can't give any secrets out, but let's just say that it will look like a whole new website... I'm VERY excited - the makeover is long past due.
View our website 5 years ago - View our current website
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK
Q) I have 1/2" stainless steel, should I use laser or waterjet?
A) It depends on when you'd need the parts. Sometimes lead times vary depending on how busy the waterjets or lasers are. However, if the lead times are equal, you might opt to use laser cutting as it often times costs less. At the same time, laser cutting does entail heat affected zones, so depending on the application, you may want to look into weighing the pro's and con's of each here.
Q) Can aluminum be cut with water-only waterjet?
A) Although tempting, you're not going to want to proceed with that idea. Water-only waterjet would leave rough edges on aluminum and is not able to cut through the material like abrasive waterjet can. Aluminum is better left for abrasive waterjet or laser cutting (depending on the thickness).
Q) I have a retail design that I'd like to cut from glass, can I do this with waterjet?
A) Absolutely. We've cut glass with abrasive waterjet before and can definitely look at your prints to see if your project is another success story waiting to happen.
Q) What are the odds of warping material when using waterjet vs. laser cutting?
A) Waterjet will not warp the material, and seldom does laser cutting warp material.
That's all the time that I have this week for questions. Now I have to end this here, but check back for more updates soon!
Ta ta for now,
Sarah
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