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Advanced Sheet Metal Applications
2952 Doaks Ferry Road N.W.
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-399-7514
Sales Contact
Steven Benson
President
Email: Steve@asmachronicle.com
Sales: 503-399-7514
Recent Content on The Fabricator for Advanced Sheet Metal Applications
- From The Fabricator
Reclaiming the disappearing press brake knowledge in your shop
- By Steve Benson
- Jan 14, 2010
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Expensive options on a press brake won't guarantee knowledge transfer from a veteran press brake operator to a shop floor rookie. For knowledge transfer to occur, a shop needs experienced workers that can communicate and a younger work force eager to learn because they see a future in metal fabricating.
- From The Fabricator
The tao of forming order
- By Steve Benson
- Jun 12, 2007
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Is the starting position of the flat part facing the wrong way or upside down to your natural flow? Are you working from left to right when your natural motion is right to left? If you are, you're fighting the current rather than letting the current do the work. Set up the press brake in such a manner that you work with your natural flow; by not interrupting your "chi."
- From The Fabricator
Taking the danger out of bottom bending
- By Steve Benson
- Mar 7, 2006
- Bending and Forming
- Article
It is all too easy to ruin a tool or upset a ram if bottom bending is done incorrectly, which is why many manufacturers do not recommend bottom bending when using their equipment or tooling. Understanding V-die selection and the effects of your decisions should be first and foremost in any bending operation, including bottom bending.
- From The Fabricator
Oversized V dies: the effects on bottom bending
- By Steve Benson
- Aug 9, 2005
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Using oversized V dies in bottom bending can damage press brakes and tooling, but used properly, these dies can help compensate for springback.
- From The Fabricator
It's all about tool selection -- or is it?
- By Steve Benson
- May 10, 2005
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Figure 1 The radius gauge fits squarely into the bend. Air forming, bottom bending, and coining are different forming methods that can be used to create various bends—sharp, radius, and profound-radius. Throw in a mix of operators and engineers with different ideas of what each...
- From The Fabricator
Safety faux pas
- By Steve Benson
- Feb 8, 2005
- Safety
- Article
Figure 1 No Triggering Device Protection In the more than 25 years that I've been in the precision sheet metal trade, I have seen many examples of safety faux pas. Most were mistakes and oversights committed because of inattentiveness, lack of training, and inexperience. However,...
- From The Fabricator
Skilled workers make new press brake technology even more valuable
- By Steve Benson
- Sep 14, 2004
- Shop Management
- Article
This article grew out of an FMA discussion board posting about new press brake controllers and software in which someone asked, "Do I really need all of these bells and whistles?" A profound fact of today's technology-intensive world is that skilled press brake operators are now unnecessary. After...
- From The Fabricator
Air forming and V-die selection
- By Steve Benson
- May 4, 2004
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Air forming, bottom bending, and coining are metal forming methods. Air forming, the most common, is a three-point operation. The actual inside radius produced is based on a percentage of the V-die width, regardless of the sharp–radius relationship. Selecting the correct die width can be...
- From The Fabricator
Building the perfect tool cabinet
- By Steve Benson
- Mar 25, 2004
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Have you ever wondered about the best way to store your press brake tooling? An expensive part of your press brake operation, tooling is damaged enough just by daily wear and tear and accidents. You don't want to damage it further by storing it improperly.
- From The Fabricator
Why should you care about inside bend radii?
- By Steve Benson
- Jan 29, 2004
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Operators, designers, and engineers, why should you care about the inside bend radius if the customer doesn't? Because, ultimately, just how easy or difficult it is to produce a part depends on decisions made during the design stage. Misunderstanding terminology, process capabilities, or production methods can lead to mistakes that can make production more difficult. The most common mistake is incorrectly calculating and achieving the correct minimum inside bend radius.
- From The Fabricator
John Henry's last challenge or a Rube Goldberg device?
- By Steve Benson
- Sep 10, 2003
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Picking the right press brake has never been an easy task and it continues to get harder all the time. New hydraulic systems offer unbelievable control and sophisticated hydraulic valving that were unimaginable just a few short years ago.
- From The Fabricator
Die width selection
- By Steve Benson
- Jul 24, 2003
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Most designers and engineers usually place very little importance on achieving the correct inside radius of a formed part. Why? Because the functionality of the part is unaffected if the specified inside radius is 0.062 in. and actual measured inside radius is 0.078 in. So why do we care about...
- From The Fabricator
Managers are not necessarily leaders
- By Steve Benson
- Jun 26, 2003
- Shop Management
- Article
Often we are told that leadership is the key to the success of any business or organization. What is leadership? Is it the same as management? And what separates would-be or so-so leaders from world-class leaders?
- From The Fabricator
Making your own punch and dies
- By Steve Benson
- May 29, 2003
- Bending and Forming
- Article
How many times have you looked through huge piles of blueprints for a prototype part or short-run job and thought, "If only I had that tool, this job would be a piece of cake?"
- From The Fabricator
Gauging difficult parts at the press brake
- By Steve Benson
- Mar 27, 2003
- Bending and Forming
- Article
Gone are the days when engineers and draftsmen slaved for hours over drafting boards with a pencil and slide rule in hand (does anyone remember slide rules?). Today we've moved beyond slide rules and even beyond hand-held calculators to personal computers and mainframes to do much, if not all, of our design work. CAD and CAM software has made this possible.
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