Being First

usiness managers in industries such as energy, mining, shipbuilding, road and bridge, and water treatment came to Makita asking if a grinder could be engineered with a non-removable guard feature. In response, the company developed a first-in-concept hand-held angle grinder with a non-removable guard.

Right now, two Makita models are offered with this feature: the 4½ in. Paddle Switch Angle Grinder (model GA4553R) and the 4½ to 5 in. Paddle Switch Angle Grinder (GA5053R). These new grinders are part of the compact industrial class, which are widely used for grinding, surfacing and cutting applications in metal fabrication and construction.

mproper planning and unrefined processes are major factors in creating unnecessary downtime in a fabrication shop. A typical project can make its way through several stops and departments before it gets sent out the door, making communication and preparation among employees a necessary part of smooth operations.

“Planning how a job will be executed is critical for a cost-effective fabrication process,” says Spencer Garbs, director of manufacturing for WB Industries, a custom metal and structural fabrication, welding, and precision machining company based in O’Fallon, Missouri. “Improper or inconsistent planning can take the form of missing dimensions, inaccurate cut lists and incorrectly ordered material—among other things. These result in material supply issues, insufficient blueprints, quality concerns, which all lead to production downtime and negative financial impacts.”

n 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus authored a paradigm shift in planetary motion when he presented his heliocentric theory in which the Earth and other planets rotated around the sun. Albert Einstein created a new paradigm when he moved beyond Newtonian physics, the description of mechanical events, with his theory of relativity and introduction of quantum physics, which is the study of atomic and subatomic particles.

As an exclusive North American distributor for bending rolls, ironworkers and tube punching equipment, Trilogy Machinery Inc. is also looking to change established patterns, in particular with new technology from its SweBend line of bending rolls. “Plate and angle bending rolls are traditionally machines that require an experienced eye,” says Matt Weeks, product manager for Trilogy. “SweBend is finding ways to offer solutions that break that paradigm by providing equipment that can roll perfect parts without the need for skilled operators.”

he use of abrasives to shape, polish or grind material has a long and storied history. Use of the first circular grinding tool was recorded in 2100 B.C. when an Egyptian engineer mounted a wheel on a crude lathe and used it to grind bronze tools and ornaments. The first coated abrasives were comprised of crushed seashells affixed to parchment with an organic adhesive. In 2020, the global abrasive market was estimated at $34.41 billion.

Norton | Saint-Gobain Abrasives has been instrumental in modernizing the field and developing a wide range of innovative yet economical products. The abrasives manufacturer also invests in research and development and collaboration with customers to create solutions that deliver the performance, efficiency and productivity companies need.

nventory cannot sit idle at Steel and Pipe Supply’s four service centers, which run 13 saws. “Your best money maker is to keep that steel moving,” says Ed Bare, service center manager, Catoosa, Oklahoma. “We need to get the steel on and off the saws quickly. The in- and out-feed step of our cutting process is crucial.”

Steel and Pipe Supply most recently purchased an HE&M WF190 saw that can cut 40-in.-wide steel beams. “We bought the saw from HE&M but decided to have a different manufacturer make the in-feed and out-feeds to save on costs. It turned into a disaster,” says Bare. “We had to shut down cutting operations [on that saw] while HE&M came in and retrofitted it with their feeds. After that, we were immediately up and running.”

t takes careful timing and skill to maneuver steel plate ranging in size from 10 ft. to 70 ft. long. A process of hooks and chains to handle plate created a standing bottleneck for one fabricator specializing in everything from manufacturing boilers to structural steel building components. “We found we were creating the bottleneck when offloading the supply truck, as well as loading and unloading the cutting table,” says Zach Mendenhall, Vancouver facility manager at Greenbery Industrial. Delays as well as worker safety concerns led the manufacturer to Magswitch.

After speaking to Magswitch, Greenbery found that a fail-safe system would be capable of lifting the range of 3/16-in. up to 2-in.-thick plate. “We explored electromagnets and understood there was a concern with dropping the plate when a power failure occurs,” Mendenhall says. “We also looked at vacuum systems but the longevity—or lack of—and maintenance that comes with it was not appealing.”