Manufacturing – CAB Worldwide

Why You Should Always Design For Manufacturability

CAB Worldwide — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 13:32:54 +0000

Why You Should Always Design For Manufacturability

Have you ever come up with an idea for a new product? It’s an exciting process that involves a lot of brainstorming and thought. But much of the thinking is usually geared toward how the product will be used, rather than how it will be made.

Functionality and form are definitely important considerations, but don’t neglect the manufacturing component! Design for Manufacturability (DFM) is the process of designing products while taking into account how they will be put together. The goal is to make manufacturing as easy as possible. This may require some re-designs and complete overhauls along the way, but has a number of benefits (especially if you embrace this technique from the start).

DFM can save considerable time and money. Reducing the number of components, for example, can often reduce costs and production time. There’s also the benefit of less labor required to put everything together, which can lead to further cost savings. Material selection is another area where costs can be cut down, choosing materials that have the necessary qualities but may be cheaper or easier to source than others.

If a component requires machining, choosing a softer material will save time since it’s easier to work with. Finding a way to eliminate machined parts or features will cut down production time even further. There are numerous points where you’ll be able to think of options that cut down on production time and costs.

While all of this may seem like a burden, increasing time to market through additional planning, it’s actually the opposite. By eliminating snags before they happen and making the process as simple as possible, products can be brought to life more quickly and at a lower cost. This in turn creates more value in the final product, which can then be passed along to your customers.

If you’d like some help in determining where you can simplify your own manufacturing process, feel free to reach out to our experts.

OUR EXPERIENCE AT AWEA WINDPOWER 2014

CAB Worldwide — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 13:23:28 +0000

OUR EXPERIENCE AT AWEA WINDPOWER 2014

This past May, we had the pleasure of attending the AWEA WINDPOWER 2014 conference in Las Vegas. It was a great experience for us to learn from other exhibitors and network with the many attendees.

It’s no secret that 2013 was an impressive year for the U.S. wind power industry—approximately 4.1% of the electricity generated in the U.S. came from wind power in 2013, compared to 3.4% in 2012, according to American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

This event is a yearly conference and exhibition that brings together the biggest names in wind energy for four days of exhibits, sessions, and speeches. This year’s event was held May 5-8 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Everyone involved enjoyed this fantastic conference, at a wonderful venue. Conference highlights included:

36 concurrent sessions with seven tracks
Three general sessions
Close to 200 speakers and moderators
An overflowing exhibit hall open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day

Attendees enjoyed the awesome facilities of the Mandalay, including the Michael Jackson ONE Cirque du Soleil show, gaming, and the Mandalay Shark Reef along with all of the excitement that Las Vegas offers.

If you are planning to attend the AWEA WINDPOWER 2015 conference, visit the Wind Power Expo website here. The 2015 conference will be held May 18-21, 2015 in Orlando, Florida.

We’re excited for another great event, as it is the perfect opportunity to show off our industry-leading wind tower components and capabilities, including wind tower flanges, foundation embed and template rings, door and vent frames, transportation saddle fabrication, gear rings, and forged main shafts.

CELEBRATING MANUFACTURING DAY 2014

CAB Worldwide — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 13:21:33 +0000

CELEBRATING MANUFACTURING DAY 2014

Manufacturing plays an important role in our country, contributing trillions of dollars to the national economy each year. In fact, manufacturers in America are the most productive in the world, with a worker productivity rate far exceeding similarly developed countries. As manufacturing continues to play an important role in our countries economy, workforce, and daily life, we plan to celebrate manufacturing on October 3^rd, national manufacturing day.

October is manufacturing month and a time to celebrate the wonderful contributions that America’s manufacturers have made to our country. It is also a time to highlight the challenges and successes of our country in recent years. Manufacturing day on October 3^rd is meant to address common misperceptions about the industry and educate the population about what manufacturers do. Specifically, manufacturing day can give individual manufacturers an opportunity for their voice to be heard by others. When individual manufacturers come together they can better address any issues that are collectively facing.

U.S. manufacturers have more reasons to celebrate, according to Markit, U.S. factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in over four years in August 2014. Additionally, the preliminary numbers for output increased from 59.7 to 60.2 from July 2014 to August 2014. All of these factors are making U.S. manufacturers happy because it could mean even more good news as the months go on and into the New Year.

As a leading manufacturer and distributor of steel pipe flanges, wind tower flanges and industrial castings and forgings, we are passionate about our nation’s manufacturing industry and want to see it succeed. Along with other events and programs geared towards advancing U.S. manufacturing, we’re excited to participate and support manufacturing day in 2014.

THE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE

CAB Worldwide — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 13:10:12 +0000

THE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE

Chinks in the Armor

In Los Angeles schools alone, a whopping 90% of shop classes have been wiped away from existence. Imagine if the district’s 660,000 students were still to have access to what are now becoming in-demand skills. This issue is exemplified in the technical trades such as welding and manufacturing, and the growing skills gap is an unfortunate trend seen not only in Southern California, but across the entire country.

A Degree but no American Dream

It is particularly noteworthy that almost half of all college graduates are not working in the kinds of careers for which they received their degrees. Often these people are working in the types of jobs that don’t require four-year degrees. Meanwhile, there aren’t nearly enough trained machinists or welders.

There are many unemployed college graduates facing mountains of school debt with no viable way of paying it back. There is nothing wrong with being a barista or a retail worker, but college degree holders who are in these positions are hardly going to soon attain the dream of home ownership or the goal of ultimately raising a family of their own.

Many in this kind of a predicament might have been far happier with a two-year trade or technical school education providing the training and skills necessary to obtain a well-paying, dependable and long-lasting job. Welders, machinists, and other technical positions are usually good paying and steady jobs that could be appropriate and effective for young people.

Time to Rally

Companies like CAB Worldwide, a leading manufacturer of carbon and stainless steel pipe flanges, often find themselves scrambling to seek qualified labor to fill empty positions. The truth of being a welder or a machinist these days is that old stereotypes no longer apply. These jobs are often quite hi-tech, and the compensation is substantial. Living the American Dream is tantalizingly in reach as a skilled, well-trained welder or machinist. It’s time we got back to encouraging and honoring skilled labor. Let’s not forget that it was people such as these who built America.

WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING?

CAB Worldwide — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 13:07:31 +0000

WHAT IS REVERSE ENGINEERING?

As a leader in manufacturing and global sourcing of industrial castings and forgings, we occasionally have customers who have legacy parts with no drawings, or who are interested in a redesign and need to document their original product design. Reverse engineering methods are used to develop this product information.

We recently worked with a customer that could not provide drawings, CAD models, or material composition for quoting and manufacturing of components no longer available from the original equipment manufacturer.

Our team performed a reverse engineering study using laser scanning equipment to develop parasolid models of the components. We then used the 3D models to create 2D drawings of the components based on dimensions and geometric tolerances to be used during the manufacturing process. Destructive metallurgical testing was then performed to identify the material’s chemical and physical properties.

Once reverse engineering is complete, the data can be used in computer models to further analyze the performance and manufacturability of the part. Today’s reverse engineering process benefits from the use of sophisticated tools such as 3D scanning and computer modeling.

CAB’s ability to diagnose and reverse engineer our customers’ products using the latest technology sets us apart from our competitors. With our team of experienced engineers specializing in foundry processes, metallurgy and machining, we have strong skills to help our customers develop high quality and competitively priced products used “Design For Manufacturing” (DFM) methods. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you today.