August 2021

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING HIGH PRESSURE DRY AIR?
There have been significant improvements in both speed and quality using high or low pressure dry air systems. This change has been occurring on flat lasers for the last few years and now BLM GROUP is leading the way in processing tube with air as well.
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WHAT KIND OF GAS IS BEST FOR CERTAIN MATERIALS OR THICKNESSES? WHY?
The power level really controls which gases can be used with different material types: Aluminum, Stainless, & Mild Steel
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February 2020

WHAT IS A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?
Digital Transformation is the process of solving business problems with digital technology instead of traditional methods. Digital information can be easily indexed and studied for trends to increase business intelligence and identify areas of risk.
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WHAT’S THE VALUE OF A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR A JOB SHOP?
Many job shops fear a digital system could not accommodate the variety of work they do. They also feel Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are intended for large manufacturing operations, would require customizations, and are overkill for their small to mid-size business.
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February 2020

WHAT ARE YOUR MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS?
To ensure the tooling is correct for your application, it’s critical to know your material specifications when requesting a quote. The properties of each material react differently when being bent or formed. Part of the material and the final part is figuring out the wall factor.
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WHAT TYPE OF TOLERANCE DOES YOUR PART REQUIRE?
There are three factors that should be considered when discussing tolerance with the tooling supplier: part tolerance, material tolerance, and the tolerance that “needs” to be held during production. Each is critical to help the supplier make sure the full range of the tolerances will work with the tooling, so you can reach the expected results for the finished part you are processing.
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September 2019

DO I COMPROMISE SPEED WITH A SERVO PRESS?
You could actually discover an increase in productivity depending on how the tool was utilized prior to being placed in a servo press. Servo presses provide the ultimate in flexibility that can provide superior qual-ity and versatility. Although, keep in mind that most immediate productivity gains discovered with a servo press are found through simply changing the length of the stroke.
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WHAT ARE THOSE IMPORTANT AREAS I SHOULD EVALUATE WHEN PURCHASING A SERVO PRESS?
Rated distance off bottom versus speed. This specification often includes an as-terisk in most sales literature due to the limitless combinations of the servo motor’s and drive’s capabilities to supply torque at higher speeds.
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May 2019

WHEN DO I NEED A THICKNESS GAUGE?
a) When measuring thickness to meet material specifications is critical;
b) When documenting compliance with ISO and other quality specifica-tions is important;
c) When providing customers with detailed coil reports and/or S.P.C. data is necessary;
d) When seeking a competitive ad-vantage in markets with tight thickness tolerances;
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WHAT GAUGING SOLUTIONS DOES A.G.T. CURRENTLY OFFER?
We provide non-contact thickness measurement with complete S.P.C. reporting on both our AGT400 and AGT800 gauges. We also offer a lower-cost option for real-time thick-ness measurement only with our AGT600. Soon to be introduced new products include strip mult-width measurement and full sheet width measurement gauges.
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June 2018

HOW DO I DETERMINE IF MY METAL DUST IS FLAMMABLE OR EXPLOSIVE?
Getting your dust tested is the only way to know for sure. These metal dusts are the most hazardous: aluminum, magnesium, carbon steel, stainless steel, niobium, tantalum, titanium, zirconium, and hafnium.
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HOW CAN A DUST COLLECTOR BE ADAPTED TO MY SPECIFIC APPLICATION?
Dust collectors that safely capture welding, plasma and laser fumes/smoke at their source can have many configurations to fit an application. The dust collector size and configuration, cartridge size and type, ducting, and explosion protection equipment should be evaluated for each unique application.
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August 2017

WE HAVE BEEN RUNNING PRESS BRAKES. WHY SHOULD WE INVESTIGATE CNC FOLDING TECHNOLOGY?
Folders don’t actually compete with press brakes; they complement them. When parts become difficult on a press brake because of the physical size or multiple complex bends, a CNC folder will provide some real advantages.
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AREN’T THE FOLDING MACHINES MEANT FOR LARGE BATCH SIZES OR PRODUCTION RUNS?
Older folding machines were dedicated to a certain type of part and were production oriented but didn’t offer flexibility. Today, CNC folding machines have quick tool setup and the ability to drag solid models into the control, lending themselves to lean manufacturing and small batch sizes.
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September 2016

WHAT IS BIN PICKING?
Bin picking is an automation application where the challenge is to automate the removal of oriented parts stored in bins or boxes, resulting in an empty container. Parts can be either nicely stacked or randomly ordered in the bin.
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WHY SHOULD I INTRODUCE ROBOTIC BIN PICKING INTO MY PROCESS?
With reliable robotic bin picking, a machine tool work center could remove the larger part singulation system and replace this with a lower maintenance robot and PLB solution within a smaller footprint. The system's ability to find randomly oriented parts with 3-D vision greatly reduces the need to sort or handle incoming materials.
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September 2016

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY COMPANY NEEDS TO IMPLEMENT A NEW SOLUTION OR UPGRADE OUR CURRENT ONE?
Whatever your business challenges, if you are not addressing those concerns effectively at present and feel like whatever you have done to this point is only a "bandage" providing temporary relief, it is probably time to change the system or technology you are using.
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AREN'T ERP SYSTEMS COMPLEX AND HARD TO USE?
In recent years, the landscape has had a tectonic shift—industry-specific solutions with multiple deployment options that focus not only on features required but also the user experience and how people want to work are the norm. However, with choice, comes the need to be even more diligent and clear about your requirements ahead of time.
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August 2016

WHAT IS THE SMALLEST HOLE THAT CAN BE CUT?
Usually it is fair to say that a 1:1 hole ratio can be cut with plasma. This is in mild steel. Stainless, copper, brass, aluminum, and other alloys may be closer to 1.5:1.
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IS A TWO-TORCH MACHINE, ONE FOR SHEET METAL AND ONE FOR THICKER MATERIAL, A GOOD IDEA? WHY?
Yes! We’ve seen this in a number of shops that run the extreme range of thicknesses. We’ve seen many customers purchase an air plasma AND an HPR on the same gantry system. A combo system. Here is the reason why.
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March 2016

WHY WOULD I ADOPT LASER CUTTING TECHNOLOGY FOR MY PRODUCTION?
Lasers can provide a very flexible method for cutting and engraving parts. These machines are data driven using CAM software to develop machine and process codes for optimizing the results for the material being processed.
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WHAT DIFFERENT TYPES OF LASERS ARE AVAILABLE?
There are a dizzying array of laser types and power levels. For cutting and engraving, the primary two are fiber laser and CO₂ lasers.
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August 2015

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY COMPANY NEEDS TO IMPLEMENT A NEW, OR CHANGE OUR EXISTING, ERP SYSTEM?
Typically, it’s because the company finds itself facing a set of challenges that prevents it from operating as efficiently or as productively as it could.
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WHAT DOES MY COMPANY NEED TO DO PRIOR TO RESEARCHING ERP SYSTEMS AND VENDORS?
Before you start shopping for an ERP system, it’s worth agreeing on your organization’s ERP strategy.
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May 2015

WHAT KIND OF TESTING SHOULD I DO, AT A MINIMUM?
Physical testing that demonstrates how well your product’s performance matches your stated specifications is a must.
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IS ANY MATERIALS TESTING MACHINE TRULY UNIVERSAL?
Technically no, because every machine is defined by capacity/force and customizable with different grips and accessories according to application requirements. However, a universal machine should be able to run a vast range of important tests as specified by ASTM, ISO, and other national and international test standards.
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May 2015

WHY SHOULD COMPANIES CARE ABOUT AUTOMATION WHEN THEY'RE DOING WELL WITH THEIR CURRENT PROCESS?
Any company cutting lengths of metal, or drilling, boring and machining in any way, should care about automation.
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WHAT CAN BE AUTOMATED?
Any repetitive material process can be automated. For ferrous processing, that might mean automating a cold saw, a drill, or maybe a bandsaw.
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October 2014

WHAT ARE THE COMMON METHODS OF MAKING METAL PROTOTYPES?
Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), magnesium thixomolding, metal injection molding (MIM), and computer numerical control (CNC) machining.
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WHAT ARE METAL INJECTION MOLDING (MIM) and DIRECT METAL LASER SINTERING (DMLS)?
MIM makes intricate, fully dense, net-shape, intricate parts while DMLS is an additive manufacturing process that uses a laser system that draws onto a surface of atomized metal powder, welding the powder into a solid.
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September 2014

THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF SLITTING LINES and choosing the right type of line for your application is a critical process. Determining your true needs is the best place to start. Herr-Voss Stamco can answer your questions with issues pertaining to high-strength steels, aluminum requirements, looping pits, shape corrections and more in this slitting lines FAQ.
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