Fabtech 2015 expo highlights latest manufacturing technology in its largest event to date
FABTECH 2015 gave manufacturers a good idea of state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, along with a glimpse of what to expect in the years to come.
Software played a dominant role in this year’s exhibits, especially for machine tools that operate with minimal manual input.
Additionally, the show served as the venue for the “Best Welder in America” contest. Winners included: Aaron Oetken, a self-employed welder/fabricator from Mediapolis, Iowa; Tom Ruge, a student at Gateway Technical College, Racine, Wisconsin; and Andrew Miller, a welding engineer with Caterpillar from Dunlap, Illinois.
In all, 1,700 exhibiting companies showed their wares. The event, held November 9-12 at McCormick Place in Chicago, attracted 43,836 attendees from more than 90 countries. Here is a sample of what they saw:
Lincoln’s new Flextec 350X is a rugged, multi-process power source for flexibility and harsh environments. It handles all wire, DC stick and DC TIG processes and is compatible with multiple wire-feeder types, including across-the-arc, analog, digital or CrossLinc wire feeders. CrossLinc technology uses a proprietary communication protocol to maintain voltage control at the feeder, while eliminating an extra cable. The result is greater safety, quality and productivity.
With an output range of 5 to 500 amps, the Flextec 350X is rated at 450 amps, 38 volts at 60 percent duty cycle or 400 amps, 36 volts at 100 percent duty cycle. Lightweight and portable, the compact new model weighs only 77 pounds.
The company also introduced its Process Z for welding galvanized materials. The process involves reducing weld porosity while maintaining rapid travel speeds. Operators may use standard, constant-voltage power sources running DC-negative polarity to achieve higher travel speeds and lower porosity compared to solid wire. Or, they can push throughput and quality to the maximum by combining Metalshield Z with Lincoln Electric’s Power Wave advanced process welding power sources. The company’s Rapid Z waveform, tailored for zinc applications, can push travel speeds beyond 55 inches per minute, with zero surface porosity, and less than 1 percent internal porosity. www.lincolnelectric.com
Fixture from a trailer manufacturer. The WeldPro 360 MIG welding boom is the product of a trailer manufacturer who wanted a better way to position welding guns. His answer was this boom that provides 360° coverage. The double-articulating boom, combined with a fully rotating pedestal mount, provides a wide range of positioning flexibility.
Beyond the positioning, the WeldPro connects to a manufacturer’s network to capture data that can be analyzed to give companies a better idea of weld costs and productivity. Designed to integrate with Lincoln power supplies and software, the WeldPro 360 offers eight preset welding schedules, any of which can be selected by clicking the trigger on the weld gun.
It is a product of Anderson Industries in Adelanto, California. They company also manufactures gooseneck and tag trailers. www.andersenmp.com
The Rebel EMP 215ic, a 120V-230V, CC/CV welding system also offers location flexibility, lightweight portability and a new operator interface. The sMIG (“smart MIG”) function enables users to begin MIG welding just by setting metal thickness and wire diameter. There is no need to enter information for shielding gas mix.
The Rebel can be used for MIG, flux-cored, lift TIG and stick welding. It has two operating modes, basic and advanced, that make welding easy for beginners or lets those with more experience fine-tune parameters.
Operators interact with the Rebel using a control that combines traditional weld parameter adjustments with the functionality of a smart phone.
The Rebel accepts 4- and 8-inch diameter wire spools, runs .023- to .035-inch diameter wires and enables users to switch from 230V to 120V primary power simply by connecting the supplied adapter plug. www.esab.com
Heads and tails. Red-D-Arc demonstrated how this 10-ton capacity head stock and tail stock positioner can make welding this aluminum dump body a little easier. It provides a vertical lift as well as rotation. A 1.1-kW motor provides the power. www.red-d-arc.com
Fiber laser. The Whitney 6g Fiber Laser Cutting Machine Tool is designed for high speed laser cutting. It comes with polymer granite base, carbon fiber bridge, and linear drive motors provide a stable platform that can handle up to 6g of acceleration and positioning speeds of up to 9,843 inches per minute. Its 12kW of fiber laser power and the Whitney Rapid-Pierce technology can cut up to 1” plate. Linear drive motors offer positioning speeds of up to 9,843 inches per minute and positioning accuracy of ±0.001”. www.megafab.com
Quick uppercut. Scotchman Industries introduced this upcut saw. By coming up from below the table instead of down from above, safety is improved, says Michael Robbins. The saw can handle 20-inch blades. The GAA-500-90 saw has powered hood lift, adjustable cutting and feed speeds, and is mounted on a base designed to collect the chips generated by cutting aluminum. www.scotchman.com
Cut and flange. Cole-Tuve Inc displayed this combination flanging and circle shear. Available in two models, the SDK-6 can handle ¼-inch material, while the SDK-8 can fabricate 5/15-inch steel. Built in Turkey by Sahinler Metal Makine Endustri, it is available in the U S from Cole-Tuve, White Marsh MD. www.coletuve.com
