Manufacturing and Metal Industry Outlook for 2023 In the manufacturing market, there is a large amount of uncertainty and speculation. With interest rates rising and the talk of a pending recession and then add to this, if not enough, the war in Ukraine. Who knows, it’s all a guess. With that all said, there [...]
FABTECH 2022 is a Major Success. In FABTECH’s second full-blown show since the pandemic, the show did not disappoint and attendance seems to have been the strongest our team has ever seen. The FABTECH Expo is North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event that provides a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ venue where [...]
Piranha Ironworker Machines…What You Need to Know Ironworkers are a necessity in nearly every metal fabrication shop. These machines are the workhorse in most shops and are the go-to machine for punching, shearing, notching, coping, bending many other fabrication processes. With many add-on options for ironworker machines, it can be hard to know which [...]
In a general application, we like to hear that our punches, dies, and other tooling are producing hundreds if not thousands of holes. When punch and die failure happens, our first concern is operator safety, but it can mean losses in production, missed deadlines, and more. But the better question is probably, why are [...]
NASCC Steel Conference Recap 2022 The NASCC Steel Conference 2022 was back and in-person after a two-year hiatus and continued its reputation of being the premier educational and networking event for the structural steel industry. The conference again brought together a diverse audience ranging from structural engineers, steel fabricators, erectors and detailers. Education at [...]
2022 Metal Fabrication Outlook As 2021 wrapped up there were many opportunities, challenges, highs and lows all impacted by the new economic landscape we work in. Has your metal fabrication business thrived during this time? Many haven’t and one of the biggest failures is the lack of planning for potential changes to the industry [...]
What does ISO 9001 Certification Mean for Precision Tooling? You may have heard the term ISO 9001 and if you are like most aren’t quite sure what it is or why ISO 9001 certification is important to you. When American Punch first started the ISO 9001 certification process back in 2009, we were concerned [...]
It’s important to find the right punch and die manufacturer that you can rely on. Your punches and dies are at the core of your metalworking operation. There are several characteristics that identify a reliable manufacturer. Large Inventory You’ll want to find a supplier with a large inventory in stock and ready to ship. [...]
Avoiding punch failure to boost performance and worker safety should always be a priority. Even though punches are made of hardened steel designed to withstand extreme pressures, they eventually will wear out. But they shouldn’t break. When punches do break, it’s important to understand what happened and why. Manufacturing defects are very rarely the [...]
Let's talk about shoulder punches. Many punch manufacturers have a “heavy-duty” tooling series option for their shoulder punches. It makes sense because any time a punching application exceeds 20,000 psi, you’re running the risk of breaking the punch head. Punch heads break for two primary reasons: Improper fit of the punch body to the [...]
