Bending expanded metal

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I'm building 60 covers for abs valve for pneumatic trailers.The "jig"First bend setupFirst bend completeSecond bend setupSecond bend complete (next post)
Reply:Completed bendsI'm going to build hem in batches of 20They are going to have round bar follow the bends and flat bad on the other ends with hose for mouning
Reply:Are you using a rosebud to heat the length you are bending?
Reply:Yes.......
Reply:for the cost of the acetylene you could almost have them formed at a local sheet metal shop and save the time.   you could also have them sheared to size at the same time and save that hassleVantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Yes, shear and press brake. Those services are dirt cheap on something that simple.
Reply:Simpler, and sometimes cheaper, to farm it out.ButIn house is sometimes faster, and more accurate (sad to say).  Reason I plunked down some serious change for the plasma was because the guys who have done my shearing  sometimes (more like USUALLY) get it wrong.  Something about the "back gage" is the explanation I usually get when the stupid stuff is off by about 1/8-3/16 out of square.I think maybe they push too much stuff through their shop to make more money, and maybe also to keep their cost down.  And it depends on the guy running the machine.  I've stood there and watched.  One guy, who used to be a machinist before he got layed off and started at the steel supply place, is meticulous about his settings, but it takes longer.  The other guys just ram it through.They also now have a computer nerd working there too  All he does is run their plasma table it seems.  I think there must be a learning curve in this case.  I've looked at a lot of their production runs, and there's a lot of ruined parts involved in the setup I'm assuming.  Mainly out of square edges (you know how plasma tends to cut back the edges at an angle).  Something about the parameters I'm thinking.  I looked at the air pressure setting on the machine, and they keep it cranked at 90psi   Dunno if that's because their compressor won't keep up with demand, or maybe they feel they get better results at the higher pressure.  I've always heard that 75psi is optimal."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by Jimmy_popYes, shear and press brake. Those services are dirt cheap on something that simple.
Reply:It for our own trailers....If it can be done in house, it will be, no matter the cost."We're going to save money no matter how much it cost"I'm not complaining because it keeps me out from under a truck.We build all of our own equipment.We print out own t shirts.We bought  a pump manufacturing plant for the frac pumps.Hell, they even bought a Mack dealership.
Reply:Originally Posted by BD1Yes, it maybe. However ,  by doing in house you keep YOUR PEOPLE WORKING. Hopefully your making money on the deal. I was with a shop and the owner did just that. He gave us work to keep us there even if he could have farmed it out. We all respected that.
Reply:Originally Posted by welding_kid+1, this is the way to get USA back working. nevermind all the expected crazy profits, make a few $$ and keep US citizens working in the USA.why does Apple have more cash then fed reserve? greedy bastards appeasing shareholders while over-charging for hyped product that does little to enhance business processes; that's why.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jimmy_popI dont pretend to know his back story. Who knows if he is the owner or the laborer at a shop where the owner wants him to go through extensive labor and grief to bend/build 60 sets of expanded metal with a torch and angle iron.He is asking for help so obviously he is open to suggestions. He is probably actually looking for a small tip to make his life easier and still do it himself. I am too much of a fit/finish perfectionist & tool whore to offer him any real answers. When I see 60 pieces of anything, my mind goes into JIG and production mode. Shearing 60 pieces and bending would take a shop about 2-3 hours or $180-$250. I dont buy into the whole evil-corporate-America mob mentality of broke people. Companies have to operate in the black and have a balanced budget. They provide a valuable good or service or they GO AWAY permanently. The govt. does not operate one single enterprise that operates in the black. Your first paragraph is all nice, warm and fuzzy but that's about it. Banks and the auto industry do not count as normal private biz cause unions and the govt are soo far up their a$$, making it too much of a mess to be on par with the normal private sector. There is always exceptions to this. There are corporate corrupts just like I am sure there are cities or counties out there that operate on a balanced budget or are debt free. werd!
Reply:Nice work and good way to improvise with what you have!
Reply:"I dont buy into the whole evil-corporate-America mob mentality of broke people. Companies have to operate in the black and have a balanced budget"I suppose that's why we had to bail out some pretty big banks, and the mortgage banking system failed, and housing market blew up.......................................  Gotta luv those big business responsible citizens"He is asking for help so obviously he is open to suggestions. He is probably actually looking for a small tip to make his life easier and still do it himself."  I don't recall anybody asking for help"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by AMC724I'm building 60 covers for abs valve for pneumatic trailers.The "jig"
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersamm  I don't recall anybody asking for help
Reply:All 60 "cages" done.Waiting on the flat bar (Monday) to complete.Here's the prototype I built, they like everything, but wanted the cage wider.I'm not going I get in on the arguments, I know my boss won't outsource anything. So I don't ask anymore.
Reply:Nice work. I spent all my high school years in Aledo. Just noticed you were from WS. small world.
Reply:Aledo is where I work.The stack with 2 and the tall stack, I bent after attaching the round bar to the edges. It was faster but I had to use more muscle. And a little hammering to faness (spell?).The 2 are singled out because I adjust the "back stop on the break" after those 2
Reply:first off those look fun to make. I love developing processes to produce high volume production a nice little press break jig or a DIY pan break would benefit this process greatly by improving work flow, increasing efficiency by decreasing time per unit and increase overall profits. on topic of the off topic subject... instead of everyone worrying about how to keep jobs in the US, maybe they should embrace the reality of a globalized economy. There is a theory in economics called interdependence. This theory can be realized on both a Micro or a Macro level. It is when multiple companies or countries realize that they have a strength or efficiency in producing one type of necessitated good while another can produce another necessitated good more efficiently. This creates that interdependence. and increases the economic position of both companies or countries. It would be taking a step in the reverse direction to cut ties with the other team and revert back to the old ways. now this isn't to say that it should never be done, I am just saying that for true long term growth you must move forward and not backward. The globalized economy is a great opportunity for the entire world to increase GDP across the board. It also provides great opportunity for every individual to start their own entrepreneurial endeavors because of the reduced market entry barriers for almost every market. The down fall is that there are a lot more perfectly competitive markets (markets that are price driven with little to no product differentiation)  That is why the world has seen so much innovation and product development, because people are pushing the envelope to find that opportunity to change market types and move from perfectly competitive markets to better markets such as monopolistic competitive markets. The companies unwilling to accept the idea of outsourcing things are fighting the movement and will eventually become obsolete. A company should always follow the rules of marginal costs and opportunity costs, and find labor hours for their employees in the processes that they are most efficient at. If that is not possible then it is time to either find a way to make it possible by bringing in more work, downsizing, or labor disbursement that is equal to your labor force.Last edited by mr2turbo7; 06-17-2013 at 03:49 AM.
Reply:Here's the first batch completed.There were 21, but some have already been installed.Here are the next 21I wish they would have been all identical.Even though they were all made on the same jig, that all have small variances.