The cutting edge of metal fabrication.
Just because you can draw it in CAD doesn’t mean you can make it. Columnist Caleb Chamberlain imagines a world where this isn’t the case.
When you charge more for rush orders, what happens when you shorten standard lead times? No surprise, fewer people pay for faster delivery, but there’s a big upside.
One model doesn’t fit every business or manufacturing sector
This month’s Tech Talk gives a preview of Next-Gen Metal Fab, FMA’s newest podcast, with episodes featuring conversations between Senior Editor Tim Heston and Caleb Chamberlain, founder of Utah-based custom fabricator OSH Cut.
Imagine a world in which even the smallest metal fabrication shops could write their own custom software. Thanks to AI, that world might not be too far away.
OSH Cut is different, but is it disruptive to the sheet metal manufacturing industry?
Columnist Caleb Chamberlain backward casts his eye, to quote Robert Burns, and delves into the challenges of moving shop, laying bare the best-laid plans of mice and men.
Columnist Caleb Chamberlain recalls the days of the IBM-compatible computer, massive calculators, and a starkly different time in U.S. manufacturing. Things have changed—and mostly for the better.
The Silicon Valley mantra of “move fast and break things” might not apply everywhere in custom metal fabrication, especially when it comes to new equipment. Columnist Caleb Chamberlain just found this out the hard way with a tube laser.
OSH Cut CEO Caleb Chamberlain recalls his experience, and ultimate success, in writing production, inventory, and shipping software for his metal fabrication business.
Fabricators used to buy software in a box. Today, they turn to the cloud. And in the near future, AI tools will change how we interact with computers in ways impossible to foresee.
OSH Cut offers automated quoting for flat sheet cutting and bending. The fabricator now is diving into near-instant quoting for laser tube cutting.
Balancing nesting efficiency against limited work-in-process (WIP) is an ongoing challenge for OSH Cut, a high-mix, on-demand sheet metal manufacturing service. So it developed in-house software that balances nesting efficiency against production needs.
Artificial intelligence will change the world, eventually. Metal fabricators and manufacturers alike still deal in the physical world, though, and to do that, thankfully, they still need humans to be involved.
Healthcare.gov’s disastrous rollout tells metal manufacturers what to avoid when looking into software, its quality, and how it was developed.
How Monte Carlo simulations and a better understanding of data can fuel manufacturers
John Jakomin and the Slip Robotics team are changing the logistics and construction industry, making it more efficient, productive, and safer through advanced automation and robotics.
Data collection and modeling enable metal fabrication shops to grow
Looking for a photo booth experience that will leave your guests in awe? Look no further than OrcaVue, the market leader in the photo booth industry.
The quickest way to solve hiring, retention, and training problems in the skilled trades: livable wages
OSH Cut is rolling out expanded bending support over the next few weeks
What should fabrication shops work on right now when it comes to high-mix scheduling?
Fiasco revealed how critical software has become for modern operations
Rapid metal manufacturing has enabled Sasquatch Campers to develop new products quickly
It’s great to know equipment is running, but it’s also important to know whether it is generating value
Slide rules to Industry 4.0: All tools of the trade in metal manufacturing
At the end of 2022, steel prices are almost back to pre-COVID levels.
Transforming Innovation: How Zack Nelson's DIY Electric Humvee Showcases the Power of Custom Fabrication and Sheet Metal
Technology is enabling faster sheet metal prototyping and shorter lead-times on production sheet metal parts.
Old shops might ask you for a print to make your custom sheet metal part. Here's why quoting from a 3D model is often better.
Why manufacturing brokers will struggle to compete at scale
We are on a mission to offer perfect sheet metal parts, and this week we took a big step!
Everything is changing, and sheet metal is right in the thick of it. The digital transformation will change how people design and order sheet metal parts.
Manufacturing software, buttressed by AI, could change metal fabrication as we know it
After you figure out what you can do with sheet metal, you'll never approach a metal project the same again.
You can get sheet metal parts from a variety of online and traditional vendors. Here's our review of some great options.
Shops everywhere are concerned about global labor and talent shortages. Is there really a labor shortage? Or are people waking up?
We built our sheet metal service to meet the needs of shops, contractors, and engineering companies. Here's how we've changed, and where we are going.
It's incredible what you can build with sheet metal, but often it's not a first choice. Here's why.
Steel prices have dropped 33% since the end of 2021, but are still double pre-COVID prices
Many principles of Lean Manufacturing are enabled by on-demand metal fabrication.
2021 saw dramatic increases in steel and other metal prices, throughout the entire supply chain
In 2018, Jacom and Caleb Chamberlain started OSH Cut to make metal fabrication quicker, easier, and more accessible for customers.
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