The blending of computers, robotics and metalworking has revolutionized the steel fabrication process. This technological advancement has become necessary in the manufacturing industry to meet the increase demands for high quality equipment and automobiles.

Innovative software allows fabricators to design machines with meticulous specification. They can also measure metal surfaces with the help of scanning equipment and micro-calipers. Even revolutionized 3D scanners can provide fabricators with a facsimile that shows greater depth accuracy.

Some design programs now allow a user to test and alter the designs before producing products like tools and die-cast stamps. This proves to be a major time and cost effective method because it allows them to look for flaws, if any, before precious resources are wasted.

Equipment innovation isn’t always about creating tools that can make the job easier. Some effort must also go to the safety of the machine operator as well. Modern grinders allow fabricators to move equipment weightlessly while cutting. Others can provide shielding from flying metal debris. Tools that focus on protecting the welder from fumes and spark are a plus, and technology is continuing to improve to enhance the safety features in equipment used by metal cutting operators.

Traditional welding techniques force operators to make multiple stops in order to reposition their equipment or metal sheet. This is not only annoying but time consuming. However, new welding carriages now allow for continuous welding of lap joints and corners, making way for a smoother and more productive finish on items like pipe fabrication, which has a great deal of curvature.

Advancement in laser technology also allows users to cut through thicker metal. This is especially helpful with a metal fabrication process known as grinding, which can put a strain on a fabricators’ body and increase the risk of injury.

With the help of human operators, robotic applications in metal fabrication have considerably reduced the time and manpower it takes to complete a task. Robotic systems can assist in bending thick pieces of metal in half the time it would take to be done by human strength alone. Robotic applications are also being adapted to mimic human tactile response so that they can move metal parts around, similar to the way that a living breathing operator would, thereby reducing production time.

Humans have an insatiable need to construct newer and more advanced equipment and vehicles. With the help of new design programs, laser cutting technology, and robotics, the steel fabrication industry can produce innovative products faster, cheaper, and with better design detail. 

The use of laser technology as a cutting tool has advanced significantly over the last two and a half decades. In this time, the creative properties have come to have many uses in various industries worldwide.

A laser is able to meet job cutting requirements in ways that a conventional blade never could. The most common use of laser cutting comes from industrial operations such as machine shops or automobile manufacturing companies.

Laser cutting applications can be used in automotive industries to bend, mold and weld together metal framework. It can even be used to polish and smooth rough edges and provide a nice finish to the vehicle by using a combination of laser and gas cutting technology.  In the industrial manufacturing industry, lasers can be used to cut metal sheets or piping metal. The laser accomplishes this by burning or melting through the material. An advantage of using a laser is that, unlike a saw, the laser won’t become dull with frequent use. Plus, a laser is far more precise than any other instrument used. 

Laser cutting is revolutionizing several other industries as well. In the fashion industry, lower powered lasers can be used to cut fabric and other soft material. In the electronic industry, lasers can be used to trim components such as resistors and capacitors. Commercial products such as frozen food packages or cereal boxes are marked and branded with company logos and barcodes. Laser cutting applications are even used in the medical industry as a way to sterilize certain medical equipment from fungi and bacterial infections.

The application has also benefited graphic designers with engraving projects on wood, glass, acrylic, plastic, fabric, such as leather, and metal. The making of advertising signs through the use of lasers has allowed printing companies to provide their customers with quicker and less expensive results. They can also help to create logos and business cards as well. Laser cutting can allow and artist to sculpt almost anything in metal, wood, or other material. Laser cutters can be quite beneficial to sculptors because it allows the laser beam to cut or etch the material they are working on. Laser cutters function the same way that a printer does, except that in lieu of burning an image on paper, the laser beam can actually etch or sculpt an image out of raw material.

Laser cutting is an ever advancing technology that continues to enhance human ingenuity while simplifying rigorous physical labor.