Sixty Years of Machines, Part XVII: Automation Takes Hold Joe Kannapell The future of automation was on display at the 1988 BCMC, but few of us recognized it. Two leading truss plant owners did, however: Lenny Sylk of Shelter Systems and Dick Rotto of Trussway. Lenny’s purchase of the automated saw encouraged others to follow suit. Dick demurred on the... Read More April 2021 Issue #13261 Page 10
Flexible Options for Managing Your Schedule Tracy Roe At Eagle Metal, our TrueBuild® software gives you many advantages in efficiency, including for the critical, yet sometimes overlooked, process of scheduling. Our Job Management software gives fabricators the options they need to make scheduling as simple or as complex as they want it to be.... Read More April 2021 Issue #13261 Page 54
eShop Simplifies & Modernizes Plant Management Software John Croll Alpine’s latest eShop Plant Management Software simplifies the user experience for shop employees and managers alike, while collecting robust production data to maximize operational decision-making. Plant Managers face difficult tradeoffs. On the one hand, they are responsible for... Read More April 2021 Issue #13261 Page 64
April Showers Bring May Flowers and Automation Chris Scott By April of each year, we’re ready to embrace the change Spring brings. Longer days, sunshine, warmer weather, baseball season, my corvette comes out of hibernation… the list goes on. Another change we’re fully embracing is the offsite manufacturing growth happening within... Read More April 2021 Issue #13261 Page 77
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XVI: DePauw Decade Joe Kannapell As I stood in the small office waiting for the saw deposit check, the fax machine began running. I was stirred by the bold headline on the unfurling document, “…Timbermill’s Advantages Over Easy Set ...” Then I watched large bullet points cascading out of the machine. At... Read More March 2021 Issue #13260 Page 10
Theory of Constraints with a Practical Truss Design Solution Example Todd Drummond Theory of Constraints (TOC) is not often clearly understood, and it can be confused with Just in Time (JIT). Below is a simplified explanation with some examples about TOC that many should be able to relate to their operations. TOC is an offshoot of lean manufacturing principles. Every... Read More March 2021 Issue #13260 Page 47
Raising the Bar for Plan Finishing Tracy Roe At Eagle Metal, our TrueBuild® software gives you an efficiency advantage at every step in the design process. Our leading parametric 3D capabilities and app-free model sharing makes visualization painless and gives our customers more time to build. Last month’s article, Raising the... Read More March 2021 Issue #13260 Page 56
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XV: Hex Heads Joe Kannapell A “hex” descended upon the component saw business at BCMC in 1981. Fortunately, this hex turned out to be a good “spell,” one that quickened the search for a machine that could cut any piece. Speed Cut, Inc. introduced the Timbermill, a 6-bladed (or hex-headed) solution... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 10
Rise to Operational Challenges Ben Hershey Last month’s article, Change Impact, talks about what impact changes at your company will have this year. Well, after 2020 and the challenges we faced, especially for the operations-intensive companies in our industry, it... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 46
Alpine Embarks on a New Era of Information Sharing John Croll Component manufacturers (CMs) are continually challenged with improving communication with customers and collaboration between teams. It is essential for design and production teams to receive live updates regarding orders, project lead times, and ongoing trends to operate at full capacity.... Read More February 2021 Issue #13259 Page 62