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Browse our collection of articles, covering a wide range of topics and ideas.

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Where to Get Sheet Metal Parts

There are tens of thousands of sheet metal shops scattered throughout the United States, each with a different combination of capabilities and services. Here is our review of a handful of shops that make the ordering experience quick and easy.

Why operating at scale lets metal fabricators ship faster

Queues are a fact of life, and it’s really a shame. It means as demand grows, customers have a worse experience. Nobody likes waiting in line. Yet a healthy backlog is in some ways desirable for manufacturers. It’s nice to know that you’ll keep your people busy for the next several weeks. It’s great for the shop, but less so for the customer. This uneasy tension between manufacturers and customers creates a sort of balance.

What software automation means for custom fabrication

OSH Cut is different, but is it disruptive to the sheet metal manufacturing industry?

Steel Prices are Dropping in 2022

Beginning roughly in November 2020, steel prices increased dramatically, with costs peaking at 2.5x pre-COVID levels by November 2021. In the months following, prices stabilized and have dropped 33%. Prices still exceed previous levels by a factor of 2, but they appear to be recovering.

Latest Articles

Steel Prices Increased Dramatically in 2021

Driven by high demand and persistent supply-chain issues, steel prices increased dramatically in 2021. Price increases have affected the entire supply-chain, from material rationing at mills, to long service center leads, and finally increases in product costs.

Understanding the impact of tariffs on metal fabrication businesses

Tim Heston, Caleb Chamberlain, Lance Thrailkill, and Cody Lee discuss tariff implications, diversification strategies, and adaptability within the evolving manufacturing landscape.

The metal fabrication business, accelerated with tech

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 emergence of private equity and vibe coding in fabrication

From the surge of co-bots and advanced automation tools on display to the practical challenges of integrating and maintaining them, FABTECH revealed just how fast the industry is evolving.

More Articles

Expanded Bending Support

Over the next several weeks, OSH Cut will be rolling out expanded bending capabilities. This will allow larger side and return flanges, as well as multiple bend radius options.

Four Reasons to use Sheet Metal in Your Design

You can do a lot with metal sheet and plate. Once you see what is possible, it may change everything about how you design. Here are four reasons you should consider using sheet metal for your next design.

How U.S. manufacturers can make reshoring painless

Manufacturing supply chains can’t be overhauled overnight. Even so, U.S. manufacturers that leverage software automation could make the process a little less painful.

Instant quoting expands access to sheet metal and CNC tube bending

After months of working through numerous tube bending challenges, we’ve designed customer-facing software that simulates rotary draw tube bending tailored for specific bend dies, mandrels, and other tooling we have available.

How manufacturing businesses can maximize value with digital advertising

In the digital age, advertising can be tracked and measured. How manufacturing shops and other metal fabricators use that data can make or break a marketing program.

Great laser tube cutting machine, rough delivery

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.