The Tinbasher » Sheetmetal News

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-05-08

Paul Woodhouse — Sun, 08 May 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Google Workshops Hints at Long ‘Bashing History http://nblo.gs/hiMJW #
How the (Original) ‘Doctor Who’ Theme Changed Music http://zite.to/kVTYTK #
The Cost of SETI: Infographic http://zite.to/jNY5p1 #
Sweet chemistry: Carbohydrate adhesion gives stainless steel implants beneficial new functions #
Conspiracy theorists will be doing their nuts if Bin Laden is dead. They’ve been saying that since 2003. #
And there was me thinking Obama roasting Donald Trump’s wig on a platter was his weekend highlight. #
At any time the temptation to sing The Lion Sleeps Tonight is never more than a whim away. #
Chairs Made From Old Computers Offer Interactive Seating http://zite.to/leyMEj #
The Alpha Bike, An Electronically Controlled Fixed/Free Concept Bike http://zite.to/mIjQV9 #
Apple Interested: Researchers At Yale Develop Metallic Material That Can Be Molded Like Plastic http://zite.to/jObhgz #
Dutch Office (no, not a euphemism) Created Entirely From Cardboard http://zite.to/kp2m2h #
Growth in UK manufacturing slows http://zite.to/m2HdFu #
InMojo – Make. Share. Live. Open Source Hardware. http://zite.to/jn6INb #
Not made in England: The lost art of manufacturing http://zite.to/j8yrY0 <~ infinitely better piece than the title would lead you to believe #
Hidden Workshops Add to Libyan Rebels’ Arsenal in Misurata http://zite.to/maUGdl #
Accenture: Offshore Outsourcing Has Not Worked http://zite.to/iePnia #
The Exovault EXO10 iPhone case is work of art in wood and brass – TNW Gadgets http://zite.to/jKA6GG #
Furniture Made from Street Sign Boards http://zite.to/iABp5o #
How Liz Taylor, Michael Jackson and Marlon Brando fled to Ohio on 9/11 in a rental car http://zite.to/insB09 #
Old Post: Sarah Palin Gets Hammered by Steelworkers Union President http://bit.ly/jxRq8E #
The K9 Storm Aerial Insertion Vest (that’s doggie parachute to you and me): http://is.gd/3EMP0X #
Old Post: Cover gallery – Stainless Steel World http://bit.ly/iq2pyg #
Old Post: No Rest For The Wicked. http://bit.ly/mNtaMy #
Old Post: “I’ll just put a bit extra on for shipping.” http://bit.ly/mqCBD5 #
“@nlj: Here’s the TARDIS cookie @kaylaworld and I made. http://t.co/Lsi0dJE <~ Tremendous. Looks totally inedible, but tremendous. #
David Lynch’s Incredibly Disturbing Coffee Ad http://zite.to/lJ0gfP <~ Can we club together to get this to show at the next Superbowl? #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-05-01

Paul Woodhouse — Sun, 01 May 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Argentinean algae company confident its jet fuel will be ready soon http://zite.to/gqc4cQ #
Old Post: The Stainless Steel Information Centre http://bit.ly/dUgDBz #
3D Printing and Manufacturing with Google http://zite.to/gXQYpI #
British manufacturing: Reality bites http://zite.to/ehZBRR #
Old Post: Meccano Daleks and the Golden Spanner http://bit.ly/euGNMc #
Hadar Metal Design Presents “The Evolution of Steel” http://zite.to/hWeq3A <~ fabulous fabrication of trees and bikes. #
Old Post: Ask The (Extended) Family http://bit.ly/hK5A6w #
Old Post: Eddie’s Top Ten Electrocutions. http://bit.ly/fjFBaq #
You’re Next, Magneto!: Compromising A Coke Can’s Structural Integrity With Drop Of Gallium http://zite.to/gXJsZy #
Old Post: Plantpots and Bomb Plots http://bit.ly/er8qeg #
Old Post: Blogging as Co-operative http://bit.ly/eICVyI #
Dreamt last night I was in a wig shop with Donald Trump helping him decide between a shredded wheat and a sun-bleached merkin. #
Old Post: Apple Hiring Top Tinbashers to Forge Liquidmetal iPhone http://bit.ly/knPCO2 #
Home Fabrication Takes DIY to a New Level http://zite.to/lU9ySF <~ saving up to do this. #
Downloadable Design: Digital Laser & 3D CNC Furniture Set http://zite.to/ivR6MT #
China-bashing Trump’s clothing line made in China http://zite.to/iHm1uM #donaldtrumpisabellend #
12 Unusual Light Bulb Designs http://zite.to/jwg3pR <~ I was getting laughed at 8 yrs ago for making #10 (sans cool bulb). #
Museo Soumaya, Mexico – fantastic steel structure http://zite.to/ikgPKH – ignore the write-up and look at the pics. #
Old Post: Salt N’ Pepa Bolted Together http://bit.ly/lvC3T1 #
Old Post: Working Class Zeros? http://bit.ly/kETTNU #
Sweet chemistry: Carbohydrate adhesion gives stainless steel implants beneficial new functions #
Old Post: Jock Caught Drinking From England Mug Shocker! http://bit.ly/j8qvpI #
Half-baked US local news teams: Englishman available to provide meaningless yet ‘authentic’ #rw11 quotes. Related to William of Orange. #
Old Post: DIY CO2 Laser Cutter For Sheet Metal http://bit.ly/loqvnD #
Old Post: Copper Anti-Fettling Device http://bit.ly/il1VmE #
Old Post: Never Underestimate the Stupidity of the General Public. http://bit.ly/iZp5e0 #
Old Post: Beware The Tupperware Wicker Man http://bit.ly/kRb3Vm #

Google Workshops Hints at Long ‘Bashing History

Paul Woodhouse — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:28:50 +0000

Have you done a news search recently for ‘sheet metal’?

No, of course you bloody haven’t. But, if you have, did you happen to notice all the news archive stuff harking back to a time when sheet metal meant serious manufacturing and not merely a cottage industry hobby old tinbashers kept up with in their garage or basement workshops?

Then again, if I’m being more precise, harking back to a time when sheet metal unions seemed to be in perpetual conflict with anybody and everybody. Richard Nixon’s name pops up once or twice.

But the most arresting headline from 1931 reads:

SHEET METAL WORKERS’ UNION BOSS IS SLAIN

And the thing is it barely gets five single column paragraphs.

But, if Google’s searchable sheet metal news archive for the last century strikes you as slightly odd, then what about Google Workshops?

Wood, metal, welding and electronics shops are probably not what come to mind when you think about Google but in fact, we often have to build physical products to help us collect and organize information that’s found outside of the web. We do this at the Google Workshops, a hands-on facility equipped with everything from an oscilloscope to a miter saw and even a plasma cutter. Day and night—and even on weekends—the workshops are alive with Googlers working on personal projects—such as home furniture or model airplanes—as well as work-related ones like green business prototypes or components of our self-driving cars.

It’s one thing Tinbashers taking 20% of their allotted time to try out being a Googler, but who’d have thought Googlers would spend their 20% being a Tinbasher?

It feels almost like a circle of life moment.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-04-24

Paul Woodhouse — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Here’s a round-up of last week’s tweets and posts you may or may not find of any interest:

Space tourism company opens, hiring astronauts http://zite.to/hLqDFv <~ good lad Dickie Branston. #
Stylish Digs for Urban Chicks http://zite.to/eupmfB <~ an aluminium chicken coop nonetheless. #
Numi’s stainless steel stool sprinkler will help you iMove your iMotions for less than $6500 http://zite.to/fZ34VO #
CNC mill built from junk and hardware store parts http://zite.to/dEkVfJ via @Ziteapp #
Manufacturing Chat – a social networking opportunity for manufacturers http://zite.to/hOiB8T #
Vacuum cleaner piracy ~> Self-Replicating 3D Printers Could Prompt Manufacturing Revolution http://zite.to/dS1tQf via #
Ex-pat Tinbasher originally from Bolton quits job in Oz to watch Trotters get tubbed 5-0 http://is.gd/WpQCSk #
FRIDA (not Frantic) Offers Glimpse of Future Factory Robots http://zite.to/gV48ZY #
New Graphene Material is Paper-Thin and Ten Times Stronger Than Steel http://zite.to/eW5DEy #
Steel Dynamics Showing Its Mettle In Industry Turnaround http://zite.to/feOAbm #
IKEA Table with Embedded Train Set http://zite.to/epi612 #
General Motors plans an open house for its Parma Metal Center http://zite.to/hsofwh via @Ziteapp #

Feel free to follow us on twitter at twitter.com/tinbashr

Copper Scrappers Scrap with Scrap Coppers

Paul Woodhouse — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:40:30 +0000

No longer does it seem the FBI are a suitable force in the crime against telecommunications infrastructure in the USA. In fact, there’s that much copper being stolen at such an astronomical cost to the Telcos that one of them, AT&T, is offering $3,000 for information leading to them being accosted.

We’ve all heard of the church lead thieves and manhole cover pilferers, but apparently 7,000 customers and a couple of schools were left without landline service after a three day copper binge in Atlanta last week.

A cell phone tower also was temporarily knocked out. AT&T saw 11 thefts in a week in one location, including an incredible eight in one morning. Damage to telephone lines exceeded $500 in each case. Georgia law makes that a felony, punishable by jail time and fines, the AJC report states.

The FBI has said in the past that the rising theft of the metal is threatening the critical infrastructure by targeting electrical substations, cellular towers, telephone land lines, railroads, water wells, construction sites, and vacant homes for lucrative profits. Copper thefts have increased dramatically since 2006; and they continue to disrupt the flow of electricity, telecommunications, transportation, water supply, heating, and security and emergency services, and present a risk to public safety and national security, the FBI stated.

The FBI report shows that industry and local officials are taking countermeasures to help address the scrapper problem, but apparently much more needs to be done. For example, while a variety of physical and technological security measures have been taken there are limited resources available to enforce these laws, and a very small percentage of perpetrators are arrested and convicted. Additionally, as copper thefts are typically addressed as misdemeanors, those individuals convicted pay relatively low fines and serve short prison terms.

Atlanta isn’t the only place seeing copper theft problems. In this report, Appalachian Power said more than 100 miles of copper wire has been stolen from the company’s southern West Virginia facilities alone. Replacing stolen wire can cost up to $1 million a year, the utility stated. Other thefts have been reported all across the country in recent days. One location in New Jersey has been hit three times in the last two months seeing some $13,000 worth of copper stolen. A utility in the same state this week reported a $75,000 theft of the metal.

Experts say copper is up to around $3 per pound making it a lucrative target for thieves who resell it to scrap yards mostly.

The FBI reported in 2008 that China, India, and other developing nations are driving the demand for raw materials such as copper and creating a robust international trade. Copper thieves are receiving cash from recyclers who often fill orders for commercial scrap dealers. Recycled copper flows from these dealers to smelters, mills, foundries, ingot makers, powder plants, and other industries to be re-used in the United States or for supplying the international raw materials demand. As the global supply of copper continues to tighten, the market for illicit copper will likely increase, the FBI stated.

Are there no depths AT&T won’t stoop in order to avoid complaints about their service?

Apple Hiring Top Tinbashers to Forge Liquidmetal iPhone

Paul Woodhouse — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:41:54 +0000

Don’t be thinking you’re stupid if you thought Liquidmetal was, in fact, a liquid metal. Far from it. It’s actually an amorphous, non-crystalline alloy that is over two and a half times stronger than titanium and one and a half times stronger than stainless steel.

You can see how it rolls (or, to be more precise, bounces) in this little video:

And it’s that bouncy little bugger Apple have forked out approximately $10.9 million for the worldwide intellectual property rights. I’m assuming for a springier iPhone when dropped.

But they’re obviously wanting to keep product development in-house at Santa Clara Valley, California with the following job listings: Sr. Mfg Process Dev Engineer (Casings), Mechanical Process Development Engineer and Mechanical Process Development Manager.

According to Macworld:

The jobs call for: “Developing amorphous alloy composition, molding and forming processes, and secondary operations (e.g. machining, grinding, finishing) as applicable to Apple requirements,” working working closely with Apple’s Industrial Design, Product Design and Global Supply Managers.

The three jobs requires 3+, 7+ and 10+ years experience in a manufacturing environment of consumer electronics or consumer plastic / sheet metal products.

Don’t worry, if you’re a bit more of a PC / general tinbashing type, you can ignore all that guff above and steer yourself over to our general sheet metal jobs page to see if there’s anything more suitable.

Too Much Apple Pie.

Manufacturing Exhibition at Reebok, Bolton

Paul Woodhouse — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:14:39 +0000

Weather closing in over Todber Caravan Park

Will somebody explain to me the difference between any town in the north of England covered by a marauding ash cloud and the same northern town round November?

Apart from the fact it probably goes dark earlier in Wigan in November.

The BBC isn’t talking about Eyjafjallajoekull, but the other angry sister to Katla – Hekla when it reminds us that:

“In the Middle Ages it was believed to be one of the gateways to hell, or Judas’s prison.“

Eh? I thought these buggers were exploding in Iceland, not Bolton.

Anyway, while we’re not on the subject of Owen Coyle, but of the Reebok:

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN TO THE NORTH & NORTH WEST MANUFACTURING & ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION AT THE REEBOK STADIUM, BOLTON, 5TH – 6TH MAY.
THERE ARE JUST THREE WEEKS LEFT NOW TO BOOK A STAND OR GET A TICKET TO VISIT THE LEADING ENGINEERING, ELECTRONICS, MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION IN THE REGION.

EXHIBITING MEANS MEETING WITH THE REGIONS LEADING BUYERS & SPECIFIERS FROM AEROSPACE, AUTOMOTIVE, ELECTRONICS, FOOD & DRINK, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, MEDICAL, ENERGY & UTILITIES AND MANY MANY MORE, ALL LOOKING TO PLACE NEW ORDERS WITH COMPANIES COMMITTED TO DOING BUSINESS IN THEIR REGION.

VISITING WILL MEAN CATCHING UP WITH THE LATEST INNOVATIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES AFFECTING INDUSTRY TODAY AS WELL AS SEEING THE 100 PLUS EXHIBITORS. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE FREE SEMINAR PROGRAMME HITTING THE KEY TOPICS THAT AFFECT INDUSTRY TODAY FREE OF CHARGE.

Find out more here.

Duplex Stainless Steels Fabrication – Practical Guidelines

Paul Woodhouse — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:53:14 +0000

The latest Stainless Steel pdf from Euro Inox is available. You know you want it. Here’s the full explanation:

The second edition of the brochure PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE FABRICATION OF DUPLEX STAINLESS STEELS has now become available. The 64-page manual is published by the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA), in co-operation with Euro Inox and the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).

Contents:

- History of duplex stainless steels

- Chemical composition and role of alloying elements
— Chemical composition of duplex stainless steels
— The role of the alloying elements in duplex stainless steels

- Metallurgy of duplex stainless steels

- Corrosion resistance
— Resistance to acids
— Resistance to caustics
— Pitting and crevice corrosion resistance
— Stress corrosion cracking resistance

- End-user specifications and quality control
— Standard testing requirements
— Special testing requirements

- Mechanical properties

- Physical properties

- Cutting
— Sawing
— Shearing
— Slitting
— Punching
— Plasma and laser cutting

- Forming
— Hot forming
— Solution annealing
— Warm forming
— Cold forming
— Press forming
— Spin forming

- Machining duplex stainless steels
— General guidelines for machining duplex stainless steels
— Welding procedure qualifications
— Welding methods

- Other joining techniques
— Joint preparation
— Adhesives
— Soldering
— Brazing

- Post-fabrication clean-up
— Crayon marks, paint, dirt, oil
— Embedded iron
— Weld spatter, weld discouloration, flux, slag, arc strikes

- Duplex stainless steel applications

- Suggested additional reading

- References

- Appendix 1: Duplex stainless steel designations and product names

- Appendix 2: Summary of specifications

To download a PDF copy free of charge, please go to: http://www.euro-inox.org/pdf/map/Guidelines_Fabrication_Duplex_EN.pdf.

If you prefer to receive a printed brochure, please send an e-mail to info@euro-inox.org, not forgetting to:
- use the keyword DUPLEX BROCHURE
- give your full mailing address.

Hopefully, that should be enough for you not to ask me in the comments if I can send you a copy.

A Right Royal (Claret & Blue) Do; and Obama Visits a College

Paul Woodhouse — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:20:54 +0000

The year’s around 1980-ish and I’m ten; and Prince Charles was visiting Burnley General for some reason or other. I remember a teacher walking into our classroom and saying we’d been chosen or offered a number of invites (read: kiddies to pad out the throngs) to gleefully cheer our next trophy-eared King.

Being the fair-minded chap I am I suggested drawing straws. Nobody seemed overly interested in that as a concept seeming an equal number of boys and girls were asked to turn up and the number of boys in our class was the number of boys expected. Cue bitch-fight.

I don’t remember much other than standing right at the front of the Burnley masses, plastic Union Jack in hand, camera around neck whilst sheltering from the elements in a knee-length green kagoul. Although I do remember being yanked from my vantage point by my hood by our teacher and shrieked at for wandering off on my own – in full view of everybody.

To this day I still don’t think I was in the wrong. I’d gone to see the Prince of Wales and I’d wormed my way into what I thought the best spot. Fortunately, the kind people behind me took pity and allowed me back after my bollocking.

So, the thought of the not-so bonny Prince visiting Burnley again sets me off on some form of anxiety attack – well I struggle to catch my breath as I think of my industrial-strength zipper pressing hard into my windpipe.

Anyway, at least this time round he’s got his own Burnley shirt (more pics):

We didn’t bankrupt the club with the cost of lettering.

I shudder to think what Owen Coyle would’ve been like had he not trotted off down the A666. Expected Prince Charles to bow I would imagine.

But we haven’t been short of our own royalty round here y’know. That is, if you consider Obama turning up at Lorain County Community College a royal visit just down the road from my father-in-law’s house in Elyria.

Here are a couple of pictures of him at LCCC’s Wind Turbine Manufacturing and Fabrication Lab:

Obama’s customary fist bump.(SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Looks like somebody’s got a man-crush…(SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

And to think, if I’d broken ranks to wave flags at yon President I’d probably have been shot.

Firemen Use Angle Grinder to Free Man’s Pipe from Steel Pipe

Paul Woodhouse — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:15:59 +0000

We all know that first week back after Christmas and New Year can be a lonely and desperate time. Just ask Jasper. Many’s the time he can be seen skulking in the steel racks for hours on end when it’s quiet with nary a peep out of him.

I sincerely hope he’s not up to what this geezer in a Southampton fabrication shop has been up to:

A MAN who got his genitalia stuck in a steel pipe had to be cut free by eight firefighters using an industrial grinder. The heavy duty cutting gear had to be used to remove the three-inch long hollow pipe after medics were unable to release it. The painstaking operation, which involved eight firefighters, took around an hour.

The drama began after the man took himself to the accident and emergency department of Southampton General Hospital.

Restricted blood flow had left the man in a state of arousal, and unable to remove the pipe.

Staff there were so concerned that they phoned the emergency services and a crew from Redbridge Fire Station were initially dispatched. But they had to bring in backup from St Mary’s station which has a fire truck equipped with specialist cutting gear. A disc gutter cutter, with a four-and-a-half-inch blade, was used to slice open the stainless steel pipe.

The man, in his 30s, offered no explanation for his predicament but was said to be “quite concerned and anxious”. He had been given an anaesthetic to prepare for the procedure.

St Mary’s crew manager Adrian Johnson said: “It was a very delicate operation. We did not want anything heating up.

The person who did it deserves a commendation for his nerve and steady hand.”

Meanwhile, watch manager Greg Garrett from Redbridge station added: “I’ve only come across this type of thing three or four times in my 17 years as a firefighter. It’s not a daily occurrence.”

The man’s private parts were left bruised and swollen.

I’m generally fairly reluctant to post entire articles seeming it goes against Rupert Murdoch’s grain, but I really didn’t know which bits to cut out (as the fireman said to the bloke with his knob stuck in a steel tube). I mean, this is why you’d love to be a local journalist. Maybe a fireman as well, but not the guy doing the angle grinding or holding the pipe steady.

However, feel free to go and enjoy yourselves in the comments to the article.