This post was originally published on April 15, 2015.

Should you press brake or roll form? It’s a big decision with multiple factors to consider. Ultimately, the decision comes down to what fabrication method will yield the desired quality for the lowest overall cost. 

Whether you’re ready or not, the agriculture industry is changing. From genetically engineered foods to new harvesting technology, agriculture professionals are finding fresh, innovative ways to work more efficiently. So, what’s next for the industry? Below are three of the top trends impacting agriculture in 2018.

What you don’t know could be costing you half a million dollars each year. 

Chamberlain had been making the straight and curved arms in its garage door design the same way for years. But section modulus studies and finite element analysis revealed opportunities to cut material content—by 55%.

The trucking industry fuels the U.S. economy, transporting over 10.5 billion tons of freight annually. With a huge weight on their shoulders, trucking service providers are beginning to seek new ways to improve efficiency and drive down transportation and labor costs. Subsequently, these changes are creating waves upstream in truck trailer manufacturing.

Luckily, emerging trends in automation, logistics and the workforce are reshaping the industry landscape by day, leading companies to adopt new processes.  

Below, we outline four major trends driving change in trucking and truck trailer manufacturing.

Every business faces the challenge of balancing costs when starting a new fabrication project, and tooling is a major cost consideration. 

However, there are a number of ways you can approach tooling arrangements: partial tooling ownership, “free” tooling or amortized tooling. While there are benefits to each option, cost amortization allows you to maintain full ownership of your tooling, which means no hidden fees, just real values.

Need to be convinced? See why amortization is the best choice when it comes to tooling costs.

Headlines like “How to Keep Your Job When Robots Take Over,” and “Industrial robots will replace manufacturing jobs — and that’s a good thing,” only serve to confuse us about the future state of manufacturing. Are robots in manufacturing something to be excited or worried about?

Roll forming can seem like an overwhelming process to design for, if you’re used to stamping, press braking, extrusions or other techniques. The truth is, it can actually open up new doors to creativity—and cost savings.

In an uncertain market, balancing your inventory is critical. And when forecasting is a challenge, you need to place more of a focus on keeping production costs low without sacrificing quality. 

One of the first things to consider is the volume of the project. Whether your project requires a high or low volume run, you have options as to what metal fabrication process will produce the most efficient returns. 

Below we discuss the factors you must weigh when choosing between metal forming processes for the expected production volume.

Solar Power International 2016 brought together nearly 18,000 visitors, and with those visitors came innovations, ideas and projections for the future of solar. With 600 vendors and more than 40 scheduled events, it was almost as difficult to keep up with the goings-on at SPI as it is to keep tabs on the rapid growth of the solar industry.

In case you missed anything, below is a wrap-up of the show’s key takeaways.

Designing for roll forming is in many ways a different process compared to other metal fabrication design methods. Roll forming removes some of the challenges other fabrication methods present, creating design opportunities for:

• Products requiring edge conditioning,
• Parts with complex geometry,
• Long parts,
• Redesigned aluminum extrusions and more.