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Investment for Excellence
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Sig Adolf (left) and his son Ron founded Fab-All Manufacturing, Ltd. in 1985.
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The management of Fab-All Manufacturing Ltd., Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, has a very simple corporate goal: They want to become the best sheet metal fabricator in the industry for both quality
and service. And with the company’s proven commitment to individualized customer service, attention to detail, and its continuing investment in more efficient fabrication machines and manufacturing methods,
each year Fab-All draws closer to its lofty goal.
Sig Adolf and his son Ron founded Fab-All in 1985 in a 1,500-square-foot-facility as a company to build marine heating products. In its
early days, the fledgling company had only the most basic fabrication equipment – a small hydraulic shear, hand brake, lathe, etc. Sig Adolf had a strong technical
background in precision sheet metal fabrication which he developed in Europe, and, together with his son Ron, Fab-All soon began producing and selling marine heaters throughout North America and Europe.
While the company experienced a degree of success in this new venture, because of the limited and seasonal nature of their product line, the Adolf’s soon
began to look to expand into other markets. Through the years, Fab-All has added more space, people and machinery as demand for its services grew. By
1995, Fab-All moved into a 6,000 square-foot-facility and today has a building with 20,000 square feet. “As necessity required, we’ve continuously upgraded our
facilities, equipment, and staff in order to become more efficient,” explains Ron Adolf. “We were also earning a reputation for exceptional service to our
customers. This commitment has helped us grow no less than 20% each year. In some years, we grew as much as 100%.” Today, the now diversified and turnkey
company with 40 employees provides everything from design engineering to manufacturing and services such industries as electronics, trucking, high
technology, security, marine, lighting, forestry, food and beverage, and military.
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The Finn-Power L+P utilizes full sheets while eliminating the need to shear to size blanks
being processed.
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Fab-All purchased its first CNC turret punch presses in 1989, both previously-owned mechanical models. In 1997, the company purchased its first
new CNC turret punch press, a TP 2015 hydraulic turret punch press from Finn-Power International. “This was a real turning point for us,” explains Adolf.
“We had reached a plateau and the Finn-Power hydraulic turret punch press allowed us to continue to grow. We also learned the potential of this kind of
state-of-the-art equipment compared to the older, mechanical machines we were using.”
While the TP 2015 dramatically increased Fab-All’s sheet metal punching
capabilities, a few years later the company had additional fabrication requirements it needed to fill. “While we always needed to increase our punching
capacity, we also realized that we were outsourcing an increasing number of laser parts,” states Adolf. “The demands that our customers put on us in terms of
complexity of parts dictated a laser. We simply couldn’t fabricate all the parts required of us with the turret punch press.”
In order to satisfy its need for increased punching and laser cutting, Fab-All purchased the Finn-Power Laser Punch (L+P) in 1999 – the first West Coast
fabricator to have this type of equipment. The Finn-Power laser/punch combination represents a proven technology and intelligent integration of
punching, forming, tapping, and laser cutting in a single unit for the most varied sheet metal working operations. Optimum use of the Finn-Power L+P means a
fabricator can use the turret punch press where it is easier or faster and the laser where it is most effective. The L+P allows the user to look at the parts, the
materials, the time, and the overall cost of the parts to determine the optimum process for every production.
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“In addition to
the laser market, the L+P has opened a variety of new markets to Fab-All. We can offer the advantages of the punch/laser approach to parts. We now do a great deal of prototype
work and are efficiently processing jobs we would not have dreamed of taking prior to the L+P.”
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Before purchasing the Finn-Power L+P, Fab-All also looked at several competitors’ models. “The L+P is a beautifully-designed machine…very pleasing
to the eye,” observes Adolph. “My father’s engineering background allowed him to look underneath the skin to see what the machine was all about. When you look
behind all the panels…how it’s put together…it is very obvious that this machine is superior, and had many features we could utilize in servicing the needs of our customers.”
The benefits the Adolfs saw in the L+P included:
- Reduction of piece part costs – faster punching time, reduction in direct labor assigned to set up and punching, reduction of number of manual operations
- Utilize full sheets while eliminating the need to shear to size blanks being processed
- Increased machine utilization – if a loading system is purchased with the L+P, unmanned operation can be achieved from load, punch, upform, laser cut, and sorting of parts in one machine
The L+P consists of a F-6 hydraulic turret punch press with a laser that has a 60" (1500 mm) “Y” axis and a 100" (2500 mm) “X” axis and a 2.5kW laser. “The L+P allows us to automatically
load and unload material. We can now process full-sized sheets and no longer need to shear the material in blanks. We have dramatically cut costs on material handling, shearing, and such
secondary operations as deburring and forming,” explains Adolf.
Other features of the L+P include:
- High-pressure cutting with a TRIAGON 2500 watt CO2 laser with 375 psi (25 Bar) assist gas pressure maximum. Higher pressures allow for cutting
materials such as stainless steel and aluminum with optimum speed and edge quality.
- The oil-free design of the pumps and turbines eliminates expensive and time-consuming repairs.
- Excellent energy consumption is realized by the laser in comparison with other HF-excited lasers. The savings cost can be up to 40%.
- The capacity of the laser is 8 mm (.314")
cold rolled steel, 6 mm (.236") aluminum, and 8 mm (.314") of stainless steel.
- The focal length lens can be changed in seconds using a cartridge technique. No tools are required. The cartridges are available in 5" (standard), 3.75" and 7.5".
- Integration of the laser and the punch is accomplished with the part piece flowing from the turret punch press to the laser without the release of the
clamps. The flow of material is from the load side to the unload side, eliminating the time-consuming method of loading and unloading from the same side. In addition, the O-frame of the turret punch press is
separate from the laser, assuring that no vibration will be transferred to the laser.
Up to 10 auto-index, forming, and Multi-Tool® holders may be installed in a Finn-Power turret. “Fab-All has four Multi-Tool® holders – a 6-, 8-, 10- and a
24-station that help cut tool-changing time between set-ups,” explains Adolf. With the Multi-Tool® system, tool change time within the station is virtually eliminated
The auto-index system is built rigidly into the upper and lower frame of the press and engages the auto-index tool holders for tool rotation. This system allows you to add or change the index
stations or Multi-Tool® stations at anytime. In addition, the Finn-Power turret can run any new wheel technology and marking tools available from Mate Precision Tooling or Wilson Tool
International. There are no additional options (i.e. holders or software) required to run these technologies.
Another unique feature is Finn-Power’s upforming system which allows full
tonnage throughout the punch stroke in an upward movement in the turret which provides maximum flexibility in achieving various forming options. Unlike conventional forming operations in other
machines, the Finn-Power upforming solution provides the capability of the die to never rest higher than the table level when the sheet is being moved, thus eliminating machine downtime due to
sheet crashing. “We are using the upforming feature for embossing, bridge lances, louvers, and extrusions,” adds Adolf. “The upforming allows us to do deeper forming in this machine.”
The even positioning of the die also provides greater limits in forming height (up to .63" or 16mm in total height) and prevents free sheet movement and
scratches on the lower sheet surface (this is of particular importance with coated materials or materials where cosmetics are critical).
“In addition to the laser market, the L+P has opened a variety of new markets to Fab-All,” says Adolf. “We can offer the advantages of the punch/laser approach to
parts. We now do a great deal of prototype work and are efficiently processing jobs we would not have dreamed of taking prior to the L+P. We can process up to
5' x 10' sheets, and as a result, we recently began making large cabinets for the trucking industry. Today, nearly 75% of all parts that we make are fabricated on
the Finn-Power L+P. Eventually, we expect this number to rise to 90%.”
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710 Remington Road