Posts by Mark Engel
Atlas Mfg. Hosts CVTC Advanced Welding Students for Hands-On Laser Welding Training
Atlas Mfg. recently opened its doors to advanced welding students from Chippewa Valley Technical College, giving the next generation of welders a firsthand look at one of the fastest-growing technologies in metal fabrication: handheld laser welding. For many of the students, it was their first chance to operate a laser welder outside of a textbook…
Read MoreAtlas Donates Custom Fire Ring and Signage to Eau Claire Fire & Rescue for Coats for Kids
Our team at Atlas Precision Sheet Metal Solutions is proud to give back to the community we call home. This fall, we donated a custom-made fire ring and Eau Claire Fire Department signage to Eau Claire Fire & Rescue for their upcoming Coats for Kids charity event. Coats for Kids Coats for Kids does exactly…
Read MoreHole-to-Edge and Hole-to-Bend Distance in Sheet Metal: DFM Minimums
How far should a hole sit from an edge or a bend? The DFM minimums that keep holes from tearing out or distorting, with tables and diagrams.
Read MoreSheet Metal Bend Radius Guide: Minimum Bend Radius by Material and Thickness
How tight can you bend sheet metal before it cracks? A practical minimum-bend-radius guide by material and thickness, with grain direction, springback, and DFM rules.
Read MoreGalvanized vs Galvannealed vs Pre-Painted Steel: When to Use Each
Same substrate, three coating philosophies. The right pick depends on what touches the part next: paint, weather, a welder, or the customer’s hand.
Read MoreAluminum for Sheet Metal: 5052 vs 6061 vs 3003 (When to Use Each)
5052, 6061, and 3003 are not interchangeable. A practical guide to picking the right aluminum alloy for a sheet metal part, by formability, strength, welding, and finish.
Read MoreMaterial Substitution: A Lower-Risk Way to Upgrade Sheet Metal Part Performance
Same part, two materials. Material substitution upgrades the alloy or coating in an existing sheet metal part without redesigning the geometry, preserving the tooling and most of the validation work. Run through a DFM lens, it is often the lowest-risk, fastest way to fix corrosion, strength, weight, finish, or supply problems.
Read MoreStainless Steel for Sheet Metal: A Practical Guide to 304, 316, and 430
Three identical panels, three different stainless grades. Picking the right one is rarely about the part — it’s about the environment, the budget, and how the part gets made. Welcome to Atlas Tech Talks, a series dedicated to sharing insights, best practices, and technical know-how from the world of sheet metal fabrication. In each post,…
Read MoreAtlas in Space – A Small Hand in Humanity’s Return to the Moon
On April 11, 2026, four astronauts splashed down after traveling farther from Earth than any human in 54 years. Somewhere in the long chain of work that made Artemis II possible — behind the speakers, behind the amplifiers, behind the testing — sat sheet metal from the Atlas shop floor. This is Atlas in Space, revisited.
Read MoreAtlas Market Brief: How The Iran Conflict Is Impacting Manufacturing Costs
March 2026 | Updated July 24, 2026 JULY 24 UPDATE: A lot has happened in the five weeks since our last update. The short version: the June 17 peace deal collapsed, U.S.-Iran fighting has escalated into what looks like sustained warfare, and Section 122 tariffs expired at midnight last night, but a Section 301 replacement…
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