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In today’s price-sensitive market, all standard processes deserve a look to find opportunities for improvement. Fabricators must find ways to increase productivity, reduce part cost and improve reliability to remain competitive. It doesn’t matter if it is a simple process, either. A great example is joining two pieces of material, which is common in most fabrication operations.

When the outside appearance of a part is critical, the conventional way to locate components for assembly is by eye or with a measuring fixture. However, both require a skilled operator to ensure accuracy and repeatability.

The Mate Locating Tab Tool creates a small tab on the top surface of the sheet—approximately 0.016 (0.40mm)—with no forming distortion on the underside. The tool makes the tab in the exact location on the sheet every time. After creating the form, the operator locates the components against the tab and welds them together.

The Mate Locating Tab Tool is ideal for mild steel and aluminum ranging from 0.030 (0.70mm) to 0.125 (3.20mm) in thickness. It is not suitable for stainless steel. The tool is available in most tooling styles, including Ultra TEC™, Trumpf-style, Murata Wiedemann 114 and 112 styles and Salvagnini. Download the Solution Bulletin Locating Tab Solution Bulletin and contact your Mate Applications Specialist for more information.