The Engineering Gap: Bluco Shines a Light on Manufacturing’s Hidden Weak Point
The Workholding Engineering Gap is costing manufacturers time, money, and performance
At FABTECH 2025, Bluco returns to the Welding Pavilion (Booth #B33001) with a renewed focus on a challenge that’s quietly undermining performance across the industry: the Workholding Engineering Gap.
It’s not a new idea. We have been quietly calling out this issue for years. But as manufacturers push harder for productivity, agility, and faster speed to market, the cost of ignoring it is rapidly growing higher.
What is the Engineering Gap?
Bluco has coined the term “Engineering Gap” to represent the most commonly unengineered/under- engineered step in the manufacturing process — workholding. “We see a pattern of companies actively looking for ways to optimize their product quality or speed to market, but they’re completely overlooking workholding,” says Bluco’s Director of Sales, Brian Dodsworth.
While most manufacturers are quick to invest in the optimization of the other steps in the process (product design, welding, finishing, etc.) they’re still holding it all together with outdated or inefficient fixturing.
“Every part you make has to pass through your workholding solution, and most of those solutions just aren’t engineered to perform,” said Dodsworth. “That’s the Engineering Gap. And it’s one of the least examined contributors to inefficiency. We routinely see bottlenecks, inconsistent part quality, extended changeovers — all rooted in that weak link.” And it’s costing manufacturers more than they think.
The Cost of Ignoring the Gap
Bluco’s customer outcomes offer clear evidence of the issue’s scope. Recent case studies include a 12X throughput increase, 5X reductions in manufacturing time, and 3X improvements in repeatability. While each case is different, Dodsworth emphasized that the gains they’re able to unlock for their customers are not incremental. “These are exponential improvements — and they’re being left on the table by manufacturers who haven’t yet recognized the Engineering Gap,” he says.
▶ What is the Engineering Gap costing your organization? BluPrint can show you how much you’re losing, AND what you stand to gain by bridging the gap. Learn more about BluPrint here.
Learn How to Bridge the Gap At FABTECH
Bluco’s mission at this year’s FABTECH is to not only educate manufacturers about the Engineering Gap, but to help them identify and bridge their own gaps. Visitors to the booth will have the chance to consult with sales engineers one-on-one, and to see relevant real-world solutions to challenges similar to their own. “Bring your CAD models,” says Dodsworth. “The more detail we can see, the more specific and valuable the conversation becomes.”
PLUS: See Bluco’s new cobot at Booth #B15063
In addition to their long-standing presence in the Welding Pavilion, this year Bluco will also have a booth in the Automation Pavilion. Here, Bluco will unveil WeldSpace 4.0®, a next-generation cobot built by Demmeler® and sold & supported in North America by Bluco.
Not attending FABTECH? Download our ebook “Bridge the Engineering Gap” at bluco.com/e-book-engineering-gap or email [email protected].
