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The benefits of automation are potentially huge, but the investment required for a robot arm or pallet changer can be intimidating or even prohibitive. 'Our customers wanted to get more [...]

There can be a variety of reasons why a machine tool might be down or have performance issues. Some of these might be remedied via simple fixes, while others might [...]

Most manufacturing companies prefer to adopt new technology by starting small, accepting modest initial gains, and then adding more with expectations of big rewards tater. MTConnect, it seems, follows a [...]

The goal for many shops is to extend the unattended time that machines run good parts. The idea is to reduce the frequency of operator intervention during a job run. [...]

High speed machining and 3+2 machining might seem like two different concepts, but at Eifel Mold & Engineering they fit together naturally. For this shop in Fraser, Michigan, the two [...]

A utility company orders 500 wind towers for a wind-power farm: Each tower consists of three or four monstrous sections with welded flanges used for on-site assembly. The tower sections [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The distance separating the BIEMH trade show in northern Spain and the Simodec show in eastern France is not all that significant. The types of machine tools displayed [...]

Within the last 10 years, the acceptance and integration of shrink fit toolholders in the mold and die industry has continued in aiding North American-based mold shops in remaining globally [...]

Like many of the historical machine tools, the exact origin of the vertical turning lathe (VTL) is shrouded in time; for sure it existed in the 19th century. For me, [...]

Optimizing set-up times is a job that starts when the job is quoted. Once a job is up and running, the way it is set up and the time it [...]

Competing on the global engineering stage has always forced Encoder Products Company (EPC) to stay on the cutting edge in its approach to both product design and manufacturing. Based in [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Machine tools don't sit idle for very long at Busche. For that matter, they might not stay located in the same spot or even the same company building [...]

Turning machines to be the workhorses of manufacturing. Today's CNC machines are bringing new capabilities to the production and shop floor. Multitasking machines that combine milling, turning, tapping, and even [...]

The three-jaw powered chuck is the standard workholding device for most CNC lathe users. This type of chuck is versatile enough to be used in a wide range of turning [...]

There are different types of drilling tools that machine shops can utilize to create holes in metals, one of the most common metalworking operation. Some machine tools drill holes while performing other operations. These include turning centers, machining centers and three-axis modular drill/tap units. Other types of automatic drilling equipment include electric rotation pneumatic thrust drills, drill/ream combinations, and drill/tap units., There are many ways to create holes in metal. Some machine tools, including machining centers and turning centers, drill holes as one of several operations performed. This article discusses different [...]

High performance twist drills have become popular among machine shops carrying out hole making operations in the metalworking industry. High performance drills are typically made from a number of base materials. These include solid carbide, cobalt, carbide tipped with coolant holes, and cobalt with coolant holes. One of the significant benefits of high performance drills is the machining parameters they realize while producing holes., The trend today is clearly toward high performance twist drills made of tungsten carbide or other premium materials, combined with innovative geometries, tighter tolerances, and advanced coatings. The pressure to [...]

Lavelle Machine installed its first electrical discharge machine (EDM), a Fanuc wire unit from Methods EDM (Sudbury, Massachusetts), about five years ago. This shop in Westford, Massachusetts, quickly discovered that [...]

Machine operators can utilize clamping devices to minimize production time in their machining operations. The use of clamping devices in setup procedures increases in machine time and profits. Compared with traditional fasteners, these devices can be utilized much faster and offer ergonomic advantages and enhanced safety benefits. However, machine operators should consider a number of factors before utilizing clamping devices in their operations. These include operating reliability, stress forces and installation., For part fixturing, it's key to setup reduction. Efficient setup procedures reduce production time in machining operations. Productivity experts estimate that faster part setups can reduce production cycle times by [...]

This company quickly transformed itself from a small machine shop to a high value-added supplier largely through the purposeful broadening of its manufacturing process knowledge. The trick was matching company [...]

Elk Grove Village, IL-based Designcraft Corp utilized rapid milling machine tools to support its prototype manufacturing operations and to develop novel models at the rate of one new model per week. The rapid milling machine tools enabled to firm to realize cost savings and a faster delivery of products. The machine centers are further supported by vertical milling systems that are customized with Creative Evolution computer numerical control systems., Rapid milling is different from CNC milling in that it relies on high-speed capability and techniques to the extreme. For protoyping, rapid milling becomes o powerful tool that provides foster [...]

Automotive supplier LucasVarity utilized computer numerical control machine tools that support an automated cell arrangement to realize more flexibility and a high metal removal rate in their production operations. The machine centers support a changeover process once every five years and accommodate various process adjustments. The systems have also permitted the firm to improve tooling economies related to speeds and feed rates., Machining centers make sense for this high volume process, even though the machines have continuously produced just one port for years. CNC machining centers can be changed over quickly. Produce [...]

Ten tips can help shops get the most out of cutting and drilling with little or no coolant. Dry machining is making inroads onto many shop floors, as it eliminates [...]

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp has been using nine point-of-use TD-10 Automated Tool Dispensers since 1995 to help reduce its operating costs and to improve the efficiency of manufacturing operations. Prior to using the tool dispensers, so much time were wasted by machine operators in filling up requisition forms. However, after their installation, the machines automatically located and dispensed the needed item which allowed insert inventory to be reduced by approximately 56%., Vertical storage systems improve efficiency, reduce costs. At Sikorsky Aircraft Corp in Stratford, CT, a new approach to tool storage and inventory control is helping the company improve the efficiency [...]

Who says that robots can't weld large parts well? A tale of how one firm's production skyrocketed 420% by a switch to robotic welding. Pairing robotic technology with a systems [...]

As more high-cost, increased-capability machining centers arrive on the shop floor, there is more pressure to keep them running productively. Any nonproductive activity these machines see, such as job-to-job tooling [...]

Tri-Models Inc. has been able to meet customer deadlines and changing requirements by continually updating its machinery. Tri-Models designs and manufactures wind-tunnel test-models for the aerospace and aircraft industry. Their wind-tunnel tests are expensive and have to be scheduled by customers in advance. In the past, the customer aerodynamics engineer had to be present during the manufacturing period, but use of advanced CAD/CAM systems has eliminated this practice, while use of modern vertical machining centers from Fadal Engineering has made production time faster., Tri-Models Incorporated is one of the country's leading designers and fabricators of wind-tunnel test-models for the aircraft and aerospace industry. The company employs 35 full-time employees in an extended single-shift [...]

It hardly pays to use a costly wear-resistant material for an entire part when only a small portion needs a tougher surface. A better idea has been to optimize part [...]

Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) cutting tools have been used in the automotive industry since the mid-1980s. Long tool life and the capacity to be used at high speeds have allowed vehicle manufacturers to increase productivity on present equipment and improve quality at the same time. PCBN cutting tools are usually used to machine hardened-steels or superalloys but they can also be used cost-effectively with powdered metals or pearlitic gray cast irons. These positive attributes has merited the attention of other companies who have discovered the advantages it can give., Cutting tools made of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) have demonstrated their advantages to the automotive industry. Now, other industries are adopting this extremely efficient cutting tool material for both [...]

When And Where To Think High-Speed Milling On January 16, 1991, when cruise missiles started to land on Baghdad, the potential of high-speed machining was well demonstrated. That's because those [...]

The coolant flow is, in a sense, a machine tool axis. After all, the flow can be turned on and off by the control. True, this may make it a [...]

Boring is hardly anyone's favorite operation. Tolerance and surface finish requirements are often stringent and difficult to hold. Tooling is expensive, yet of limited use since one tool generally is [...]

This California machine shop uses its five-axis gantry mills as coordinate measuring machines. Software that integrates design, machining, and inspection makes this dual role pay off. A machine tool is [...]

Everything seems to be bigger in Texas. And when Special Products & Mfg. Inc. (SPM), located in Rockwall, TX, recently decided to enter the world of fully automated sheet metal [...]

Most NC programmers know the importance of accurate workpiece verification. Now, many programmers are finding CNC machine simulation to be a necessity as well. What some NC programmers don't realize [...]

It's easy enough to run down a whole laundry list of equipment, both conventional and new, that need to reside in the processing capabilities of any successful medical device manufacturer. [...]

Producing check valves for the chemical processing industry can be challenging. The materials tend to be difficult to machine. Accuracy, repeatability, and surface finish requirements are high and the components [...]

What started as a test to find replacement inserts for a high-volume turning application at Simpson Industries' Edon Operation, ended as a significant improvement in tool life and reduced scrap. [...]

Linear-motor drives provide high contouring accuracy at high speed, high acceleration along machine axes and rapid traverse velocity. These motors belong to a class of equipment called high-speed cutting (HSC) machines. HSC machines usually use either sealedd or exposed linear encoders for generating feedback information. In general, exposed linear encoders are recommended for precision machines, measuring systems and semiconductor production equipment while sealed encoders are best suited for metalcutting machines., Linear-motor drives have improved dramatically in recent years and now provide significant benefits over traditional electromechanical systems for certain machining operations. Among these benefits are high contouring accuracy at high [...]

Hydraulic chuck toolholders satisfy the toughest demands for quality when machining with high-performance tools, from carbide drills to diamond reamers. Where dimensional tolerances, roundness and surface finish can't be compromised, [...]

To reduce cost-per-part and speed cycle time in CNC milling operations, manufacturers are turning to multivise fixtures and small workholding pallets for part gripping on machining centers. Innovative multipart setups [...]

Renishaw has announced the launch of a successor to its well established QC10 ballbar system - a tool adopted worldwide for the assessment of machine tool positioning and servo control [...]

Clamping technology vital to productivity Do you buy state-of-the-art machine tools and equip them with antiquated workholding devices? You wouldn't be alone. Workholding is often the weakest link in the [...]

Matchmaker M/C now provides a one stop shop following major additions to its established range of CNC machine tools; the Surrey-based company has been appointed as the sole UK agent [...]

Shortlisted entries came from Colchester Lathe, DMG (UK), Webster & Bennett International and Yamazaki Mazak UK The 9 axis Tornado T8 MSY with APL 5000 auto-loading and programmable chuck, delivers [...]

Shortlisted were entries from Chiron UK, Datron Technology, DMG (UK) and Hardinge-Bridgeport Chiron's Quattrocell uses two double spindle moving columns, designed to minimise non-cutting time. The spindles also function as [...]

Winner of this Category, sponsored by Reinisahw, was Agie Charmilles for the Agietron Nano development project This project led to the development of the Agietron Nano spark erosion machine for [...]

Beijing Space Authority approached CMM manufacturer ITP to produce a design study regarding the measurement and light machining of commercial telecommunication satellites. This was in 2003, and the outcome of [...]

A turnkey solution brings Precision Magnetics, a company with no history of advanced machining, up to speed on complex parts production It was a leap in the dark for Rotherham-based [...]