Tramp oils, which are machine lubricants and hydraulic fluids that find their way into the coolant, can seriously hinder the coolant's performance. This article discusses the properties and components of machine maintenance…
This article reports the results of a survey of shop owners. The survey found the executives worried about finding and retaining help and customers and keeping up with technology. It's not all…
This article provides a review of the research and technology trends that will shape metalcutting in the years to come. Innovations in workpiece materials, coatings, machine tool design and nontraditional machining are…
This article discusses the reasons students are not choosing to become machinists, and it reviews some of the measures being taken to recruit and train workers for tomorrow's shops. The programs reviewed…
This report of a Cutting Tool Engineering survey charts the shift in the way shops are purchasing tools. As the survey's findings indicate, an increasing number of tools are being bought directly…
Tap and tapholder manufacturers have introduced technology to speed up the inherently slow tapping process. This article reviews a number of innovations, including tension/compression holders for rigid tapping, self-reversing tapping heads and…
Grinding research has led to innovations in wheels and machines, which have expanded the range of applications grinding can be used for. This article highlights some of the research being conducted and…
With safety and health precautions driving up the cost of using metalworking fluids, many shops are attempting to machine dry. This article looks at the reasons why a shop might want to…
This article looks at the close partnership forged between a toolmaker and a machine tool manufacturer. The alliance requires the two to share detailed information about proposed products as well as the…
Business insurance represents a costly but necessary investment for any shop. This article presents the findings of a Cutting Tool Engineering survey of the liability insurance purchasing habits of readers. The article…
With the introduction of high-speed milling, tool balancing has become increasingly important. This article describes a system that can balance tools while they are mounted in the machine tool's spindle and rotating.…
This article explains how state-of-the-art tool presetting-and-measuring machines can reduce a shop's tool setup time while increasing precision. The article also describes how the additional functions of these high-end units can turn…
Tantalum and Niobium are important components in the composition of carbide tools. They are also among the most expensive. This article explores how recent trends in metalcutting and tool usage will effect…
Centralized mineral filtration for wire-EDM dielectric fluid can remove contaminants down to the 1-micron level and dispose of them in an environmentally responsible way. This article describes the mineral filtration process and…
To produce graphic electrodes for EDMing large cavities, shops sometimes must machine the piece in smaller sections and bond them together. This article explains how to build and use a bonded graphite…
Adequate flushing is needed to keep EDM wires from breaking. This article explains why wires break, and how dielectric fluid delivered with sufficient flow and pressure can prevent these failures from occurring…
Graphite electrodes are extremely difficult to machine because of the material's abrasiveness. This article explains why it takes an endmill with a CVD diamond coating and multiple flutes to cut graphite without…
This article makes the argument that an insert is really a system made up of a combination of factors. The focus of the article is on one of these factors: the top-form…
The growing use of difficult-to-machine materials has driven the metalcutting industry to high-performance tools. This article reviews the trends that are behind most cutting tool research today, and it looks at the…
The presence of bacteria and fungi can seriously compromise the effectiveness of metalworking fluids. This article looks at the most harmful microbes and the conditions that allow them to flourish. Preventive measures…
Rotary saw cutting (RSC), using a self-contained, motorized attachment that is mounted in a machine's standard cutoff position, can provide an alternative to single-point tooling for cutoff operations. This article details the…
The presence of an eta phase between a coating and the substrate is generally considered harmful to coating adhesion. However, this article argues that when the formation of the eta phase is…
Drilling with a single- or double-tube system might be the most efficient way to drill deep holes in some applications. This article, which describes the tools and the process, says tubular drilling…
Researchers studying the performance of diamond coatings have found a number of factors of the coating process that determine the ultimate success of the coating. This article looks at factors such as…
The benefits of TiN and TiCN coatings are list in high-temperature applications such as the machining of exotic metals. TiAlN coatings, on the other hand, perform better at higher temperatures. This article…
