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When purchasing consumer products, most of us quickly decide to pass on extended warranties. But extended machine tool warranties may merit more careful consideration, according to the Machine Technology column in the…
Having worked in manufacturing since 1992, I've learned many things about machine shop marketing and branding from fellow shop owners. Some spend, literally, no money on marketing while others spend a lot.…
OSHA officials have extended an olive branch to small businesses with its Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), a partnership with those businesses that take safety seriously and respect the health…
Jennifer Creamer, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), conducts research into fixing flaws introduced when machining large components. Beyond her research, Creamer herself…
Most aerospace, defense and medical companies have packaging specifications their parts suppliers must follow to help ensure parts arrive undamaged. But should shops that don't have to follow such requirements ship parts…
In an interview conducted by CTE Editor Alan Richter, Kennametal Inc. President and CEO Ronald De Feo discusses the past year, the business outlook for Kennametal, Pittsburgh, the cutting tool industry and…
At the National Tooling and Machining Association Plant Managers Roundtable, held Feb. 8 in Phoenix, Jeff Estes, director of Partners in THINC at Okuma America Corp., Charlotte, N.C., discussed the advantages and…
One of the activities I enjoy most in connection with my job is visiting production facilities, because I get a chance to see how parts and products are made and have face-to-face…
Forward-looking, funny, Cornell University mathematics major Carl Bass resigned his Autodesk post as CEO on Feb. 7, but he remains on the company's board. Imported from the CTE archive to seed discussion…
The Metalworking Product Review in the February 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering features: Heller Machine Tools, FP 4000 5-axis HMC with twin drives in the Z-axis; Seco Tools LLC, 150.10-JETI parting-off…
On many work parts, the outside diameter (OD) needs to be highly accurate. Tight tolerances are required for OD size, roundness, high and low frequency lobe patterns and taper. Thrufeed centerless OD…
Engineers who currently ask humans for advice about cutting tool selection will one day direct their questions to advisers derived from artificial intelligence. So says MachiningCloud Inc. (www.machiningcloud.com), a single-source provider of…
Calibrating a multiple-axis machining center is one of those time-consuming but necessary tasks that parts makers have to accept. The task has gotten easier in past years, however, and has just gotten…
The Look Ahead department covers a low-temperature PVD coating, free of charge, in the February 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering. Imported from the CTE archive to seed discussion on MFGAxis. Originally…
END USER: North Bucks Machining Ltd., +1908-611-669, www.northbucksmachining.co.uk. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Open Mind Technologies USA Inc., (888) 516-1232, www.openmind-tech.com. CHALLENGE: Efficiently rough-machine a mountain bike frame from a solid piece of aluminum stock.…
Thread cutting is as close to artistic expression as one typically gets in a machine shop. Watching a machinist or toolmaker peel off perfectly formed chips with a precisely ground tool is…
U.S. manufacturing industry is transitioning from solvent-based cleaning to water-based cleaning products. Imported from the CTE archive to seed discussion on MFGAxis. Originally published on CTE: 2017-02-15 CTE source: https://ctemag.com/articles/age-aqueous-cleaning/ Legacy path:…
Being able to broach a blind keyway while keeping the part on the same CNC machine tool used to perform the other machining operations provides a significant improvement in setup, reliability and…
Live tooling's capabilities have increased greatly in recent years. From the start, live tooling was added to increase a lathe's usefulness. What many users of lathes and live tooling don't realize is…
If you enjoy the growl of heavy milling cuts, the machine-gun sound of chips striking glass and the heady odor of superheated cutting fluid, a compact machining center might not be the…
Dear Doc: I installed a variable-speed drive on a cylindrical grinder. The wheels start at 18" and stub-out at 15". Should I increase the rpm as the wheel diameter gets smaller? Read…
Have a person familiar with a machine go over it with you. A person showing you how to do something can filter unneeded information, according to the Shop Operations column in the…
Vacuum workholding can securely grip difficult-to-hold parts, according to the February 2017 Workholding column in Cutting Tool Engineering magazine. Imported from the CTE archive to seed discussion on MFGAxis. Originally published on…
More lathe purchasers are choosing automated material handling options, according to the February 2017 Machine Technology column by Bill Leventon. Imported from the CTE archive to seed discussion on MFGAxis. Originally published…
There have been days when it was easy to be a pessimist and see the glass as half-empty. But eventually, perhaps when least expected, something provides inspiration and my inner optimism returns.…