A Very Formal Visit: People & Companies
When a good customer requests a meeting at his place, I go. That happened recently, when our shop's account manager accompanied me on a 20-minute trek to a customer's new corporate headquarters…
General Manufacturing Discussion
Recent discussions
Coming Revolution: Inspection Efficiency
Contrary to the history lessons from middle school about "the" Industrial Revolution, it is a widely held belief that the modern world has experienced three industrial revolutions. In the first, industry harnessed…
Q&A: Deep-Hole Drilling
Deep-hole drilling is virtually an art unto itself, with a host of complexities and considerations inherent to the process. Greg Forman, technical director of toolmaker Precision Cutting Tools Inc. (PCT), Santa Fe…
A Simple Diagnosis: General Industry Coverage
It's not the most glamorous piece of equipment by any means, but the ball bar is a diagnostic tool used, in some form, to benchmark the performance of virtually every machine tool…
High-Pressure Work: General Industry Coverage
Components used in the manufacture of combustion hardware for a Mitsubishi gas turbine begin life as sheet or plate stock. Because our components come from large sheets, we start every manufacturing process…
Multibenefit Machines
CNC lathes have evolved greatly over the past few decades. What were once simple 2-axis turning machines have become a bewildering array of extremely capable metalcutting equipment, most of which offer two…
Clamp Down: General Industry Coverage
The technology to form, press and grind indexable carbide inserts has evolved to such a high degree that the methods to effectively clamp inserts in a cutter body have struggled to keep…
Cutting remarks: General Industry Coverage
Michael Finklea believes that there isn't much reported on sawing in the manufacturing trade press because "it's kind of the redheaded stepchild in the industry—an unappreciated part of the manufacturing process. In…
A clean finish: General Industry Coverage
END USER: RDC Control Ltd., (800) 363-2264, www.rdccontrol.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Rösler Metal Finishing USA LLC, (269) 441-3000, www.rosler.us. CHALLENGE: Reduce the cost and time to finish end plates for hydraulic cylinders. SOLUTION:…
Customer-centric cutting: Turning Performance
END USER: Kluba Machine LLC, (636) 390-4088. SOLUTION PROVIDER: CNC Software Inc., (800) 228-2877, www.mastercam.com. CHALLENGE: Improve cycle times and spindle uptime while maintaining part quality. SOLUTION: CAD/CAM software. Imported from the…
Remembering a teacher: Workforce Development & Training
I was saddened to hear about the passing of David A. Dornfeld, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who died of a heart attack on March 27 at…
ITAMCO pushes the innovation envelope
It's fitting that "Technology" is part of Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Cos.'s name. In addition to providing a full slate of machining and assembly services, ITAMCO created what it says is the…
Providing help for engineers: People & Companies
The majority of engineers I've worked with are solution seekers who usually go out of their way to make things easier for people working on their projects. However, as a result of…
Smarter by design: General Industry Coverage
I'm not a huge fan of machinist's vises. Even with a speed handle and a couple cups of coffee in your belly, it seems like it takes forever to crank them open…
Drilling stack materials
The aircraft industry now has the means to precisely machine multilayer material combinations. These combinations, called stack materials, include several thin layers of different materials. Aircraft skin, for example, could consist of…
Transactional or strategic?: People & Companies
We're getting lots of random requests for machined parts, and that segment of our business remains busy. One recent example was a business acquaintance of mine who contacted our shop requesting machining…
Cam-grinding options
Ask the Grinding Doc Columnist Jeffrey Badger, Ph.D., responds to a question about the difference between "constant rpm" and "constant metal-removal rate" when it comes to grinding cams. Imported from the CTE…
Above and beyond: Inspection Efficiency
Value-added services shorten lead times and increase sales opportunities for parts manufacturers. The decision to bring traditionally outsourced services in-house can be an expensive and scary proposition—one with the potential to either…
Airing differences
Around for more than 100 years, air gaging is a mature technology that still has a place in modern shops. Imported from the CTE archive to seed discussion on MFGAxis. Originally published…
Flying-machine machining
As aerospace materials have evolved, machine shops have had to use new tools and technologies in order to process them. The June 2016 CTE cover story delves into delamination of composites and…
Productive Times: Ground round: General Industry Coverage
END USER: Crowley Tool Co., (615) 824-5594, www.crowleytool.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Schütte LLC, (800) 668-4035, www.schutteusa.com. CHALLENGE: Enhance reliability when grinding round tools. SOLUTION: A new 5-axis CNC tool and cutter grinder with…
Productive Times: Coming ultrasonically clean
END USER: Van's Manufacturing Inc., (805) 522-6267. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Omegasonics, (888) 989-5560, www.omegasonics.com. CHALLENGE: Reduce the time and cost to clean machined parts. SOLUTION: An ultrasonic parts cleaner with a filtration pump.…
Machine Technology: Latest in lubrication
Want a good reason for lubricating the moving parts of machine tools? Here's one from Klüber Lubrication NA LP, Londonderry, N.H., a developer of specialty lubricants: Lubrication of machine tool components minimizes…
Shop Operations: Chamfering and edge dressing
The expression "There's more than one way to skin a cat" certainly applies to machining. A young programmer in our shop is constantly being run in circles by the whims of those…
Manager's Desk: Impacted by illness
I generally consider myself to be a positive person. However, these past few weeks have tested my resolve. It's not the roller-coaster daily life as a machine shop owner, but the stark…