American Machinist articles from April 2008

American Machinist archives from April 2008

CMMs designed for the shop floor and the shop flow.(OPERATIONS)(Capability Maturity Model)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wenzel GmbH, Wilcox Associates Inc. and Micron-X- Corp. are bringing coordinate measuring machine capabilities to the sides of machine tools with machines and gauges that are engineered to withstand the rougher...

Photographic quality from a laser scanner.(OPERATIONS)
April 1, 2008... Faro Technologies inc. (www.faro.com) has developed a new laser scanner that the company said is more accurate and faster than any previous device. Faro's photon Series of laser scanners are successors to the company's laser Scanner LS...

The players in CAM software development: taking the first steps to find the best CAM software.(SOFTWARE)(Computer Aided Manufacturing)(Statistical table)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software offers machine shop operators a fast return-on-investment productivity improvement solution, but finding the CAM package that offers a shop the most potential benefit is...

CAD/CAM release includes functions for turn-mill centers and swiss-type lathes.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PartMaker Inc., a division of Delcam Plc (www.delcam.com), has released version 8.6 of its PartMaker CAD/ CAM software for CNC mills, lathes, wireEDM, turn-mill centers and Swiss-type lathes. Partmaker said the...

Zero-stock: hard material milling.(CASE STUDY)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For more than 30 years, Mar-Lee Mold Company Inc. (http://www.marleecompanies.com/index.php) of Leominster, Mass. focused on basic core and cavity mold work for high-end, one-off custom mold making jobs. One-off...

Carbide boring tools.(TOOLING & FIXTURING)(Criterion Machine Works has introduces Carbide boring tools)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Criterion Machine Works (www.criterionmachineworks.com) has introduced a 0.125-in. diameter, solid carbide qualified length (Ql) boring tool to its line of solid carbide boring tools. These tools feature a...

Toolholder fixture.(TOOLING & FIXTURE)(Techniks inc. )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Techniks inc. (www.techniksusa.com) has introduced a toolholding fixture that mounts to the side of a tool cart or bench and secures toolholders for changing cutting tools, collets, and pull studs. the NTS tightening...

Workcell exhausts production pressure.(AUTOMATION)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Automotive component manufacturers continue to face increasingly shorter product lifecycles, more demanding product quality expectations and pressure to reduce productions costs. Shops in the car and truck...

Robots challenge traditional machines.(AUTOMATION)(programming plus inc. )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A new robot technology could revolutionize large-format five-axis machining, according to Wisconsin-based programming plus inc. (PPI) (www.programmingplus.com). PPI worked with Kuka robotics Corp. (www.kukarobotics.com) and Delcam...

Diamonds: for sparkling tool performance: developments in diamond coatings allow tools to work harder, last longer.(TOOLING)
April 1, 2008... Diamond coatings, applied by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, have unmatched advantages when applied to tungsten carbide cutting tools. Chemical vapor deposition diamond retains the properties of natural diamond. Its ultra-high...

Support the Smart Machine Platform Initiative.(FROM THE EDITOR)
April 1, 2008... The fourth year of funding for the Smart Machine Platform Initiative will be under consideration in Congress this summer, and American Machinist is joining the National Tooling and Machining Association in calling for support for that program....

The era of expanding international trade agreements is drawing to a close.(GOVERNMENT MATTERS)
April 1, 2008... If you listen to the debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, you would think that the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") was one of the worst trade deals that the United States Government ever negotiated and that the...

Ideas for jaw chuck.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
April 1, 2008... For me, this is the fastest way to dial-in a 4-jaw chuck. after rough aligning to the chuck rings, I use a dial indicator on the workpiece, rotate the spindle through one complete revolution and note the highest and lowest indicator readings. i...

Simple circular saw slices sheet work.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... My shop was converting all its die sets to quick-change arrangements, and one of the components for this job was aluminum blocks for mounting small feeders on the side of each die set. Each set required two 2 in. by 4 in. by 1.5-in. blocks...

Plates in no time flat.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I remove warp and grind plates flat after heat treating using several pieces of equally spaced graphite glued to the plates. With the graphite in place, I turn the machine's magnet strength down (if possible) and...

Process deposits: part strength and longevity.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Technogenia inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Technogenia Lasercarb Technology Center in Conroe, Tex., houses a machine that deposits anti-abrasion material onto industrial parts. Located in the heart of the oil and gas industry, the facility is the...

Machine-ready blanks reduce part cost.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Buying raw stock might allow shops to shave as much as 10 percent off the cost of materials, but that results in less than a 1-percent savings on overall part cost, according to John Belzer, president of TCI precision Metals...

Honing: no longer a messy manual process.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Cover story)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new generation of CNC honing technology is changing the image of a messy, manual secondary process and taking on a primary role for makers of small engines (less than 50 hp), gears and fluid power components. ...

Precise confusion.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Kern Precision Inc)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... "Neither DIN nor the newly introduced Euro norm EN defines the word 'precision' or 'accuracy' when it comes to machine tools. Also, on other continents, there is no valid definition existing. Manufacturers of more precise machine tools play...

Off-line drill saves shop money.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Pacific Bearing Co., a manufacturer of precision metal components, used an off-line boring drill rather than CNC machinery, and increased throughput of a custom steel ring bearing line. By introducing the manually operated drill, the...

Shop fills in the blanks: multispindle machines handle both blanks and bar-fed work with built-in robots.(MACHINE TOOLS)
April 1, 2008... When MKM is approached to take on a new job, those at the shop who are involved in the project first consider the best way to manufacture the parts and the equipment that is needed to do so. They don't just try to adapt the job to the shop's...

Embracing automotive.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... While many shops shy away from or are trying to diversify out of automotive work, MKM embraces it with open arms and is not afraid to invest in new technology to win more of it. The shop specializes in precision turning, and by 2009,...