American Machinist articles from December 2006

American Machinist archives from December 2006

DirectIndustry launches virtual technical library.(LEADING INDICATORS)
December 1, 2006... DirectIndustry.com, (www.directindustry.com) an industrial exhibition Internet site, has launched a Virtual Technical Library that the company says provides access to 90,000 pages of technical information from industrial catalogs. ...

Production of tree J-425 milling machines resumes.(LEADING INDICATORS)
December 1, 2006... Tree CNC (www.beavercnc.com) has resumed production of the J-425 CNC knee-type milling machine, a machine that Tree CNC says was one of the most popular machines produced by the former Tree Machine Tool Co. Inc. Tree CNC is a new company...

Energy fueling demand for planetary gears.(LEADING INDICATORS)
December 1, 2006... Markets for planetary gearboxes in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa are expected to grow by nearly 8 percent by 2009 to $2.3 billion because of expected increases in demand for wind turbines needed for the...

GKS expands on-site measurement capability.(LEADING INDICATORS)
December 1, 2006... GKS Inspection Services, Inc., a division of Laser Design, Inc. (www.gks3d.com), expanded its dimensional inspection services with the addition of a Faro portable-CMM articulated arm, the company's third. With the purchase of the new Faro arm,...

Amera Seiki Corporation.(Briefly...)
December 1, 2006... Amera Seiki Corporation (www.ameraseiki.com) said the winner of the $35,000, custom chopper that it gave away at IMTS 2006 was Allen Aldrich, tool room manager for PTA Corporation in Connecticut.

Hyd-Mech Group Limited.(Briefly...)
December 1, 2006... Hyd-Mech Group Limited (www.hydmech.com), the largest manufacturer of metal cutting band saws in North America, has been given exclusive distribution rights in North America for industrial saws produced by Italy's Soitaab Impianti.

BIG Daishowa Seiki and BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.(Briefly...)
December 1, 2006... BIG Daishowa Seiki and BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. (www.bigkaiser.com) announced the completion of two new manufacturing plants on the island of Awaji, Japan. The company said additional manufacturing capacity at the plants--154,000 sq....

Apprentice Jesse Bradburn of Micrometric Limited.(Briefly...)
December 1, 2006... Apprentice Jesse Bradburn of Micrometric Limited. of Toronto, Ontario, won the grand prize in the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association 13h Annual Apprenticeship Competition. Bradburn received his award Sept. 16. Agie Charmilles sponsored...

Swapping cad files still a major problem.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
December 1, 2006... Interoperability, the ability to share CAD data files between companies and between applications in the same company, continues to pose a difficult challenge to most manufacturing companies, says a recent survey by Kubotek USA...

Smartcam is back.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
December 1, 2006... Sometimes it seems that mergers and acquisitions in the software industry occur almost as often as new software releases. Most of the time these mergers and acquisitions result in benefits for the software users as well as the software makers,...

Steadying solution for runout.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
December 1, 2006... Alathe steadyrest does nothing to eliminate runout when working with long shafts that have excessive runout. Even after being turned and finished, shafts still experience the same runout conditions. My solution to this problem is a special...

Scribing for equality.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
December 1, 2006... My idea is for laying out three, equally spaced locations on a turned diameter. Establishing such locations is often a requirement for installing setscrews or bolts to secure a mating piece. Rather than set up an indexing device when this type...

New tooling solutions.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2006... Iscar Metals Inc. (www.iscarmetals.com) has introduced several new cutting tools including single-edged reamers, single-ended parting inserts, side plungers and a deep-drilling system. The Index H-Ream line of indexable single-edged reamers...

Cutters for square shoulder milling.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2006... Seco Tools Inc. (www.secotools.com) has added Helical Nano Turbo and Helical Power Turbo helical cutters to its family of square-shoulder milling products. Seco says the cutters provide free-cutting action that allows four to five times...

Trunnion rotary systems for multiple-part positioning.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)
December 1, 2006... Hardinge Inc. (www.hardinge.com) says its new Plate and Cube Trunnion Rotary Systems can be loaded with collet blocks, or configured with clamping devices, or customized with a window-box fixture to allow four-sided part machining. Hardinge...

I know where I am but where are you?(METROLOGY)
December 1, 2006... AS THE NEED for precision increases, so does the need for more precise measurement tools. While every machinist has his micrometer and gages, more and more shops are investing in the high-end advanced measuring devices--coordinate measuring...

The trade agenda of the 110TH Congress.(GOVERNMENT MATTERS)
December 1, 2006... When it convenes in January, the 110th Congress will look a lot different from the 109th. The most obvious difference is that the Democrats will be in control of both Houses of Congress. Nevertheless, if one takes a closer look, the margins of...

Jury to decide if machine codesigner is liable for worker's injury.(LAW & LIABILITY)
December 1, 2006... Thompson v. Hirano Tecseed Co. Ltd., 456 F.3d 805 (8th Cir. 2006), U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Aug. 1, 2006. Linda Thompson operated a laminating machine that sticks printed circuit boards to flexible substrates for Sheldahl Inc....

Safety device maker not liable for shocked worker.(LAW & LIABILITY)
December 1, 2006... Brocken v. Entergy Gulf States Inc., 197 S.W.3d 429 (Tex.App. 2006), Texas Court of Appeals, July 13, 2006. In the summer of 2001, Entergy Inc. hired North Houston Pole Line Corp. to install a new electric pole and to move distribution...

Precious machining: one shop shares some secrets for working with platinum.(MATERIALS)
December 1, 2006... THE MEDICAL-DEVICE INDUSTRY IS going platinum as advanced medical procedures require instruments that are made from that precious metal. Because platinum is inert, it will not corrode inside the human body, and patients rarely experience...

Get a process engineer ... for free: tooling manufacturers are changing from tooling vendors to process improvers.(TOOLING)
December 1, 2006... IN THE U.S. METAL CUTTING INDUSTRY WE believe there are millions of dollars to be saved in process improvements, and we prove that every day with our Productivity Improvement Program," says Brian Norris, vice president of marketing for Sandvik...

Is fewer better? The pros and cons of tooling supplier consolidation.(TOOLING)
December 1, 2006... AS NOTED IN THE AMERICAN MACHINIST 2006 Benchmarking Survey, the top performing 20 percent of U.S. machine shops outspend all other shops on tooling by a 4-to-1 margin, and the desire to streamline the tooling supply chain has led to a number...

Shop multitasks its way to medical.(CASEBOOKS)
December 1, 2006... Several factors present special challenges to shops that supply machined metal parts to medical markets, but none is as daunting as making a profit on low-volume jobs. While most shops will use several strategies to overcome the challenge, one...

Gaging speeds metal testing.(CASEBOOKS)
December 1, 2006... A major steel maker enlisted Instron Corp. to design and build a tensile testing apparatus that would measure the thicknesses and widths of steel samples automatically. So Suzanne de Lemos-Williams, senior mechanical engineer at Instron...

Shop opens the door to better file sharing.(CASEBOOKS)
December 1, 2006... Kval Inc., a manufacturer of heavy industrial woodworking machinery, has always used SolidWorks 3D-modeling software to quickly and accurately provide necessary custom designs of its panel saws that employ special traveling carriages. However,...

Independent multispindle turning.(NEW EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... The new Tornos Hydromat (www. hydromat.com) MultiAlpha 6x32 multispindle lathe has a 3-axis independent counter-spindle with five back-working tool positions and integrated independent motor spindles. Tornos says the unit is a 'ground-up'...

Five-axis, multitasking machine for hefty stock removal.(NEW EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... Weingartner Maschinenbau GmbH of Kirchham, Austria, (www.weingartner.com) has introduced a five-axis turning and milling machine that is designed for high stock removal. Weingartner says its MPMC machine can provide turning, milling, drilling,...

EDM drill delivers high speed and small holes.(NEW EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... MC Machinery Systems, Inc. (www.mitusbishi-world.com) has introduced the Mitsubishi ED-2000NC small-hole EDM drill. The drill's 5-axis design provides flexibility for diverse applications, and C-axis ranges from 50 rpm to 800 rpm provide...

Diesinker offers precision, speed and accuracy.(NEW EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... Charmilles (www.charmillesus. com) says its new Roboform 350 MicroTEC die sinking EDM offers innovations in precision, speed and productivity for small die and mold applications. The EDM integrates new discharge circuitry with the company's...

Full-featured VMC for under $40,000.(NEW EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... Fadal Machining Centers (www.fadal.com) has introduced a CNC vertical machining center designed for die/mold makers and parts producers who need a low cost, full-featured machine. The Fadal 2216FX is designed to provide critical levels of...

High-speed vertical machining center for large mold manufacturing.(NEW EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... Makino (www.makino.com) has introduced the V99 and V99L vertical machining centers engineered to provide accuracy and high-speed performance in large die/mold milling while helping to reduce benchwork and post-production polishing. The V99...

Marking system uses intelligent driving impact technology.(NEW EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... Dapra Marking Systems (www.dapramarking.com) Techomark Multi 4 uses Intelligent Driving Impact, a technology that Dapra says ensures perfect marking quality despite variations in shape, surface condition or material of the part. The technology...

You know you're a machinist when ...(LASTWORD)
December 1, 2006... You help your kid do her math graphing homework and measure the points with a caliper. Your girlfriend pulls in for a look at the junkyard without even asking you. Your wife finds a chip in her bra and threatens to put some in your...

Chips-n-burrs.(Cartoon)
December 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I said mold-making, not mould-making."

Using cutting tools to boost profits.(FROM THE EDITOR)
December 1, 2006... Do you spend as much time planning to purchase cutting tools as you do when you plan to buy a new machine? The decision to get a new machine--making a big, capital acquisition--has a way of focusing attention on itself. There is a lot of...

"China-Catch-All" regulations needed.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... Dear Dr. Freedenberg: Being in a position where my livelihood and my career aspirations are based on the success or failure of American manufacturing, I can see your view and even empathize with the fears of the effects of the "China...

"Effective Education" article hits home.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... Dear Editor, First off, I'd like to thank you for your engaging article "Effective Education" published online on Oct. 19 and written by Larry Haftl. [Editor's Note: This article also was published in the October issue of American...

Reports on USA competitiveness appreciated.(LETTERS)
December 1, 2006... Dear Editor: Thank you for printing in American Machinist the great articles on the USA's lack of competitiveness. Specifically "That Blur in the Rear view Mirror is China" (September 2006) by Paul Freedenberg and "Report Says U.S....

Correction.(LETTERS)(Correction notice)
December 1, 2006... The correct Internet address for Mori Seiki USA is www.moriseikius.com. The URL was misprinted in the October issue of American Machinist.