American Machinist articles from December 2008

American Machinist archives from December 2008

Shop hits lights-out production target.(AUTOMATION)(Grauch Enterprises)(LNS America Inc. has appointed Frank Sraj, Jr.)(Adept Technology Inc. introduced Quattro s650 robot )(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A large portion of the work at Grauch Enterprises in Philpsburg, Pa., includes more than 650 different items for the U.S. Department of Defense. The parts, called "knobs," are actually switch bolts for the "Ma Duce"...

Think you're one of the best shops?(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... American Machinist's "Best Machine Shops" program has caught this industry's attention, and we are getting more shops across the country involved in it. And now is the time to start preparing for next year's program. We named our "10 Best...

Machine-tending robot side-by-side.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... Machine-tending robots provide more overall process accuracy, minimize the chance of parts being loaded incorrectly, speed part cycles, reduce labor costs and ease troubleshooting production problems because the human element has been taken out...

The power of seven.(MACHINE TOOLS)(multispindle machines)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Today's small shops are increasingly discovering the power of seven--that is 7-axis dual-spindle CNC screw-type turning machines. Such multi axis machines have always been associated with high-volume work, and...

Who's to blame?(MACHINE TOOLS)(job losses)(Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... When asked who they blame for the dramatic loss of manufacturing jobs in the past 10 years, the majority of respondents to an American Mold Builders Association survey indicated they blamed the government and trade policies. However, a few...

Shop stays ahead at everyturn.(MACHINE TOOLS)(DuPage Machine Products Inc.)(PartMaker, Inc.)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In an era of outsourcing, DuPage Machine Products Inc. (www. dupagemachine.com) keeps more jobs in-house nowadays and plans to remain in that mode.The shop specializes in high-precision turned parts made into end...

Innovation in Italy.(MACHINE TOOLS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since 1958, BI-MU has showcased the latest innovations for the entire manufacturing sector, and the 26th edition of the Italian tradeshow that took place in October, 2008, at the Milan Exhibition Center, fieramilano,...

Robust lathes deliver beefy production.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Rome Ltd.)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rome Ltd., a Sheldon, Iowa, meat grinder machine manufacturer, scrapped its manual engine lathes and decided to turn large feedscrews and other components that power its equipment on more robust CNC lathes. As a...

Heavy and rigid turn-mill.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Weighing in at over 7 ton, the Colchester-Harrison TT6 turn-mill from Clausing Industrial Inc. in Kalamazoo, Mich., easily handles robust rigid machining of complex and/ or high-stock-removal components. The 8-axis...

Rebuild and revitalize.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Machine Tool and Gear's sales report)(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When John Aldrich was brought in to turn around Machine Tool & Gear Inc., the shop, entirely dependant on the automotive industry, was amassing losses to the tune of $3 million. Aldrich is the group general...

When twins see double.(MACHINE TOOLS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If a machine with 2 spindles simultaneously cutting 4 clamped parts radically reduces cost per part, does logic dictate that a machine with perhaps 4 spindles be even better? To answer this 2 versus 4 question,...

Consumables and a 120,000-rpm turbine-air spindle.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Sodick Inc. opens new division with Anthony Caruso appointed as head)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Sodick Inc. (www. sodick.com) has launched Hightech, the company's new EDM consumable sales division. The division will provide such consumables as filters, wire, electrodes and carbide contacts for all EDM machines. Anthony Caruso will head...

Mazak.(NEWS)(expansion plans )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Mazak (www.mazakcorp.com)plans to expand the size and capabilities of its manufacturing facility in Florence, Ky. The expansion is planned to boost efficiency through improved workflow, and should be completed this month. It will add 50,000...

Fritz Studer AG.(NEWS)(merges with Combitec AG )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Fritz Studer AG,cylindrical grinding machine manufacturer in Thun, Switzerland, will merge its competences with those of internal grinding machine maker Combitec AG in Blel, Switzerland. The integration will allow both companies to increase...

Lockheed Martin.(NEWS)(purchasing agreement with MAG Maintenance Technologies )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Lockheed Martin has awarded MAG Maintenance Technologies (www. maint-tech.com) with a special broad-reaching purchasing agreement. It covers global service and support of Lockheed's manufacturing equipment, enables lean efficiencies and...

Flow International Corp.(NEWS)(in deal with Airbus S.A.S.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Flow International Corp. (www.flowcorp. com), manufacturer of ultrahigh-pressure orders for four systems under a recently awarded contract with aerospace company Airbus. As part of the contract, Flow will supplyAirbus with composite machining...

Mori Seiki USA.(NEWS)(Aphelion Inc.)(Marotta Scientific Controls Inc.)(McCauley Propeller Systems)(Awards list)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Mori Seiki USA has announced the winners of its 2008 Innovation of the Americas machining competition designed to recognize talented machinists in the metalworking industry. The company holds similar competitions every two years in Europe and...

Mazak Optonics: an underground plant sets a new bar for laser cutter manufacturing.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... Yamazaki Mazak Optonics Corp. opened in February a new manufacturing facility in Minokamo, Japan--near Nagoya--that sets a new level for plant design, layout and cleanliness. The company's Phoenix Laboratory has 108,000 sq. ft. of space,...

Grinding puts machine tool manufacturer at the top.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Taiyo Koki )
December 1, 2008... Noboru Watanabe says his grinding machines regularly keep tolerances to 0.3 microns. That claim, he said, instilled skepticism in machine tool makers and, Watanabe said, one of the biggest challenges his 23-year-old company faced was to...

Japan sees softening in machine tool orders.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... The international machine tool show put on in late October/early November by the Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association (JIMTOF) followed on the heels of the biennial IMTS that was held in Chicago in mid-September. Both international...

Machine tool calibration: standards and methods.(OPERATIONS)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the past decade, product innovation, improvement, and cost reduction programs have led to growing interest in machining parts with ever-tighter tolerances. Accurate parts reduce costs by cutting assembly time,...

Finding your niche.(OPERATIONS)
December 1, 2008... The following article was developed from a presentation made at IMTS 2008 by Ted Toth Jr., president of Toth Technologies Inc. (www.tothtech.com). Toth's PowerPoint presentation can be found on the American Machinist Internet site at www....

The soft side of performance racing.(SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NASCAR is certainly the big dog of auto racing in the United States, but for every NASCAR team there are a thousand other teams that go auto racing every week. There are drag racers, dirt track racers, road...

Why do machine shops need a CAD system?(SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Amid intensifying global competition, machine shops are searching for ways to automate processes, compress delivery times, and reduce costs. For many years, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) applications have...

Is the most popular CAD/CAM package the best?(SOFTWARE)
December 1, 2008... According to the latest analysis of the CAM software market produced by CIMdata, Inc. (www. cimdata.com), Mastercam from CNC Software Inc. (www.mastercam.com) with more than 135,000 installations, is more than twice as popular as its nearest...

Milling cutters for hard-to-cut materials.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(2L inc )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... 2L inc. (www.2Linc.com) has introduced a line of solid carbide armor mill cutting tools that are designed to machine hard materials such as granite, armorplate, hardened steel, stone and brick. The tools have a shape similar to a flat...

Improved indexable insert drills.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Seco Tools AB)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... New developments to Perfomax indexable insert drills from Seco Tools Inc. (www.secotools.com) include a changed helix for improved productivity and chip evacuation, a refined core for improved strength and stability and an improved drill point...

Tough grades for steel and non-ferrous machining.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Sumitomo Electric Carbide Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sumitomo electric carbide Inc. (www.sumi carbide.com) has introduced the AC830P insert grade for interrupted steel turning. The grade combines a tough substrate with a newly designed Super FF coating structure to...

Importer of German specialty cutting tools.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Steiner Technologies Inc. and Hermann Bilz GmbH in deal)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Steiner Technologies Inc. (www.steinertechnologies) now is the exclusive North American importer of Hermann Bilz GmbH & Co KG specialty cutting tools. Bilz, located outside Stuttgart, Germany, manufactures tools...

Boring tool with optoelectronic adjuster.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... A new high-tech boring head--the Digital B4035--has been introduced by Walter (www.waltertools. com). The boring head has an optoelectronic backlash-free adjustment measuring system and digital display with 0.0001-in. accuracy in the diameter...

Inserts with new chip breaker.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Sandvik Coromant's new WMX wiper insert combines a main radius with multiple complementary radii and integrates a new chip-breaker geometry. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The company said this design widens feedrate and chip-breaking ranges...

Inserts with laser-made features.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... New TiroWave 3d chip breakers from TiroTool available in North America exclusively from cImtek Group (www.cimtekgroup.com) combine polycrystalline diamond tooling with 7-axis laser technology to produce tool life up to 10 times longer than...

Bandsaw blades for high-stress materials.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New Tri-Tech CT Band Saw Blades from Lenox (www.lenoxtools. com) are for cutting large cross-sections or a range of difficult-to-machine high-strength steels and nickel-based alloys. The blades have a set style...

Ring groover for the oil patch.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corp., Cutting Tool Division, (www.kyocera.com/cuttingtools) has introduced a new cutting tool that the company said provides an economical way to cut ring grooves to meet American Petroleum Institute (API)...

End mills for aluminum.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Primary cutter LLC )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Primary cutter LLC (www.supermill. com) has introduced the Supermill For Aluminum line of carbide end mills with a geometry designed for aluminum applications. The tools have sharp corners, full eccentric relief...

Endmills for cutting aluminum.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Emuge Corp.)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alu-Jet-Cut Solid Carbide End Mills from Emuge Corp. (www.emuge.com) are designed for large-volume machining of aluminum. Developed in conjunction with major aircraft manufacturers, the company said the tools are...

Saw blades for wood, plastic and non-ferrous matals.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Onsrud Cutter Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Onsrud cutter LP (www.onsrud.com) has introduced a full line of German-produced saw blades that use laser technology to produce a true running blade with low vibration for accurate, clean cutting. Industrial sized carbide contributes to a clean...

Micro drills for steels.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)(Single Source Technologies)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Single Source Technologies (www. singlesourcetech.com) has launched NS Tool's new Micro Drill series, featuring drill diameters of 0.01 mm in regular--10 times diameter--and short--6 times diameter--length micro drills, as well as micro point...

Static clamping system.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)(Advanced Machine and Engineering Co.)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Ott-Jakob HSKclamping technology has been integrated into the new SST 60 Static clamping System from Advanced machine & engineering co. (www.ame.com). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The system is designed to provide high retention forces and...

Applicator of MQL.(FLUIDS)(minimum quantity lubrication)(Accu-Lube)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Accu-Lube (www.rolconorth america.com) has introduced a coolant applicator for shops that are interested in launching minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) for near-dry machining. The Accu-Lube Advantage...

Edge-prep machine for lateral and OD tools.(ACCESSORIES)(organizational development )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Conicity Technologies LLC (www. conicity.com) has introduced a four-axis, CNC edge-prep machine. The EXM-50EZ has been developed to compliment the company's DXM machine line for edge prep on drills, reamers and gun drills. The EXM 50EZ...

Compact laser marking unit.(ACCESSORIES)(Technifor Inc.)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new compact TF420 fiber laser marking unit from Technifor Inc. (www.technifor.com) is designed to provide high contrast 2D data matrix codes, logos, barcodes, and human readable text at high speeds. Considered...

Saw blade edge prep machine.(ACCESSORIES)(Conicity Technologies LLC)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Conicity Technologies LLC (www.conicity.com) said its new SXM-50 saw blade edge preparation machine reduces chipping of saw blade tips and provides a significant increase in saw blade life. The unit can provide...

Creative fixturing puts parts in the zone: but be warned, some machines limit how much of the workzone is actually usable.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Parkn Manufacturing LLC.)(Makino)(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... Everyday, many shops perform a balancing act in their quest to build the perfect fixture. That highly sought after perfect fixture puts as many parts as possible into a machine tool at one time without disturbing the toolpath and it...

Agenda? The challenging policy changes that lie ahead.(GOVERNMENT MATTERS)
December 1, 2008... Barack Obama won the Presidency with a significant mandate for change. But what does "change" mean? How is he likely to govern? What does he plan to change first? No one knows, except President-Elect Obama, and he has yet to lay out a...

Machining.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)(Editorial)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... When turning or boring and a good finish is not required, but you want an edge break, program a radius of 0.01 at a feed of 0.005. Turn back the tool's nose radius, plus radius your cutting and feed at a much higher rate to reduce cycle time....

Set up.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... If a setup piece is available, use the same one throughout all operation setups. For one or two-piece jobs without a set up piece, be extra careful. Stop and check and measure twice. Or find a piece of scrap material that could be used as a set...