American Machinist articles from March 2002

American Machinist archives from March 2002

Make those diamonds shine. (editorial).
March 1, 2002... Recently, I spent some time on the factory floor, of a major automotive Tier I supplier talking to employees. Most of the individuals I spoke with were classified as machinists. However, in today's manufacturing environment, that term is often...

Economic stimulus now. (letters).
March 1, 2002... Your editorial in the December 2001 issue, entitled "A gift that gives" (p. 8), is right on target. This country needs an economic stimulus package that includes accelerated depreciation of at least 30% on capital goods for U.S. manufacturers....

Practical knowledge. (letters).
March 1, 2002... In regards to the letter written by Tim Wyatt in September ("Accurate idea?," p. 14): For some reason, Mr. Wyatt didn't think much of my idea of using a 36-in. rule and depth mic to measure 10ng lengths ("Measuring length with a depth mic,"...

Spray-on tooling. (technology trends).
March 1, 2002... RSP Tooling LLC has signed a licensing agreement for technology that it believes will impact the industrial sector in much the same manner as the advent of CNC did. The technology, rapid solidification, produces tooling for virtually any...

A forum for design engineers. (technology trends).
March 1, 2002... Design engineering professionals will soon have the chance to see new products and technologies that can help reduce product development costs and time to market while increasing quality. Professional Tradeshows Inc. (PTS), a division of Penton...

Job site for manufacturing. (technology trends).
March 1, 2002... To help connect skilled labor with employers nationwide, Manufacturing Quote Inc., Smyrna, Ga., has introduced an Internet job site for manufacturing professionals. Manufacturing Quote believes the site, www.mfgjobs.com, will help manufacturing...

Accelerating material development. (technology trends).
March 1, 2002... The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md., has launched a resource for those using combinatorial approaches to characterize and develop new materials -- a collaborative research center devoted to advancing new...

Industrial-strength linear measurement. (technology trends).
March 1, 2002... The French firm Vectral is now offering a high-speed, linear-measurement system for demanding industrial environments. Available in both linear encoder and electronic tape-measure formats, Meterdrive's design employs an optoelectric detection...

Select workholders fast. (Company news).
March 1, 2002... The RIC (Roemheld Interactive Catalog) lets users quickly sift through thousands of workholding products. Users simply pop the CD-ROM catalog into their computers and key in information about their application. In just a few seconds, the...

Grinding wheels keep on turning. (Company news).
March 1, 2002... A six-page brochure unfolds to describe grinding products from Alpex. The company offers a range of diamond and CBN products, including electroplated wheels, resin-bond, vitrified-bond, metal-bond, and I.D. grinding wheels. The brochure...

U.S. Cutting Tool Institute Billings Index: index for January 01 -- December 01 *. (Company news).
March 1, 2002... U.S. Cutting Tool Institute Billings Index Index for January 01 - December 01 * January $163,511,167 144.2% February $153,265,265 134.8% March $173,222,182 152.1% April $145,809,743 128.9% May ...

Tool catalog. (Company news).
March 1, 2002... A full-line catalog lists Manchester/ OTM milling, drilling, and turning tools. It includes engineering drawings for such tools as the Stinger small-diameter drills, Holeshot and Coremaster drills, Killer Bees small-diameter end mills, as well...

High-speed cutting. (Cutting products).
March 1, 2002... Moldstar solid-carbide ballnose cutters are for high-speed and hard-metal machining. Reportedly, the tools tackle materials to 63 Rc in high-accuracy roughing applications and fine-detail milling. In one application involving 40 Rc NAK 80 mold...

Turning inserts. (Cutting products).
March 1, 2002... American National Carbide has introduced the "P line of turning inserts available in three grades, three styles of chipbreaker geometries, and coated with multilayer PVD. The double-sided turning inserts are used for machining steel, cast iron,...

Hard turning, the easy way. (machine of the month).
March 1, 2002... The MW120 HG automated CNC turning center is built for hard-turning applications and easily tackles medium to high-volume production in the automotive and contract-manufacturing industries. Built by Murata Wiedemann, Metal Cutting Division, the...

2001 machine tool consumption down. (business trends).
March 1, 2002... December U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $162.37 million according to AMT -- The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This total was up 11.7% from November and down...

New president at Bridgeport Machines. (business trends).
March 1, 2002... Goldman Industrial Group, Boston, named Harold Pinto president of Bridgeport Machines Worldwide Companies. Pinto was formerly managing director, International, of Textron Golf & Turf.

Mikron names new president/CEO. (business trends).
March 1, 2002... Randall E. Roberts is president and chief executive officer of Mikron Corp., Monroe, Conn. He succeeds Oskar Weder, who is now vice president of Mikron Technology Group's American Components Division. Roberts was formerly vice president and...

Cincinnati Machine promotions. (business trends).
March 1, 2002... Dan Janka is now president of Cincinnati Machine's U.S.-based machinery business, with Bill Horwarth named vice president and general manager of its aftermarket support business, Cincinnati Plus. Janka is responsible for worldwide...

Haas Automation Inc.
March 1, 2002... Oxnard, Calif.... Haas Automation Inc. says its 2001 sales remained strong, with machine tool sales down only 11% from their record-setting 2000 figures. The company also reported an increase in lathe sales, 10.5%, over the amount sold during...

End users can order Hardinge Inc.'s collets, chucks, and other workholding equipment over the Internet.
March 1, 2002... Elmira, N.Y.... End users can order Hardinge Inc.'s collets, chucks, and other workholding equipment over the Internet. The company's site, www.hardingeworkholding.com, offers a PDF-file product catalog for on-line viewing and an ordering...

SolutionWare Corp. and the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) have teamed up to teach CAD/CAM programming.
March 1, 2002... San Jose, Calif.... SolutionWare Corp. and the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) have teamed up to teach CAD/CAM programming. At NTMA's Training Center in Fremont, Calif., experienced and apprentice machinists use SolutionWare's...

DeVlieg Bullard II Inc.
March 1, 2002... Rockford, Ill.... DeVlieg Bullard II Inc. purchased of the assets of the Motch Corp., Cleveland, and Cone-Blanchard, Windsor, Vt., from Park Corp., acquiring the product lines of the Conomatic screw machine, the Motch turning machine, and the...

China venture. (International news).
March 1, 2002... Delcam formed a joint venture with its long-time Hong Kong representative, Forida. Delcam (Hong Kong) Ltd., will represent the CAD/CAM software producer in Hong Kong and the South China region. The new unit, along with Delcam's new South China...

View simultaneous cuts before the machine cycles. (bits & bytes).
March 1, 2002... PartMaker Version 5.0 CAD/CAM software performs 3D machining simulation for turn-mill centers and CNC Swiss-type lathes. Version 5.0 supports live-tooling functions and synchronized operations. The simulation provides a realistic view of...

Real-time production schedule improves accuracy. (bits & bytes).
March 1, 2002... ShopWerks Software has introduced a multifunctional, real-time software production schedule for viewing production schedules, workcenters, workorders, sequences, instructions, materials, tooling, and finished goods. Shopfloor personnel can...

CAD/CAM system guides users. (bits & bytes).
March 1, 2002... Cadkey's Keymill 2-Axis is a standalone, Windows-based CAD/CAM system for 2D and 3D wireframe design and drafting; NC programming of drilling; pocketing and profile milling; and solid (3D-rendered) toolpath verification. It includes translators...

Forget manual regeneration of toolpaths. (bits & bytes).
March 1, 2002... Surfcam 2002 associates all machining parameters in Surfcam to part geometry. As changes are made to tool or cut information, the system automatically regenerates the toolpath, eliminating the need to manually regenerate the toolpath, so users...

Non-competition agreement held mostly enforceable. (law & liability).
March 1, 2002... In 1999, Amerimax Fabricated Products Inc. decided to acquire Atlanta Metal Products Inc., one of its competitors. Atlanta Metal was a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of rain-carrying products, including downspouts and rain gutters, as...

In the field EDM.
March 1, 2002... Whether it's cutting challenging materials or part shapes that can't be done any other way, each shop has its own reasons for incorporating EDM into manufacturing operations. But whatever the reason, the result is generally the same for all:...

Time is money: an HMC helps an aerospace firm prove that the old adage is truer than ever. (machining centers).
March 1, 2002... Aero Machining Ltd. is no stranger to 5-axis work. The shop, which supplies aerospace components to customers such as Bombardier and Boeing, regularly uses 5-axis machines to make a variety of large, heavy workpieces. But, until recently, all...

Tracing the path of feature recognition: advancements in feature recognition are shaping tomorrow's CAM systems. (CAD/CAM).
March 1, 2002... Traditionally, creating toolpaths for CNC machines fell to CNC programmers. The job was tedious, and worse yet, didn't take advantage of all the information solid models offered, and it was this fact that led to early feature-recognition...

Idea indicates accurate grinding. (practical ideas).
March 1, 2002... When cylindrically grinding shafts, I incorporate a simple method to align the machine table for a straight grind. The method works without formulas or having to remove much stock to mic shaft diameters. After making a grinding pass over...

Messy air hoses go down the tubes. (practical ideas).
March 1, 2002... My idea eliminates messy coiled air hoses, which can tangle, catch on equipment, and, when on the floor, cause accidents. I correct this situation with a piece of 4-in.-diameter PVC tubing with a 90 [degrees] elbow, cap, and some hardware. ...

Machine choice helps business thrive. (case books).
March 1, 2002... Aerospace Commercial Tooling (ACT), Ontario, Calif., machines hard and soft tools for the aerospace industry as well as for many other customers. "We machine just about anything and everything, from wood and plastic to titanium," says ACT's...

No dust in the wind. (case books).
March 1, 2002... A Michigan diemaker had problems meeting air-quality standards. Its two old bag-type dust collectors couldn't suction steel dust from the plant's air. So the company replaced them with two Sternvent CYD3620 dust collectors, each designed for...

CNC aids company growth. (case books).
March 1, 2002... Jerry Busche and his business partner, Tracy Grimm, founded the Indiana-based Engineered Tooling Inc. (ETI). Originally housed in a barn, the company, with a saw and one mill equipped with an Anilam 1100 CNC, made a name for itself doing...

New VMC saves space and time. (case books).
March 1, 2002... Hi-Tech Mold & Engineering Inc., Rochester Hills, Mich., needed space for additional machines in its 140,000 [ft.sup.2] complex while maintaining, or improving, the plant's productivity on a per-machine basis. To meet these goals, Hi-Tech...

Controls 32 axes. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The Advantage 810 CNC system controls up to 32 axes, delivering an easy-to-integrate and affordable advanced technology solution for OEM and retrofit applications. It features a Pentium III-based, ATX motherboard with a 15-in. flat-panel...

Cutter compensation and offset within control. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The 18i-MB5 CNC's 5-axis feature eliminates the need for qualified tooling by providing dynamic cutter compensation and tool-length offset within the control itself. Programming the Series 18i-MB5 is easy because it calculates compensations as...

Contouring control. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... Thanks to new processor architecture, the iTNC 530 contouring control establishes new standards for high-speed cutting with short block-processing time and optimum path control. For machining complex geometries, the iTNC 530 offers numerous...

Innovative motion control. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... From the Sinumerik 802 Series for turning, milling, and training machines to the PC-based Sinumerik 840 Di for handling, robotics, water and laser cutting, and more, Siemens Motion Control Systems offers a range of products and system solutions...

Souped-up grinder. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... To improve accuracy, the Bridgeport/Harig EZ-Surf XA grinder now sports Newall Microsyn digital linear encoders combined with special software that interfaces with the scales. A 5-place decimal display enhances the machine's resolution to 10...

Verification software updated. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... Version 5.2 of Vericut NC verification/optimization software lets users eliminate the process of manually proving out NC programs. New software features include Tool Path Review to review tool path simulations for errors and edit them; a...

Edit any CAD file. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... CNC Software has added numerous enhancements to its Mastercam Verison 9 products for design, machining, turning, wire EDM, and routing. Functions common to all of the products ensure users can open and edit virtually any CAD file. There is...

Chipbreaker for stainless steel. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The Snap Tap family of threading tools has an A2 chipbreaker that minimizes vibration without compromising chip flow. The tools are made of CP500-grade carbide, which has a wear-resistant PVD coating and a tough micrograin substrate. Designed...

Tools for high-volume production. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... Esprit 2002 CAM software includes specialized tools for high-volume production turning, milling, and wire EDM. Full CAM support for wire and milling lets job shops use the same software system to program both wire and mill machine tools. ...

VMC for small-part machining. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... Built for small-part machining, the EMC vertical machining center offers 86 ft/lb of peak torque and 7,500 rpm of spindle speed. It has a 7.5-hp vector drive motor and 3-hp axis motors that deliver 2,500 lb of thrust for 600 ipm of cutting...

Synchronize machine tasks. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... GibbsCAM's Multi-Task Machining module (MTM) has a graphical user interface and Sync Manager to program and synchronize the multiple elements of multitasking machine tools and transfer work-in-process pieces. Adaptation to added machines has...

Machine's pallets run different operations. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... With dual automatic pallet changers and four pallets, there are benefits to the VF-3 Mini FMS. For multi-operation workpieces, each pallet is set up to run different operations. The pieces then move from pallet to pallet instead of changing the...

Lathe uses chucks or collets. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... Quest 8/51 CNC lathes accept 8-in. jaw chucks or 20C collets for a 51-mm bar capacity. The machines feature Y axis, live tooling, polygon turning, subspindle, high-speed main and subspindles with a C axis, plus more. Rapid traverse rates...

Face mills for large radii. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The HM90 FAL-16 face mills accommodate large radii between the wall and horizontal-machined surfaces or inserts with a radius large than 0.012 in. This gives the proper clearance between the tool and workpieces. Iscar Metals Inc....

Cutters made from new ceramic grade. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... High-temperature alloy-milling cutters from Kennametal are made from a new ceramic grade, Kyon 2100. The cutters are engineered to rough mill nickel, cobalt, and iron-based heat-resistant alloys. They can cut 2,000 to 4,500 sfm with a removal...

Smooth controlled arcs. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The Precision TIG 375 welder offers a smooth, controlled arc with an excellent start. It is useful in a variety of TIG fabrication applications, such as aerospace and welding specialty alloys and aluminum. According to the company, the machine...

Tough enough for various metals. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The Cimstar 3800 family of metalworking fluids not only meets the tough challenges of aluminum machining and grinding in the automotive industry but also works well with titanium, exotic alloys, and ferrous and nonferrous alloys. The...

HMC with trunnion table. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The smallest of Mitsui Seiki's tilting-trunnion-table machines, the HU50-SAX 5-axis horizontal machining center accommodates workpiece diameters up to 27 in. and weights up to 1,430 lb. Its configuration meets high-speed-contouring needs plus...

Multi-axis turning center. (Spotlight: manufacturing controls).
March 1, 2002... The MT1500 multi-axis turning center defines flexibility. It can machine small and complex workpieces requiring front, back, and side cutting or pieces that need turning. The machine's 15.7-in. maximum turning diameter and 36.2 in. maximum...

No pollution, no business. (100 Years Ago In American Machinist).
March 1, 2002... A smoke consumer -- no not someone who buys cigarettes, but a patented filtering device -- was being sold to businesses with smokestacks in 1902 to "consume" smoke and keep it from pouring into the air. A Canadian manufacturer selling the...

What is machining? (100 Years Ago In American Machinist).
March 1, 2002... The U.S. government indirectly faced this question, when debating a bill about the eight-hour day. One Congressman in favor of the bill said the government, itself, was making guns at the Washington Navy Yard under the eight-hour-day system....

Employee handbook makes the news. (50 Years Ago In American Machinist).
March 1, 2002... Editors of the March 31, 1952 issue were impressed by what Scully-Jones & Co. of Chicago was doing for orientation of new employees. The company gave them a "hand folder" or "handbook" that held approximately 4 min of reading material. ...