American Machinist articles from March 2006

American Machinist archives from March 2006

On autopilot: machining in the dark: Florida shop rakes in profit with the lights out.(aerospace)
March 1, 2006... Chasco Machine & Manufacturing Inc. (www.chascomachine.com) in Port Richey, Fla., is a picture of a traditional job shop. Its eight employees run seven primary production machines and five secondary machines to support $1.8 million in annual...

Get more out of turning operations.(barfeeders)
March 1, 2006... Boosting the productivity of a lathe operation by at least 50 percent is as easy as adding a barfeeder. Such productivity gains stem from the fact that barfeeders provide a constant supply of raw part material to lathes, allow for unattended...

Shops harness the power of creepfeed grinding.(case books)
March 1, 2006... Eric Reutimann, owner of Spectra-Tech in Hanover Park, Ill., refers to his creepfeed-grinding operation as "abrasive machining," and he does so with good reason. Creepfeed grinding, in some instances, easily removes 0.200 to 0.300 in. of stock...

Software simplifies blisk machining.(case books)
March 1, 2006... When Mears Machine Corp. in Avon, Ind., started manufacturing jet-engine blisks, the parts each took about a week to cut. Now, the shop completes one in about 12 to 16 hours. How did Mears produce such a dramatic change in its manufacturing...

Wheel blasts through surface-prep work.(case books)
March 1, 2006... A1950s model Tumblast blast-cleaning, part-surface preparation machine could not keep up with the aerospace and automotive work at Carolina Commercial Heat Treating (CCHT) in Fountain Inn, S.C. The company wanted to speed the machine up, run...

A new partnership with The Practical Machinist.(from the editor)
March 1, 2006... The Practical Machinist (www.practicalmachinist.com) is one of the best sites on the Internet to see what's on machinists' minds on a day-to-day basis. The web site offers a live community forum that lets anyone leap in with questions, or...

Republicans face problems in 2006 elections.(government matters)
March 1, 2006... Republicans may find 2006 is a tough year. One reason is that parties in power traditionally lose congressional seats in the sixth year of a presidency. In addition, some of the economic indicators are worrisome. Optimists, however, point...

Machining economy example.(leading indicators)
March 1, 2006... Machining economy example (Shop spends $10,000 to make 1,000 parts) (Cost is $10.00 per part) 30% 50% longer 20% increase Today discount tool life cutting speed...

Chips-n-burrs.(leading indicators)(Cartoon)
March 1, 2006... Caption: "It's for Gillette--to hold the blades on their newest razor."

Maxcor closes ex-cell-o purchase.(leading indicators)
March 1, 2006... Maxcor Inc. (www.maxcorinc.com) closed its purchase of the Ex-Cell-O group of companies from IWKA of Germany on Feb. 17, and put it into its MAG Industrial Automation Systems group whose operating units include CL Automation, Cincinnati...

Passionate about U.S. manufacturing.(reader mail)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... When I read your editorial (From the Editor, American Machinist, January, 2006) I was blown away. Here at First Index we are talking about American OEM's looking for American Suppliers. As far as I know we are the only lead generation and...

Manufacturing contribution to GDP in question.(reader mail)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... I read your article (From the Editor, American Machinist, January, 2006) in "American Machinist" twice; frankly, I was astounded that 35% of '05 US GDP was in manufacturing. I'm not sure how to evaluate this number, but your article says that...

Correction.(reader mail)(Correction notice)
March 1, 2006... Engineered Tools Corporation, the producer of the carbide thread chasers (Technology Trends, American Machinist, February 2006) is located in Caro, Mich.

No workers'-comp benefits from workplace fight.(law & liability)
March 1, 2006... Scott Fredericks, an employee of Beverly Industries Inc. in Louisiana, filed a claim for workers' compensation, stating that he was injured when a coworker hit him over the head with a fire extinguisher during a fight at work. He said he...

Opposing turrets speed shaft work.(machine of the month)
March 1, 2006... The new NZ-S1500 two-turret CNC lathe is all about high-volume, small-shaft work involving everything from axle and cam shafts to ballscrews. The machine's special design shortens cycle times, allows for aggressive machining techniques and...

Why no metric?(reader mail)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... When are you going to convince all the tool shops and other American companies to go 100% metric? And none of this slow English/metric conversion crap, I mean 100% metric. This has been delayed for fifteen years thanks to Congress. And they...

Tool cuts out serration problem.(practical ideas)
March 1, 2006... Machining serrations on 1.500-in. NB nozzle gasket faces per the ANSI B 16.5 standard proved a challenge for me because the nozzles were on shells six meters from the ground. I could not use a machine for the job, so I developed a cutting tool...

Idea overrides chatter.(practical ideas)
March 1, 2006... I was experiencing problems with chatter when boring a 3.250-in.-diameter hole, 5-in. deep in stainless steel, so I increased the feed and reduced spindle rpm. When that didn't work, I tried different inserts with various geometries, but the...

Do-it-yourself thermography: affordable, easy-to-use imagers bring preventative-maintenance surveys in-house.(loss prevention)
March 1, 2006... Instead of running mechanical and electrical systems until failure occurs, many manufacturing facilities incorporate infrared (IR) thermography surveys as part of their preventative-maintenance programs. Such surveys identify impending problems...

Gaining an edge in insert performance.(cutting tool digest)
March 1, 2006... Conicity Technologies (www.conicity.com) of Cresco, Pa., a subsidiary of Weiler Corp., says its precision edge-preparation technology can be used as an alternative to chamfering for cubic boron nitride (CBN) and polycrystalline diamond (PCD)...

Flexible borescopes.(cutting tool digest)
March 1, 2006... CastingScopes from Lenox Instrument Co. (www.lenoxinst.com), Trevose, Pa., inspect metal castings and other hard-to-access areas, such as the inner workings of cylinder heads and engine blocks. After thousands of inspections, worn renewable...

Coolant-through parting/grooving system.(Cutting products)
March 1, 2006... I scar Metals Inc. (www.iscarmetals.com) has introduced a line of inserts that provide through-the-insert coolant capabilities. The company's Jet-Cut system is available as an upgrade to its Do-Grip parting inserts. The system has a coolant...

Solid-carbide end mills.(Cutting products)
March 1, 2006... M.A Ford Mfg. Co. Inc.,(www.maford.com) says its TuffCut XR four-flute ball-nose end mills can be used for heavy rough milling and finishing cuts in almost all materials. Stub and standard flute lengths range from 0.125 to 1 in. and 3 to 12 mm....

Milling/turning combo tool.(Cutting products)
March 1, 2006... CoroPlex MT from Sandvik Coromant (www.sandvik.com) is a multifunctional tool for finishing workpieces in single setups. It combines with either CoroMill 390 as a rotating tool for milling applications or indexes in a number of optional...

Cutoff inserts.(Cutting products)
March 1, 2006... Manchester Tool Co. (www.manchestertools.com) offers 0.157 in. (4 mm) MTC-Separator Xtra cutoff inserts as part of its integrated MTC toolholder and insert systems. The inserts have double-V designs for stability and application-specific...

Chucks for large barstock.(Tooling and work-holding)
March 1, 2006... Lexair (www.lexairinc.com) Production Dynamics full-bore chucks are available in nine models with diameters from 6.75 in. to 14 in. The company says the chucks make full spindle bores available to handle large barstock. The air-release,...

Dual-contact toolholding.(Tooling and workholding)
March 1, 2006... Big Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. (www.bigkaiser.com) has developed a simultaneous, dual-contact toolholder system for use in turning operations with Mori Seiki NT Series multitasking machines. The company says its Big Plus system improves...

Long/short-stroke grippers.(Tooling and workholding)
March 1, 2006... The DPD series double-wedge parallel gripper from Robohand, a De-Sta-Co company (www.destaco.com), has Directconnect technology with mounting patterns allowing the grippers to mount directly to other modular automation products without adapter...

Fast times.(75 years ago in AMERICAN MACHINIST)
March 1, 2006... Machine tool manufacturers were producing machines designed specifically for the then-new tungstencarbide cutters in 1931, and the potential for the cutting grade was becoming evident, American Machinist editors said. Machine tool builder...

Little impact seen from Ford closings.(out look)
March 1, 2006... More than half of the persons who responded to a short, unscientific poll on the AMERICAN MACHINIST web site say that Ford Motor Co.'s announced plans to close as many as 14 of its production facilities as it lays off 30,000 workers would not...

AM publisher's book translated to Japanese.
March 1, 2006... A Japanese-language edition of Supply Chain Excellence: A Handbook for Dramatic Improvement Using the SCOR Model has just been released, according to Amacom, the publishing house of the American Management Association. The book,...

Chips-n-burrs.(Cartoon)
March 1, 2006... Caption: "I wish I could quit you."

Precision care for high-speed spindles: care in design and application delivers high performance and productivity.(spindles)
March 1, 2006... High speed spindles are application specific, sophisticated, delicate and expensive. Here is how one manufacturer and supplier ensure high-speed spindles are optimally designed for their applications, and users know how to get the performance...

From linear to lean.(technology trends)
March 1, 2006... Lean product development that incorporates flexible, dynamic 3D modeling is replacing linear product development and cumbersome history-based modeling as companies face intense pressure to get new products to market and to become more flexible...

Press-on labels sense machinery heat.(technology trends)
March 1, 2006... A Fullerton, Calif., company has developed press-on labels that can be used to indicate excessive temperatures in machinery and as signals for the need for maintenance. Telatemp (www.telatemp.com) says its non-reversible temperature recording...

Three-turret turning center cuts cycle time.(technology trends)
March 1, 2006... Nakamura-Tome has developed a multitasking turning center and a turning/milling center that the company says are designed to increase productivity. The Super NT[Y.sup.3] has three turrets, each with a Y axis. The multitasking turning...

Software tracks loading and jobs.(technology trends)
March 1, 2006... JobPack Inc. (www.jobpack.com) has released a software option--TimeView--designed to give engineers and production managers data on machine loading, capacity availability and late jobs. The software also provides a look-ahead feature to see...

Laser delivers high green output.(technology trends)
March 1, 2006... Coherent Inc. (www.coherent.com) has developed a laser to deliver more than 30 watts of green (532 nm) output, making it the highest power industrial laser available at this wavelength. The AVIA 532-30 is a q-switched, diode-pumped laser...

SolidWorks unveils 64-bit editions of software.(technology trends)
March 1, 2006... SolidWorks Corp. (www.soldiworks.com) has released a 64-bit version of SolidWorks CAD and COSMOS design analysis software packages for working with extremely large assemblies. SolidWorks 2006 x64 Edition and COSMOS 2006 x64 Edition are...

Westec features new equipment and conferences.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... The SME's premier annual West Coast exposition, Westec, has become the centerpiece of a manufacturing trade event the SME is calling the "Total Manufacturing Experience." Along with Westec, the SME will host its annual meeting and summit...

Bystronic waterject and laser cutting systems.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Bystronic, (www.bystronic.com) of Hauppauge, NY will introduce its Byjet 3015 waterjet cutting and its Byspeed 5200 ARC laser cutting systems, a new series of press brakes and a vision control system designed for CNC operating platforms.

Briney introduces special toolholders at WESTEC.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Briney Tooling Systems (www.brineytooling.com) of Bad Axe, Mich., will exhibit its special, CNC toolholders that can incorporate such details as unusual gauge lengths, pilot diameters, ID diameters, taper styles and other nonstandard features,...

BohrStar's 12-piece boring kit.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Techniks BohrStar (www.bohrstar.com) will introduce a 12-piece boring kit that has tools in the range of 0.31 in. to 6.69 in. ") Techniks BohrSTAR kit combines the range and rigidity machinists need without sacrificing accuracy. The company...

Big Kaiser shows precision tooling.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Big Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. (www.bigkaiser.com) ofElk Grove Village, Ill., is introducing two additions to its Sphinx line of drills, including the Quadro 15 PLUS and the Phoenix Drill, with special and high-performance point geometries....

Delcam adds machining and recognition functions to its software.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Delcam USA (www.delcam.com) of Salt Lake City, has enhanced its PowerMill software to add swarf machining, five-axis trimming, pocketing and drilling features, and has develop automatic feature recognition functions on its FeatureCAM software...

DP Technology releases advanced mill/turn software.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... DP Technology (www.dptechnology.com) of Camarillo, Calif., is introducing its Esprit 2005 software that is designed to support advances in machine and cutting tools technologies. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Dorian Tool International shows Jet-Streat turning tools.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Dorian Tool International (www.doriantools.com) will introduce its Jet-Stream advanced turning tool that is designed to deliver high-pressure air or liquid coolant through a toolholder and boring bar system. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Charmilles features Robofil 240cc.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Charmilles (www.charmillesus.com) of Lincolnshire, Ill., will display its high-speed wire EDM, the Robofil 240cc. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Marposs introduces 3D shape inspection software.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Marposs Corp. (www.us.marposs.com) of Auburn Hills, Mich., will introduce its new 3D Shape Inspector software designed for on-machine measurement applications. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

CGTech shows its Vericut 6 simulation software.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... CGTech (www.cgtech.com) of Irvine, Calif., will exhibit its Vericut 6 CNC machine simulation and optimization software. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Campbell Grinder Co. has a new landing gear grinder.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Campbell Grinder Co. (www.campbelgrinder.com) of Spring Lake, Mich., is introducing its first vertical landing gear grinder. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

FlexArm taps 0 to 80 holes.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... FlexArm (www.flexarm.com) of Wapakoneta, Ohio, is introducing a torque reaction arm designed for tapping small sizes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Edge Technologies exhibits for first time.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... The new division of Hydromat Inc., Edge Technologies (www.edgetechnologies .com) of St. Louis will show its new suite of products, including bar feeders, parts cleaning systems and other lathe automation items. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Exact Software releases JobBoss 9.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Exact Software (www.exactamerica.com) plans to release the latest version of its software--JobBoss 9--that is focused on the material control, purchasing and cash flow functions for the purchasing staff in the shop.

Heidenhain introduces a universal digital readout.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Heidenhain Corp. (www.heidenhain.com) has developed a universal digital readout system designed to be compatible with any manual machine tool, including milling, turning, boring and drilling machines. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Heartech Precision Inc. features indexers and rotary tables.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Heartech Precison Inc. (www.hpi-heartech.com) of Elk Grove Village, Ill., will feature its CNC indexers and rotary tables and other products. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

GBI Cincinnati introduces Feeler machine tools.(westec' 06)
March 1, 2006... Machine tool distributor GBI Cincinnati, Inc. (www.gbicincinnati.com) of Cincinnati, Ohio, will introduce the Feeler machine tool line produced in China. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]