American Machinist articles from May 2006

American Machinist archives from May 2006

Magnetic workholding.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)
May 1, 2006... Magnos magnetic workholding from Schunk (www.schunkusa.com) uses electro-permanent magnets to clamp ferromagnetic parts. Square magnetic poles are arranged as north and south poles in a chessboard formation. The square poles are magnetically...

ER collet chucks.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)
May 1, 2006... Royal Products, Hauppauge, NY, (www.royalprod.com) has introduced a line of Precision ER collet chucks with runout less than 0.0001-in. TIR between the O.D. and I.D. socket. When used with the company's Ultra-Precision ER collet chucks, the...

Tap holders and adapters.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)
May 1, 2006... Heartech Precision Inc., Elk Grove, Ill (www.hpiamerica.com), offers a complete line of tap-holder systems. The line includes rigid and compensating shank tap holders, CAT, BT and HSK rigid and compensating tap holders, as well as a range of...

Grooving insert holders.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)
May 1, 2006... Groove 'n Turn toolholders, part of the Thinbit (www.thinbit.com) line of cutting tools from Kaiser Tool Co., hold grooving and face-grooving inserts in sizes from 0.004 in. to 0.155 in. on conventional, Swiss and CNC machines. They are...

Roughing and multiple-material milling platform.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2006... Kennametal Inc. (www.kennametal.com) says its Ksom Mini face-milling platform with direct-pressed carbide inserts and positive geometry boosts performance in roughing aluminum, cast iron, stainless steels and high-temperature alloys. Applicable...

Cold-forming taps.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2006... InnoForm cold-forming taps from Emuge Corp. (www.emuge.com) are available in 30 different designs and various shapes to thread regular steel, hardened steels, wrought aluminum alloys, nonferrous metals, cast aluminum, stainless steels and...

Techniks Inc. shrink fit extensions.(BOOTH 3360)
May 1, 2006... THESE shrink fit extensions work with existing tool holder inventory, including collet chucks, shrink-fit holders, hydraulic chucks, milling chucks, end mill holders, etc., with shank sizes of 0.125, 0.1875, 0.25, 0.375, 0.50 or 0.625. The...

Toyoda pallet storage, grinder.(BOOTH 1253)
May 1, 2006... THE compact Vertical Pallet Pool (VPP) is an economical option for expanding storage and automating production on one machining center. The basic model has six buffer stations and one loading station, while two- or three-level VPPs accommodate...

Mitsubishi EDM equipment.(BOOTH 1229)
May 1, 2006... THE company's MC Machinery Systems, Inc. division will be introducing their EDM Wire MD+PRO for 24/7 production work in medical manufacturing; the EDM Sinker EA12V; the Roku-Roku HC-548EX hybrid machine for hard-milling and electrode making...

Mahr federal airgaging.(BOOTH 5326)
May 1, 2006... THE company introduces the Universal Dimensionair, part of a new series of adjustable magnification air comparators that combines the stability, accuracy and response of a differential air system with the ability to work both as a single master...

CNC engineering robotic integration.(BOOTH 3159)
May 1, 2006... CNC Engineering integrated systems range from open system GE Fanuc retrofits to complete machine remanufacturing, whether for milling machines, lathes or grinders. Other machine enhancements include rotary tables, probes, laser tool setters,...

Tornos technologies swiss-type turning center.(BOOTH 1403)
May 1, 2006... THE DECO 20s is targeted to medical, automotive, electronics, connector, and general manufacturing companies producing moderately complex precision parts up to 20 mm in diameter. According to the company, the DECO 20s is a "mirror image"...

Koma rotary table and compact indexer.(BOOTH 3101)
May 1, 2006... KOMA Precision will feature the compact Tsudakoma RN-100 rotary table that provides 5-axis capabilities and clamping for drilling and tapping machines and small VMCs. Also on display will be the Jauch + Schmider EIS-100 Indexer with logipos CNC...

DP Technology Corp. CAM software.(BOOTH 5404)
May 1, 2006... ESPRIT 2006 is upgraded with new grooving cycles to support advances in cutting tool geometry and machine tool design, including machines capable of turning while utilizing a B-axis. ESPRIT Mold uses 20 different milling strategies to...

Changing places.(GOVERNMENT MATTERS)
May 1, 2006... THE UNITED STATES AND THE People's Republic of China have not yet reversed their positions in the world manufacturing hierarchy, but the trend lines are not good. In 2006, China will almost certainly overtake the United States as the number one...

Quick cool-down unit.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
May 1, 2006... When heating air-hardening steels, the quicker parts cool down to 150 degrees F for the draw, the better the hardness. To accomplish this, I built a cooling unit that uses a standard box fan and works for final draws. Tony Grant Jr. ...

Pressing a perfect bearing.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
May 1, 2006... In certain situations, arbor press throats are not large enough to accommodate both ends of a shaft or axle housing to press in new bushings or bearings. When only one end is accessible, I use the following procedure. I press in a new...

No liability if risk of injury not foreseeable.(LAW & LIABILITY)
May 1, 2006... Mathew Bailey Watson operated a motorized forklift known as an "order picker" to pick product orders from shelves in the Georgia warehouse of Applied Industrial Technologies. At the end of his shift, Watson would ride on the platform of the...

No punitive damages for workers in asbestos case.(LAW & LIABILITY)
May 1, 2006... The Celanese Fiber Plant in Salisbury, N.C., made polyester and was owned by HNA Holdings Inc. It was built in 1966 with asbestos insulation. Daniel Construction Co. built the plant and it and its successor, Fluor Daniel, provided for its...

Manufacturers' directory.(Directory)
May 1, 2006... Abbott Workholding Products, 430 McCall Rd., Manhattan, KS 66502, 785-776-8555, 800-528-6459, FAX: 785-587-0004, Internet: www.abbottworkholding.com AccuCut Diamond Tool Co. Inc., 4238-40 N. Sayre, Norridge, IL 60706, 708-457-8800, FAX:...

Robotic loading retrofit for turning centers.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2006... The DS1200-MTL is a turnkey robotic system designed to load and unload parts at turning centers, and reduce the need for operator tending. Distech Systems (www.distechsystems.com) says the system is compatible with most turning centers. It is a...

Positioner makes moving machine sections play together.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2006... Originally manufactured for fine-tuning packaging, printing and converting industries, the POSI series of 1:1 phase transmissions includes models capable of handling up to 595 in./lbs. of torque at speeds of 100 rpm. In normal operation, the...

Electrolytic action alternative.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2006... Designed for low-volume production, the DeskLine ECM machine, manufactured by Extrude Hone Corp. (www.extrudehone.com), applies a low voltage DC electrical current to the tooling and workpiece while flowing an electrolyte between both surfaces...

Software for 5-axis machining.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2006... Dedicated software is available to create parts with 5-axis machining, providing high surface quality for industries such as aerospace, defense and heavy machinery. Such machining allows accurate production of complex shapes, and is used to...

Quenching polymer for induction hardening.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2006... Aqua-Quench 245, a polyalkylene glycol-based polymer, was formulated to be used for induction hardening of high hardenability steel alloy parts such as gears, shafts, crankshafts, camshafts, transmission components, ring gears and bearings, as...

Skimmer enclosure contains vapors.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2006... The Model 6V vapor hood is designed so that the electric motor that drives the skimmer is protected from the skimming area, while the gasketed enclosure prevents volatile organic compounds from escaping into the atmosphere. A built-in decanter...

Automated deburring with the finesse of hand finishing: special tool mimics manual operations and improves part quality.(PARTS FINISHING)
May 1, 2006... SUCCESSFULLY AUTOMATING PART-FINISHING operations hinges on the flexibility and consistency of the deburring tools used because programmed robot paths do not always coincide exactly with part shapes or contours when shops want to use them to...

Manufacturing the perfect beast: performance in production at Edelbrock Corporation.(AUTOMOTIVE)
May 1, 2006... ONCE THE BACKYARD SPEED ENTHUSIAST built, tore down and rebuilt to get the most power and coolest looks from a powerplant. There were plenty of aftermarket parts from which to choose, though not all the parts were guaranteed to be compatible...

Speed up, slow down for high productivity: optimizing feedrates according to the amount of material to be cut minimizes machining time while protecting cutters.(MACHINING)
May 1, 2006... HIGH-EFFICIENCY MACHINING--cutting a part in the least amount of time--is the goal of shops looking to improve productivity. Many manufacturers choose to run machines at or near their maximum feedrates with light cuts and small step-downs. ...

Learning to help yourself: what shops can do to grow machinists.(TRAINING)
May 1, 2006... DESPITE THE GLOOMY OUTLOOK painted for manufacturing jobs, there is an acute shortage of trained machinists. While training in the latest metalworking and machine technologies is available, that training may not be enough. In addition to...

Subcontractor wins work with metrology system.(CASE BOOKS)
May 1, 2006... To maintain competitiveness and secure future work in the automotive-parts subcontracting business, Oprema Ravne (www.sz-oprema-ravne.si), a medium-sized company in Slovenia, had to eliminate an accuracy assurance and verification bottleneck in...

Shop sends manual labor down the tubes.(CASE BOOKS)
May 1, 2006... Customers of Eaton Aerospace (www.aerospace.eaton.com) in Jackson, Mich., are quite fussy about how the tubing produced by the shop looks. The tubing goes into aircraft such as the Airbus 380, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to...

Inserts improve rough turning.(CASE BOOKS)
May 1, 2006... Euclid Universal Corp. (www. eucliduniversal.com), an Ohio manufacturer of gear motors and power transmissions, realized that its core gear and shaft production suffered because of long, costly rough-turning cycles. As efficiency dropped, the...

Software helps solve the impossible.(CASE BOOKS)
May 1, 2006... Customers often approach Bernard Mould (www.bernardmould.com) with designs that look good, but are flawed. The flaws can range from errors in manufacturability, to issues caused by the translation errors between design software packages, to...

Profiting from old technology.(FROM THE EDITOR)
May 1, 2006... Two technologies have popped up as reminders that new ideas don't always provide the lowest cost or most effective tool to do the job. Manufacturers increasingly are seeing that toolholders designed for standard machine tools can be used...

Computer-aided manufacturing advances predicted.(25 YEARS AGO IN AMERICAN MACHINIST)
May 1, 2006... In 1981, the editors of American Machinist noted in a special report that the Committee on Computer-Aided Manufacturing was being brought to an end. The committee had been formed in the 1970s at the request of the U.S. Air Force Systems...

Competition holds the future of U.S.-manufacturing.(25 YEARS AGO IN AMERICAN MACHINIST)
May 1, 2006... America's best technical students will showcase their talents at the 2006 SkillsUSA Precision Machining Technology national championships on June 21 and 22 in Kansas City. Competitors in the event include Precision Machining Technology...

Chips-n-burrs.(RETROSPECTIVE)(Cartoon)
May 1, 2006... You had wonder when THAT was going to happen.

The most important factors for future success in business.(LEADING INDICATORS)
May 1, 2006... Manufacturers identified the availability of highly skilled workers as the most pressing need to assure continued business success, according to a report from the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute. Having a...

Chips-n-burrs.(LEADING INDICATORS)(Cartoon)
May 1, 2006... "It also comes standard with a paper shredder and an espresso machine."

China sets sights on machine tool development.(LEADING INDICATORS)
May 1, 2006... A report released recently from China cited the internal development of precision CNC machine tools as one of the country's strategic needs and targets over the next 15 years. China currently is the largest machine tool consumer in the world....

AM's cutting tool information.(LEADING INDICATORS)
May 1, 2006... Detailed cutting tool information, including basic articles on cutting tools, is available on the Internet at www.americanmachinist.com. The information available on the web includes six interactive calculators that provide: *...

Products & services directory.(Directory)
May 1, 2006... Coolants--also see Oils, cutting Doall Co., Des Plaines, IL Force-Flo, Inc., PO Box 24279, Cleveland, OH 44124, 216-431-7270, FAX: 216-292-5957 (#) Hangsterfer's Laboratories, Inc., Mantua, NJ International Chemical Co., Philadelphia,...

New ideas designed to enhance productivity.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... Technologies exhibited at the Westec Exposition and Conference were targeted at expanding the capabilities of traditional CNC machine tools either through software enhancements or by using new techniques to increase the speed and efficiency of...

EDMing speed and flexibility.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... Shops looking to increase wire EDMing speed and flexibility had a lot to see at Charmilles' (www.charmillesus.com) Westec booth. The company showcased its Robofil 240cc/440cc wire EDMs with cutting speeds of 42 square in. per hour in tool...

Complex measuring made easy.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... The Tesa Micro-Hite 3D direct computer control (DCC) coordinate measuring system introduced by Brown & Sharpe Tesa (www.brownandsharpe.com) at its Westec booth is designed to allow users of all skill levels to perform complex measurements...

Mitsubishi jumps into waterjet.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... To meet customer production needs, MC Machinery Systems Inc. has added waterjet cutting from Mitsubishi EDM (www.mitsubishi-world.com) to its current product lineup. MC Machinery Systems displayed three models of waterjet systems powered by...

Holding out for more Z.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... Rego-Fix (www.rego-fix.com) displayed its flexible Zero-Z tool-holder that has a short projection to allow shops more Z-axis stroke and larger part-size capabilities. Ideal for multiplex turning machines and small VMCs, the holder is...

Simple wheel setups.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... Rollomatic Inc. (www.rollomaticusa. com) demonstrated simplified setup processes for grinding machines with its Trimos wheel-presetting system. The table-mounted unit features a camera and two linear glass scales. The glass-scale controls and...

No need for CMMs.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... Marposs Corp.'s (www.us.marposs. com) demonstrated a precise measuring tool that is designed to save time and money by allowing workpieces to be measured and inspected on the machine tools that manufacture them. Marposs exhibited its 3D...

Stopping compressed-air contaminants.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... Whether needing to remove water droplets, dust and dirt, oils or hydrocarbon mist and vapors, shops were able to see a variety of filtering products at Kaeser Compressors' (www.kaeser.com) Westec booth. The company presented its complete line...

All automation.(PRODUCTS FROM WESTEC)
May 1, 2006... GEFanuc Automation's (www.gefanuc.com) Industrial Software Pavilion highlighted the company's plant-automation products, including software and hardware, that the company said improve efficiency while controlling costs and reducing waste for...