American Machinist articles from May 2007

American Machinist archives from May 2007

Gunmaker blasts rampant scrap rates.(CASE BOOKS)
May 1, 2007... Exorbitant scrap rates were shooting holes in firearms maker Smith & Wesson's profit, and the predominant offender was the company's forging operation. Shop forgers easily spotted irregularities or mismatches using hand-held measuring tools,...

Emitters send rust packing.(CASE BOOKS)
May 1, 2007... Temperature swings, high humidity and unwanted moisture were costing a leading steel-parts producer money. The company often shipped wafer-thin golf-ball size pieces of steel from Kentucky to deep into Mexico via truck and railcar, and rust...

Shop heads off business downturn.(CASE BOOKS)
May 1, 2007... Escalating steel prices, tight margins and an extremely competitive environment during economic recession took their toll on HVAC sheet metal contracting company Superior Air Handling Corp.'s (www.sahco.com) market niche after years of...

IMCO Carbide Tool Inc.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... Several manufacturers are introducing new milling products at Eastec 2007. New cutter designs include end mills, inserts for face and copy milling and high feed mills supported by a new Internet-based global support center. IMCO Carbide...

Emuge Corp.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... The new Multi-Cut line of solid carbide roughing end mills from Emuge Corp. (www.emuge.com/ multicut) are designed to cut a wide variety of materials such as cast iron, titanium, titanium alloys, and steel materials up to 44Rc hardness. The...

Seco Tools Inc.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... A new line of round insert cutters from Seco Tools Inc. (www secotools.com) can be used for roughing and semifinishing in face and copy milling applications. The new cutters feature a hard nickel coating (700+ Vickers) on the cutter body that...

Greenleaf Corp.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... Greenleaf Corp. (www.greenleafcorporation .com) has added new face mill inserts to its WG-300 line. The new inserts have a lead angle geometry designed for high-feed milling. In an application cutting material with a hardness of 54 Rc with a...

HSK toolholders.(TOOLING AND WORKHOLDING)
May 1, 2007... Swiss quality HSK toolholders from Rego-Fix Tool Corp. (www.rego-fix.com), manufactured per DIN standard 69893, are balanced by design to G2.5 at 25,000 rpm. Compatible with the company's ER and PG collets and Hi-Q balancing rings, the HSK...

Long-tool presetting system.(ACCESSORIES)
May 1, 2007... The newest tool presetting systems from BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. (www.bigkaiser.com) are the STP-35 Basic and STP-35 EzVision Systems that match the accuracy and runout of the company's STP-34 system, with an extended Z-axis height to...

The overthrow of mass manufacturing, and a look to the future.(FROM THE EDITOR)
May 1, 2007... A historical moment in manufacturing passed in April: Quarterly sales reports for car companies noted that Toyota Motor Corp. sold more cars than General Motors Corp., making Toyota the leading car company in the world. The fact that...

Free trade or bust?(GOVERNMENT MATTERS)
May 1, 2007... This will be a particularly interesting spring for those who follow the politics of trade. There will be attempts by the United States Trade Representative to revive the Doha Round of Trade Negotiations, which is now on life support due to...

Idea works a tight wire.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
May 1, 2007... When measuring threads with thread wires, the wires are often difficult to hold while trying to take a measurement with a micrometer. In this situation, two strips of rubber can help. What you do is to poke the wires through the two rubber...

Hobs on a gear-milling machine.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)
May 1, 2007... My idea is for creating hob teeth profiles directly on gear-milling machines to cut details such as gears, sprockets, gearbelt pulleys, straight-sided spline shafts and disks with straight splines. Often, calculating the forms of hob teeth...

Metalworking associations cooperate in healthcare programs.(LEADING INDICATORS)
May 1, 2007... The Precision Metalforming Association, the Industrial Fasteners Institute, the Forging Industry Association, the Non-Ferrous Founders' Society and the Spring Manufacturers Institute have formed the Metalworking Manufacturing Coalition to...

MAG Maintenance Technologies launches productivity solutions unit.(LEADING INDICATORS)
May 1, 2007... MAG Maintenance Technologies (www.maint-tec.com) has formed a business unit to provide productivity enhancement products worldwide to operators of any of more than 50 machine tool brands and the manufacturing industry. The MAG Productivity...

Goldner Hawn engineers deal for Remmele.(LEADING INDICATORS)
May 1, 2007... A Minneapolis-based private equity firm has acquired Remmele Engineering, Inc. (www.remmeleautomation. com), a developer and producer of engineered, precision-manufactured components and automated assembly systems. Goldner Hawn acquired...

Correction.(LEADING INDICATORS)(Correction notice)
May 1, 2007... Correction: The sub-spindle for the Tornos Deco Sigma 20 Swiss turning machine is standard. The March 2007 issue of American Machinist listed the sub spindle as an option. Additional information on the machine can be found at (www.tornos.us).

DirectIndustry.
May 1, 2007... DirectIndustry, the Internet-based virtual exhibition site www.directindustry.com), has launched a monthly email alert service that provides information on new technology. The service allows visitors to the website to sign up for alerts in...

Sodick, Inc (www.sodick.com) and Braun Machinery (www.braunmachinery.com) announced in late March.
May 1, 2007... Sodick, Inc (www.sodick.com) and Braun Machinery www.braunmachinery.com) announced in late March that Sodick opened a technical center within Braun Machinery's Southfield, Michigan office and showroom...

Toyoda Machinery.
May 1, 2007... Toyoda Machinery www.toyoda.com) has launched a new service network to extend its customer service department and responses to customer questions...

MachineTools.com.
May 1, 2007... MachineTools.com www.machinetools.com) opened international offices in China, India and Mexico in April as part of an effort to provide more services to its customers that purchase machine tools internationally...

Romer, Inc. (www.romer.com) a Hexagon Metrology company, and Faro Technologies, Inc. www.faro.com announced in late March that they reached an agreement to settle all outstanding disputes between them, including, patent suits pending in California and Florida, and a lawsuit involving claims of false advertising.
May 1, 2007... Romer, Inc. (www.romer.com), a Hexagon Metrology company, and Faro Technologies, Inc. www.faro.com) announced in late March that they reached an agreement to settle all outstanding disputes between them, including, patent suits pending in...

This machinist prefers CNC machining.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... I was delighted to read the January editors commentary on shop classes teaching CNC machining. I couldn't help feeling disgusted with some of the reader comments in the March issue. I frequently fabricate one or more parts in equal or...

No nonsense, non-round part grinding: cylindrical grinders pack the features to easily go beyond round profiles.(MACHINE TOOLS)
May 1, 2007... CYLINDRICAL GRINDERS are improving productivity in machining non-round part shapes. Shops that do nonround grinding have used cam-actuated grinders or a combination of surface and tool grinders in the past, and those processes have proved...

The never-ending quest: reducing scrap and rework: what's reasonable and how do you get there.(BENCHMARKING)
May 1, 2007... THE LEADING MACHINE SHOPS IN NORTH America--as indicated in the 2006 American Machinist Benchmarking Survey--have about half the cost of scrap and rework while they produce, on average, more than four times the number of units produced by other...

New equipment.
May 1, 2007... Editor's Note: American Machinist receives many new product announcements each month. To provide the greatest access and exposure for these new products, here is a list with the company Internet sites where you can see the details and...

In-house balancing delivers quick payback: potential cost reductions of $20,000 to $40,000 per machine can pay for a toolholder balancer.(TOOL HOLDING)
May 1, 2007... HAIMER GMBH (WWW.HAIMER-USA.COM), A MAKER OF TOOLHOLDERS, balancing machines, shrink-fit machines and accessories, did an internal casestudy on the benefits of using a toolholder balancing machine on its own manufacturing floor. The company...

All about abrasives: an array of abrasive-grain types meets any grinding or finishing requirement.(TOOLING)
May 1, 2007... SELECTING THE BEST GRINDING WHEEL FOR A JOB COMPELS A SHOP TO MATCH the characteristics of the wheel's basic components--its abrasive and its bonding system--with the requirements of the application. Bonded abrasives, such as those in grinding...

Compact machining center with job shops in mind.(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2007... DMG America (www.dmgamerica.com) has released its DMC 55/65 H duoBLOCK compact horizontal machining centers with a 15.77 in. by 15.7-in. or 19.7 in. by 19.7-in. pallet. The new machines expand the capabilities of the Deckel Maho DMC H series...

Busted!(TECHNOLOGY TRENDS)
May 1, 2007... Courtney Smith, 36, of Anderson, Ind., was convicted and has been sentenced to more than two years in a federal prison plus two years of supervised release, fined $2,000 and ordered to pay $5,200 in restitution for selling counterfeit copies of...

Additive manufacturing advances another step.(TECH TRENDS)
May 1, 2007... Direct digital manufacturing is the process of going directly from a CAD file to the final product via additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing is the process of creating a physical object through the selective fusion, sintering, or...

Mitsui Seiki machines produce James Webb Space Telescope mirror.(LAST WORD)
May 1, 2007... Mitsui Seiki (www.mitsuiseiki.com) provided eight, custom-built horizontal machining centers for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to machine beryllium billets to produce a 6.5-meter (21.35-feet) mirror for the James Webb Space Telescope....

Book provides growth plan for small and mid-size manufacturers.(LAST WORD)
May 1, 2007... Mike Collins wants to change the tone and tenor of the conversation manufacturers are having about their future in the United States. In his new book, Saving American Manufacturing, Collins said too many U.S. manufacturers have become...

Mori Seiki establishes its own learning institution.(LAST WORD)
May 1, 2007... Mori Seiki USA Inc. (www.morisieki.com) has established a new division--Mori Seiki University--to provide internal training and industry education. The division is developed to ensure that the company's personnel maintain a high level of...