American Machinist articles from October 2008

American Machinist archives from October 2008

Robots move in new directions.(AUTOMATION)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Today's robot manufacturers have keyed in on meeting some specific manufacturing market needs and customer requirements with the introductions of several new automation products. Those needs and requirements...

Perforated-belt conveyor.(AUTOMATION)
October 1, 2008... For light to medium-duty applications, the 2200 Series conveyor from Dorner Manufacturing (www.dorner.com) features a perforated bedplate that is designed to provide better cooling and draining. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Holes in the...

Benefits of automation.(AUTOMATION)
October 1, 2008... Ellison Technologies (www.ellisontechnologies.com) lists some of the leading benefits of automating a manufacturing process as: Increased spindle use. More per-hour profit. Less scrapped parts. Reduced work in progress. ...

Automated tool and cutter grinding.(AUTOMATION)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Two recently released automation enhancements further increase the flexibility and productivity of Anca's (www.anca.com) GX7 tool and cutter re-sharpening machines--a 7-station automatic wheel changer and an...

Getting over a bad attitude.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... I have two friends who have bad attitudes, and I think their views are shared by a lot of people in manufacturing. Both of the guys run successful companies. One is president of a family-owned machine shop and the other is president of a...

Shops on a power trip: uranium-enrichment project calls on local jobshops for precision machining.(ENERGY)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Even in his wildest dreams, "Big Ed" Green probably never imagined that his small backyard machine shop one day would be machining parts for a project that is designed to drastically reduce America's dependency on...

Know the problem before applying technology.(AM FORUM)(Column)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After reading the article on Spindle Probing Benefits (page 56, 6/11/2008), I am compelled to respond for fear that the article may lead some less experienced individuals into a tail chasing episode, and it is my...

The twilight of free trade.(GOVERNMENT MATTERS)
October 1, 2008... You are not likely to hear very much about free trade, or free trade agreements (free trade agreement), during the Presidential debates this year. John McCain is in favor of expanding free trade agreements, and Barack Obama seems to be...

Rockin' & rollin' with rotary broaching: these orbiting tools can quickly create intricate inside-and outside-diameter shapes, often without secondary operations.(MACHINE TOOLS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rotary broaching is an easy and economical way to accurately machine polygon forms into the inside diameter or outside diameter of parts. With rotary broaching, shops can increase profits by machining complex...

What's new.(Schlitter tool developed 5000 Series Swiss Style HexMaster rotary broaches )(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Because of the growing popularity of Swiss-style machines, Schlitter tool (www.schlittertool.com) has developed a series of rotary broaches. Schlitter's compact 5000 Series Swiss Style HexMaster rotary broaches...

Shops can always be more efficient.(MACHINE TOOLS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] No machine shop is perfect. However, a significant number of manufacturing facilities believe that their manufacturing processes are as efficient as they need to be. The mentality is that as long as a company...

Control built for the jobshop.(MACHINE TOOLS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Companies under the MAG umbrella combined their individual machine control talents and developed a new proprietary control. The Infimatic Freedom NC 200 control is designed to be used with machines made by MAG...

Variable-speed machining: just a tool change away.(MACHINE TOOLS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Multi-tasking functionality, as of late, has become quite the mantra for machine tool developers. These types of machines can potentially deliver productivity increases in the neighborhood of 400 percent. ...

Actuators move in the extreme.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nook Industries (www.nookindustries.com) has focused on extreme-duty environments with the release of two new models of modular linear actuators--ELZex explosion-proof actuators and the Stainless Steel Modular Linear...

Dust and water-free fans.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Omega engineering Inc.'s (www.omega.com) new Series FF018 filter fans include easy mounting axial fans and self-adhesive seals on their mounting frames to prevent dust and water from entering the cabinets. A...

Shop hits the mark on barrel turnarounds.(MACHINE TOOLS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Paintball guns originated in the forestry and agriculture industries as a means of marking trees and cattle. Today, they are part of an organized team sport played by millions of people in countries worldwide. ...

Touch probe power out of thin air.(MACHINE TOOLS)
October 1, 2008... Heidenhain corp.'s (www.heidenhain.com) TS 444 infrared touch probe offers an effective alternative to batteryoperated touch probes for machining applications. compressed air supplied through machine tool spindles powers the TS 444, which works...

On-line Mazak training.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Cleveland-based online manufacturing training provider tooling U (www.toolingu.com) has added Mazak classes that are designed to provide the theory necessary for the tasks and duties of a Mazak CNC machine operator. these mill and lathe classes...

Shop stays ahead at every turn.(MACHINE TOOLS)
October 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 highprecision turned parts made into end...

Turn with up to 144 tools.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Eurotech Elite Corporation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The b76543 turning machine from Eurotech (www.eurotechelite.com) provides 4 in. of 4-axis travel on each of its three turrets. When each turret is combined with the company's standard catalog tooling, the machine can...

Cracking the G-code on productivity.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Siemens energy & Automation's Machine tool business wants shops to have fun as they find out how much more productive they can really be and how CNC factors into their success. When jobshop owners and operators visit www.crackthecode.com,...

Getting off to a good EDM start.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)(electrical discharge machining)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Often, shops experience problems at the beginning of a cut when wire EDMing aluminum when they use a hole popper to put in the start holes. What happens is that the machine continues to increase speed then goes into...

Perfect part origins.(PRACTICAL IDEAS)(Editorial)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... There are several ways to locate part origins on sinker and wire EDMS. these are some of the more common methods. For sinkers, locate as you would on a mill with an edgefinder. touch off the electrode until it makes contact--CNC's have...

Advances in medical machining: frightful accuracies in 3D scanning and machining.(OPERATIONS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of the developments debuted at IMTS 2008 was the creation of a miniature-scale, human skeleton that was being machined from a 6 in. by 12-in. aluminum billet. "Bones" was being made on an AgieCharmilles...

Saving money through efficient Management: chemicals Management Services open the door to efficiency improvements and cost savings in metal fabrication.(CASE STUDY)
October 1, 2008... Auto manufacturers generally do not think of themselves as experts in chemical management. That is the reason that, nearly 20 years ago, General Motors contracted out the management of its chemicals, including metal removal fluids, metal...

Generate NC tool paths with microsoft excel.(SOFTWARE)(Numerical Control)
October 1, 2008... Many parts require you to do repetitive calculations to create a tool path. If you're programming manually, that can be a daunting and time consuming task with a large potential to make errors. Many shops opt to use a CAM system or...

High-speed and better rendering in 3D CAD.(SOFTWARE)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dassault Systemes SolidWorks corp. (www.solidworks.com) said the newest version of its 3D CAD software, has a speed increase of as much as 65 percent over its previous version. Solidworks said there is no 3D CAD...

Enhanced NCL turbomachinery Application Library.(SOFTWARE)(Numerical Control)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Numerical Control Computer Sciences (NCCS) (www.nccs.com) has enhanced its Turbomachinery Application Library to aid the user in the manufacture of complex turbine components. The TAL addresses the manufacturing...

New product-data-management program.(SOFTWARE)
October 1, 2008... SolidWorks also has unveiled a new product data management program that is more deeply integrated with its 3D CAD software, and has an expanded bill of material (BOM) functionality and Item-centric product data management. SolidWorks...

Five-axis programming saves time: shop shaves programming time by 75% on four-axis parts.(SOFTWARE)
October 1, 2008... When it comes to producing prosthetic components that will be worn by humans, comfort and fit are essential. Fillauer, of Chattanooga, Tenn. (www.fillauer.com) makes many different parts for medical use, and they know that fit, comfort, and...

Generation x measurement and inspection software.(SOFTWARE)
October 1, 2008... Verisurf Software (www.verisurf.com) now is shipping Verisurf X advanced measurement and inspection software. "Our powerfully engineered Verisurf X delivers expanded capabilities and flexibility for rapidly acquired data from laser...

Expanded CAD-integrated reverse engineering, measurement and inspection.(SOFTWARE)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ReverseEngineering.com, providers of CAD integrated reverse engineering software for measurement, inspection, 3D digitizing, and scanning physical objects has become an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) with...

Gunsmithing: making parts for a recession-proof sector.(SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While several sectors of the U.S. manufacturing industry are seeing slowdowns, the custom firearms industry appears to be recession-proof, and machine shops are reaping the benefits by providing a wide range of...

Heritage Manufacturing Inc.(CASE STUDY)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... SITUATION Heritage Manufacturing, Inc., a revolver manufacturer, needed to reproduce a part for a legacy gun. Because Heritage had no existing CAD data for design assistance, the shop had to find a way to extract the dimensions of the...

Alibre Design 11.0 now shipping.(SOFTWARE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alibre, Inc. (www.alibre.com) is now shipping the newest release of its flagship 3D CAD software, Alibre Design 11. In addition to migrating the entire code base to the. NET platform, Alibre said V11 effectively...

Collets for high-pressure coolant.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)(Rego-Fix)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rego-Fix (www.rego-fix.com) has expanded its line of ER collets with a range of metallic sealed collets. These collets are designed for applications that require through-the-tool coolant pressures to 2,000 psi,...

Clamping force blocks.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Several features of the new tandem KSP plus clamping force blocks from Schunk Inc. (www.schunk.com) are engineered to provide repeat accuracy of 0.01 mm. The design features include multi-tooth guidance for the base jaws, long jaw...

Rugged pull-down chucks.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SMW Autoblok (www.smwautoblok.com) has introduced the TX Pull-Down Chucks with repeatability of 0.01 mm (0.0004 in.) and the capability of operating under aggressive milling and turning operations. The chucks are...

Calculating metal removal rates.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The milling strategies for removing masses of materiel have changed dramatically through the advent of lighter duty machines with high torque motors, increased spindle speeds and table rates. However, the formula for determining metal removal...

Manual clamp grips.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)(Kipp offered Novo-Grip clamp grips )(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A full line of Novo-Grip clamp grips from Kipp--a German manufacturer of manual operating elements--is available from Fixtureworks Workholding Technologies (www.fixtureworks.net). The ergonomic, five-lobed grip...

Collets correct runout.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)
October 1, 2008... Rego-Fix (www.rego-fix.com) has expanded its powRgrip toolholding system with the PG Microbore collets. The collets are designed to counteract inaccuracies caused by runout when using small diameter cutting tools in high precision...

Low-profile rotary axis.(TOOLING & WORKHOLDING)
October 1, 2008... Hardinge Inc. (www.hardinge.com) said its new GD210LP low-profile rotary table provides rigidity, speed, accuracy and repeatability in an affordable package. High stiffness and rigidity are accomplished with large-diameter bearings and a...

Milling cutters for aluminum and with direct-insert clamping.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2008... Valenite LLC (www.valenite.com) has introduced a milling cutter designed for high-speed machining of aluminum alloys. The VFlash has a new serrated pocket design and direct-mount insert-clamping. The company said the cutter offers safe,...

Turning inserts for stainless steel.(CUTTING PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kennametal Inc. (www.kennametal.com) designed its new UP turning inserts for its Kenna Perfect turning system to have improved turning geometry for stainless steel applications. The company said the new design...