Modern Applications News articles from August 2004

Modern Applications News archives from August 2004

Not since Queen Isabella.(Editor's Corner)
August 1, 2004... This sounds like a response that could come from most of the readers of this magazine when they refer to their company or the shop just across or down the street. And, their company or the one they refer to is probably housed in the sort...

Hardinge Inc. launches new corporate identity at IMTS.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... Hardinge Inc. announces that it is launching a new corporate identity to better reflect the company's growth beyond a small, U.S. company to a global, diversified organization with operations in more than 30 countries. The new identity...

BIG Kaiser markets BIG Daishowa Seiki products.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... All products of BIG Daishowa Seiki Co. Ltd., a global total tooling manufacturing company based in Osaka, Japan, will be marketed and sold in North America through BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling (Elk Grove Village, IL) effective July 1, 2004, the...

Mastercam ranks 1st in installed seats worldwide.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... The most recent analysis of CAM software seats, produced by CIMdata, Inc., shows that CNC Software's Mastercam[R] CAD/CAM software is first again. With 79,962 installed seats worldwide, Mastercam has almost twice that of the closest...

Mazak has highest quarter in 30 years.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... Mazak Corp. (Florence, KY) has been experiencing an outstanding start to 2004. For the first calendar quarter, the company more than doubled its production of a year ago and nearly reached full capacity for the first time in its U.S. history....

Machine tool builder, software vendor join forces.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... CGTech (IMTS booth #D-3035) and Makino (IMTS booth #8400, South Hall) have joined forces under CGTech's Technology Partner program in an agreement to build virtual machine models for simulation using VERICUT[R] software. Makino, with...

SME Technology Summit helps engineers diversify.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... The Society of Manufacturing Engineers' (SME) first annual Manufacturing Technology Summit, being held on August 10-11, at the University of Michigan Dearborn, Fairlane Center (Dearborn, MI), will feature more than 65 industry presentations on...

Carr Lane Roemheld names new engineering manager.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... Max Saunders, general manager of Carr Lane Roemheld Mfg. Co. (Ellisville, MO), announces the promotion of Jason Betz to manager of Swiftsure Engineering, responsible for that power workholding division. Derek Evans, the previous manager,...

DP Technology announces the Esprit SupportWeb.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... DP Technology (Camarillo, CA), maker of Esprit software, announces the introduction of the SupportWeb online customer support network, providing an efficient, accountable system for effectively handling technical support inquiries and software...

Machine tool consumption up more than 46% for year.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... The latest figures available (from April) U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $211.03 million, according to AMT--The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This total, as...

Manufacturing ISM PMI at 62.8% orders, production, employment up.(Industry News)
August 1, 2004... Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in May for the 12th consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 31st consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business[R]...

CNC press brake fires-up production: building "one-of-a-kind" fire trucks, this operation demands the same of its fabricating equipment as its customers demand of its trucks, speed and flexibility.(Forming/Fabricating)
August 1, 2004... One-of-a-kind manufacturing challenges are the house specialty at Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corporation (Nesquehoning, PA). Kovatch (KME) builds custom-designed fire trucks, rescue trucks, industrial foam vehicles, and aircraft refuelers. What...

IMTS 2004: IMTS sneak preview.(IMTS Product Previews)
August 1, 2004... To help you make the most of your time visiting IMTS, here is a special sneak preview of some of the new, productivity-enhancing products that will be featured in the pavilions of McCormack Place in September. For even more new products and...

Cold forming coating eliminates acid bath: a simple change in coating has delivered significant production, environmental and cost benefits to a New York cold heading operation.(Coating/Finishing/Deburring/Cleaning)
August 1, 2004... John Hassall, Inc. (Long Island, NY) forms a range of parts by cold heading stainless steel wire. The wire Hassall forms, including stainless types 302, 302HQ, 347, 410, 416, 418, 434, 440, and Carpenter No. 10 is coated to facilitate heading...

Phosphate conversion coatings brochure.(Spotlight Products)
August 1, 2004... The new brochure from Heatbath Corp. is a comprehensive overview describing conversion coatings used to increase wear resistance and corrosion protection, or facilitate paint bonding or break-in lubrication. Featured are manganese phosphate,...

Cotton fiber mounted points.(Spotlight Products)
August 1, 2004... A new line of cotton fiber mounted points, developed for blending, finishing, and cleaning scratches and imperfections on welded fabrications is available from Rex-Cut Products, Inc. The Rex-cut MX Plus[TM] line contains aluminum oxide...

New model cabinet style washer.(Spotlight Products)
August 1, 2004... A new rotary parts washer with a long-lasting, easy maintenance stainless steel cabinet and internal components is available from Almco, Inc. For manufacturing cell applications in larger plants, the compact model RCW-36E has a spacious...

Stacking/laminating/coating service.(Spotlight Products)
August 1, 2004... The Applied Plastics Co., Inc. offers a patented process for the multi-laminate stacking, bonding, and coating of gyroscopes, small motors, and stators to insulate and improve wire winding. This service is suitable for parts ranging from...

Entry-level proportioner for finishing applications.(Spotlight Products)
August 1, 2004... The new ProMix[TM] Easy, from Graco Inc., is an entry-level proportioning system designed for single color, two-component spray finishing applications. The proportioner handles flow rates as low as 20 cc/min with a wide range of ratios, and...

Nanocomposite coatings equipment.(Spotlight Products)
August 1, 2004... Platit[R] Advanced Coating Systems introduces its new [pi] 80 coatings unit for use by cutting tool manufacturers to easily integrate advanced PVD nanocomposite coatings into their production processes. Nanocomposite coatings have the ability...

A productive combination for deburring/finishing/contouring.(Spotlight Products)
August 1, 2004... SurfTran Manufacturing Co., LLC, provides a combination of an electrolytic deburring/edge-finishing/contouring system and an aqueous precision cleaning system for production environments. Both systems are compact with modular designs,...

EDM shop thrives on powdered metal dies: manufacturing dies for powdered metal part production requires some specialized EDM equipment and techniques to achieve the production, precision, and profitability needed to assure a shop's survival and growth.(EDM)
August 1, 2004... Two years ago, Gerg Tool & Die (St. Marys, PA), which specializes in dies and tooling for the powdered metal industry, was looking for an EDM sinker machine for a specific part. The company had tried to use its existing equipment to manufacture...

Understanding technology provides competitive edge: for a Midwest shop, just using the latest machining technology isn't enough to survive, understanding the complete capabilities of that technology keeps the shop productive and financially sound.(Machining/Turning Centers)
August 1, 2004... Royalton Manufacturing (North Royalton, OH) originally consisted of six experienced machinists in 1978, producing high precision parts on manually controlled machines. Within two years, the business grew to 20 employees and the shop moved to a...

Transfer machines help bring business back: as companies continue to wrestle with offshore competitors, many--including some job shops--are finding a solution in the utilization of transfer machines.(Machine/Turning Centers)(Cover Story)
August 1, 2004... Once used solely for dedicated machining of high-volume parts runs, transfer machines now afford OEM's and job shops alike, enhanced flexibility, due to the improved controls onboard. Medium quantity runs, as well as smaller batches of highly...

Near-dry machining study details savings: a recent machining study on aluminum parts shows that Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) practice can improve the bottom line while creating a cleaner, "greener" operation.(Machining/Turning Centers)
August 1, 2004... Field experience at 150 applications in the Pacific Rim and the US backs up the same conclusion. Sponsored by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, the study indicated an 8.5% hard cost saving vs. conventional wet machining on...

Market 'turns' shop into full service operation: changing times and customer demands forced an evolution of a Michigan turning operation into a profitable, full-service shop, complete with precision milling capabilities.(Machining/Turning/Centers)
August 1, 2004... "We started out as a turning company, no doubt about it," Scott Brockie says. "Our volume was low to medium, and I never had a sales decline since 1991. We turned high-precision parts out of aluminum, stainless, titanium, and plastics, and we...

Waterjet cuts it in show business: "everybody wants to get into the act," is an old show business truism. By putting a waterjet into the act, a show business supplier assures another truism, "the show must go on.".(Waterjet)
August 1, 2004... The founders of Scenic Technologies have spent lifetimes learning the "ins and outs" of theatre production and operation on Broadway. From second and third generation stagehands and scene shop proprietors grew a team of world-renowned technical...

Different day, new stuff: "how are you?" "Same stuff, different day," is an often heard exchange. It means, of course, that nothing has changed and things continue to plod along a day at a time. But, it is a "different day" in manufacturing.(CAD/CAM)
August 1, 2004... Globalization has created new markets and levels of competition we've not seen before. There fore maintaining a "same stuff" attitude and using "same stuff" methodology is the death knell for any business. Turning a profit is challenging, but...