Modern Applications News articles from December 2008

Modern Applications News archives from December 2008

Kids and their newfangled computers: who would have expected computerized doorknobs in 1978?(EDITOR'S CORNER)
December 1, 2008... I'm not to the "Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn!" age yet, but I can remember the days when "computer" meant a Big Iron IBM 360 mainframe kept in a refrigerated room, stoked with COBOL and FORTRAN by men--yes, almost exclusively men--in lab...

Happiness unto the third generation: "a poor workman blames his tools," and "the right tool for the right job." this month, Dave finds a happy medium between the two.(FROM THE SHOP FLOOR)
December 1, 2008... Spade drills from Allied Machine & Engineering Corp., Dover, OH, have been a staple of our shop for years. In fact, the spade drill has been around for as long as machining. The versatility of having a few holders, and a nearly infinite size...

Threading the tapping needle: modern tools and the right control software can produce inside threads with or without chips. Finding the right method for a job means knowing the material, the machine, and the means.(CONTROLLING INTEREST)
December 1, 2008... During tapping, threads are cut manually into predrilled holes with screw taps or by a machine. This procedure can be used for almost all areas of application and materials. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cold-forming taps are used for the...

"Show me" stater can't afford the show.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... You made several valid points in your comparison between the comic book convention and IMTS ["Maybe a Cape Would Make Us More Popular," Editor's Corner. MAN, Vol. 42, No. 9, September 2008, p. 6]. I agree that it provides an insight into the...

What's on the cutting edge of technology; NASA developing power plant for lunar outpost.(NexTECH)
December 1, 2008... NASA engineers are exploring the possibility of a nuclear fission power plant to provide electricity for a lunar or Martian outpost. The nuclear power system has the potential to generate a steady 40 kW of electric power, enough for about...

Unemployment on the upswing.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... The growing number of underemployed workers is painting a grim picture of the difficulties jobseekers are facing, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Underemployment is a more comprehensive measure of labor market slack than...

Boeing and machinists settle strike.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Chicago, and striking machinists in Washington, Oregon, and Kansas voted to ratify a four-year contract that includes wages and pension agreements. About 27,000 employees represented by the International Association...

FABTECH pulls 21,000 visitors.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... In contrast to the financial news, an unprecedented number of people attended the opening day of the 2008 FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show. More than 12,000 manufacturing and welding professionals attended the first day of the show in...

Company lawsuits drop in 2008, but trend points to increase.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... Following two years of reporting declines in the number of new lawsuits and regulatory proceedings-including a drop in large-dollar cases-U.S. companies now anticipate an uptick in new actions and government probes, as well as the need to hire...

Manufacturing consumption up before market fell.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... August U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $323 million, according to The Association for Manufacturing Technology and the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the...

$350k lunar lander prize awarded.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... Armadillo Aerospace, Rockwall, TX, earned $350,000 in NASA prize money during the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge in Las Cruses, NM. The challenge is a two-level, $2 million competition designed to accelerate commercial space...

Lincoln Electric sees a good 3rd quarter.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., Cleveland, reported a 39.1 percent increase in third quarter 2008 diluted earnings per share to $1.60 from $1.15 per diluted share in 2007. Operating income increased 32.8 percent to $89.8 million from $67.6...

The bull of the woods.(Cartoon)
December 1, 2008... HA-HA THEM'S TH' BOYS WHO MAKE A SHORT STORY LONG. THEY'VE GOT ONE TEN WORD SENTENCE ON THAT NOTICE IN FIVE DIFFRENT LANGUAGES, AND EVERY BODY TRIES T' READ 'EM ALL, AN' IT TAKES TIME. YES-THEY PUT IT IN SO MANY DIFFRENT LANGUAGES TO MAKE...

Mania.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2008... Modern Applications news Industrial Average October 2008 MAN industrial Average 10831.07 9325.01 DOW Jones Industrial Average 764.39 598.03 The Modern Applications News Industrial Average-MANIA--tracks 34...

Needle sharpener keeps Phoenix on point: a medical manufacturing shop takes the sting out of shots by keeping its needles sharp.(GRINDING)
December 1, 2008... Phoenix Medical Products, Mountain City, TN, is a contract manufacturer of various devices used in the thoracic, laparoscopic, arthroscopic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, soft, and hard tissue biopsy areas of the medical and research...

Double the fun: a waterjet/plasma combination cutting system helped an Alabama Laser shop expand its services.(WATERJET)
December 1, 2008... Alabama Laser Technologies, Munford, AL, can turn metal into money. It's not taking the place of government minting facilities; it understands metals so well that it can make anything out of metal for money. The company was spawned from Alabama...

A new approach: with quick processing as a goal, a shop tried using a waterjet instead of a CNC mill for a job and it did so with success.(WATERJET)
December 1, 2008... Creative thinking and the ability to look at things from a different angle are characteristics that set East End Welding, Tallmadge, OH, apart from its competitors. When faced with the need to have a slot in each end of a stainless steel shaft,...

You better shop around: when manufacturer-supplied software proved troublesome for a shop, it searched around and found a program that worked.(CAD/CAM)
December 1, 2008... Because software comes with a machine does not mean that program will be best for every application. ADAM Integrated Industries Inc, British Columbia, Canada, discovered that after setting up shop. The company provides contract...

Play it cool: environmental concerns are not the only reasons for maintaining clean coolant. It is also essential for running an efficient and profitable shop.(COOLANT)
December 1, 2008... Interest in maintaining the cleanliness of coolant in machine tool sumps was once primarily from in-shop environmental concerns: obnoxious odor, smoke, or operator contact dermatitis-problems attributable to tramp oil in the coolant. Now, while...

Following the current: three EDMs stimulate a shop, letting it process difficult parts with short lead times.(EDM)(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... "If they need it quick, they call in us," Dave Brown, vice president of Lyons Tool and Die Co., said. "Difficult parts with short lead times are specialty." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] His manufacturing facility in Meriden CT, is often...

Directory assistance: selecting pre-made parts and their designs from a catalog, for use in its complex assemblies, saves a shop time, money, and effort.(CAD/CAM)
December 1, 2008... Subcontracting standard pieces saves time, money, and effort when complex machines are being assembled. Instead of a shop making every part, it is wise to order shafts or ball screws from other companies. The savings grow exponentially when...

'Sweet' success, no matter what language: when faced with a military project, a shop purchased a 6 kW laser instead of a 5 kW laser and was able to produce an additional 150 part sets per week due to the time savings.(LASERS)
December 1, 2008... In Italian, "LoDolce" means "the sweet." LoDolce Machine Co., Saugerties, NY, has experienced a bit of; a vita dolce - the sweet life - since its inception in 1960. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Michael LoDolce's grandfather started the...

Laser cutting center makes fast work of thick and thin materials.(LASERS)
December 1, 2008... The CL-850 laser cutting center has a 5,000 W GE FANUC laser resonator and third-generation linear-motor-drive system. Designed for high throughput, the unit delivers 1,000 ipm cutting on 18 ga. steel, and up to 1-1/8" processing range on mild...

Laser cutting system with 6g acceleration.(LASERS)
December 1, 2008... The Syncrono 2D laser cutting system has a CV5000 laser resonator. The CV5000 is designed for high cutting speeds, and the ability to process thicker materials with a reduced heat-affected zone. It features a patented laser head, designed with...

Micron-level accuracy.(LASERS)
December 1, 2008... The StarCut Universal system has a work envelope of 600mm x 300mm x 200mm combined with three high-precision CNC axes and 50[mu] precision for fine laser cutting operations. Additional capability can be achieved by the use of an optional rotary...

Torch Tip replacements ready.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... Replacement parts for Komatsu Twister 150 amp guns are available. The manufacturer places emphasis on creating a product with close tolerances to ensure tight cutting performance. By producing the product domestically, it can hold closer...

Big drilling in a compact unit.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... The MS7 Mechatric features 3.7kw spindle motor and 7,800N thrust and is capable of facing, end-milling and drilling 28mm diameter holes in steel and up to 32mm holes in cast iron, with tight tolerances. It has a 200mm stroke and maximum cutting...

Endmills and facemills are a family affair.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... A family of high-speed milling-adjustable endmills and facemills have application in dealing with hardened steel, for use in automotive and aerospace as well as other applications. The dynamically-balanced cutters are designed to work with...

Fast-moving telescoping covers.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... Large, heavy, and telescoping steel covers are designed for high feed and high accelerations. A transport mechanism developed for speeds between 98 fpm and 262 fpm eliminates high-limit stop forces and corresponding noises in operational...

Milling cutters offer use across industries.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... The Z-Plunge milling cutter is designed for aerospace, die and mold, and general engineering applications. With a design for increased chip evacuation, the manufacturer promises productivity increases up to 30 percent. Four cutting edges per...

No return-to-zero after power failure EDM.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... The BA23 is a large-capacity wire EDM designed to accommodate a variety of machining needs, from parts to dies. The BA24's compact head design increases nozzle accessibility to stepped workpieces and clamping fixtures. The machine offers X,Y,Z...

Steady rests from small to large.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... The Richter manual steady rests come in standard, special, and large ring-style, with diameters from 0.788" to 59.1" and load capacities ranging between two to 30 tons. Steady rests turn long shaft-type workpieces where cutting can create...

Town-ton capable welding table.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... The BuildPro Series of welding tables are modular and constructed of hardened steel plates with 5/8" holes in a 2" grid pattern. Each plate can be removed and reconfigured to extend the width of the tabletop to better accommodate specific...

Longer-part deburring.(NEW PRODUCTS)
December 1, 2008... The double-head, flow-through, short part deburring system can deburr parts ranging from 1" to 7.5" long. It simultaneously deburrs both ends of an extrusion. Each of the four 12" or 14" disc brushes is driven by a 3 hp motor. The brush motors...

It's more than pricing that leads to success Listening to customers, filling a niche in their demand, and giving them what they both need and want will put a company ahead of the commodity competition.(THE LAST WORD)(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... Even the best products at competitive prices don't guarantee success in any market, including that of cutting tools. In a volatile global economy, with competition coming from offshore traditional areas to new competitors in emerging countries,...