Modern Applications News articles from January 2002

Modern Applications News archives from January 2002

Understanding the impact of latest OSHA ruling. (Editor's Viewpoint).
January 1, 2002... The first in a series of international machine safety standards recently adopted by the US. is designed to "level the playing field" by eliminating "technical barriers to trade." In what appears to be the first in a long stream of...

Perfect vs. good enough. (Editor's Corner).
January 1, 2002... In a column a few months ago, I noted the manufacturing philosophy of "good enough vs. perfect;" it brought some questions and comments. Generally, in metalworking and manufacturing, perfection is The Holy Grail. "Good enough" is seen as...

Machine tool consumption down 32% through third quarter. (Industry News).
January 1, 2002... September U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $191.26 million, according to AMT -- The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This total, as reported by companies participating...

Economists foresee growth this year. (Industry News).
January 1, 2002... A recent survey of economists by the National Association of Business Economists expects the economy to show virtually no growth in the first quarter of 2002. On average, the 33 forecasters in the survey estimated the attacks cut 1% off real...

New Robotics orders down 30%. (Industry News).
January 1, 2002... North American robotics companies have seen new orders decline by 30% in the first nine months of 2001, according to statistics released by the Robotic Industries Assocation. Through September, North American robot manufacturers posted new...

IMTS Pavilions -- Shows within the show. (Industry News).
January 1, 2002... The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), Sept. 4-11, at Chicago's McCormick Place, is the largest manufacturing technology show in the Americas. Most of the nearly 1,400,000 sq.-ft. of exhibits that comprise the show with be...

Miners mull metals on the moon. (Industry News).
January 1, 2002... A commercial venture to salvage metals on the moon within the next 10 years is being considered by the U.S.-based Artemis Society. Scientists believe the moon contains most of the elements found on Earth. It is believed that precious metals can...

Steel rule die material boosts tool life fivefold. (Cutting Tools Spotlight).
January 1, 2002... Flatbed steel rule dies work much like cookie cutters. The desired die pattern is laser-cut into a wood, plastic or aluminum substrate, in accordance with the customer's specification. Until recently, most rule bending was done manually....

Tons of tan-of-the-line tools. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... This 2002 metal working catalog is full of cutting tools, hand tools, and power tools. The 110,000 items included in the catalog and new products supplement include names such as Starrett, Iscar, Mitutoyo, Niagara Cutter, Valenite, Union...

Broach set cuts metric keyways in popular size bores. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... Designed to cut ISO standard metric keyways in the more commonly encountered metric size bores, the No. 80 keyway broach set will handle a wide range of keyway cutting in machine maintenance, erection or parts production work. It contains three...

Tough grade for cut-off and disc milling. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... This six-page foldout brochure contains detailed specifications for the CP600 cutting grade, the toughest grade offered by Carboloy. The grade maintains an intact cutting edge under difficult machining conditions such as deep grooving and...

In-Stock TiN-Coated inserts. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... THINBIT[R] TiN-coated inserts are available in the LITTLEBIT and MINIBIT series. The most popular grooving width sizes are available for 24-hour shipment. These sizes are 0.010", 0.015", 0.018", 0.020", 0.025", 0.030", 0.035", 0.040", 0.047",...

Drop-Cut system simplifies cut-off. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... The line of Drop-Cut tools has been redesigned to incorporate a removable support blade so that one standard toolholder can be used with various blades and replaceable inserts for cutoff, grooving, and machining different materials. The...

Threading gummy materials. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... Cermet-threading grade VC620 is suited for threading of soft, gummy materials where edge buildup can be a problem. The material is a TiC/TiN light-duty cermet C7, C8 grade with excellent wear and lubricity characteristics. It threads at higher...

Free cutting tool handbook. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... This free 500-page version of the Cutting Tool Handbook features a 154-page section containing a line of premium solid microgram carbide cutting tools. Designed to streamline product selection, a Master Illustrated Index and Applications Guide...

Combination application laser. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... Affordably priced, the Quattro laser is suited for prototype and small lot production manufacturing environments. When used in combination with Amada's stamping press line, users can expect a solution for processing challenges including R&D and...

Carbide corner rounding endmills. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... Outside corner radii from 0.005" to 0.375" can be produced in a single pass using carbide corner rounding endmills. Radii are ground to **0.0005" tolerance for accurate machining results. More than 40 sizes of these endmills are available from...

Insert with 3F geometry. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... This precision ground insert has a geometry for stainless steels, aluminum, high-temperature alloys, and steels. Its 3F geometry makes it especially suitable for aerospace applications where high accuracy is required. Its periphery ground edges...

It's a laser cutter and a marker. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... The SL-3020 is a self-contained, direct drive laser cutting and marking system with a 30" x 20" x 12" standard work area. Suitable for prototyping, it can mark and cut hundreds of different materials including plastics, wood, ceramics, gaskets,...

Medium helix endmills. (Spotlight Products).
January 1, 2002... This improved line of medium helix endmills (MH series) provides longer life and finer finishes for machining applications. Its base material is a premium sub microgram carbide, he improved finish grind on t e primary cutting edge of the tool...

Cast iron face milling system saves $100,000 annually. (Cutting Tools - Spotlight).
January 1, 2002... Specializing in machining cast iron, a New York shop has accelerated its cycle times 45% and reduced annual labor costs by $100,000 with a new milling tool from Kennametal, inc. (latrobe, PA). Nationwide Precision Products Corp. (Rochester,...

Marking company makes big impression on industry for more than a century. (Management Perspective).
January 1, 2002... This is another exclusive MAN - Modern Applications News interview with industry leaders: John Visconti, president and COO; and Allan Schilling, executive vice president, sales and marketing, of Pannier Corporation MAN--Modern Applications...

Review of heat treating seminar. (Heat Treating).
January 1, 2002... The Tenth International Induction Heating Seminar held in the fall of 2001 by the Inductoheat [R] Group featured a number of workshops and roundtable discussions. The topics discussed included induction heating basics, power supply...

Machining thin-sheet brazing alloys with lasers: Manufacturing precision thin-sheet metal, super-alloy and brazing alloy components presents special challenges to fabricators. (Lasers).
January 1, 2002... High-technology applications of thin-sheet products frequently require a higher level of dimensional control, finer features, improved quality of cut, and greater cleanliness of the finished product. Reducing manufacturing costs under such...

Precision measuring arm cuts F-22 raptor assembly time more than 50%. (QC Measurement/Inspection).
January 1, 2002... One major challenge in the development of the aft fuselage far the U.S. Air Force's new F-22 Raptor was the construction of two titanium booms to support the load of the horizontal stabilizer. To make matters even more difficult for GKN...

Height gage replaces CMM for nearly 80% of Single-Axis work. (QC/Measurement/Inspection).
January 1, 2002... Maximum flexibility in applying measuring instruments is becoming increasingly important in meeting the shorter lead times and higher quality standards demanded by customers. Progressive Tool & Manufacturing, Inc. (Greensboro, NC) is...

A rugged tool cart rolls in. (New Products and Literature).
January 1, 2002... The easily maneuverable SuperScoot, constructed of 12-gauge steel for rugged heavy-duty use, offers a safe, smooth tool ride on heavy-duty casters that are load-rated to 1,600 lb. and have a locking-caster mechanism. Finished in gold-vein...

Tube squaring machine. (New Products and Literature).
January 1, 2002... The FX 3.0 orbital welding tube squaring machine delivers accurate, burr-free weld end preparation on all types of material and piping configurations. When combined with a tube cutting machine, this saw offers a compact and inexpensive method...

Bench-Top portable induction heaters. (New Products and Literature).
January 1, 2002... Versatile Flexitune [TM] 5-, 10-, and 30-kW converters provide a suitable replacement for equivalent RF valve oscillators and are suitable for a diverse range of applications. Flexitune induction heaters are useful for stand-alone bench-top...

Advanced arc welding systems. (New Products and Literature).
January 1, 2002... The AWS-2000 offers an advanced level of weld control for precision TIG/plasma welding applications. 486 industrial computers allow instant storage and retrieval for thousands of welds. Its 14" color monitor and graphics-based software provide...

Fasteners feature phillips recess. (New Products and Literature).
January 1, 2002... Types PFD50/60 self-clinching panel fasteners feature a Phillips recess to enable their captive screws to be tightened or loosened using a Phillips screwdriver. They install permanently in aluminum or steel panels to provide strong, reusable...

Hydraulic swaging machine. (New Products and Literature).
January 1, 2002... The FP140X heavy-duty hydraulic swaging machine is suitable when a variety of sizes and types of fittings, tube and pipe, wire and cable, and plastic and fiberglass need to be swaged. It can swage up to 4' industrial chemical hoses with cam and...

Auxiliary equipment -- air compressors: This month I would like to take a break from machining centers and grinders to discuss auxiliary equipment. (Mike Breen on Preventive Maintenance).
January 1, 2002... What is auxiliary equipment? In simple terms, it is anything that helps produce parts. Single-spindle drill presses, fork trucks, air compressors, and a building's environmental system are all things that fall into this category. Air...

People.
January 1, 2002... * The 2001 Medal for the Advancement of Research was given to Robert Shoemaker on Nov. 5 at the ASM awards dinner in Indianapolis. * Bruce Zolot has been appointed president of Travers Tool Co., Inc., headquartered in Flushing, NY. *...

ANSYS, Inc. (Companies).
January 1, 2002... ANSYS, Inc., Canonsburg, PA, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CADOE S.A., based in Lyon, France.

OSG Tap & Die Inc. (Companies).
January 1, 2002... OSG Tap & Die Inc. of Glendale Heights, IL, has agreed to acquire 100% ownership of Quality Carbide Tool of Elk Grove Village, IL.