Modern Applications News articles from May 2005

Modern Applications News archives from May 2005

Understand the rules and the competition: over the decades I have written for magazines and newspapers, I have usually enjoyed communications from the readers. Oh, there have been those few communiques that were somewhat incoherent and at least one that was accompanied by the aroma of gunpowder. But I recently had a call that disturbed me.(EDITOR'S CORNER)
May 1, 2005... Like many readers of MAN--Modern Applications News who agree or disagree with one of my columns or an article, this gentleman picked up the phone and got directly to the point. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We've got to get the government to...

Haas Automation ships 50,000th machine.(Industry News)
May 1, 2005... Haas Automation, Inc. (Oxnard, CA), the largest machine tool manufacturer in the U.S., has announced the production, sale, and installation of the 50,000th Haas CNC machine tool. Machine number 50,000--an SL-20APL CNC turning center with...

Cincinnati Lamb acquired.(Industry News)
May 1, 2005... Maxcor, Inc., in partnership with Silver Point Finance, LLC, announced that it has agreed to purchase the global operations of UNOVA's (NYSE: UNA) Cincinnati Lamb Group. The transaction is expected to close by the end of April. Cincinnati...

New Orders, Production growing.(Industry News)
May 1, 2005... Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in March for the 22nd consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 41st consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business[R]....

Chip clearing challenges tool-life, cycle times: long, stringy chips in both drilling and parting-off operations presented a manufacturer with tool-life and cycle-time challenges.(HOLEMAKING / DRILLING / BORING
May 1, 2005... This was the situation faced by one Ohio producer of automotive parts. Defiance Precision Products (DPP) faced a major chip control problem that affected overall productivity and made it difficult to stay competitive in automotive global...

New holemaking solutions.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2005... Command Tooling Systems introduces five new solutions for drilling and boring holes in fewer passes, with chamfers, at faster feed rates, on more machines. The new solid carbide drills, used in combination with a new chamfer collar collet, can...

High-speed boring small diameters.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2005... Big Kaiser Precision Tooling offers the new EW2-12 Hi-Speed precision boring head for finish boring small diameters from 0.075" - 0.500" (1.9mm - 12.7mm). These boring heads give automatic balance precision with a manual fine balancing...

New accessory for portable magnetic drill.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2005... Hougen Manufacturing introduces a new coolant bottle package, available as an accessory for its Model HMD904 portable magnetic drill. Designed for use in applications involving repetitive hole drilling, the new system assures that adequate...

Foaming action cutting fluid.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2005... The Steco Corporation introduces Tap Magic Xtra-Foamy, a highly visible, extreme performance cutting fluid for all metals, including hard-to-machine metals such as high-nickel alloys, titanium, and stainless steel. This new cutting fluid has a...

Boring bars for very small bores.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2005... Kaiser Tool Company expands its Thinbit[R] line of Mini-Bore[R] to include a carbide bar with a minimum bore of 0.160". The inserts are available in two grades of sub-micron grade carbide with TiN, TiCN, TiAIN, and diamond coatings. Mini-Bore...

Holemaking/Drilling/Boring/Tapping Buyers Guide.
May 1, 2005... The MAN-Modern Applications News annual Holemaking/Drilling/Boring/Tapping Buyers Guide is a listing of companies that have responded to our request for and have supplied information on their Holemaking/Drilling/Boring/Tapping products for the...

Engineering Victory with agile CAM software: tooling-up for the first all-new American-made production motorcycle in nearly 60 years required commitment and technology to build a winner.(CAD / CAM)
May 1, 2005... Victory motorcycles, launched as a division of Polaris Industries in 1997, produced the V92C, which was named "Best Cruiser" by Cycle World magazine before it was even available to the consumer, marking an auspicious start-up. In 2003 and 2004,...

+p CAM cuts errors 80%, programming time 66%: a contract manufacturer in Texas has realized a reduction in programming time of 66% and reduced programming errors by 80% since adopting a new CAM system that automates many programming steps.(CAD / CAM)
May 1, 2005... The CAM system Karlee, Inc. (Garland, TX) used in the past, imported the part geometry from the company's CAD system, but from that point it required many manual error-prone tedious steps to complete the CNC programming process. Recently, the...

Designing with CAD, artist sculpts Choppers: shifting from paper to program, an artist turns ideas into world renown custom motorcycles.(CAD
May 1, 2005... Orange County Choppers (Concord, MA), the custom motorcycle shop popularized on the Discovery Channel show "American Chopper," uses SolidWorks[R] software to design the sweeping exhaust pipes, daring wheels, and other key features that make its...

New tooling eliminates cast iron chatter: turning a cast iron crankshaft balance weight, a manufacturer of small engines encountered unacceptable chatter marks on the part, requiring the assistance of distributor and cutting tool representative.(CUTTING TOOLS)
May 1, 2005... Although it's probably best known for its bathroom fixtures, Kohler Co. began as a foundry, only getting into the bathroom appliance business when it applied a baked enamel coating to a hog scalding trough, creating its first bathtub. But,...

+p 'crazy' feed & speeds shrink machining time: if something sounds too good to be true, you're probably right. But a small shop owner was proved wrong about an end mill's performance and cut 50% off machining time, while experiencing 600% better tool life.(CUTTING TOOLS)
May 1, 2005... Steve Seebold couldn't believe it. He thought the manufacturer's recommended feeds and speeds for a new end mill he was trying out were "crazy." Seebold, owner of Seebold Engineering (Santa Ana, CA), started his career in tool and die work...

Measuring clamping force prolongs tool, spindle life: in job shops and short-run contract manufacturing operations, frequent tool changes are normal. These frequent tool changes are also the main cause of a costly problem that has been difficult to detect--deteriorating spindle clamping force.(MACHINE ACCESSORIES)
May 1, 2005... Every machine manufacturer specifies an ideal clamping force for their spindles. When this clamping force begins to deteriorate, it can be difficult to diagnose, while it is causing costly problems. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Clamping...

Alternate gripping methods improve grinding operations: are you utilizing your grinding machine to its full job capacity? Many machine operators don't think past centers, arbors, fixtures, and magnetic chucks when it comes to maximizing the workholding contribution to efficient precision grinding.(MACHINE ACCESSORIES)
May 1, 2005... Many shops are still doing second operation work when they could be set up to finish parts complete with an alternate workholding method. Here are several suggestions for additional or improved gripping solutions passed along by the workholding...

+p Universal Storage system automates fab shop: an automated steel storage system proves to be the key component for a fabricator that needed to integrate a variety of machines from several manufacturers to achieve the goal of "lights-out" manufacturing efficiency.(METALFORMING
May 1, 2005... "Unattended, 'lights-out' operations have enabled us to significantly increase the volume of work we do for our customers, as well as take on several new key accounts, says Tim Hayden, senior vice president, Sargent Metal Fabricators (Anderson,...

Waterjet replaces EDM, keeps mold jobs in-house: the acquisition of another company provides a polyurethane molder with new, efficient mold making technology and part cutting capability--a high-pressure waterjet.(WATERJET)
May 1, 2005... For more than a decade, Poly Roll (Loudon, NH) has fabricated custom molded polyurethane parts to specification to customers in a variety of industries such as material handling and transportation. A large number of Poly Roll's customers...

Innovative contact tip/diffuser.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2005... The American Torch Tip Lightning contact tip/diffuser is designed to last longer. Reducing the electrical resistance between the tip and the diffuser decreases the heat build up. The increased surface contact from the taper used between the tip...

Robotic/automatic tool changers.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2005... ATI Industrial Automation has released a new series of robotic/automatic tool changers designed for industries using robots for material handling and in welding applications. The new QC-210, QC-310, and QC-510 tool changers use a patented...

Voltage-sensing wire feeder.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2005... Miller Electric Mfg. Co. introduces its new SuitCase X-Treme 12VS voltage sensing wire feeder to improve wire welding performance in portable applications. The unit weighs 35 lbs., holds wire spools up to 12", and features SunVision[TM] digital...

High-speed aluminum laser welder.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2005... Unitek Miyachi Corporation announces the release of its new LW300AL laser welder designed to increase welding speed and achieve deeper penetration in laser-weldable aluminum alloys. This high-tech laser is capable of seam weld speeds of up to...

Electrically conductive adhesive solders.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2005... The Sylon[R] electrically conductive adhesive solders from Devcon can be used to form conductive paths in applications where hot soldering would be ineffective or impractical. These epoxy and epoxide formulations mix and pour easily, fill voids...

Three-phase power source.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2005... The Esab 653E cvcc Weatherguard Power Source is a multiprocess, three-phase power source designed for heavy-duty industrial DC welding, including shipyards and structural applications. The power source works for MIG, flux-cored wire, submerged...

EASTEC 2005.
May 1, 2005... The EASTEC 2005 Advanced Productivity Exposition will take place May 24th - 26th at the Eastern States Exposition Ground, West Springfield, MA. The following is a preview of new products, innovations, and services that will be displayed this...

Boring? How boring! Boring, drilling and otherwise making holes in things is not what the average person in America would a call interesting, let alone exciting like all that high tech stuff.('BY GEORGE')
May 1, 2005... I mean what could possibly be called advanced technology in gun drilling machines, for example. Well, funny you should ask about that. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Actually, a whole high tech industry has emerged out of the gun drilling...