Modern Applications News articles from May 2006

Modern Applications News archives from May 2006

OK, George, I wanna bet: in his 'By George' column in the April issue of MAN, contributing editor George Weimer speculated that China would follow in the economic footsteps of Japan, building factories in the U.S. to serve this market. He closed his column with the classic challenge, "wanna bet?".(EDITOR'S CORNER)
May 1, 2006... OK, George, I'll take that action--all of it. I'll take your bet because I believe your conclusions are not just wrong, but very wrong. I do not believe that China, like Japan, will quickly and strongly establish and expand its manufacturing...

Firearms & machining.(Letters to the Editor)
May 1, 2006... My name is Tommy Burttschell. My profession is gunsmithing. For 43 years and still going it has made a good living for my family and me. I thoroughly enjoy your magazine. Even a gunsmithing shop can pick up a few new ideas while reading about...

'Winchester'.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Although the closing of a 200 employee shop in New England might seem like "small potatoes," as you put it [in the Editor's Corner column, MAN, April '06], the fact that it was the only Winchester plant that made the All-American rifle, the...

Latest machine tool consumption up 25.3%.(Industry News)
May 1, 2006... The most recently released figures show that February U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $269.05 million, according to AMT--The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. This...

Indexables used as option as carbide prices escalate.(Industry News)
May 1, 2006... Some manufacturers are moving to indexable tools to avert the recent steep price run-up for solid carbide tooling, according to Ingersoll Cutting Tools, which supplies both types of tools. "There is a definite shift toward indexable drills...

Omax delivers 1,000th waterjet machine.(Industry News)
May 1, 2006... Omax Corporation (Kent, WA) recently announced the sale and delivery of its thousandth waterjet machine, a Model 55100 JetMachining[R] Center, one of a complete line of abrasive-jet machining systems. "With the delivery of our 1,000th...

FeatureCAM expands customer service dept.(Industry News)
May 1, 2006... Delcam USA (Salt Lake City, UT) has expanded and reorganized customer service operations for its FeatureCAM line of CAD/CAM software. The FeatureCAM customer support team has doubled in size and has been organized into two groups. One group...

KMT acquires Aqua-Dyne.(Industry News)
May 1, 2006... KMT Waterjet Systems (Baxter Springs, KS) has acquired privately owned Aqua-Dyne (Houston, TX) for approximately $10 million. With annual sales of about $8 million, Aqua-Dyne gives KMT access to a new growing market segment with significant...

Prototype jig grinder holding roundness within 0.000010".(Industry News)
May 1, 2006... Judging by beta test results on a prototype jig grinder, jig grinding has passed through a new threshold of ultraprecision, according to Moore Tool Company (Bridgeport, CT). The company reports consistently holding roundness within 10 micro...

Technology prescription cures profit problems: if MAN had published its February 2006 editor's column ('The Railroad Business' *) early in 1989, it might have saved an Oklahoma machining operation from almost going bankrupt. Fortunately, the owner of Aerospace Components, Inc., understood then that machining parts for markets other than the dwindling aerospace market was the path back to profitability.(MEDICAL MACHINING)
May 1, 2006... With an original emphasis on aerospace work, Danny Odom, president of Aero Components Inc. (Oklahoma City, OK), came close to going bankrupt in 1989. What saved him was a diversification of clients, especially to medical parts manufacturing,...

Microscopic niche means machining to angstroms: and unlike most industry tooling requirements calling for accuracy within thousandths or even a few ten thousandths, that isn't quite good enough for high-end optic work. In this extreme realm of machining, surface finishes down to 30 angstroms are not unusual.(MEDICAL MACHINING)
May 1, 2006... What's an angstrom? There are approximately 254,000,000 angstroms in one inch or 10,000,000 angstroms in one millimeter. Contour Metrological & Manufacturing, Inc. (Troy, MI)) is a shop unlike most others, because it specializes in very...

+p workholding releases medical job profits: new vises provide a Minnesota shop with the quick setups, rigidity and grip to cut machining time on a 420 stainless medical implement and deliver a 16 mil surface finish with tolerances of [+ or -]0.0005" at 350 sfm.(MEDICAL MACHINING)
May 1, 2006... Five Kurt HDL double station vises mounted side-by-side on a new Bridgeport VMC 1000 X[P.sup.3] VMC give Vincent Precision Machining (Mendota Heights, MN) a setup time improvement of under a minute per part compared to over five minutes per...

Laser automation system essentially doubles output: investing in automated material handling, instead of a third laser, gives a growing fab shop a production capacity equal to four lasers, while staffing for just two.(PROCESS AUTOMATION)
May 1, 2006... A contract fabricating shop, Stock Manufacturing (Cleves, OH) found itself running out of laser cutting capacity. Instead of adding a third machine, the owners elected to add more hours of productivity to their two Cincinnati Incorporated...

Dual-spindle turning center programming time cut 50%: A 50% reduction in setup time, increased productivity and improved quality control result when a machine builder and a control supplier team to deliver a dual-spindle machine with a flexible CNC designed to work seamlessly with the machine's hardware and software.(CNC/CONTROL)
May 1, 2006... The new Twin series dual-spindle turning centers from DMG (Schaumburg, IL) now incorporate the Siemens Sinumerik 840D powerline CNC. The control is designed to run seamlessly with the machine's hardware and software, enhancing operation before,...

Texas shop tames talent, technology challenges: most shops select machining centers for their ability to produce tight tolerances, quickly. A Texas shop sets these requirements for machine tools, adding an ability to handle more crashes than a NASCAR short-track race, yet still meet specs, delivery dates and profit targets.(MACHINING CENTERS)
May 1, 2006... For Dixie Iron Works (Alice, TX) the shortage of skilled labor has been a longstanding problem, as the company is located in a city that has never contained an overabundance of skilled labor. In recent years, this has presented the Texas shop...

Waterjet gives wings to specialty shop: a lot of shops specialize in "aerospace work," which can be very demanding, and sounds classier than making "airplane parts." A waterjet shop has found its market not in aerospace components or even parts for regular airplanes. This shop cuts parts for home- or kit-built experimental airplanes.(WATERJET)
May 1, 2006... In 2001, Dave Willcock decided to sell his successful St. Catharines, Ontario-based machine shop and retire at the age of 39. But he quickly grew bored of retirement and decided to enter the business of waterjet machining. [ILLUSTRATION...

Direct metal laser sintering meets prototype deadline: with less than a week to create a prototype, an Ohio-based company relied on direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) to produce a complex, eight-piece assembly in just 2.2 days, compared to an estimated 10 days with CNC machining.(PROCESS AUTOMATION)
May 1, 2006... With the National Association of Realtors convention almost a week away, SentriLock, LLC (Cincinnati, OH) had a winning product concept for a lockbox system, but no production quality demonstration units. Determined not to miss this...

Single synthetic fluid improves profit flow: a search for a synthetic fluid to solve maintenance challenges and handle a variety of steels ended with a single-source supplier and actual tool life improvements of 20%.(COOLANT/LUBRICANTS/FILTERS)
May 1, 2006... D&S Machine Service (Luxemburg, WI) is a complete service provider for components and special parts to such industries as construction equipment, heavy lifting, paper, marine, packaging and printing. It maintains 24 machines that include...

Eastec advanced productivity exposition.
May 1, 2006... On May 23 - 25, Eastec[R] 2006 will showcase the latest in metalworking technologies at the Eastern States Exposition Center, West Springfield, MA. With over 600 exhibitors and 2,000 products on display, MAN - Modern Applications News gives you...

Boring and precision boring tools.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... This new range of boring and precision boring tools features a modular ScrewFit adaptor and an imbalance compensation capability. The adaptor's compact design enables tool diameters from 0.079" to 2.76". The tools are available in a twin-flute...

Solid carbide drills.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... Solid carbide drills combined with a chamfer collar collet chuck system can be used instead of special step-drills in many applications from 5/32" - 3/4". This assembly is designed to perform at recommended drill parameters to the full depth of...

Vertical tapping center.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... VTC 30A/30B vertical tapping centers are designed for mixed volume, short-run operations and high-volume applications. With a footprint of 44.8" x 84.64", the VTCs have rapid traverse rates of 1,653 imp (X- and Y-axis) and 1,772 imp (Z-axis)...

Gun drill system.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... This gun drill system is designed to drill highly accurate 0.030" diameter holes in surgical stainless steel. Intended for fast and accurate drilling in medical product applications, the system has a drilling capacity ranging from 0.030" to...

Throw-away spade drill inserts.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... This new line of coated throw-away spade drill inserts and coolant holders are offered for a range of drilling activities. Five different coatings are available, including Ultra-Tin, TiN, TiCN, TiAIN and Life-Coat. The coatings and the tooling...

Drill unit.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... The Varimec SSV-4 is an intermediate-size, mechanical-feed, 1.5 hp electrically-driven drill unit designed for end-milling and face-machining operations. Chuck capacities from 0.07" - 0.787" are available. The low-speed/high-torque model...

Solid carbide boring tools.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... These solid carbide boring tools feature a sharp edge and a radial style design, intended to produce an improved finish with less horsepower. The tools are designed to offer a mirror finish on the face to allow ease of cutting, better chip...

Thread verification module.(HOLEMAKING/DRILLING/BORING/TAPPING)
May 1, 2006... This automated multi-spindle thread verification module is for inspecting more than one internal or external thread. Including a servomotor, servo drive and motion programming, the unit features extending torque adjustable up to 12 in.-lb. and...

Chrome-plated bar.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2006... Suited for harsh, corrosive environments, ChromeXL chrome-plated bar is designed to meet salt spray testing up to 1,200 hr. (ASTM-B117). The manufacturing process begins with special cold finish preconditioning of the raw steel and tubing, then...

Collet indexing system.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2006... The 16C and 3J large-capacity indexers are intended to automatically center the part and offer improved grip force for heavy cutting. A 6" centerline is standard with a 1.625" 16C or a 1.750" 3J through-hole capacity. A pneumatic collect closer...

Slotting cutters.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2006... These Mini-Tangslot slotting cutters are designed to carry tangentially clamped inserts with four cutting edges. The chipformer design is intended to reduce cutting forces and leave a clean, undamaged surface. Available are the SDND-LN08 disk...

Quick Change Tool Spindle Box.(NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE)
May 1, 2006... The Quick Change Tool Spindle Box is designed to allow the steel outer housing to be aligned and installed once, and interchangeable bronze liners can then be swapped in less than a minute. The system is intended to provide quick and easy...

$12 an hour? Hard to believe: what's the most amazing thing about the past hundred years? Inventions like cars, appliances, computers and television come to mind. The amazing communications revolution? The Internet? Space travel? Those are all good candidates. Here's another one: the constant rise in American workers' standard of living.
May 1, 2006... Think about it. For generations we have seen an increase in labor's average purchasing power. Nowhere has this been more true and clearer than in the American automobile industry. Since the days of Henry Ford early in the 20th century and...