Modern Applications News articles from October 2004

Modern Applications News archives from October 2004

And now, for something completely different.(Editor's Corner)
October 1, 2004... For those who did not attend this year's IMTS because of the previous show or the one before that, you missed something that was completely different. In 2000, many came to IMTS to see which companies had gone out of business. In 2002,...

WALTER acquires German PCD, CBN tool company.(Industry News)
October 1, 2004... The WALTER Corporation announces that it has acquired Werner Schmitt, a German company which specializes in diamond tools, pending approval of the German Office of Fair Trading. Werner Schmitt will be incorporated into WALTER as a legally...

NTMA partners to form new online marketplace.(Industry News)
October 1, 2004... The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) has announced that it has forged a strategic partnership with SourceHorizon, Inc., one of the nation's leading online matchmakers between the buyers and suppliers of custom made-to-order...

Browne & Sharpe parent buys Romer CimCore.(Industry News)
October 1, 2004... Sweden-based Hexagon AB, the parent company of Browne & Sharp, has entered into a formal agreement to purchase the measuring equipment businesses of Romer CimCore Inc. (Carlsbad CA). The company is a manufacturer of portable articulated arm...

The hard realities of sawing soft aluminum: compared with steel, aluminum alloys are much softer. Because of this, it is often assumed that it is easy and simple to cut. Making this assumption can create more problems than chips.(Sawing)
October 1, 2004... Depending on the alloy, soft aluminum can be about four times easier to cut with a bandsaw than free-machining 12L-12 or 12L-15 steel. However, shops accustomed to sawing steel must take care to maximize productivity and minimize cost-per-cut....

Single unit orders profitable with self-taught robot: robotic MIG welding of a wide variety of irregularly shaped, thin aluminum components might not seem the best situation for robotic welding. However, a 50-employee manufacturer of fans finds it an ideal solution, even for production lots ranging from only one to six units.(Metalforming/Bending/Fabricating)
October 1, 2004... "We design and manufacture industrial fans for such industries as chemical processing, refining, gas processing and energy production. As is familiar today to many fabricators, fast turnaround has become mandatory," explains John Moore,...

Machine-tending robots: production's 'Special Forces'.(Metalforming/Bending/Fabricating)
October 1, 2004... As the economy makes a slow recovery and foreign competition, particularly in China, continues to gain momentum, domestic shops are realizing that robots are more than just a piece of manufacturing equipment. Robots are key business tools that...

Tube end finishing machine.(Spotlight Products)
October 1, 2004... Tools For Bending, Inc. has introduced a new type of tube end finishing machine that provides accuracy while deburring both I.D. and O.D., and squaring of re-cut tubing to 2.0" O.D. The TFV-50 offers a 1hp motor controlled by a variable speed...

Flexible Manufacturing Cell.(Spotlight Products)
October 1, 2004... Finn-Power International has introduced the LPE, a high-precision Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC) that combines a 6-axis, servo-motor driven E5 turret punch press, the latest generation of C[O.sub.2] laser, and an automatic loading, stacking,...

CNC Die Sinker EDM Machine.(Spotlight Products)
October 1, 2004... Ona America, Inc. has announced its new model DB 300 CNC Die-Sinker Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM). The new model incorporates a new high-speed pulse technology, which is based on a faster head action and servomotor control. Features...

New punching machine.(Spotlight Products)
October 1, 2004... The Trumatic 2010 R, entry level punching machine from Trumpf Inc. features a hydraulic punching head, all-tool rotation, quick setup and changeover features, and a 50" X 50" working range. All tools on this CNC punch machining center can be...

Multi-purpose press series for heavy blanking/forming/coining.(Spotlight Products)
October 1, 2004... The Millennium Press Series, from Press Technology Corp., is designed to give the stamping industry the ability to produce a wide range of operations on a single press. This multi-purpose press is equally suited to heavy blanking, forming, and...

Gambling, speed, alcohol fuel start-up's growth: putting his money and faith in high technology equipment, an entrepreneur grows a closet-sized sign shop into a respected custom manufacturer for the architectural market.(Machining/Turning Centers)
October 1, 2004... After six years of working for a manufacturer of electrical controls, Trevor Welson left that company with nothing more than an understanding of the industry and a desire to do things differently. In 1993, he launched his own venture with a...

Two-Machine problem solved with a one-machine budget: a small job shop faced with a large order discovers how to get the needed production of two machines for the price of one.(Machining/Turning Centers)
October 1, 2004... Logan, Utah's Reed's Precision Machining (RPM) is a successful, small-town job shop offering its customers a wide variety of machining and metalworking services, including milling, turning, punch press, precision welding, production sawing, and...

Using CMM arm slashes robot programming 90%: robots are faster, stronger, more accurate, and have more stamina than their human counterparts. But robots also can have a big drawback--they learn new jobs very slowly. That is changing.(QC/Measurement/Inspection)
October 1, 2004... Programming has been so time-consuming that for 30 years robots have been unable to fulfill their promise of automating complex tasks unless those tasks were part of very long run production runs. To teach a robot a new job, the arm is...

Meeting aviation specs in 0.00005" increments: a company that began as a toolmaker and grew into a certified aviation component repair facility for pumps and gearboxes obviously has high expectations of the tooling it uses today.(Holemaking/Drilling/Tapping/Boring)
October 1, 2004... Ohlinger Industries was founded in 1963 with roots dating back to the Vernon tool Company of Arizona. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Originally, Ohlinger was a producer of new parts and assemblies for the aerospace industry. It has now become...

86 employee shop ... really serious about manufacturing.(Publisher's Corner)
October 1, 2004... I know that most, if not all, of our editorial is focused on solving problems encountered in the metalworking field. These solutions are normally related to the latest type of tooling or machine designed to reduce the labor burden, or to...

New welding products.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... Miller Electric Mfg. Co. will showcase its new welding products for the metal forming and fabricating industry. The new products include the Millermatic[R] 350P MIG power source, XMT[R] 350 CC/CV Inverter, Syncrowave[TM] 250 DX and 350 LX AC/DC...

Laser Trackers.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... FARO Technologies, Inc., presents the latest generation of FARO Laser Trackers. In addition to the Laser Trackers' 230' range and .001" accuracy, the latest generation includes: ADM Smart Auto-Adjust, which improves ADM accuracy by...

High-speed laser cutting machine.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... Trumpf Inc. introduces a new high-speed 5' X 10' flat-sheet laser cutter, the TC L 3030 Plus, with integrated axis technology. Features include light-weight high-speed axis that allows the laser cutting head to accelerate and decelerate faster,...

Flexible manufacturing.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... The Shear Genius flexible manufacturing machine (FMC) from Finn-Power International, Inc., is designed to provide one machine capable of transforming a full-sized sheet into finished parts. This new machine features an integrated turret punch...

Deburring tool.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... The Turbo-Burr, air turbine deburring tool, from Heck Industries Inc., uses a standard carbide burr rotating at 55,000 rpm to quickly and accurately deburr or chamfer straight edge parts. This new tool can be used on most materials including...

Waterjet cutting with natural diamonds.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... KMT Watejet Systems offers diamond orifices which were developed to provide longer life, and more coherent streams for improved cutting speed and accuracy. The improved performance is a result of using the highest grade industrial diamonds and...

Innovative deburring technology.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... ATI Industrial Automation has introduced Flexdeburr, a new line of radially-compliant deburring tools for robotic and CNC applications. These new tools have a unique floating motor and spindle arrangement that provides the deburring tip's...

Cordless drill/driver.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... The new BSP 18 Plus, from Metabo Corporation, gives users "corded" performance in a cordless drill/driver, and is ideal for a variety of applications for drilling into aluminum and steel. Increased power and torque allow the operator to drive...

Self-clinching panel fasteners.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... The patented PEM[R] Type PFC4[TM] self-clinching stainless steel panel fasteners, from PennEngineering Fastening Technologies, install "flush" (on one side) into thin stainless steel sheets. This type can be installed permanently in stainless...

High-performance press brake series.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... Trumpf will introduce an updated version of its TrumaBend V Series line of press breaks designed with new four-cylinder technology to replace hydraulic cylinders and provide more bending space. Additional cylinders create higher levels of...

New general products brochure.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... Strippit/LVD has released a full-color general products brochure highlighting its complete line of punching, forming, and laser cutting equipment. The new brochure provides an overview of CNC turret punch press machinery, including the new ST...

High definition plasma cutting system.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... Plasma Automation Inc. offers its Vicon Model 2001 high definition system with PC-based CNC controller, ViSoft software and a choice of plasma power supplies. The cutting software features its own part generation CAD program, and AutoCAD[R].dxf...

Depressed center wheel abrasives.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... The M.K. Morse Company announces its depressed center resin bond wheel abrasives for fast, safe grinding and cut-off in electric or air powered right angle grinders. These depressed center wheels feature a unique resin bond formulation for...

Expanded optics facility.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... The Lasertec Division of American Torch Tip Company expands its optics manufacturing facility to include new high-tech equipment for production of optics components used in lasers for welding and cutting. ATTC currently produces more than...

New detector measures extreme laser power/energy densities.(Fabtech)
October 1, 2004... Ophir Optronics, Inc. has announced the release of the Model 30 (150) A-SV Volume absorbing detector head, which is intended for very hard-to-measure beams that have extremely high power and energy density. This model can measure up to 30W...

Quick release couplings.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... The Jilson Group offers a full line of quick release couplings in a wide variety of materials, sizes, and configurations. The Bi-Tec Series combines a sliding valve and quick lock mechanism, and are available in industry standard sizes. These...

500[degrees]F inert atmosphere cabinet oven.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... No. 903 is an electrically-heated, 500[degrees] inert atmosphere cabinet oven from the Grieve Corporation, currently used for liquid flow solder masking under a nitrogen atmosphere. Workspace dimensions measure 38" W X 38" D X 38" H. It has...

Die cast clamping system brochure.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... Kosmek USA Ltd. offers a brochure on its new die cast clamping system to automate clamping for die casting machines. The brochure details the specially designed system and features that withstand the die-casting environment. These die cast...

New fan innovation.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... The Delta T Corporation has developed a new improvement in high-volume/low-speed fans, the Powerfoil. Maximized to operate at lower rpm's, this new fan produces more cfm per watt, and can be sped up to produce 332,000 cfm to lower the effective...

New lead-screw self-feeding drill units.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... The new Varimec[TM] lead-screw Selfeeder[TM] from Sugino Corporation is a self-contained drill unit capable of a high degree of accuracy in a wide-range of metals and other materials. These units offer 13 pre-programmed drill modes including...

Catalog highlights slotting cutters.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... A new 8-page, 4-color catalog that provides details of its versatile series of tooling for narrow width slotting applications, the ValMILL[TM] V350 Slotting Cutters, is available from Valenite Inc. The catalog presents a general overview of...

New cutting tools catalog.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... Walter Waukesha has introduced its new 6-page catalog showcasing the new Xtra-Tec line of cutting tools. The new catalog provides details and benefits about Xtra-Tec drills, face and shoulder mills, and includes information on the new Tiger-Tec...

Tools for demanding threading applications.(New Products and Literature)
October 1, 2004... Scientific Cutting Tools, Inc. introduces the SPTM series for threading of small holes with coarse threads in demanding materials. These single profile thread mills offer advantages in the threading of tough materials with unfavorable length to...

Intelligence--a key to profitability: the more manufacturing information you can generate, retrieve, use, and save for future use the more efficient and profitable your shop can be.(CAD/CAM)
October 1, 2004... The magnitude of manufacturing data residing in your shop--usually in your CAD, CAM, CIM, and other related technology-based tools--is probably far more than you can imagine. When it's supplemented with information from other sources the volume...