Articles & Columns

As new composite materials are developed, parts manufacturers face new challenges when routing them. Fortunately, cutting tool manufacturers continually develop new solutions so parts manufacturers are not forced to cut tomorrow’s composites with outdated routers. 

The most-recent trends in inspection technology include using powerful 3D software to compare the part to its CAD rendering, inspecting the part in-process—without having to take it out of the production line or cell—and, as much as possible, automating the inspection process.

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) and ISO (International Standards Organization) have developed a series of standards developed to make even the highest-pressure, most-demanding fluid connection leak-free. These include SAE J1926, SAE J514, MS 33649/SAE AS5202, ISO 6149 and other technical documents that describe threaded connections. 

Invited to join a 3-year academic project, a grinding wheel manufacturer turned to the Grinding Doc to determine whether such projects are worth the money and, more importantly, the time. For its part, the company is interested in evaluating its bond formulations.

Most folks who run an engine lathe often work on the ends of long shafts, or rods, that protrude unsupported out of the headstock. Depending on the shaft diameter and how much unsupported length sticks out, this operation can be dangerous because of the high potential for shaft whip. However, with the proper tooling, this operation is a cinch to perform safely. 

One requirement of precision wheel manufacturing is secure, accurate workholding. But Jay Duerr, president of LMC Workholding Inc., Logansport, Ind., said it goes much further than that. “The biggest requirement in this industry is good customer support.” 

Job shops commonly receive corrupted or “dirty” CAD files from their customers. These files must be cleaned or repaired before toolpaths for machining the workpiece can be created. Software solutions like SpaceClaim, developed by ANSYS Inc., can fix dirty models, with the end goal of creating “watertight” solids ready for machining.

GE Power opened its “Factory of the Future,” the 125,000-sq.-ft. Advanced Manufacturing Works (AMW) facility in Greenville, S.C., with great fanfare in April 2016. So, what’s futuristic about the place?

Colson Group USA, a manufacturer of casters, wheels and other mobility products, continues to make significant investments to its production and distribution operations while reshoring some manufacturing.

Some might argue that edge finders, center finders and wigglers, which have been used for decades to touch off workpieces during machine setup, are a bit too analog for today’s digital world.

Without a doubt, cutting tools for machining titanium must be well-engineered. This was reinforced for CTE Editor Alan Richter while attending Horn Technology Days 2017, held May 10 to 12 at Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrik Paul Horn GmbH, Tübingen, Germany.

Machine tool builder Zimmermann Inc., Wixom, Mich., the U.S. arm of Neuhausen, Germany-headquartered Zimmermann GmbH, specializes in very large machine tool installations. The company offers milling machines with working ranges from 2.5m to 30m (8.2' to 98.4') along the X-axis and from 3m to 6m (9.8' to 19.7') along the Y-axis. 

A new CS-50 deposition system from Duralar Technologies uses a process called DualArmor that is capable of applying DLC coatings of 50µm or thicker — and apply them at rates averaging 15µm to 20µm per hour. Conventional DLC coatings, which have a practical total thickness limit of around 5µm, are deposited one or two atoms at a time. As a result, it can take more than 8 hours to deposit a 1µm-thick DLC coating. 

Most manufacturers finish their sintered ceramic parts with grinding equipment designed for metals. Tratech Corp., however, has introduced what it says is the first commercially available CNC grinding machine designed specifically for the demanding needs of machining fully sintered ceramics.

A growing number of manufacturers in the medical industry are seeing the light when choosing a machining option for micro parts and features. The light they’re seeing emanates from laser micromachining systems.

All shops are concerned with burrs, a natural side effect of cutting. They are all looking for a single solution to prevent or remove burrs. Unfortunately, there is no panacea. 

As automation becomes more flexible and less expensive, work cells are propagating at smaller shops.

A recent report, “Global Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines Market” by Transparency Market Research, forecasts a healthy compound annual growth rate of 10.8 percent for these machines for the years 2016 to 2024, with the total market reaching $1.8 billion by the end of that period. The report’s authors expect rising demand to lead to more competition and lower prices.

Are you being asked to quote secondary machining operations on a handful of 3D-printed metal parts? If so, how do you cut these parts? 

Cutting Tool Engineering Editor Alan Richter ponders the machine shop of the future in his Lead Angle column for the May 2017 issue.