Articles & Columns

Integrating digital tool libraries into CAM software enables process improvement.

END USER: Garr Tool Co., (800) 248-9003, www.garrtool.com. Increase uptime for lamp-pump laser marking machines by reducing equipment maintenance and downtime. Fiber diode-pump laser marking machines. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Beamer Laser Marking Systems, (810) 638-5388, www.beamerlasermarking.com.

Stopping a machine to measure a workpiece is a waste of time. Not only is a high-priced piece of CNC equipment being taken out of production, but the measurements obtained when a machinist leans into a machine with a micrometer or bore gage can't compare in accuracy to those generated by a coordinate measuring machine or inline probe.

Metrology software offers unique benefits.

Improve inventory control and consolidate hundreds of cabinets and drawers for storing tooling and gages. SOLUTION: An automated storage system integrated with inventory management software.

The advantages of preloading ball nuts.

CHALLENGE: Increase QC efficiency when inspecting composite auto parts. An automated opto-digital microscope.

The choice of selective suface-hardening methods depends on workpiece size, shape material and application, but they can be grouped in two main categories: thermal and mechanical.

Metalworking fluids formulated to be bactericide-free and nearly odorless.

Pundits have long said that U.S. machine shops and parts manufacturers need skilled candidates to fill thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of available jobs. The problem, it's alleged, is getting people interested in manufacturing in the first place.

Simultaneous machining on two to four spindles enhances efficiency and lowers the cost per part for high-volume production.

Workholder modeling slashes setup time.

American National Standard ANSI B212.4-2002 covers the identification system for indexable-type inserts for both single-point and multiple-point cutting tools. This standard classifies inserts based on shape, clearance, tolerance, type, size, thickness, cutting-point configuration, edge preparation, hand, and facet size.

Eliminate tool breakage when tapping stainless steel. A tap with a new multiple-layered coating and an advanced chamfer geometry, rake and flute form.

Rotary broaching allows machine shops to bring broaching in-house.

For a guy like me who remembers when a landline telephone was the only way for an individual to share information immediately over long distances, today's world of infinite connectedness still has an otherworldly, "Alice in Wonderland" feel to it.

Eliminate coolant foam and chip accumulation in chucks and increase coolant pressure. A nonfoaming coolant.

Do your homework when adding labor-saving devices to your shop, urges the Shop Technology column in the September 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Machinist's Corner Columnist Michael Deren ponders the ability of machine tool builders to step up their game whenever new tooling becomes available.

Increase complexity of ground parts while maintaining tight tolerances. CNC cylindrical grinding machines.