Articles & Columns

Internet portals won’t transport you into the future—but your company will likely be using them soon if it is not already. 

The single most significant benefit offered by indexable tools is the ability to renew the cutting edge without having to remove the cutting tool from production.

Five-axis programming is difficult, requires an expensive CAM system and an even more-expensive programmer to sit in front of a computer all day cranking out complicated G code. Right? Not necessarily.

Look Ahead features simulation tools for automating titanium cutting.

An October 2016 Look Ahead piece takes a sidelong look at 3D printing.

IMTS 2016 featured more tools and systems for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) than ever, observed Cutting Tool Engineering Editor Alan Richter in his October 2016 Lead Angle column.

With the advent of CAM software, generating G code is no longer the big deal it was a few decades ago. A CAM system will generate all the G code you need in a matter of seconds. Presented here is the first part of a multiple-part series of columns on the subject.

If you use a pair of machinist’s vises bolted to the bed of a vertical machining center and laboriously replace jaws for each new job or build fixtures from scratch and stick them on the shelf until the order repeats, listen up: Modular workholding saves time and money. 

Cutting Tool Engineering's Machinist's Corner columnist shares his experience with various continuous-improvement processes, such as 5S, kaizen events and gemba walks, and a recent rapid-improvement event. The target was the company’s daily operations management.

With an assist from sound that humans can’t hear, machining can be a cooler and faster process—and yield more accurate results to boot, according to the September 2016 Machine Technology column in Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Get With The Program column offers a heightened appreciation for the roles that machining parameters and heat play when cutting metal.

Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing defines part geometry—and you should already know that.

Manufacturer Seco Machine primarily serves the railroad industry while seeking to diversify.

As component design optimization tasks flow down the supply chain, finite element analysis programs proliferate.

END USER: Toolcraft Inc., (360) 794-5512, www.tcprecision.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Mil-Tec Inc., (800) 564-5832, www.miltecusa.com. CHALLENGE: Reduce cycle time when machining an aluminum part. SOLUTION: A progressive form tool applied on a horizontal machining center.

END USER: Windings Inc., (800) 795-8533, www.windings.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: West Ohio Tool Co., (937) 842-6688, www.westohiotool.com. ​CHALLENGE: Extend tool life when drilling a high-silica part. SOLUTION: A solid, cross-center PCD-tipped drill.

Generate consistent and accurate pricing with cost-estimating software

END USER: Ramona Enache, +31 634-824-992, www.tothepointer.com; SOLUTION PROVIDERS: DP Technology Corp., (800) 627-8479, www.espritcam.com; Logicad Solutions srl, www.logicad.ro; CHALLENGE: Design metal parts for a wine glass that sticks into the ground. SOLUTION: CAM software that defines all the machining operations, cutting tools and machining parameters.

END USER: RJ Enterprises, (310) 327-8127, www.rjenterprise.net; SOLUTION PROVIDER: Kyocera Precision Tools Inc., (800) 823-7284, www.kyoceraprecisiontools.com; CHALLENGE: Reduce cycle time when roughing a fuel sensor made of 304 stainless. SOLUTION: Switching from a ½"-dia., 4-flute solid-carbide endmill to a 5⁄8"-dia., indexable-insert endmill.

Cutting Tool Engineering's September 2016 Look Ahead section features a robotic glove to enhance the strength and dexterity of human assemblers.