Articles & Columns

Tim St. Martin knew there had to be a better way of fixturing parts on his company's 5-axis machine tools. “We'd visited some of our suppliers and saw how they were holding parts on their 5-axis machines,” said the senior manager of manufacturing engineering for Carlsbad, Calif.-based orthopedic implant manufacturer Alphatec Spine Inc. “They were mounting the blanks into a 'picture frame' and then screwing that frame to a tombstone-mounted fixture. This basically limited access to one side of the workpiece per operation. Many in our company thought we should hold them the same way.”

Dear Doc: I grind the ODs and IDs of stainless steel bearings and have a much tougher time than when grinding hardened steel. Why?

A model-based design and verification method for reducing the time to build complex vehicles and aircraft.

Imagine a gear milling method where the toolpath -- not the tool shape -- determines gear characteristics such as diametral pitch or pressure angle. A new concept, involute milling, provides that functionality while delivering machining efficiency and production versatility. The result is a “democratization” of gear milling, moving the process from single-purpose, dedicated machine tools to multipurpose machines that can produce small batches economically because no costly hobs or gashers are needed.

Continuing and concluding the theme of my previous two columns, this month's installment provides additional tips for enhancing the operation of a manual milling machine.

Prevent sealed bearings from overheating in a live tooling head. A live tooling head with coolant-fed bearings.

Milling sounds range from loud to quiet, and experienced machinists <br />often use those sounds to judge what is occurring in the cutting zone. It is difficult to position a sensor such as an accelerometer or a displacement probe close to the cutting zone, and it is often a challenge to see the cutting zone, but the sounds are pervasive.

The heart of rail technology beats in Germany, where the Bombardier Transportation division of the Canadian conglomerate is headquartered in Berlin. Its plant in Netphen, Germany, annually produces 2,500 to 3,000 carriage bodies and bogies (a chassis or framework with wheels that is attached to a railway vehicle). This equipment is used in vehicles ranging from trams to high-speed trains. Despite the European economic crisis, order volumes have risen over the last few years, to the point where the plant, which has a workforce of 700, is nearly at full capacity.

Drilling cross-holes in some parts is no big deal. These are often simple parts, such as aluminum valve bodies, where the holes aren't too deep and meet on-center, and the customer can live with a small burr at the intersection.

X-ray scanning a part with internal features is useful because it creates 2-D images of those features in a nondestructive manner. Industrial computed-tomography, or industrial CT scanning, which is based on X-ray scanning technology, takes it a step further by providing a complete 3-D view for internal and external analysis.

In early December, two companies announced plans to make substantial investments in U.S. manufacturing. One was Apple Inc. and the other was Detroit Diesel Co. Guess which one got more coverage in the media. I'll help you. Even though Detroit Diesel's investment was more than Apple's and despite President Obama showing up at Detroit Diesel's announcement ceremony, my casual Web review showed Apple beat Detroit Diesel in news references by about 7 to 1.

Tips and techniques for improving bandsaw blade life and performance.

Getting a handle on chip handling for small to medium-sized shops.

Drill holes in 304 stainless steel used for header plates. An HSS drill.

In the January 2013 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering, Machinist's Corner columnist Michael Deren reviews a recent "60 Minutes" report about the skills gap in manuafacturing.

This month's Talking Shop turns its attention to an Indiana shop that makes family a priority.

The accurate positioning of the cutting tool with respect to the workpiece partly controls the accuracy of a machined part.

Shop Operations columnist Tom Lipton offers tips for enhancing the operation of a manual milling machine.

Verify and optimize machining operations, including ensuring that cutting tools avoid interference. CNC machine simulation software.

This month's Get With The Program column in Cutting Tool Engineering looks at the benefits of nesting software for shops that make parts from flat raw materials.