Articles & Columns

Modular fixturing at its best offers the stability and accuracy of dedicated workholding with the flexibility to be reconfigured quickly for a variety of parts. But sometimes compatibility issues arise.

Navigating and complying with OSHA regulations can frustrate companies, particularly when the regulations are inconsistently enforced.

If your shop makes parts that demand multiple setups, parts that have challenging geometry or parts with difficult GD&T requirements, 5-axis machining could provide significant benefits. Do not let the potential cost of the investment prevent you from conducting a thorough cost analysis of your current machining methods.

Advanced CAM software provides the additional modeling that is needed to achieve total part quality, according to the Get With the Program column in the October 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Checking perpendicularity is a recurring theme on the shop floor—one that deserves detailed discussion and special tools, according to the Shop Operations column in the October 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.

The October 2017 Machinist's Corner column explains the “eight wastes of lean,” for which there is an acronym known as DOWNTIME: Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Nonutilized talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion and Extra processing.

The vast majority of threaded holes require some type of chamfer or countersink, which makes it one of the most common machining operations, and, more to the point, one that usually can be improved.

In 5-axis machining, accurate rotary axis centerlines are critical, so regularly measuring and verifying these values is also critical. While the best course of action is to measure the machine using a high-tech system intended for this purpose, in a pinch you can use a manual process.

“Pressure” and “flow” are common terms when discussing air compressors, but the relationship between the two is often misunderstood.

Measuring machined parts on a surface plate has long been a tedious job, one that requires mastery of dial indicators, a pocket calculator and an adjustable height gage that most in the industry refer to as a “Cadillac gage.” But several metrology providers offer a more sophisticated way to quickly and accurately check hole diameters, the distance between part features, centerlines and more. The tool is called an electronic height gage, and it has made Cadillac gages about as popular as whitewall tires.

Like a broken record, decision-makers at parts manufacturers continually hear that monitoring machine tool utilization rates helps improve productivity. That’s true, but the phonograph needle frequently skips over three other benefits of machine tool monitoring.

Keith Jennings, who writes the Manager's Desk column for Cutting Tool Engineering, shares his thanks for being able to work after surviving the epicenter of Hurricane Harvey in August.

CTE Editor Alan Richter highlights the 5-axis focus of the October 2017 issue.

Machining Inconel 718 and similar heat-resistant superalloys (HRSAs) at cutting speeds normally reserved for aluminum is not only possible but becoming an accepted practice at some aerospace OEMs.

The benefits of presetting are somewhat intangible; it takes a little digging to actually understand how much time is spent manually setting tools and what impact that has on shop throughput and profitability.

Maintaining constant cutting forces provides a constant radial tool engagement throughout the entire cut, which eliminates spikes in the cutting forces. This approach allows the programmer to take a larger axial DOC while simultaneously maintaining a high feed rate and extending tool life.

With its new EOS M 290 additive-manufacturing system, Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Cos. (ITAMCO) now 3D-prints medical devices. After obtaining the system in June, the company started shipping components in August.

Omax Corp. developed the MicroMax JetMachining Center with help from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which awarded the company a Small Business Innovation Research grant. The investment has paid off. 

END USER: Niagara Gear Division of Gear Motions Inc., (716) 874-3131, www.gearmotions.com/locations/niagara-gear-division. CHALLENGE: Reduce lead times and enhance flexibility and control to meet customer delivery requirements. SOLUTION: A work cell with a vertical machining center, two turning centers, a saw and a parts-marking machine that the company set up after initially purchasing the VMC and then acquiring the rest of the equipment from a machine shop that closed.

Nowhere will you find more gold — i.e., profits — than by streamlining redundant or antiquated plant operations, according to Phillip Canipe, whose job it is to eliminate waste and redundancy at manufacturing plants.