Machining

Up productivity without increasing payroll. Adding robotic production.

It's 6 a.m. and the wind chill is -45° F. As I watch you get ready for work, your gait is a little slower these days, and I have to talk a little louder because your hearing is not as good after being around loud machinery for more than 30 years. After you go, I settle down with my tea and peruse your latest CTE column. I always try to read them, because you discuss your career, the places you've gone and the marvels you've seen. I come across the line, “I can't wait to get to work each day.”

Spindle designers deal with lubrication and heat problems in three common ways: chilled oil, oil mist and air/oil injection.

Omega Manufacturing specializes in challenging wire EDM work, but also offers one-stop parts manufacturing.

Shop Operations Columnist Tom Lipton offers additional tips for operating a CNC lathe in the February 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Boost productivity and extend tool life when cutting cast aluminum surgical light housings. A special PCD endmill with laser-machined cutting edges.

Increase flexibility and repeatability when machining high-volume auto parts. A hydraulic stationary clamping system.

Bring outsourced parts in-house that were being milled and machine them on a CNC lathe. A 6-axis turning center equipped with a bar feeder.

Many machine tool spindles are supported in the housing by rolling-element bearings. Cutting forces, spindle unbalance and spindle preload impose cyclic loads on the bearing's balls and races. Over time, the cyclic loading produces fatigue failure, damaging the surfaces of races and balls. This kind of damage causes vibration and noise, limits bearing life and eventually requires bearing replacement.

By their very nature, horizontal machining centers are among the best friends a shop can have if it hopes to remain agile and competitive in this brave new world of low-volume, high-complexity machining.