In connection with my article about flexible manufacturing systems for the February issue, I visited Camcraft Inc., which has a Makino Machining Complex (MMC2) automated pallet-handling system. Four Makino 4-axis a51nx horizontal machining centers are integrated into the system.

Remember that before there was high-tech there was low-tech. And there still is low-tech! For example, boring and cutting a keyway in a tapered bushing is one of the most often performed tasks a maintenance machinist will perform.

After being at AB Sandvik Coromant, Sandviken, Sweden, for 17 years, Nadine Crauwels was appointed global president of the cutting tool manufacturer in May 2017. She has had roles in sales, product management, product introduction, custom tools and strategic relations.

At the facility where I spent the bulk of my machining career, we had two components to the operation: the surface refinery where I worked and the underground portion where the ore was mined before being sent up to the refinery. The mine was 1,570 feet deep, so it wasn’t just a simple jaunt when folks were in a bind. In addition, there were restrictions on who entered the mine, and the hazard training required for both the underground (MSHA) portion and the methane presence in the mine atmosphere. This mine generated about 2½ million cubic feet of methane on a daily basis.

While attending The Assembly Show, it seems that I saw robots and other automation equipment everywhere I turned. The trade show and conference took place Oct. 23-25 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

There are no collaborative robots, only robots with collaborative applications. That’s according to Simon Whitton, regional division manager of North America for KUKA Robotics Corp., Shelby Township, Michigan.

Interest in cryptocurrencies is grabbing the attention of companies across the gamut of industries, including metalcutting.

In preparation for this year’s celebration of Manufacturing Day on Oct. 5, I read the book "Finding America’s Greatest Champion: Building Prosperity Through Manufacturing, Mentoring and the Awesome Responsibility of Parenting" by Terry M. Iverson, president of machine tool distributor and rebuilder Iverson & Co., Des Plaines, Illinois. The word “champion” in the title connects with the organization Iverson started called CHAMPION Now! CHAMPION is an acronym for Change How American (or Advanced) Manufacturing’s Perceived In Our Nation.

For its new “Manufacturing Perception Report,” Thomas surveyed more than 1,000 participants from across the U.S. to examine their awareness and views about the manufacturing industry. When respondents were asked about which industries automation will have the biggest impact on, the New York-headquartered information, data and analysis provider reported that manufacturing took the lead at 34 percent, followed by transportation (15 percent), retail (11 percent) and fast food (10 percent).

Cutting difficult-to-machine materials is becoming more prevalent but not necessarily less challenging.

While looking through back issues of Carbide Engineering from the late 1950s, I came across an article about HSS cutting tools that reminded me of an article we published in this year’s August issue of Cutting Tool Engineering. (Editor’s note: Carbide Engineering combined with Cutting Tool Engineering starting with the January 1961 issue and dropped Carbide Engineering starting in April of that year. The publication began in 1948 as a small pamphlet called Carbide Tips, but I’m not aware of any existing copies of any issues.)

To gain more knowledge about Industry 4.0 developments, I participated in the Taiwan Smart Machinery Media Tour Aug. 20-24. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council hosted the event. The council reports that Taiwan has the highest density of precision machinery cluster in the world, exports almost 80 percent of its products and is the fifth largest export country for machine tools.

Honing on a machining center can offer advantages.

Aero Gear’s Doug Rose discusses machining gears and the company’s facility expansion

CTE Editor Alan Richter preps for IMTS 2018.

Every wonder what it would be like to sell machine tools for living? Rantings of a Machine Tool Salesman by Scott Walker provides a flavor of that wonderland career. Semiretired, Walker is chairman of Mitsui Seiki USA Inc., Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, where he started as vice president of sales in 1991. The company specializes in building heavy metal and mother machine tools.

Ceramic and cermet cutting tools offer productivity-boosting benefits when the application is appropriate.

When it comes to hobbing auto gears, dry machining dominates. “There are no new automotive applications that are being done wet,” said Tom Ware, product manager for gear tools at Star SU Co. LLC, Hoffman Estates, Ill. “There are a few tier suppliers that have not updated to new equipment and are still running some wet applications, but all the major manufacturers have gone dry.”

Zoller Inc. hosted its open house and Innovation Days event June 19-20 at the tool presetting and measuring equipment manufacturer’s new facility in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Usually, a grinding process can be improved by simply picking the low-hanging fruit. Grinding wheel manufacturer Meister Abrasives USA Inc., North Kingstown, R.I., recommends trying that approach first by selecting a single variable and significantly changing it.

Grinding ceramics is unlike most other grinding operations. These superhard, brittle materials need a slow and steady hand.

Once again, the International Manufacturing Technology Show is right around the corner. IMTS 2018 takes place Sept. 10-15 at Chicago's McCormick Place, which is literally just down the road from where I live.

Seventy years ago when the Society of Carbide Engineers launched the trade magazine that eventually became Cutting Tool Engineering as its official publication, the articles primarily covered carbide cutting tools. After all, the association advertised that those who were engaged in studying, using, supervising the use of or furthering the use of carbides were eligible for membership.

BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc. held its Breakfast & Learn 2018 open house May 8-10 at its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Each day include a technical presentation. On the third day, John Zaya, workholding product manager for BIG KAISER, covered multiple-axis, quick-change workholding systems.

Florence, Ky.-based Mazak Corp. hosted the Midwest Technology + Education Event May 1-3 at its Midwest Regional Headquarters and Technology Center in Schaumburg, Ill. The machine tool builder exhibited and demonstrated an array of equipment, including milling, turning, 5-axis and multitask machines, and nine of the company’s Value Inspired Partners exhibited at the event.

Bob Hudson of New South Whales, Australia, responded to my April 11 blog titled "Assisting manufacturers with augmented reality."

The Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, Chemnitz, Germany, wanted to study the impact of climate change on machines without having to ship them to far-flung locales. Therefore, the institute developed a climate chamber at its newly inaugurated test lab in which it could expose machines to various climates around the world.

If you're an exhibitor planning to showcase a product or service at IMTS 2018, please click here to send a press release and image of the product or service to Cutting Tool Engineering Editor Alan Richter.

It’s no secret that many manufacturers are scrambling to attract skilled workers to fill openings. A host of training programs are available to provide job seekers with the skills needed to get hired, and one in my hometown of Chicago that caught my attention is the Jane Addams Resource Center.

Manufacturers are continually looking to improve workflows. To assist them in reducing the time to assemble products and worker errors, Cemtrex, Inc. offers Workbench XR, an augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) software application developed for the manufacturing industry. The Farmingdale, N.Y., company plans to release a beta version this summer.

A sensei is a teacher or instructor, usually of Japanese martial arts. Sensai the company offers an augmented productivity platform for manufacturing operations, but transferring knowledge to help people make better decisions is at the heart of the company’s concept, according to CEO Porfirio Lima. “We believe that the most valuable asset an organization has is the knowledge that comes from its people.”

OEMs and other manufacturers frequently require special machines for production and assembly purposes. About half of Coldwater Machine Co.’s business involves building those machines, but few off-the-shelf components are available. Therefore, Coldwater machines the components in-house at its 132,500-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Coldwater, Ohio. And, many of the parts are large.

END USER: Backerworks Manufacturing LLC, (505) 342-2943, www.backerworks.com. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: Axis Machine Services LLC, (505) 206-2726, www.axismachineservices.com; Houghton International Inc., (800) 666-4684, www.houghtonintl.com. CHALLENGE: Reduce the amount of coolant makeup and the sticky coolant film that forms on machine surfaces. SOLUTION: A soluble-oil metalworking fluid for multiple-metal machining and grinding.

As the factories for U.S. manufacturers are increasingly becoming digitized and connected, the surface for cyberattacks is broadening. To allow experimentation on cybersecurity technology for the factory floor, the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute, Chicago, officially launched its “Cyber Hub for Manufacturing” earlier this month. DMDII reported that the U.S. Department of Defense contributed $750,000 in seed funding for the hub.

As demand grows for finer surface finishes and tolerance specifications become tighter—and competition continues to intensify—parts manufacturers are adopting advanced fluid filtration technologies to achieve their machining and grinding goals.

Not only is automation continuing to displace workers at manufacturing companies, the thought of being ousted by a robot is making some workers at those plants feel sick. That’s according to a study by three Ball State University researchers and a Villanova University professor.

After helping customers to remove tramp oil from coolant for more than 40 years, Jim Petrucci, vice president of Oil Skimmers Inc., has yet to hear from anyone that doesn’t have at least some tramp oil present in an individual machine sump or large holding tank. When enough tramp oil seeps into coolant on a steady basis to justify the acquisition of oil-removal equipment, which is common, the Cleveland-based company offers oil skimmers to remove surface oil.

For the May issue’s focus on abrasive machining, I’m writing a multiple-source article about honing. One of the sources is Lapmaster Wolters LLC.

CemeCon Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 17 to officially open its new 15,000-sq.-ft. headquarters and CVD-diamond coating facility in Big Flats, N.Y. The opening marks the fourth expansion of production capabilities since the U.S. subsidiary was opened in 1998 and the third increase in capacity for CVD-diamond processing since 2014.

Baker Industries Inc. reports that it has installed an Emco Mecof Powermill 5-axis vertical milling center—the first of its kind in the U.S. and one of the largest milling centers in the Midwest.

YG-1 Tool developed its line of D-Power diamond-coated carbide endmills for machining graphite and composite materials.

In his March 2018 Lead Angle column, CTE Editor Alan Richter takes notice of developments in large-part machining and previews an upcoming shop profile about Coldwater Machine Co.'s expertise in producing short runs of fairly massive components.

In connection with the upcoming 50th anniversary celebration of Hurco Cos. scheduled for March 6 at the machine tool builder’s corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, I spoke with Michael Cope, the company’s product technical specialist.

In connection with my feature article on abrasive machining for the May issue, I spoke with Steve Kendjelic, senior applications engineer for Norton/Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Worchester, Mass., about power gear honing. The process is used for ultrafinishing generated gear teeth and is generally performed on a honing machine.

END USER: Sonaca Montreal Inc., (450) 434-6114, www.sonacamontreal.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Fives Liné Machines Inc., (450) 372-6480, www.fivesgroup.com. CHALLENGE: Machine aerospace parts more efficiently and precisely while increasing part size. SOLUTION: A 5-axis, high-rail vertical gantry mill.

While placing a telescope outside the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere may seem like the best way to study the cosmos, CTE Editor Alan Richter holds a different view after the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization Corp. reached out to explain how it's working with Boeing Research & Technology on an Earth-bound telescope that will minimize distortion from the atmosphere.

The biggest benefit a digital vision system provides is the machine’s ability to automatically measure parts, whereas the human operator influences a manual analog measurement device, such as an optical comparator.

Manufacturers are ripe targets for hackers. According to a report from IBM Security, the manufacturing industry moved into the position of second most attacked industry in 2015, behind health care.

As product miniaturization continues, micromachining continues to make inroads into the manufacturing industry, and CTE will once again provide a special section about micromachining in our May issue. At the other end, I’ve noticed more developments in large-part machining, and, coincidentally, our April issue will include a focus on that topic.

Matrix Design LLC created the Matrix Deburring Applications Laboratory to more effectively design automated deburring systems while streamlining the testing process. For example, having touch detection at the lab enables the speeds and feeds of a deburring brush to be automatically adjusted for optimal performance.