Cutting Tool Engineering Magazine

Heavy-duty multitask machine tools provide numerous benefits for producing large, complex components—when the application is right. PLUS:

• 3D printing is poised to turn prototyping on its head
• When tool presetters are integrated into a shop, a key question is who will take the measurements
• Rotary broaching allows machine shops to bring broaching in-house
• Growing U.S. auto market needs supply flexibility and more lightweight parts.

CTE’s 2014 Salary Survey shows the earnings of metalworking professionals have headed upward. PLUS:

• A tool inventory management system shows who’s using what and for what purpose
• Teach your vertical machining center to ‘dance without a partner’
• Thread milling is an attractive alternative to tapping
• Certification helps machine shops develop consistent QA practices—and new business
• Get a grip on machined parts with face drivers
• Advances in software, sensors and connectivity create more choices and greater accessibility for machine monitoring
• Tapered-pipe tapping calls for interrupted-thread taps
• Gear makers embrace indexable-insert tools.

Toolholder vibration negatively impacts all aspects of machining. PLUS:

• JDA Aqua Cutting and JDA Custom offer both machining services and motorcycle-related products
• Portable coordinate measuring machine arms bring sophisticated inspection to the shop floor
• Solutions for 10 of the most challenging deburring applications
• Bremen Castings celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, but doesn’t look back
• An examination of wheel performance shows the ups and downs of creep-feed grinding
• Ultrasonic machining is a sound but unsung option
• How needles and other medical ‘sharps’ are ground.

Despite setbacks and challenges, orthopedic implant market set to grow; and shop makes one-of-a-kind knee implants with CAM templates. PLUS:

• Ways to keep machines and operators cool, clean and calm
• 10 questions about machining titanium alloys
• Preventive maintenance is an important part of a machine shop’s routine—and every shop handles it differently
• The importance of effectively cooling the cutting zone when grooving.

‘More of everything’ boosts Swiss machining productivity—and complexity. PLUS:

• Hydraulic vises offer accurate workholding for workpieces large and small
• When selecting a boring or reaming tool to finish a hole, the application is everything
• Cutting fluids make it easier to keep your cool when workpieces are difficult to machine
• Despite setbacks, South Carolina shop thrives, develops winning production strategy
• Gage repeatability and reproducibility studies improve measurement systems.

Look, down in the hole, it’s a valve, it’s a vane—it’s a heat-resistant superalloy! PLUS:

• U.S. energy market in overdrive as shale drilling booms
• Shops of all sizes need an enterprise resource planning system
• Various methods are available to thread holes, each offering pros and cons;
• Laser technology has taken hold in the moldmaking industry, offering new possibilities for fabrication, detailing, maintenance and repair.

Adaptive control helps CNC machines output more parts. PLUS:

• Omega Manufacturing specializes in challenging wire EDM work, but offers one-stop parts manufacturing
• Metal-injection molding has arrived as a way to manufacture small, complex parts
• New developments expand the application range of replaceable-tip drills
• Valley Tool invests in high-performance machine tools to effectively compete and grow.

Transforming horizontal machining centers into lean, mean, part-making machines. PLUS:

• High-speed grinding can provide great gains when grinding ODs
• With a focus on machining large parts in multifunctional mill/turn machines, QualTech Industries quickly attracted customers after opening 4 years ago in Kings Mountain, N.C.
• While hydraulic toolholders are said to have limited applications, their high gripping force and simple operation help them secure a place in machine shops
• Aerospace parts market booms with sustained jetliner demand.

Network of NIMS-certified training centers expands; how a cooperative organization helps manufacturers train their employees in-house; and Connecticut Spring & Stamping developed an apprenticeship program to meet its own training needs. PLUS:

• Tips on choosing live tooling for a mill/turn center
• Combination cutting tools for holemaking applications save a significant amount of time when the application is right
• Bandsawing bundled materials requires some special insight
• Tool data management optimizes production resources and data.

Determining when complex turning and multitasking are the right solutions. PLUS:

• A guide to when should shops say farewell to used cutting tools
• New and traditional parts marking technologies help prevent counterfeiting
• The fundamentals of using coated abrasives in metalworking
• Stock Drive Products/Sterling Instrument integrates two shops’ design, engineering and manufacturing functions.

2014 Buyers Guide issue:

• Manufacturers index
• Disributors index
• Machne Shop index.

New technology makes EDM die sinkers smarter, faster and smaller than ever before. PLUS:

• New and traditional grinding technologies combine to control vibration and improve precision
• Tucked into the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, Linda Tool, a family-owned machine shop, continuously adds to its capabilities
• Design for manufacturability is catching on among the more sophisticated clients of machine shops
• Multisensor measurement reduces part-inspection time for machine shops.