Industry News for 09/2014

Methods Machine Tools Inc., a supplier of machine tools, automation and accessories, will hold an open house at its Tempe, Ariz. Technology Center on Nov. 5th and 6th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.  Manufacturing professionals are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, click here.

Machine tool builder Romi Machine Tools Ltd., Erlanger, Ky., announced Mike Burchill, president of Marshall Manufacturing, Minneapolis, as the winner of the "It's Time I Had a Romi in my Shop" sweepstakes, conducted at IMTS 2014 in Chicago. Burchill will receive a Romi C 420 CNC lathe, valued at $63,000.

A new survey shows that there is one group of potential employees that should not be overlooked: young women. Women in Manufacturing, a group of nearly 500 women dedicated to attracting, retaining and advancing women in the manufacturing sector, co-produced the survey with Plante Moran. 

Widia, a Fort Mill, S.C.-based toolmaker, has launched its NOVO desktop and tablet application, which gives users on-demand delivery of cutting tool data and expertise for reduced product development and manufacturing lead times, according to the company. NOVO assists shop personnel in a number of intuitive ways. It can help define machining features and reduce the product set to those that can do the job, taking into account constraint requirements such as material, tolerance and machining sequence for both single tools and multi-tools.

Toolmaker Walter USA LLC, Waukesha, Wis., has expanded its Walter Xpress line to include specials with the addition of indexable insert tools for drilling, boring and counterboring. Using customer-specific parameters for drilling and boring applications, including diameter, number of steps (up to three), step lengths, chamfer angles, relevant cutting tool material options, insert shapes, machine features and cooling, the Walter configuration system designs the required tool and generates comprehensive documentation, including a 3D model.

U.S. Shop Tools, Anaheim, Calif., has released its 2014/15 Express catalog. The 178-page catalog contains information and pricing on the company's most popular offerings, including chuck jaws, lathe chucks, lathe toolholder bushings, collet pads, live centers, internal lathe workholding, ER, TG, DA & AF collets, retention knobs, vise jaws, milling toolholders and indexable drills.

The editors of Cutting Tool Engineering visited IMTS 2014 with a mission to find and report on new, innovative technology. The following products are some of what we found. 

MSC Industrial Supply, Melville, N.Y., opened its fifth distribution center, or Customer Fulfillment Center, in Columbus, Ohio. The distributor of MRO supplies marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. MSC first announced plans for the new facility in 2012 when it purchased the 70-acre plot where the 400,000 sq.-ft. facility now sits. The new CFC is currently home to 100 full-time associates, a number that is expected to grow to 300 by the end of 2017. The site is also designed to accommodate future expansion. 

For the sixth year in a row, Corp! magazine named Seco Tools LLC one of "Metropolitan Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For," for providing a highly motivating and rewarding work experience to employees, the company said. 

Polygon Solutions is one of a group of Florida manufacturers that has volunteered to host events during National Manufacturing Day Oct. 3. About 1,300 events are scheduled throughout the U.S. This is the third year of the event, and the third year the Fort Myers-based company is participating. The rotary broach manufacturer was also named a winner of the event's first-ever Manufacturing Day Video Contest.

On Aug. 11, Hutchinson, Minn.-area businesses partnered with the local Economic Development Authority (EDA), the Southwest Initiative Foundation, and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as part of a statewide initiative to promote Minnesota as a viable manufacturing area for businesses that are considering locations in the U.S. Dividing the state into eight regions, The Site Selector Familiarization Tour brought in site-selecting consultants to familiarize them with the assets and infrastructure that Minnesota has to offer international and domestic businesses.

Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Cos. donated a Zeiss DuraMax coordinate measuring machine to the Precision Tool Manufacturing Training Program for students who attend Plymouth High School. The donation was announced at the 2014 International Technology Manufacturing show in Chicago. The new machine shows ITAMCO's continuing support for the program that Mark Neidig, purchasing manager at ITAMCO, proposed to the Plymouth School Corporation superintendent in 2013.