Industry News for 04/2019

Greg Olson is the heavy machine shop supervisor at Washington Iron Works, Sherman, Texas. As a supervisor of a 12-person crew working on everything from crankshaft services to engine overhauls for oil and gas customers, he knows attention to detail is important. However, when Texas temps are pushing 90 degrees F in the shade and the sun is beating down on the metal shop, concentrating on details can be tough.

The fourth industrial revolution is upon us, and as you may know, this means change. As an industry, it is imperative that manufacturers adopt new technologies and increased connectivity that will enable more data-driven decisions. Thankfully, this also means increased efficiency, more parts produced, more accurate bidding, happier customers and increased revenue.

Carbide-tipped cutting tools, more popularly, carbide cutting tools, have been in use for a plethora of materials on engine lathes, CNC lathes, turret lathes, vertical turret lathes and chuckers. While excellent wear resistance of carbide tools manifests their enduring operational life, it also positions them superior to other counterparts when it comes to surviving longer production runs. Research has proven time and again that carbide tools are highly efficient in comparison with other solid cutting tools and high speed steel (HSS) tools.

The Innovation and Research Center (IFC) Tuttlingen of the Hochschule Furtwangen University of Applied Sciences (HFU) and FOBA Laser Marking + Engraving have officially launched their innovation cooperation for medical technology. At a ceremony on March 20 in the new rooms of the IFC on Katharinenstraße, a modern laser marking system was presented, which is now available to the university for its research as well as interested parties from the industry for demonstration purposes.

Process optimization is key to increase the productivity and quality of the machining processes and thus ensure the competitiveness of machining companies. Valid measurements of physical parameters are necessary for the ideal assessment of optimization and measures as well as the efficient use of production resources at their performance limits. MITIS, a leading manufacturer of systems for vibration-assisted drilling, relies on measuring systems from Kistler for cutting force measurement.