Articles

Articles • September 1, 2015 • David McPhail

US among lowest-cost locations for manufacturing

While the U.S. greenback has markedly appreciated in the last year, the Boston Consulting Group's Global Manufacturing Cost-Competitiveness Index shows that the U.S. remains one of the lowest-cost locations for manufacturing in the developed world. Productivity increases are largely responsible, and a key factor in this success is a relentless push to data-driven manufacturing.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Alan Richter

Books are fun-damental

Time for a literature review.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Matthew Jaster

Simplified drill geometry

A Look-Ahead item on a deep-hole drill with a continuously thinned web.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Matthew Jaster

Green lantern

A Look-Ahead item on a green laser-line metrology scanner.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Peter Loetzner

Modular machine strategy

Many trends affect the metalworking industry, including customer demands for the best quality, lowest cost and shortest delivery time. Design concepts for modular machine tools can address these expectations through general-function modules that can be combined to meet job requirements while reducing costs and lead times.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Michael Deren

Walk on the lean side

Take a Gemba walk. If you're not familiar with what a Gemba walk is, let me fill you in.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Keith Jennings

Free benefits come with a price

You never know when a simple comment will have a significant impact; sometimes that's not even the source's intention.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Alan Richter

Manufacturing gear for choppers

Apply modern manufacturing methods to grow a custom motorcycle business. Automate production and improve part quality and machining efficiency with a CNC machine tool and CAM software.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Alan Richter

Preset it and forget it

Minimize tool runout, extend tool life, reduce scrap and prevent fixture damage. An offline cutting tool presetter.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Tom Lipton

Miscellaneous tips and tricks

This column, which is my final installment, is like that special odds and ends drawer in your toolbox, the one with all the weird stuff in it for which you can't seem to find the perfect storage space.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Christopher Tate

Long and short of broaching

Many options are available for removing stock and shaping workpieces. Broaching is one of the most productive, underutilized -- and least understood.

Articles • September 1, 2015 • Kip Hanson

Stick with it

Let's say you want to machine your initials on your favorite Hummel figurine or cut the likeness of the school mascot on your daughter's Little League helmet. How are you going to grip them? A conventional way to grip fragile, difficult-to-hold workpieces is to encapsulate them in some sort of potting compound, a time-consuming and wasteful process.