Articles

Articles • December 1, 2013 • Tom Lipton

When to choose a CNC lathe for a job

Like many in the industry, when I started in the machining world it was on a manual lathe. I have a special place in my heart for lathes. That includes CNC lathes, the next step up for aspiring machinists. In my experience, I have found there is a lopsided ratio of CNC mill machinists to CNC lathe machinists, with about 10 times as many being mill machinists. My theory is this is partly because the CNC lathe is more difficult to operate.

Articles • December 1, 2013 • Christopher Tate

Shop tools that are ‘oldies but goodies’

Christopher Tate, Cutting Tool Engineering's Shop Technology columnist, said he is surprised by the number of engineers and machinists who are not familiar with traditional machining tools and techniques. Many metalworking professionals seem to default to using only sophisticated technology for all aspects of machining without understanding or being able to use more traditional options.

Articles • December 1, 2013 • Kip Hanson

Vacuum grips where some vises fail

Suppose your boss enjoys cooking shows. One day he hands you his design sketch for the latest and greatest pie tin. "Here, make me a prototype," he says. "I'm entering a pastry contest." How do you machine this?

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Alan Richter

Metalworking product review for October 2013

A review of metalworking products as compiled by the editors of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Susan Woods

Multiple options

Multisensor measurement can make part inspection for machine shops more efficient.

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Kip Hanson

Light step

New technology has reduced the footprints of sinker EDMs and made them smarter, faster and more efficient.

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Alan Richter

A shop grows in Brooklyn

Tucked into the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, Linda Tool, a family-owned machine shop, is adding to its capabilities.

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Frank Burke

Vibration de-escalation

New and traditional part grinding technologies combine to control vibration and improve precision.

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Jeffrey Yoders

Smart design

Design for manufacturability is catching on among the more sophisticated clients of machine shops.

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Keith Jennings

Shifting gears to manage crises

I'm a big a supporter of my local community college's machining programs. There's one facet of machine shop management a classroom can't prepare a student for, though: the constant, yet unexpected, gear shifting that goes on when you're running a shop.

Articles • October 1, 2013 • Surya Kommareddy

Bridging the CAM-to-machine gap

When people ask why it's important to select a high-quality post-processor, I always liken it to building a house, reports Surya Kommareddy, with DMG / Mori Seiki USA Inc. in this month's issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.

Articles • October 1, 2013

Does Wal-Mart love U.S. products?

When the world's biggest retailer pledged it would buy an additional $50 billion worth of U.S.-made products over the next decade, Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks questions whether the news is cause for celebration.