Reaching the apex
Combination tooling, custom fixtures and creative solutions help Apex Precision thrive.
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Spin doctors
Who should perform spindle maintenance in machine shops?
Prepare for increasing business regs
As an owner or manager of a machining business, you have your hands full dealing with matters from the front office to the shop and everything in-between. Even so, nonproduction issues seem to be an increasing burden.
Grinding Doc: Using the Ra eyeball technique
Dear Doc: I grind small parts with intricate geometries. I'd like to get a handle on what kind of Ra values I'm generating and if the grinding process changes I'm making are improving or worsening the surface finish. I was told to purchase a profilometer. Is this the best route to go?
Post-processing should not work
The creation of a part program for a CNC machine tool usually starts with a part drawing or model that contains the part material, geometry and tolerances.
Training machinists the old-fashioned way
Talking Shop August 2009 column
Tips for sanding titanium parts
Sanding, or benching, titanium alloy parts is a major cost element of the manufacturing process. Sanding removes burrs and improves surface finish to achieve drawing specifications.
Concentric engineering
In addition to handling prototype and production machining, R.E.F. Precision Products LLC, Deer Park, N.Y., provides engineering and productivity consulting services.
Tip-Top Productivity
Drilling, milling, EDMing, laser cutting, trepanning, punching; there are almost as many ways to make holes as there are holes to be made. Drilling, the most common holemaking method, itself includes many tool material and configuration options.
Fire suppression systems can protect machining centers—and your shop
Because they produce chips at high operating temperatures, often with oil-based coolants present, machine tools can easily catch fire. However, if shops plan ahead for this possibility by installing fire suppression systems, they can avoid catastrophic damage to the machine and the shop itself.
Reducing a machine tool’s energy consumption helps achieve ‘green’ machining
Manufacturing is an energy-intensive activity. The U.S. government estimates that manufacturing consumes about one-third of the energy used in the country, stated Scott Hibbard, vice president of technology for Bosch Rexroth Corp., Hoffman Estates, Ill., in his paper "Six keys to sustainable manufacturing."
Practicing routine grinding machine maintenance produces productivity gains
Because of the array of precision functions grinding machines perform, it's vital to properly maintain them to keep them operating at their peak in terms of accuracy and reliability. You can start by devising a maintenance program and sticking with it. This article provides tips on how to set up key parts of that program.