Articles

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Stephen A. Batzer

The Dry Cure for Coolant Ills

With safety and health precautions driving up the cost of using metalworking fluids, many shops are attempting to machine dry. This article looks at the reasons why a shop might want to eliminate coolants and the effects this decision will have on part quality and tool performance.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Martin Eastman

All Together Now

This article looks at the close partnership forged between a toolmaker and a machine tool manufacturer. The alliance requires the two to share detailed information about proposed products as well as the customers each is working with. Such cooperation has made it possible to develop several new products and processes.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Austin Weber

Have You Checked Your Insurance Lately?

Business insurance represents a costly but necessary investment for any shop. This article presents the findings of a Cutting Tool Engineering survey of the liability insurance purchasing habits of readers. The article also offers some guidelines for insurance shopping.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Martin Eastman

Balancing on the Fly

With the introduction of high-speed milling, tool balancing has become increasingly important. This article describes a system that can balance tools while they are mounted in the machine tool's spindle and rotating.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Christoph Zoller

From Presetting to Tool Management

This article explains how state-of-the-art tool presetting-and-measuring machines can reduce a shop's tool setup time while increasing precision. The article also describes how the additional functions of these high-end units can turn them into sophisticated tool-management systems.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Bernard North

Tantalum and Niobium

Tantalum and Niobium are important components in the composition of carbide tools. They are also among the most expensive. This article explores how recent trends in metalcutting and tool usage will effect the supply of these two components.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Christopher Wilkens

Wire EDM Filtration Comes of Age

Centralized mineral filtration for wire-EDM dielectric fluid can remove contaminants down to the 1-micron level and dispose of them in an environmentally responsible way. This article describes the mineral filtration process and compares it to the other common filtration methods.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Steve Slate

Bonded Graphite Electrodes

To produce graphic electrodes for EDMing large cavities, shops sometimes must machine the piece in smaller sections and bond them together. This article explains how to build and use a bonded graphite electrode so that a ridge at the electrode's bond line can be avoided.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Dandridge Tomalin

Why Do EDM Wires Break?

Adequate flushing is needed to keep EDM wires from breaking. This article explains why wires break, and how dielectric fluid delivered with sufficient flow and pressure can prevent these failures from occurring even in less than ideal conditions.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Ed Kwasnick

Diamond Tames Graphite’s Bite

Graphite electrodes are extremely difficult to machine because of the material's abrasiveness. This article explains why it takes an endmill with a CVD diamond coating and multiple flutes to cut graphite without wearing tool quickly.

Articles • March 1, 1998 • William Sluhan

The Good, the Bad and the Smelly

The presence of bacteria and fungi can seriously compromise the effectiveness of metalworking fluids. This article looks at the most harmful microbes and the conditions that allow them to flourish. Preventive measures are also discussed.

Articles • March 1, 1998 • Friedhelm Greulich

Use a Saw to Upgrade Your Cutoff

Rotary saw cutting (RSC), using a self-contained, motorized attachment that is mounted in a machine's standard cutoff position, can provide an alternative to single-point tooling for cutoff operations. This article details the ways that RSC provides results that are better than single-point tooling while advising readers on ways to optimize the operation.