Articles

This article warns against the dangers in recent manufacturing supply trends. According to the author, both outsourcing and integrated-supply programs can have seriously detrimental effects on productivity and innovation. In this article, he explains the reasoning behind his views.

This article guides the reader through the many decisions that must be made when selecting and installing a hydraulic workholding system. Basic hydraulic system design principles and maintenance also are discussed.

When shouldered parts are held for turning with a draw-in collet, length-control problems can result. This article provides directions for making collet add-ons that allow the machinist to locate the part against the spindle face, providing a consistent length from part to part.

This article traces the changes in countersink design and materials that have been made to satisfy the demands of the aerospace industry. The advantages and disadvantages of different types of modern countersinks are discussed.

Although machinists are using cermet and ceramic cutting tools for an increasing number of applications, they have been slow to adopt them for boring. This is beginning to change, however. This article describes some of the ways a boring operation can benefit from the use of these tools.

By recycling used metalworking fluids, shops can realize considerable savings in fluid and disposal costs. This guide takes the reader through the fundamentals of fluid recycling and management. Excerpted from a manual on the subject, the piece covers both the care and cleaning of fluids and fluid-handling equipment.

Traditional tap/drill charts recommend drill diameters for each size of tapped hole. But, according to this article, these recommendations are based on the size holes that were typically produced by less-accurate tools and processes used in the past. This article suggests guidelines for producing holes that will, in turn, produce correctly sized tapped holes.

Many end users would like to see carbide tool standards that would ensure consistent quality in tools from shipment to shipment or between manufacturers. Today's C and ISO designations do not provide this assurance, according to this article. The article looks at the problems that arise because of a lack of standards and the attempts being made to guarantee consistent quality in the shop.

Amorphous diamond coatings can offer performance close to that of CVD diamond film at a fraction of the cost. This article describes the amorphous diamond coating process and the coating that is produced. A comparison to CVD diamond coatings is also presented.

In the lab, researchers are using artificial intelligence to turn CAD and CAM programs into systems that can think and make decisions. This article looks at several of these efforts and the capabilties of the systems that have been developed.

Modern control technology makes extremely fast milling speeds possible. But the top speed can only be as fast as the slowest link in the chain between controller and machine. This article looks at some of the bottlenecks that can prevent a mill from running at full speed.

CNCs have the power to dramatically increase productivity, yet many shops fail to make use of their controllers' full potential. This article suggests ways that a shop can fine tune its CNCs to create controllers that are optimized for the type of work being performed. The tips include many CNC features, capabilities and options that users often overlook.