Articles

Articles • July 5, 2017 • Kip Hanson

Tips for shops set on moving machine tools DIY

Machine tools are heavy. Moving them yourself can be dangerous, causing damage to people and machinery alike. But with the right tools, knowledge of how to use them and some common sense, DIY machine moving is possible—though not always recommended.

Articles • July 3, 2017 • Alan Richter

Workholding solutions for 5-axis applications

Whether an application involves simultaneous 5-axis machining or five-sided (3+2) machining, the workholders and fixturing techniques from the 3-axis world typically won't apply, according to John Zaya, workholding product manager for BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc., Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Articles • June 30, 2017 • Alan Richter

Lead Angle: Are we near the peak?

Peak oil demand is in the news. In a May Wall Street Journal article, for instance, authors Lynn Cook and Elena Cherney stated, "The world's largest oil companies are girding for the biggest shift in energy consumption since the Industrial Revolution: After decades of growth, global demand for oil is poised to peak and fall in the coming years."

Articles • June 21, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Look Ahead: Point-and-click robot control

It takes knowledge and skill to get a robot to do exactly what a manufacturer wants. A new interface designed by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers is reportedly simpler and more efficient than most control interfaces and doesn't require significant training.

Articles • June 20, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Look Ahead: 3D printing picks up the pace

Desktop Metal Inc., a 2-year-old startup, developed a different method of metal 3D printing that it calls an "office-friendly" system for rapid prototyping. The Desktop Metal (DM) Studio system is based on a new approach—Single Pass Jetting (SPJ), which was created by the inventors of the binder-jetting and the single-pass inkjet processes.

Articles • June 19, 2017 • Alan Richter

Productive Times: From dovetails to dimples

END USER: Manes Machine & Engineering Co., (970) 224-3311, www.manesmachine.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Lang Technovation Co., (262) 446-9850, www.lang-technovation.com. CHALLENGE: Eliminate the time spent machining dovetail cutouts and holes in a workpiece so it could be held in a dovetail-type vise for machining. SOLUTION: A stamping unit that creates dimples in a workpiece for holding it in a self-centering vise, referred to as form-closure technology.

Articles • June 16, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Scanning a hypercar

Koenigsegg, the Swedish manufacturer of high-end, high-performance sports cars, was featured in the 2016 documentary "APEX: The Story of the Hypercar," which describes the battle for a new class of high-speed, fast-pickup sport scars.

Articles • June 15, 2017 • Alan Richter

Productive Times: Kick out the jams

END USER: Amsted Rail – Brenco Inc., (804) 732-0202, www.amstedrail.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Jorgensen Conveyors Inc., (800) 325-7705, www.jorgensenconveyors.com. CHALLENGE: Eliminate bushy stringers from repeatedly jamming chip conveyors. SOLUTION: A chip conveyor with a dual-belt conveyor that reduces or eliminates jamming problems.

Articles • June 14, 2017 • Christopher Tate

Trim waste with proactive environmental program

Industrial waste, its impact on the environment and regulation by governments have become significant areas of interest for medium and large manufacturing companies. One company's proactive approach to environmental sustainability also reveals ways to reduce waste.

Articles • June 13, 2017 • Alan Richter

Routing new composite materials requires new solutions

As new composite materials are developed, parts manufacturers face new challenges when routing them. Fortunately, cutting tool manufacturers continually develop new solutions so parts manufacturers are not forced to cut tomorrow's composites with outdated routers.

Articles • June 12, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Success detected for noncontact inspection

The most-recent trends in inspection technology include using powerful 3D software to compare the part to its CAD rendering, inspecting the part in-process—without having to take it out of the production line or cell—and, as much as possible, automating the inspection process.

Articles • June 9, 2017 • Kip Hanson

Dry, tight fluid connectors require the right tool

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) and ISO (International Standards Organization) have developed a series of standards developed to make even the highest-pressure, most-demanding fluid connection leak-free. These include SAE J1926, SAE J514, MS 33649/SAE AS5202, ISO 6149 and other technical documents that describe threaded connections.