Articles & Columns

Thread turning is a well-known but not well-understood practice. Toolmakers recommend how to do it the right way.

Commercialization of cubic boron nitride coatings has proven elusive, but a two-step process for coating cutting tools with CBN is expected to come to market soon.

A demonstration application shows that trochoidal milling can cut narrow, wavy slots in hardened steel at up to 12 times the normal rates.

There are several ways EDM builders and machine shops can make micro-electrodes for sinker EDMs. One popular way is discharge dressing.

Small shops can take advantage of big opportunities by making military parts.

Portable coordinate measuring machines provide unprecedented flexibility, plus cost savings.

The use of simulation software allows GE Aviation to try out creative approaches to machining—without the risk of costly failures.

Manager's Desk, Machine Technology, Shop Operations, Get with the Program, Machinist's Corner

A joint Sandvik Coromant and Mazak seminar provided counterintuitive information on the metalworking market in general and machining heat-resistant superalloys in particular.

2+3 machining of die and mold components is more accurate and often faster than full 5-axis machining.

A multitasking lathe, coupled with robotic loading or bar loading, is a simple but effective form of automation.

While using a single cutting fluid to machine and grind all workpiece materials may not be economically feasible, many machine shops can reduce their number of metalworking fluids.

Machine tool builders and CAM software developers work to make 5-axis machining more flexible and accessible.

Experts weigh in on how to buy smart—for today and tomorrow.

Auto manufacturers are 'lightweighting' vehicles by incorporating more aluminum and microalloy steel components.

Staying Sharp, Manager's Desk, Part Time, Machine Technology, Shop Operations, Get with the Program, Machinist's Corner

Holding large workpieces, especially heavy ones, requires parts manufacturers be more mindful of workholder and machine tool limits than they have to be with smaller workpieces. Also, shops may need to improvise when a conventional workholder can't secure a large workpiece.

Read CTE's Fifth Biennial Salary Survey to learn which positions are earning more and how much more since the 2006 survey, which positions are earning less and how much less, and how benefit packages have changed.

Multifunction grinders, which include other machining operations, enable shops to complete parts in a single setup, among other benefits.

Grinding round HSS cutting tools can be more efficient than milling them. Being able to dress new hybrid metal/polyimide-bond wheels on the grinder adds to the efficiency.