Articles & Columns

Many nonmanufacturing people would be surprised by the amount of resources expended on parts cleaning, but it is a critical aspect of part quality. Failure to maintain a rigorous cleaning program can cause significant issues in complex assemblies.

END USER: Sonaca Montreal Inc., (450) 434-6114, www.sonacamontreal.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Fives Liné Machines Inc., (450) 372-6480, www.fivesgroup.com. CHALLENGE: Machine aerospace parts more efficiently and precisely while increasing part size. SOLUTION: A 5-axis, high-rail vertical gantry mill.

By using thermocouples embedded in a cutting insert’s coating, a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison successfully overcame the challenge of measuring the tool/chip interface temperature.

For decades, robots were synonymous with large-scale factories around the world. As small-to-medium suppliers are forced to become nimbler, automation is evolving to help them.

While placing a telescope outside the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere may seem like the best way to study the cosmos, CTE Editor Alan Richter holds a different view after the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization Corp. reached out to explain how it's working with Boeing Research & Technology on an Earth-bound telescope that will minimize distortion from the atmosphere.

The biggest benefit a digital vision system provides is the machine’s ability to automatically measure parts, whereas the human operator influences a manual analog measurement device, such as an optical comparator.

Shutting down a machine tool for just two or three shifts per year for maintenance can make a huge difference in boosting productivity and reducing machine downtime.

A shop writes to the Grinding Doc: There’s lots of discussion at my company about the best diamond fluting wheel for grinding tungsten carbide. Is there a quick test to determine which wheel is best?

Vertical turning lathes have a significant drawback: the chips fall onto the workpiece where they are subject to recutting. By inverting the spindle, chip problems are virtually eliminated.

Matrix Design LLC created the Matrix Deburring Applications Laboratory to more effectively design automated deburring systems while streamlining the testing process. For example, having touch detection at the lab enables the speeds and feeds of a deburring brush to be automatically adjusted for optimal performance.

Shop Operations Columnist James Harvey shares a few unorthodox machining methods that have worked for him.

Manager's Desk columnist Keith Jennings underscores the need for shop owners to remind their staff that it is the company—not its employees—that owns all business calls and electronic communications.

In a recent blog post, Joshua Jablons, president of Metal Cutting Corp., Cedar Grove, N.J., discussed a topic that leaves many machinists scratching their heads: What is the proper way to measure feature concentricity on a round workpiece? 

To reduce training time and improve worker safety in the high-risk environment of industrial manufacturing, Tobii Pro Insight administers eye-tracking studies. 

Top managers at three manufacturers weigh in on the merits of flexible manufacturing systems.

There is much to consider when choosing a mass-finishing system, what with operational variables from machine size and design to cutting media, compound abrasives, water volume, cycle time and more.

A report from global cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, Woburn, Mass., found that in the first half of 2017, manufacturing was the industry most susceptible to cyberthreats, with the industrial control system computers of manufacturers accounting for almost a third of all attacks.

Machine monitoring lets manufacturers gather, analyze and share data to improve future processes.

The history of robots combines the best of science fiction and real life technology. From Isaac Asimov to modern industrial robots, keep reading to explore the fascinating history of robotics.

CTE’s “CNC Chef,” Bob Warfield, polled the readers of his CNCCookbook blog in September on what they like and dislike about their CNCs.