Articles & Columns

Your shop just bought its first 5-axis machining center. Now what? Not only are there new and more complex programming techniques to learn—never mind the mind-boggling variety of part processing options to contend with—there’s also the pesky problem of how to grip workpieces. With the ability to tilt, rotate and position parts in ways never before possible, machining five sides of a workpiece in a single setup is a challenging but straightforward exercise—provided clearance between the workpiece, machine table and spindle head is maintained.

Presented here are more tips and tricks for proper planning when CNC machining. One of the first and simplest things to look for when performing operations that involve vises is the length of the contact area between the part and the vise jaws.

The drive to reduce setup times and operator intervention has led to the proliferation of multitask machines. Multitask machines range in price and complexity from lathes capable of driving rotating tools to large machining centers that can effectively perform the turning and milling operations needed to complete complex parts in one setup.

CHALLENGE: Reduce setup and cycle times while meeting customers’ demands for high-quality parts. SOLUTION: Two horizontal machining centers. END USER: Reinhold Industries Ltd., (780) 434-8552, www.rilflo.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Methods Machine Tools Inc., (877) MMT-4CNC, www.methodsmachine.com.

CAD/CAM software developers are no longer competing only with each other. They are also competing with their customers’ expectations of what a satisfying user experience (UX) should be.

The array of configurations is vast, but angle heads typically serve a common function: eliminate having to perform a separate operation to access a part feature when the
workpiece can’t be indexed.

Productive Times challenge: Ensure there are no machining issues with a flexible manufacturing system. The solution: Machine simulation and optimization software.

Productive Times challenge: Effectively clean and cool grinding oil applied in latest-generation grinders. The solution: A filtration and chiller system that directly communicates with grinding machines.

Turbine blades are typically mounted on compressor disks and milled from a single piece of material rather than constructed blade by blade. These are known as blade-integrated disks, or blisks, and their main function is to compress air in the turbine.

To improve performance, reduce cycle times and enhance machine operation, Makino Inc. has released Hyper technologies for its full line of wire, sinker and holemaking EDMs.

Planning is critical when operating CNC machines. When I began machining, CNCs were just coming into mainstream use. The first shops I worked in had only conventional (manual) machines. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that I started to notice the incredible versatility of CNC machines. The complex contours and shapes the machines could generate made many jobs much easier. The use of templates to file and sweep in surfaces was rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Myles Tool Company, Sanborn, NY, since 1977 has specialized in producing standard and special carbide cutting tools for the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors. A one-stop shop for standard tools, regrinds, and special tools made to customer requirements, Myles has grown by investing in new machines and high quality equipment.

A PROFIMAT MC 607 5-axis CNC grinding machine manufactured by Blohm Jung GmbH in Germany has been supplied in close cooperation with UK agent, J.R.A. Bennett Ltd, at The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Center (AMRC) with Boeing. It follows a rigorous tender process that involved evaluating hundreds of parameters and included grinding trials at the machine builder’s factory in Hamburg.

The Flex-Hone Tool, characterized by the small, abrasive globules that are permanently mounted to flexible filaments, has long been used for everything from automated metal finishing to maintenance and repair operations. Now the Flex-Hone can add one more claim to its resume: playing a small, but important, role in one of the largest engineering feats in marine history—the raising of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia.

The acquisition of Helical Solutions LLC by Harvey Tool Co., Rowley, Mass., officially took place August 2015. The opportunity to combine the product performance and technical expertise of both organizations was the driving force behind the initial acquisition, according to Harvey Tool CEO Pete Jenkins.

Jeffrey Badger, Ph.D., fields a question from a shop getting "terrible burn on the shoulder" when cylindrical grinding steel parts with a straight plunge.

Laser technology allows for precise, noncontact marking of thin, brittle or otherwise delicate parts without compromising part integrity.

The importance of mastering fundamental turning skills. Turning and other lathe operations are the most common machining applications. A master tool and die maker once told me a lathe is the only piece of shop equipment that can remanufacture itself. Whether or not the statement is factual is not important. Having the lathe described in that manner indicates how important and universal turning is to manufacturing.

Addressing weighty issues is an important part of the Manager's Desk column, and there will be no shortage of them to debate and discuss in 2016.

Whether done manually or with a powered device, scraping guide ways is critical to machine tool performance.