Articles & Columns

Spindle designers deal with lubrication and heat problems in three common ways: chilled oil, oil mist and air/oil injection.

Metal-injection molding has arrived as a way to manufacture small, complex parts.

Presented here is the second part of the Manager's Desk column about Web-based marketing. The first part appeared in the February issue.

It's 6 a.m. and the wind chill is -45° F. As I watch you get ready for work, your gait is a little slower these days, and I have to talk a little louder because your hearing is not as good after being around loud machinery for more than 30 years. After you go, I settle down with my tea and peruse your latest CTE column. I always try to read them, because you discuss your career, the places you've gone and the marvels you've seen. I come across the line, “I can't wait to get to work each day.”

The well-established concept of radial chip thinning (RCT) provides compelling productivity-enhancing benefits, but is still not widely applied.

Reduce equipment uptime and improve productivity when friction welding cutting tool shanks to heads. Replacing an old friction welding machine with a refurbished one.

Up productivity without increasing payroll. Adding robotic production.

Reduce setup and changeover time on lathes with live tooling. A modular quick-change collet system.

Following the theme of the past two Shop Operations columns, here are some additional tips and tricks for operating a CNC lathe.

New applications expand the range of replaceable-tip drills.

Valley Tool invests in high-performance machine tools to effectively compete and grow.

An electrical discharge saw attachment for a manual lathe.

A shop seeks insight from our Ask the Grinding Doc columnist, Dr. Jeffrey Badger, regarding the premature fatigue failure of pistons that seem fine when they go out the door. Could grinding be the culprit for these pistons cracking after just 5 weeks?

Shop Technology Columnist Christopher Tate discusses capability studies of the manufacturing process in the February 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

A PCD drill with an internal extraction system for removing workpiece dust when drilling carbon- and glass-fiber composites.

Is it morning in America -- and the world -- for additive manufacturing? That's looking more and more likely. While AM, also known as 3D printing, is well-established as a process for making prototype parts, it's making serious inroads into production -- where the real money is.

By their very nature, horizontal machining centers are among the best friends a shop can have if it hopes to remain agile and competitive in this brave new world of low-volume, high-complexity machining.

While hydraulic toolholders are said to have limited applications, their high gripping force and simple operation help them secure a place in machine shops.

With a focus on machining large parts in multifunctional mill/turn machines, QualTech Industries quickly attracted customers after opening 4 years ago in Kings Mountain, N.C.

Boost productivity and extend tool life when cutting cast aluminum surgical light housings. A special PCD endmill with laser-machined cutting edges.