Articles & Columns

There's no doubt that the U.S. manufacturing boom has created jobs. The question is, are they for humans or robots?

The debut Shop Technology column focuses on limiting toolcrib items and vendors to boost productivity.

New tools help parts makers design for manufacturability, which reduces machining costs and improves part quality.

Manager's Desk columnist Keith Jennings discusses the balance between face time with employees and time management.

A metalworking products review, as published in the October 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

END USER: Whirlpool Corp., (269) 923-5000, www.whirlpool.com. CHALLENGE: Eliminate damage to toolchanger arms on vertical machining centers when replacing a step tool that exceeded the weight capacity. SOLUTION: A lighter, module-style, combination cutting tool. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Mapal Inc., (810) 364-8020, www.mapal.us.

In his October 2012 Machine Technology column, Dr. Scott Smith, professor at the William States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, outlines the reasons stable milling zones appear the way they do.

Auto parts manufacturer Mann+Hummel reaps the benefits of optical scanning.

END USER: K-Fab Inc., (408) 727-5311, www.k-fabinc.com. CHALLENGE: Increase spindle utilization for a vertical machining center while reducing labor requirements. SOLUTION: A nonrobotic automation system for VMCs. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Simons Design Innovation, (408) 398-3296, www.simonsdesigninnovation.com

Shop Operations columnist Tom Lipton offers some suggestions for improving the design of manual milling machines in the October 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

END USER: LMC Industries Inc., (636) 282-8080, www.lmcindustries.com. CHALLENGE: Heat treat tooling components in-house to reduce costs and turnaround times. SOLUTION: A dual-chamber heat-treatment furnace. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Lucifer Furnaces Inc., (800) 378-0095, www.luciferfurnances.com

Wire EDMing requires a range of equipment and complex operations, which can lead to a variety of problems. But the capability and flexibility of the electrical adaptive control technologies that monitor the EDM process—such as flushing, wire tension, automatic wire threading, wire consumption levels, geometry control, surface quality, water resistivity level and water chiller/thermal stability—have greatly improved over the past 10 years. 

Automated parts handling with robotic work cells is an affordable option for job shops and other parts manufacturers.

END USER: PDQ Corp., (860) 529-9051, www.pdqcorp.com. CHALLENGE: Find a more efficient method for machining complex, tight-tolerance parts primarily for the aerospace industry. SOLUTION: Two 6-axis mill/turn machine tools. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Eurotech, (352) 799-5223, www.eurotechelite.com

Alan Rooks, Cutting Tool Engineering's editorial director, looks forward to the day he can sit in a traffic jam alongside George Jetson in his September editorial.

Dr. Scott Smith, who writes the Machine Technology column for Cutting Tool Engineering magazine, covers some practical steps to improve accuracy and reduce scrap.

Yesenia Salcedo, senior editor of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine, interviews Steve McLean, president of contract manufacturer WP Manufacturing, Longmont, Colo.

Shop Operations columnist Tom Lipton writes about cutting multiple-start threads on a manual lathe in the September 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Cutting tool product review as published in the September 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

END USER: 80/20 Inc., (260) 248-8030, www.8020.net. CHALLENGE: Overcoming limitations of older machine tools that could each only perform one step when making a part. SOLUTION: New CNC machine tools with more capabilities and flexibility. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Haas Automation Inc., (800) 331-6746, www.haascnc.com