Articles & Columns

Cutting Tool Engineering Contributing Editor Kip Hanson offers insight into choosing the best method for marking parts.

The cover story for the December 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering examines the unique requirements of machine tools used for cutting composite materials.

The pros and cons of turning with the "perfect" insert.

Cutting Tool Engineering Senior Editor Evan Jones Thorne interviews Fauston Tool Corp. Vice President Heidi Hostetter about the company's reputation for innovation.

The Machine Technology column in the December 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering discusses the essentials of tapered spindle connections.

The Shop Technology column ponders the value that turnkey solutions may bring to the table.

A U-axis system that enables complete machining of a part on one standard machine tool without rotating the workpiece or moving it to a lathe.

Whether we're machinists, programmers, manufacturing engineers or material scientists, we need to prepare our replacements, urges Machinist's Corner Columnist Michael Deren in the October 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.

The Shop Operations column offers still more tips for effective finishing in the October 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

The Shop Technology column looks at the significant advances in deep-hole drilling in the October 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

One of the functions of the cloud is to provide software programs to users without the hassle of actually installing it. Instead, a Web browser or small bit of software known as a client is used to share information with a group of computers or servers. These servers are housed in one of thousands of data centers around the world, facilities with security measures in place and tended by IT acolytes dedicated to the care and feeding of huge mainframes.

IMTS is a spectacle full of machining and related technologies that will excite anyone in this business, observes Manager's Desk Columnist Keith Jennings in the October 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.

Integrating digital tool libraries into CAM software enables process improvement.

END USER: Garr Tool Co., (800) 248-9003, www.garrtool.com. Increase uptime for lamp-pump laser marking machines by reducing equipment maintenance and downtime. Fiber diode-pump laser marking machines. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Beamer Laser Marking Systems, (810) 638-5388, www.beamerlasermarking.com.

Stopping a machine to measure a workpiece is a waste of time. Not only is a high-priced piece of CNC equipment being taken out of production, but the measurements obtained when a machinist leans into a machine with a micrometer or bore gage can't compare in accuracy to those generated by a coordinate measuring machine or inline probe.

Metrology software offers unique benefits.

Improve inventory control and consolidate hundreds of cabinets and drawers for storing tooling and gages. SOLUTION: An automated storage system integrated with inventory management software.

The advantages of preloading ball nuts.

CHALLENGE: Increase QC efficiency when inspecting composite auto parts. An automated opto-digital microscope.

The choice of selective suface-hardening methods depends on workpiece size, shape material and application, but they can be grouped in two main categories: thermal and mechanical.