Articles & Columns

The Look Ahead column for April 2012 sheds light on technology that reduces noncut time by optimizing B-axis rotation.

Workholding involves much more than slapping a part in a vise or chuck and pushing the cycle-start button, according to the Workholding column in the April 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Estimating burn depth is tricky. It depends on the thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of the workpiece material, the maximum surface temperature reached and, most importantly, the time the wheel is in the grinding zone.

For the first time as a combined company, DMG/Mori Seiki hosted the open house held annually at the Deckel Maho Pfronten (Germany) GmbH plant. The event took place Feb. 7 to 11 and reportedly drew more than 5,000 industry professionals from around the world.

The Machine Technology column from the April 2012 edition of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine examines how machine tool vibration often causes problems when machining. Chatter, a self-excited vibration, can lead to poor surface finish and cutting tool chipping or breakage.

It's getting to be a broken record. February was another up month for U.S. manufacturing as output increased 0.4 percent. Output rose 0.7 percent in January after jumping 1.5 percent in December—the biggest gain in 5 years. Also, U.S. manufacturers added 31,000 jobs in February, on top of adding 227,000 jobs in 2011. Of course, the big question is how long can this last?

As we climb out of the winter grind, we've all had our share of weighty issues to manage.

END USER: Mitchel & Scott Machine Co., (317) 684-8247, www.mitchelgroup.com. CHALLENGE: Provide 100 percent inspection of internal thread pitch and depth and numerous external dimensions for two high-volume automotive parts. SOLUTION: Automated vision inspection and thread verification systems. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Compass Automation, (847) 426-6696, www.compass-automation.com

Manufacturing molds used to produce plastic parts with features that can be too small to be seen with the naked eye or measured with standard devices is challenging. That's why moldmakers that perform this work are specialists in the nuances of designing and building micromolds.

END USER: Royce/Ayr Cutting Tools Inc., (800) 959-5641, www.royceayr.com. CHALLENGE: Increase PCD cutting tool manufacturing capacity, flexibility and capabilities. SOLUTION: A machine tool that combines rotary erosion and grinding. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Vollmer of America Corp., (412) 278-0655, www.vollmer-us.com

Say your machine shop just received an order for 316 stainless fuel-injector nozzles requiring angled holes to be drilled on the workpiece face. Or perhaps your best medical customer needs miniature blood-pump impellers with complex 3-D blade geometries like those on a jet-engine turbine. How are you going to make them?

Aluminum parts that are anodized using electrical energy or chromate conversion coated can offer wear and corrosion resistance, among other benefits.

Shop Operations columnist Tom Lipton offers tips for enhancing the operation of a manual lathe in the April 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

United Grinding Technologies Inc. celebrated 30 years in its Fredericksburg, Va., location with an open house on Feb. 22 and 23. The event included technical presentations, facility tours and a ribbon-cutting event for the newly expanded and renovated facility.

Dynomax Inc. is taking self sufficiency to a new level. For example, while machine tool builders often use their machines to produce parts for making other machines, Dynomax stands out by building machines for its own contract part manufacturing operation.

As demand for vehicle transmissions and other systems requiring quieter, more compact and lighter gear mechanisms increases, gear manufacturers seek to continually boost productivity while lowering costs.

States near the Marcellus Shale, a huge natural gas formation centered in Pennsylvania, are feverishly pursuing a $4 billion ethane “cracker” to be built by Royal Dutch Shell. The cracker will process ethane-rich gas from the Marcellus Shale into ethylene, and the ethylene will be used by the pharmaceutical, chemical and plastics industries. The plant will create 10,000 construction jobs and several hundred permanent jobs.

END USER: Machine Tech CNC, (780) 461-0890. CHALLENGE: Accurately bore 14 diameters deep and deeper. SOLUTION: Carbide-reinforced boring bars with built-in vibration damping. SOLUTION PROVER: Sandvik Coromant Co., (800) SANDVIK, www.sandvik.coromant.com/us

Machine Technology column: A machine tool bed serves several important functions. It supports the machine's moving elements and supports them in geometric relation to each other. The relationship between the moving elements is more important than the relationship between the moving elements and the ground the machine is based on.

Many large corporations are well versed in total productive maintenance, but smaller companies are probably not. To learn more about the concept, I attended a 1-day seminar about TPM at a local technical college.