Alan Richter

News • November 13, 2018 • Alan Richter

Q&A with Sandvik Coromant’s global president

After being at AB Sandvik Coromant, Sandviken, Sweden, for 17 years, Nadine Crauwels was appointed global president of the cutting tool manufacturer in May 2017. She has had roles in sales, product management, product introduction, custom tools and strategic relations.

News • November 1, 2018 • Alan Richter

A reader’s musings on safety

At the facility where I spent the bulk of my machining career, we had two components to the operation: the surface refinery where I worked and the underground portion where the ore was mined before being sent up to the refinery. The mine was 1,570 feet deep, so it wasn't just a simple jaunt when folks were in a bind. In addition, there were restrictions on who entered the mine, and the hazard training required for both the underground (MSHA) portion and the methane presence in the mine atmosphere. This mine generated about 2½ million cubic feet of methane on a daily basis.

News • October 25, 2018 • Alan Richter

Automation abounds at The Assembly Show

While attending The Assembly Show, it seems that I saw robots and other automation equipment everywhere I turned. The trade show and conference took place Oct. 23-25 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

News • October 12, 2018 • Alan Richter

The various stages of automation collaboration

There are no collaborative robots, only robots with collaborative applications. That's according to Simon Whitton, regional division manager of North America for KUKA Robotics Corp., Shelby Township, Michigan.

Articles • October 10, 2018 • Alan Richter

Rego-Fix accepts bitcoin for payment

Interest in cryptocurrencies is grabbing the attention of companies across the gamut of industries, including metalcutting.

News • October 5, 2018 • Alan Richter

Happy Manufacturing Day!

In preparation for this year's celebration of Manufacturing Day on Oct. 5, I read the book "Finding America's Greatest Champion: Building Prosperity Through Manufacturing, Mentoring and the Awesome Responsibility of Parenting" by Terry M. Iverson, president of machine tool distributor and rebuilder Iverson & Co., Des Plaines, Illinois. The word "champion" in the title connects with the organization Iverson started called CHAMPION Now! CHAMPION is an acronym for Change How American (or Advanced) Manufacturing's Perceived In Our Nation.

News • October 1, 2018 • Alan Richter

Dull, dirty and dangerous is for the bots

For its new "Manufacturing Perception Report," Thomas surveyed more than 1,000 participants from across the U.S. to examine their awareness and views about the manufacturing industry. When respondents were asked about which industries automation will have the biggest impact on, the New York-headquartered information, data and analysis provider reported that manufacturing took the lead at 34 percent, followed by transportation (15 percent), retail (11 percent) and fast food (10 percent).

Articles • September 25, 2018 • Alan Richter

The challenges of sawing new alloys

Cutting difficult-to-machine materials is becoming more prevalent but not necessarily less challenging.

News • September 21, 2018 • Alan Richter

What’s old is new again

While looking through back issues of Carbide Engineering from the late 1950s, I came across an article about HSS cutting tools that reminded me of an article we published in this year's August issue of Cutting Tool Engineering. (Editor's note: Carbide Engineering combined with Cutting Tool Engineering starting with the January 1961 issue and dropped Carbide Engineering starting in April of that year. The publication began in 1948 as a small pamphlet called Carbide Tips, but I'm not aware of any existing copies of any issues.)

News • August 30, 2018 • Alan Richter

Taiwanese manufacturers get smart

To gain more knowledge about Industry 4.0 developments, I participated in the Taiwan Smart Machinery Media Tour Aug. 20-24. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council hosted the event. The council reports that Taiwan has the highest density of precision machinery cluster in the world, exports almost 80 percent of its products and is the fifth largest export country for machine tools.

Articles • August 27, 2018 • Alan Richter

Honing’s low-cost alternative

Honing on a machining center can offer advantages.

Articles • August 24, 2018 • Alan Richter

Company gears up for growth

Aero Gear's Doug Rose discusses machining gears and the company's facility expansion