William Leventon

Articles • May 1, 2016 • William Leventon

A twin-turret approach to machine tool stiffness, stability

Two rotary axes beat 2' of stacked linear axes. That's the idea behind the new Twin Turret Generator (TTG) machine tools from Cranfield Precision. According to the company, the TTG machine offers a stiff and thermally stable design that improves machining precision and repeatability.

Articles • May 1, 2016 • William Leventon

Machine Technology: Latest in lubrication

Want a good reason for lubricating the moving parts of machine tools? Here's one from Klüber Lubrication NA LP, Londonderry, N.H., a developer of specialty lubricants: Lubrication of machine tool components minimizes wear. "When a component in a machining center wears—whether it's a spindle bearing, a ball-screw, a gear or whatever—you start to lose precision," said Steve Mazzola, Klüber's director of engineering. "And when you lose precision in a machining center, you may produce parts that are out of spec."

Articles • April 1, 2016 • William Leventon

Mother of machine tool parts

When it comes to highly accurate machining technology, jig boring is better. So say proponents of the century-old machining technique. In the early part of the last century, jig boring started as a better way to make holes. But the technology has since evolved into a more-versatile machining option.

Articles • April 1, 2016 • William Leventon

OS integrates machine tool into corporate network

To bring all kinds of useful information right to a machine and facilitate a company's implementation of Industry 4.0 processing tools, INDEX Corp. has begun supplying its machine tools with a new operating system. Called Xpanel, the OS integrates a machine into a corporate network, allowing machine operators to receive information from other parts of an enterprise. Operators can access drawings, setup sheets, user manuals, quality requirements, and circuit and hydraulic diagrams on a machine's control panel.

Articles • April 1, 2016 • William Leventon

Suite of power-cutting control applications

Machine tool idling, unnecessary pump rotation and continuously running peripheral equipment drive up machining costs. These energy wasters are in the crosshairs of a new suite of power-cutting control applications from Japanese machine tool builder Okuma Corp.

Articles • March 1, 2016 • William Leventon

A control system for quickly programming industrial robots

Teach your robot well: A new control system can reduce the time to set up and program industrial robots from an hour or more to just minutes, according to the Finnish research organization that developed it.

Articles • March 1, 2016 • William Leventon

A special electrical cabinet that lets users connect sensors to gather machine data

Networking option: Could the introduction of a small electrical cabinet turn out to be a big step toward more widespread implementation of the Industrial Internet of Things? This special electrical cabinet, called the SmartBox, was developed by machine tool builder Mazak Corp., working in collaboration with networking equipment provider Cisco Systems Inc. The SmartBox is designed to overcome concerns about complexity and security that have led to resistance to connecting machine tools to a plantwide network.

Articles • March 1, 2016 • William Leventon

Spindle maintenance pays

Every machine tool owner can reap benefits from a good spindle maintenance program. These include reductions in costly unplanned machine downtime, longer spindle life and improved part quality. But effective spindle maintenance requires perseverance and the appropriate technology—plus a little common sense.

Articles • February 1, 2016 • William Leventon

A machine for dry grinding gears

Italy-based Samputensili S.p.A. unveiled a machine that eliminates the need for cutting oils when manufacturing gears, thereby reducing grinding costs. During grinding, oil-based lubricants cool the workpiece, as well as reduce friction and help evacuate chips. On the downside, however, oil use accounts for a significant amount of a grinding operation's total cost. Expensive equipment is required to supply, chill, catch and wash away oil in grinding processes. In addition, Samputensili estimates that oil-treatment equipment accounts for 75 percent of the energy consumed by a grinding machine.

Articles • February 1, 2016 • William Leventon

Form of solid carbide harder than diamond

Researchers at North Carolina State University reported the discovery of a distinct form of solid carbon they estimate is about 10 percent harder than diamond and could play an important role in machining. They also claim to have developed a relatively inexpensive technique for producing the substance, called Q-carbon, at room temperature and ambient atmospheric pressure.

Articles • February 1, 2016 • William Leventon

One machine, two processes

Additive and subtractive manufacturing may be conceptual opposites, but a new partnership aims to show that the two can make a good team. Two of the partners are New York organizations: the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Elmira-based Hardinge Inc. RIT researchers are incorporating additive-manufacturing capabilities into Hardinge's Bridgeport GX 250 5-axis vertical machining center. The goal is to create a hybrid manufacturing system capable of producing more accurate parts at a lower cost than conventional manufacturing methods.

Articles • January 1, 2016 • William Leventon

A Machine Tool for Industry 4.0

Are visitors to a bearing manufacturing facility in Hoechstadt, Germany, getting an early glimpse of what Industry 4.0 looks like? That's the hope of Schaeffler Group, which owns the facility. The plant houses a machine tool meant to show how digitalization works—not in a laboratory, but in an actual manufacturing environment.