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When it comes to hobbing auto gears, dry machining dominates. “There are no new automotive applications that are being done wet,” said Tom Ware, product manager for gear tools at Star SU Co. LLC, Hoffman Estates, Ill. “There are a few tier suppliers that have not updated to new equipment and are still running some wet applications, but all the major manufacturers have gone dry.”
CTE Managing Editor Greg Bartlett spoke with Rachel Ciullo, owner and president of toolmaker Composite Cutter Technology Inc., Volo, Illinois, about her business and life. The company manufactures PCD cutting tools, PCD wear parts and precision-machined parts for customers in automotive, aerospace, electronics, optical and other industries.
My latest trip took me to Las Vegas, where I attended HxGN LIVE 2019. Hosted by Sweden-headquartered Hexagon AB, the ninth biennial conference took place June 11-14 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center adjacent to The Venetian and The Palazzo resorts, and I participated in the Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence division’s media program.
The mood of MFG Day, the annual celebration of U.S. manufacturing that took place Oct. 6, doesn’t cease after the plant tours and information sessions end and the participating students, parents and educators head home.
My October 20 post on adding capabilities to your current CNC brought a response from a reader who who shares a problem. “We have a few Kitamura MyCenter 4XiF VMCs with FANUC 16iMB controls running daily on our shop floor,” he writes, “The control hasn’t given us a single problem since they powered on for the first time. However, we haven’t been able to get the machines onto our network and we have given up trying.”
A free app for the repair of industrial equipment aims to quickly connect service requesters with service providers. Up! by Up! LLC, Columbus, Ohio, is a new app designed to match manufacturers with companies that perform repair and preventive maintenance services for equipment. “We look at ourselves as the crusaders against downtime,” said CEO A. Vinod.
My Jan. 29 blog post, "Simple steps improve shop websites for hiring," received an insightful reply from Gerry Anger, president of Granger Sales Inc.
Every wonder what it would be like to sell machine tools for living? Rantings of a Machine Tool Salesman by Scott Walker provides a flavor of that wonderland career. Semiretired, Walker is chairman of Mitsui Seiki USA Inc., Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, where he started as vice president of sales in 1991. The company specializes in building heavy metal and mother machine tools.
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.
Although Microlution Inc. has been based in multiple locations since the builder of micromachining centers was founded in 2005, the company held its first grand opening event June 28 as part of GF Solutions Days USA 2019. The first location for Chicago-based Microlution, which has operated as a subsidiary of GF Machining Solutions since 2016, was in Andy Phillip’s apartment in Champaign, Phillip said. He is one of the company’s founders and now head of laser micromachining.
Easy, accurate tracking of items through the manufacturing process is becoming more and more important in the quality-conscious 'Smart-Factory' era. RFID tagging has distinct advantages as a tracking method, but barcode scanning has its adherents too.
To reduce training time and improve worker safety in the high-risk environment of industrial manufacturing, Tobii Pro Insight conducts eye-tracking studies. For example, the Stockholm, Sweden-headquartered company reported that its research consultants conducted an eye-tracking study at the metal foundry of H&H Castings Inc., York, Pa., and the attention-based study revealed unique insights that will contribute to quicker onboarding of new workers, new efficiencies in its operations, new training guidelines and reductions in the risk of accidents.
In connection with the upcoming 50th anniversary celebration of Hurco Cos. scheduled for March 6 at the machine tool builder’s corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, I spoke with Michael Cope, the company’s product technical specialist.
Bob Hudson of New South Whales, Australia, responded to my April 11 blog titled "Assisting manufacturers with augmented reality."
A blade and knife manufacturer for the lumber industry suggested that it might have to close its plant in Michigan. The largest nail producer in the U.S. has laid off 60 workers and warns that it may be forced to move its factory to Mexico. A California cannery said its profit margins could drop by up to 70 percent over the coming months. A well-known motorcycle manufacturer said it’s shifting some of its production to foreign countries. What is this financial crisis that’s affecting so many manufacturing companies? In each case, the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum are said to be the culprit.
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.
As additive manufacturing and 3D printing of metal parts continues to make inroads into production environments, the need to efficiently and effectively finish-machine them when typically required gains importance.
Although picks, or plectra, for playing musical instruments are commonly plastic injection molded or stamped, some are machined.
In connection with the abrasive waterjet machining article scheduled for our March issue, I spoke with Jim Draper, owner of Rocky Mountain Waterjet, Greeley, Colo., who said when a parts manufacturer finds that waterjetting is a suitable process for a part or family of parts, the decision to outsource that work to a waterjet job shop or buy a waterjet machine for in-house production depends on the part quantity.
For the May issue’s focus on abrasive machining, I’m writing a multiple-source article about honing. One of the sources is Lapmaster Wolters LLC.
