Machines/Accessories/Controls

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.

END USER: Helac Corp., (800) 327-2589, www.helac.com. CHALLENGE: Reduce maintenance and programming time on a large vertical turning center. SOLUTION: Retrofit the VTC with a new CNC and AC digital-axis servodrives and servomotors. SOLUTION PROVIDER: MAG IAS LLC, (859) 534-4600, www.mag-ias.com

END USER: Cincinnati Mine Machinery Co., (513) 728-4040, www.cinmine.com. CHALLENGE: Improve throughput and maintain higher part-quality consistency. SOLUTION: A machining cell with 24 pallets and two horizontal machining centers. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Makino Inc., (513) 573-7200, www.makino.com

Shop Operations: The manual lathe is the cornerstone of any machine shop because almost all shop workers find themselves working on one when they start. The manual lathe has been called the "king of machines," for good reason. Some can be enormous; you can bet that if you need a forklift and a ladder to put a tool bit in the machine, some fun is bound to happen.

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.

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.

Amada Machine Tools demonstrated its new S-10 modular multitask machine during a recent press briefing at its Technical Center in Schaumburg, Ill.

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

Machine Technology columnist Dr. Scott Smith discusses the constraints related to the selection of machining parameters in the May 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.

Learn details about the many new products that manufacturers are offering to the metalworking industry in Cutting Tool Engineering's May 2012 Product Showcase.