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OS integrates machine tool into corporate network

04/01/2016
Author:
William Leventon
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.
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Reducing setup times frees up time for making chips

04/01/2016
Author:
Christopher Tate
Setup reduction is a common goal of every machine shop. Setup does not add value because it does not provide any measureable productivity. In short, when you are not running a machine, you are not making chips, and, therefore, you are not making money. Setup involves numerous non-value-added activities, including tool measurement, fixture alignment and setting coordinate systems, or offsets. As the term suggests, value-adding activities make a workpiece more valuable by changing its shape or physical properties. Many years in and out of machine shops and manufacturing plants have given me ample opportunities to see and establish some unique and familiar methods for reducing setup times and generating savings. 
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Gangs vs. turrets

04/01/2016
Author:
Kip Hanson
If you’re shopping for a Swiss-style CNC lathe, the available options and machine configurations are truly staggering. Spindle speeds that compete with many machining centers, convertible spindles that turn a sliding-headstock machine into a chucker, thread whirling capabilities, laser cutting heads and enough axis letters to become the next Words With Friends champion.
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NTC Laser to join Komatsu America

In a move aimed at providing improved sales and service support as well as new and innovative products, NTC Laser will join Komatsu America Industries LLC as of April 1, sources at both companies reported in a joint news release issued today. NTC Laser and Komatsu are subsidiaries of Komatsu America LLC, headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.

5-axis micromachining

The new 5-axis micromachining center from AtometricInc. generated some welcome excitement at shows like the recent Medical Design & Manufacturing event in Minneapolis, Minn. Learn more about the company and its new machine in this special MICROmanufacturing report.

Short Cycle Time

Daniel Dean, national sales manager for Tsugami USA, explains the features of the Tsugami newest Swiss-turn machine, the SS32, during a brief demonstration captured on video during EASTEC 2008 by Cutting Tool Engineering. The Swiss-turn machine offers 32mm capacity, as well as a unique modular tool zone, increased capability over previous gang type models, and a roomier tool zone for easier setup, Dean reports in this 4 minute and 38 second video report.

Seeing Double

Captured on video at EASTEC 2008, the Milltronics TT24 uses an integrated twin table machining center that Sales Engineer Craig Fostersays will keep CNC operators busy. Foster takes the CTE Plus video crew on a 3 minute and 15 second tour and demonstration of the TT24. The system features a fully integrated twin pallet machine with a unique design requiring no pallet removal, an inline spindle design—24 hp standard—and conversational programming with the Milltronics Centurion control.