Machines/Accessories/Controls

When not required by the customer, inspection is a likely target for shops seeking to eliminate inefficiencies within the manufacturing process, suggests the Shop Technology column in the June 2015 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Train your workers to sharpen their skills and keep them on the job, suggests this month's Shop Technology column in Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Quick-change tooling can boost profits.

Vertical machining centers play a central role in the growth of S&S Machine Shop.

When shops purchase new machinery, a common error some make is accepting the standard live tooling package from the builder without considering other options. This is not a criticism of those packages, but end users should do as much evaluation of their processes when determining the proper tooling package as they do when evaluating machine tools. This examination can range from the simple, such as external vs. internal coolant, to the sublime, such as adjustable vs. extended tooling configurations, to the truly exotic.

Tiny medical parts, mass-produced automotive components and multiple-ton power generation parts share a common activity: inspection. Generally, inspection is seen as a nonvalue-added activity and most companies encourage the reduction of inspection time. However, because verifying that parts are made correctly is critical to maintaining profitability, inspection will never go away.

After acquiring my first iPhone, I searched the Internet for apps to use in the shop. I found 70 hits for “machinist” or “machining” and 45 for “cutting tool.” Conversely, there were 11,169 hits for movie apps and 37,616 for music apps.

Table-type horizontal boring mills add versatility to machine shops.

Introduced in 1959, coordinate measuring machines have become increasingly common over the last 2 decades. The complexity and cost once meant CMMs were only suitable for large manufacturers. Advances in CMM technology and manufacturing techniques have reduced the cost of ownership, and the machines are now found at all types and sizes of shops.

The Shop Technology column ponders the value that turnkey solutions may bring to the table.