Machining

Machinist's Corner column for the October 2010 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

New materials and improved part manufacturing help maintain and upgrade aging military aircraft.

END USER: Central Utah Tool, (801) 374-2745, centralutahtool.com. CHALLENGE: Minimize time for programming complicated machining on a multitask machine. SOLUTION: CAM software for multitasking. SOLUTION PROVIDER: DP Technology Corp., (805) 388-6000, www.dptechnology.com

END USER: Bob's Design Engineering Inc., (503) 648-7418, www.bdeinc.com. CHALLENGE: Retain contract for electronics components against offshore competition. SOLUTION: High-performance toolpath generation engine. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Celeritive Technologies Inc., (888) 253-6701, www.celeritive.com.

Machinist's Corner column for January 2011 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.

Simplified application of five machining axes produces big cost savings in routine part making.

END USER: Sonic Industries Div., Sargent Aerospace & Defense Group, (310) 532-8382, www.sargentaerospace.com. CHALLENGE: Reduce cycle times while holding critical dimensional and finish tolerances. SOLUTION: Automated honing machine with superabrasive tools. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Sunnen Products Co., (800) 325-3670, www.sunnen.com

END USER: HITCO Carbon Composites Inc., (800) 421-5444, www.hitco.com. CHALLENGE: Increase productivity when machining composite parts. SOLUTION: A 5-axis machine tool optimized for the process. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Bertsche Engineering Corp., (847) 537-8757, www.bertsche.com

When it comes to milling aerospace parts made from Ti5553, difficulty is in the eye of the beholder.

Comparison between calculating cutting time when facing at a constant cutting speed vs. a constant rpm.