Medical

Five-axis machining on a vertical machining center doesn't have to be complicated.

Cold forming is a fast, chipless way to make parts.

The Shop Operations column in the June issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine stresses importance of understanding material elongation and thickness.

END USER: Single Source Inc., (574) 656-3400, www.singlesourceinc.us. CHALLENGE: Reduce programming and setup times when producing increasingly complex parts. SOLUTION: A combination of CAD/CAM software and mill/turn machines. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: DMG/Mori Seiki USA Inc., (877) 275-6674, www.dmgmoriseikiusa.com; DP Technology Corp., (805) 388-6000, www.dptechnology.com; Ellison Technologies, (630) 393-8900, www.ellisontechnologies.com

Bringing inspection technology to the shop floor for quality control can pay big dividends.

Machining fiber-reinforced composite materials with fiber and other types of lasers can be an effective option.

The use of plastic medical parts is growing, and in certain applications machining them is advantageous and even essential.

For his July 2011 Shop Operations column, Tom Lipton suggests that safety is a situational awareness issue as opposed to a matter of equipment.

END USER: U.S. Alloy Die Corp., (216) 749-9700, www.usalloydie.com. CHALLENGE: Improve productivity when drilling H-13 tool steel extrusion dies. SOLUTION: Carbide drills that eliminated pecking and more than doubled throughput. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: OSG Tap & Die Inc., (630) 790-1400, www.osgtool.com; Shop Supply & Tool Co. Inc., (440) 951-4700, www.shopsupply.net.

Advanced machine technology requires advanced training options.