Medical

END USER: Acumed LLC, (888) 627-9957, www.acumed.net. CHALLENGE: Accurately direct high-pressure coolant on Swiss-style machines to control chips when turning. SOLUTION: A Swiss-style insert holder with high-pressure, through-coolant capability. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Streamliner & Associates Inc., (814) 440-1548, www.streamlinertools.com

Shop Operations columnist, Tom Lipton, discusses the issue of safety when workers transport sheet metal in the January 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.

Bridging the gap between academic and shop floor grinding knowledge.

In the olden days, riggers were the guys on the ground placing slings and chains around the object to be moved while the crane operator waited for their signals to begin lifting. Today, rigging in a small shop falls to the guys standing closest to the equipment when something needs to be moved.

Nickel-base superalloys can withstand hot and tough conditions, but are difficult to machine. With the right approach, machinists can keep their cool when cutting them.

Swiss Automation's success is based on machining complex parts quickly, accurately and consistently.

END USER: Southwest Greene International Inc., (760) 639-4960, www.greenegroup.com. CHALLENGE: Effectively measure small, complex medical parts.SOLUTION: A measurement system that combines vision and touch-probe inspection. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Hexagon Metrology Inc., (800) 274-9433, www.hexagonmetrology.us.

END USER: Thortex Inc., (503) 654-5726, www.thortexinc.com. CHALLENGE: Maximize tool life and reliability when threading cobalt chrome. SOLUTION: Replace solid-carbide taps with high-performance thread mills. SOLUTION PROVIDER: OSG Tap & Die Inc., (800) 837-2223, www.osgtool.com.

Dynomax Inc. is taking self sufficiency to a new level. For example, while machine tool builders often use their machines to produce parts for making other machines, Dynomax stands out by building machines for its own contract part manufacturing operation.

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.