Medical

There comes a time when some chipmaking shops add wire EDMing to their repertoire. This is often done to reduce costs, because bringing what were once subcontracted, secondary EDMing operations in-house often makes good financial and logistical sense.

Software for high-efficiency roughing makes moldmaking faster, more efficient.

Accurately machine EDM electrodes used to produce micromolds for medical parts. A high-speed, high-precision, 3-axis micro milling machine.

I strive to start each year on a positive note, but 2015 sure hasn't taken long to throw us our first challenging management scenario. It requires immediate oversight of rapidly changing economic conditions.

I don't like bringing this up, but two key metalworking markets -- defense and energy -- are in a bit of trouble.

Efficient removal of heat from the tool/workpiece interface is the main route to high-productivity machining. Several conventional methods are available to accomplish that -- dry machining, minimum-quantity lubrication, flood coolant and high-pressure coolant -- but cryogenic machining can be added to the list.

Wedge, cam, square and pull-down clamps, micro vises and chucks, hexagons and rounds. These are just some of the workholding options available to shops that mill small workpieces. Finding the right clamps isn't a problem, but how they're utilized may be. This article examines some of the options and provides tips on how to use them.

Deep holes can be difficult to define, but knowing the right tool for the job makes them easier to drill.

Joe's struggling to package a truckload of parts before noon. Mary can't keep up on the painting line. Jimmy's in trouble with the boss because he can't make quota. These are just a few of the challenges faced by workers on the manufacturing floor, problems that, in many cases, can be solved with collaborative robots.

Tom Lipton offers more tips for part finishing in the December 2014 Cutting Tool Engineering Shop Operations column.