Medical & Healthcare

Chevalier's QP5X-400, a 40-taper, high-speed VMC that features 5-axis simultaneous or 4+1 axis applications. The standard machine is integrated with 2-axis, 12.6" trunnion table. The new QP5X-400 has better accuracy, more productivity, less manpower, less cycle time and higher profitability, according to the company.

With regular new developments every 6 months, Fritz Studer AG says it has surprised users of internal cylindrical grinding machines in the last 2 years.

Exsys Tool Inc., which is the exclusive supplier of pL LEHMANN rotary tables for North America, recently announced the expansion of its ultra-high precision products to include the pL LEHMANN swissClamp modular clamping system, according to the San Antonio, Fla.-based company.

Imagine a machining process that removes material five times faster than milling and 10 times faster than sinker EDMing, machines Inconel and hardened steel with ease, holds tolerances to ±0.0006" and utilizes the same tool to process thousands of parts with virtually no tool wear.

Leistritz Advanced Technologies Corp. designs cutting tools to fit any spindle in any machine tool. It offers tools for end facing, profile form turning, endmilling, step drilling, thread milling and key seating. According to the company, this high level of expertise and specialization is available to manufacturers seeking to enhance productivity in the aerospace, automotive and medical fields.

GenSwiss, Westfield, Mass., recently partnered with Louis Belet SA to become the exclusive North American representative for Louis Belet precision carbide cutting tools and PCD-tipped milling tools, according to a Feb. 17 news release from Genevieve Swiss Industries Inc.

Tech-Etch, Plymouth, Mass., which specializes in the etching, forming, heat treating and finishing of components made from metals with superior spring characteristics, offers prototypes delivered in 5 days.

Specifications for particulate and film-residue cleanliness are a matter of course for many machined components. In addition to the parts cleaning procedure, manufacturers must consider the entire process chain when seeking to efficiently achieve and maintain the required level of cleanliness.

At roughly twice the price of a vertical machining center, do horizontal machining centers make sound financial sense? Absolutely, according to Scott Baldus, product specialist at Okuma America Corp. The Charlotte, N.C., machine builder offers both VMCs and HMCs, yet, Baldus noted, HMCs provide, on average, more than three times the spindle utilization of VMCs.

When drilling, perhaps no variable is as important as the workpiece material. It dictates drill geometry and substrate, tool coating, coolant application, and speeds and feeds. While known for its relative softness and ductility, misconceptions abound among those who regularly drill aluminum.

Cutting external threads is one of the more difficult machining operations. Achieving the proper thread form can be challenging, and tool chipping and premature tool wear are often problematic because of insufficient surface speeds and high cutting pressures.

Hwacheon Machinery America, Lincolnshire, Ill., recently appointed two new sales directors: Bob Pellegrini for the Eastern half of the United States, and Dan Pierce for the Western half, according to a Jan. 26 company news release. The two, who were promoted from regional sales manager positions held at the company since 2012, will be in charge of sales and dealer support.