Feature Article

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Changsheng Guo

Adaptive Ceramic Machining

Machining ceramics is considered a difficult and costly operation. With the growing use of ceramics, shops are anxious to find cost-effective ways to work with the materials. This article discusses attempts by researchers to achieve maximum metal-removal rates without damaging the workpiece.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Robert Eade

Are Metalworking Fluids a Threat to Health?

Representatives of management, labor and the government are working together to arrive at a workable regulation to reduce shop-floor exposure to metalworking fluid mist. This article reviews the debate and looks at ways shops can reduce their own workers' exposure.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • David Ridenour

Speed Tapping

Tap and tapholder manufacturers have introduced technology to speed up the inherently slow tapping process. This article reviews a number of innovations, including tension/compression holders for rigid tapping, self-reversing tapping heads and quick-change tapholders.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Austin Weber

Purchasing Holds the Reins

This report of a Cutting Tool Engineering survey charts the shift in the way shops are purchasing tools. As the survey's findings indicate, an increasing number of tools are being bought directly from manufacturers and many shops are narrowing down the number of tool suppliers they do business with.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Martin Eastman

Crying for Help

This article discusses the reasons students are not choosing to become machinists, and it reviews some of the measures being taken to recruit and train workers for tomorrow's shops. The programs reviewed are designed to encourage an interest in manufacturing, teach shop basics and ensure the quality of those entering the workforce.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Melissa Kennedy

Tooling Trends

This article provides a review of the research and technology trends that will shape metalcutting in the years to come. Innovations in workpiece materials, coatings, machine tool design and nontraditional machining are explored.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Austin Weber

Best of Times or Worst of Times?

This article reports the results of a survey of shop owners. The survey found the executives worried about finding and retaining help and customers and keeping up with technology. It's not all gloom and doom, however. The survey also found respondents upbeat about their business and the economy in general.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Austin Weber

Have You Checked Your Insurance Lately?

Business insurance represents a costly but necessary investment for any shop. This article presents the findings of a Cutting Tool Engineering survey of the liability insurance purchasing habits of readers. The article also offers some guidelines for insurance shopping.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Martin Eastman

All Together Now

This article looks at the close partnership forged between a toolmaker and a machine tool manufacturer. The alliance requires the two to share detailed information about proposed products as well as the customers each is working with. Such cooperation has made it possible to develop several new products and processes.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Stephen A. Batzer

The Dry Cure for Coolant Ills

With safety and health precautions driving up the cost of using metalworking fluids, many shops are attempting to machine dry. This article looks at the reasons why a shop might want to eliminate coolants and the effects this decision will have on part quality and tool performance.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Melissa Kennedy

Grinding Research Pays Big Dividends

Grinding research has led to innovations in wheels and machines, which have expanded the range of applications grinding can be used for. This article highlights some of the research being conducted and the work that has made it to the shop floor. An accompanying article discusses CBN abrasives.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Christoph Zoller

From Presetting to Tool Management

This article explains how state-of-the-art tool presetting-and-measuring machines can reduce a shop's tool setup time while increasing precision. The article also describes how the additional functions of these high-end units can turn them into sophisticated tool-management systems.