Feature Article

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Dandridge Tomalin

Why Do EDM Wires Break?

Adequate flushing is needed to keep EDM wires from breaking. This article explains why wires break, and how dielectric fluid delivered with sufficient flow and pressure can prevent these failures from occurring even in less than ideal conditions.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Steve Slate

Bonded Graphite Electrodes

To produce graphic electrodes for EDMing large cavities, shops sometimes must machine the piece in smaller sections and bond them together. This article explains how to build and use a bonded graphite electrode so that a ridge at the electrode's bond line can be avoided.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Christopher Wilkens

Wire EDM Filtration Comes of Age

Centralized mineral filtration for wire-EDM dielectric fluid can remove contaminants down to the 1-micron level and dispose of them in an environmentally responsible way. This article describes the mineral filtration process and compares it to the other common filtration methods.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Bernard North

Tantalum and Niobium

Tantalum and Niobium are important components in the composition of carbide tools. They are also among the most expensive. This article explores how recent trends in metalcutting and tool usage will effect the supply of these two components.

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.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Martin Eastman

Balancing on the Fly

With the introduction of high-speed milling, tool balancing has become increasingly important. This article describes a system that can balance tools while they are mounted in the machine tool's spindle and rotating.

Articles • March 1, 1998 • Tim Malone

Harder, Faster

The growing use of difficult-to-machine materials has driven the metalcutting industry to high-performance tools. This article reviews the trends that are behind most cutting tool research today, and it looks at the state-of-the art results of that research.

Articles • March 1, 1998 • Karl Katbi

Top-Form Geometry

This article makes the argument that an insert is really a system made up of a combination of factors. The focus of the article is on one of these factors: the top-form geometry, which has evolved from the chipbreaker designs used primarily on turning inserts. The roles these geometries play and the selection process for choosing the right geometry are explained.

Articles • March 1, 1998 • Friedhelm Greulich

Use a Saw to Upgrade Your Cutoff

Rotary saw cutting (RSC), using a self-contained, motorized attachment that is mounted in a machine's standard cutoff position, can provide an alternative to single-point tooling for cutoff operations. This article details the ways that RSC provides results that are better than single-point tooling while advising readers on ways to optimize the operation.

Articles • March 1, 1998 • William Sluhan

The Good, the Bad and the Smelly

The presence of bacteria and fungi can seriously compromise the effectiveness of metalworking fluids. This article looks at the most harmful microbes and the conditions that allow them to flourish. Preventive measures are also discussed.

Articles • February 1, 1998 • John Earnhardt

Hot Properties

The benefits of TiN and TiCN coatings are list in high-temperature applications such as the machining of exotic metals. TiAlN coatings, on the other hand, perform better at higher temperatures. This article describes the properties of TiAlN that make it the coating to use with high-temperature work. The article also reviews specific applications where shops have used TiAlN to increase tool life and productivity.

Articles • February 1, 1998 • S. Chatterjee

What Makes Diamond Coatings Work?

Researchers studying the performance of diamond coatings have found a number of factors of the coating process that determine the ultimate success of the coating. This article looks at factors such as substrate preparation, stresses in the coating and substrate and the diamond coating's formation patterns.