Feature Article

Before bringing abrasive waterjetting in-house, shops should know it is a deceptively simple process that demands a great deal of thought, effort and planning to ensure a reasonably quick return on investment and increase in operational productivity.

With respect to the norms of the 19th century, Kate Gleason was way ahead of her time. In honor of Women's History Month, CTE remembers groundbreaker Catherine "Kate" Anselm Gleason (1865-1933). During the restrictive culture of her time, she helped shape the global cutting tools industry as a sales engineer for her family's gear cutting machinery business.

As demand grows for finer surface finishes and tolerance specifications become tighter—and competition continues to intensify—parts manufacturers are adopting advanced fluid filtration technologies to achieve their machining and grinding goals.

The use of aluminum molds for production molding applications is the "biggest trend I'm seeing in moldmaking," said a longtime manufacturer of cutting tools.

Machine maintenance goes soft(ware).The stakes are much higher today for machine maintenance. Shops must be more proactive, and aim to optimize every operational aspect of their CNC equipment.

CemeCon Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 17 to officially open its new 15,000-sq.-ft. headquarters and CVD-diamond coating facility in Big Flats, N.Y. The opening marks the fourth expansion of production capabilities since the U.S. subsidiary was opened in 1998 and the third increase in capacity for CVD-diamond processing since 2014.

Baker Industries Inc. reports that it has installed an Emco Mecof Powermill 5-axis vertical milling center—the first of its kind in the U.S. and one of the largest milling centers in the Midwest.

YG-1 Tool developed its line of D-Power diamond-coated carbide endmills for machining graphite and composite materials.

Many nonmanufacturing people would be surprised by the amount of resources expended on parts cleaning, but it is a critical aspect of part quality. Failure to maintain a rigorous cleaning program can cause significant issues in complex assemblies.

The biggest benefit a digital vision system provides is the machine's ability to automatically measure parts, whereas the human operator influences a manual analog measurement device, such as an optical comparator.

Vertical turning lathes have a significant drawback: the chips fall onto the workpiece where they are subject to recutting. By inverting the spindle, chip problems are virtually eliminated.

Shutting down a machine tool for just two or three shifts per year for maintenance can make a huge difference in boosting productivity and reducing machine downtime.