Feature Article

How often should a metalworking fluid be tested? It depends. Metalworking fluid is used in most machine shops, because it aids in evacuating chips and cooling and lubricating the tool/workpiece interface. To optimize fluid performance, it must be maintained, which is done by testing a fluid for performance and chemistry.

Careful consideration when implementing inspection processes yields efficiencies. Manufacturers continually search for ways to increase profits and reduce costs. Trying to find cost savings where chips are made makes sense and is usually where the most-significant improvements are found. However, efficiency gains can also be made in nonvalue-adding areas, like inspection.

The chip collection bin at a shop's turning center is full, so a worker grudgingly begins the mundane task of moving the bin via a forklift to the chip collection station at the opposite end of the plant.

When CNC wire EDMs came on the market in the mid-'70s, feeding wire from a spool through a machine's elaborate series of rollers and guides was a tedious manual exercise. Luckily, electrical discharge machining was an exceedingly slow process back then, so replacing wire had to be done less frequently than on today's machines, which erode conductive metal 10 to 20 times faster than earlier models.

Technological advances in cutting tools, machine tools and toolholders have allowed machinists and manufacturing engineers to increase holemaking efficiency by eliminating the number of tools required to produce accurate holes. High-performance drills are the best example of these technological advances. In the past, it was common for a machinist to spot-drill, drill and then ream to achieve accurate hole geometry.

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.

While it's nearly impossible to quantify the most common challenges or most important considerations when turning, experts agree that the five aspects of turning discussed below should be considered. It's important to note that each factor has the potential to impact the others.

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.

Metrology is evolving to allow inspection to be moved closer to the production area. Is it time to remove your inspection lab and retire your old, reliable coordinate measuring machine? Has portable metrology equipment reached a point where all your parts can be measured directly on the shop floor?

Your shop just bought its first 5-axis machining center. Now what? Not only are there new and more complex programming techniques to learn—never mind the mind-boggling variety of part processing options to contend with—there's also the pesky problem of how to grip workpieces.

The array of configurations is vast, but angle heads typically serve a common function: eliminate having to perform a separate operation to access a part feature when thenworkpiece can't be indexed.