Feature Article

A review of metalworking products as compiled by the editors of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Producing prototype automotive parts via 3-D printing helps reduce time to market while boosting vehicle quality and fuel efficiency.

Debating the need for CAM systems on Swiss-style machines.

The use of conversational programming is growing and may influence tomorrow's conventional machine controls.

Abrasive waterjet users can benefit by learning about the technology's expanding applicability.

Electron beam drills make short work of microholes.

When cleaning parts, there is general cleaning and then there is precision cleaning. Both types are important in medical device manufacturing, but precision cleaning -- repeatable removal of contaminants to a specified, usually validated standard -- has become more prevalent in part because of increasingly stringent Food and Drug Administration oversight of the manufacturing process, resulting in stricter process QC.

A collection of metalworking products for your review.

The advantages of heat treating parts with 1µm-wavelength lasers.

In parting, or cut-off, operations, the objective is to efficiently and securely separate one part of the workpiece from the other. To achieve this, a straight cut is made to a depth that equals the radius of a bar, or workpiece.

Antipullout toolholders reduce scrap, increase tool life and eliminate anxiety while milling.

Retrofitting old machine tools with new CNCs can make more sense than buying new -- particularly for larger machines.