Feature Article

Can vertical machining centers go toe-to-toe with horizontals on performance?

More shops and builders are remotely monitoring machine tools, which quickens maintenance and repair.

Boring is a common hole finishing operation, but boring large-diameter holes is a bit of a niche market. "Depending on the industry, you may only find a handful of shops in some areas capable of doing this type of work," said Ron West, global product manager for Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, Pa.

When loading a toolholder into a machine tool spindle with an automatic toolchanger, misalignment of the ATC gripper to the spindle can damage the spindle taper. In addition, a misaligned, clamped toolholder increases cutting tool runout.

Applying 'green' coolant to maintain machining performance while being friendly to workers and the environment.

For the first time as a combined company, DMG/Mori Seiki hosted the open house held annually at the Deckel Maho Pfronten (Germany) GmbH plant. The event took place Feb. 7 to 11 and reportedly drew more than 5,000 industry professionals from around the world.

United Grinding Technologies Inc. celebrated 30 years in its Fredericksburg, Va., location with an open house on Feb. 22 and 23. The event included technical presentations, facility tours and a ribbon-cutting event for the newly expanded and renovated facility.

Amada Machine Tools demonstrated its new S-10 modular multitask machine during a recent press briefing at its Technical Center in Schaumburg, Ill.

Workholding involves much more than slapping a part in a vise or chuck and pushing the cycle-start button, according to the Workholding column in the April 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Aluminum parts that are anodized using electrical energy or chromate conversion coated can offer wear and corrosion resistance, among other benefits.

Say your machine shop just received an order for 316 stainless fuel-injector nozzles requiring angled holes to be drilled on the workpiece face. Or perhaps your best medical customer needs miniature blood-pump impellers with complex 3-D blade geometries like those on a jet-engine turbine. How are you going to make them?

Manufacturing molds used to produce plastic parts with features that can be too small to be seen with the naked eye or measured with standard devices is challenging. That's why moldmakers that perform this work are specialists in the nuances of designing and building micromolds.