Military Strategies: General Industry Coverage
Small shops can take advantage of big opportunities by making military parts.
Magazine Column
Feature Article
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Automation Made Easy
A multitasking lathe, coupled with robotic loading or bar loading, is a simple but effective form of automation.
Mastering the Metalcutting Macarena: 5-Axis Machining
Machine tool builders and CAM software developers work to make 5-axis machining more flexible and accessible.
2+3: Greater Than 5
2+3 machining of die and mold components is more accurate and often faster than full 5-axis machining.
Smart Weighting Auto Parts: General Industry Coverage
Auto manufacturers are 'lightweighting' vehicles by incorporating more aluminum and microalloy steel components.
Rightsizing Machine Tools
Experts weigh in on how to buy smart—for today and tomorrow.
Cutting Down on Cutting Fluids?
While using a single cutting fluid to machine and grind all workpiece materials may not be economically feasible, many machine shops can reduce their number of metalworking fluids.
Small Engines, Big Performance: Testing & Quality Assurance
Honing an engine's cylinder bores enhances their geometry, surface finish and dimensional accuracy, improving their fit and alignment with pistons and thereby increasing the engine's life and power density while decreasing its vibration, friction and emissions.
New Tools Needed
New cutting tool materials are required for new generation airframes.
Flex Time for Grinders: General Industry Coverage
Multifunction grinders, which include other machining operations, enable shops to complete parts in a single setup, among other benefits.
New Grind: General Industry Coverage
Grinding round HSS cutting tools can be more efficient than milling them. Being able to dress new hybrid metal/polyimide-bond wheels on the grinder adds to the efficiency.
Big Ideas for Workholding: General Industry Coverage
Holding large workpieces, especially heavy ones, requires parts manufacturers be more mindful of workholder and machine tool limits than they have to be with smaller workpieces. Also, shops may need to improvise when a conventional workholder can't secure a large workpiece.
