Lead Angle

In his March 2018 Lead Angle column, CTE Editor Alan Richter takes notice of developments in large-part machining and previews an upcoming shop profile about Coldwater Machine Co.'s expertise in producing short runs of fairly massive components.

While placing a telescope outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere may seem like the best way to study the cosmos, CTE Editor Alan Richter holds a different view after the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization Corp. reached out to explain how it's working with Boeing Research & Technology on an Earth-bound telescope that will minimize distortion from the atmosphere.

As CTE Publications Inc. begins the 70th volume of Cutting Tool Engineering, the fundamental principles of cutting and grinding metal remain the same as when the magazine premiered with a different name to serve members of the Society of Carbide Engineers.

CTE Editor Alan Richter highlights the 5-axis focus of the October 2017 issue.

The boost in productivity that the latest cutting tools provide enables manufacturers to reduce the amount fracking companies pay for parts.

Since the time CTE Editor Alan Richter started covering manufacturing for CTE in 2000, industry professionals have frequently informed him that manufacturing jobs typically pay more than most other professions, such as sales and low-level, white-collar jobs. Furthermore, he was told, they provide a multiplier, or ripple, effect—in which one manufacturing job produces numerous other jobs.

Peak oil demand is in the news. In a May Wall Street Journal article, for instance, authors Lynn Cook and Elena Cherney stated, "The world's largest oil companies are girding for the biggest shift in energy consumption since the Industrial Revolution: After decades of growth, global demand for oil is poised to peak and fall in the coming years."

Without a doubt, cutting tools for machining titanium must be well-engineered. This was reinforced for CTE Editor Alan Richter while attending Horn Technology Days 2017, held May 10 to 12 at Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrik Paul Horn GmbH, Tübingen, Germany.

Cutting Tool Engineering Editor Alan Richter ponders the machine shop of the future in his Lead Angle column for the May 2017 issue.

Commit to a German-style, dual-training apprenticeship program so your shop can produce its own skilled workers, suggests the director of the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest Inc.

One of the activities I enjoy most in connection with my job is visiting production facilities, because I get a chance to see how parts and products are made and have face-to-face interactions with talented metalworking professionals—not to mention that it gets me out of the office now and then.

Working in the bleak midwinter while the metalcutting sector transitions through a downturn sounds like a recipe for the blues. But it doesn't have to be. When things are a bit slow, it can be a good time to do some housekeeping and other chores around the shop that get put on the backburner during more active times.