Cutting Tool Engineering Magazine

New technology makes EDM die sinkers smarter, faster and smaller than ever before. PLUS:

• New and traditional grinding technologies combine to control vibration and improve precision
• Tucked into the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, Linda Tool, a family-owned machine shop, continuously adds to its capabilities
• Design for manufacturability is catching on among the more sophisticated clients of machine shops
• Multisensor measurement reduces part-inspection time for machine shops.

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

• Producing prototype automotive parts via 3D printing helps reduce time to market
• Conversational machine tool programming continues to grow
• Waterjet users can benefit by learning about the technology’s expanding applicability
• How to implement precision ultrasonic cleaning for medical parts and implants
• Electron beam drills make short work of producing microholes.

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

• Antipullout toolholders reduce scrap, increase tool life and eliminate anxiety when milling
• Retrofitting old machine tools with new CNCs can make more sense than buying new
• An overview of parting and grooving operations
• Learn details about the many new products manufacturers are offering the metalworking industry.

Repairing a machine tool spindle is more economical than buying new, but part manufacturers need to understand the process. PLUS:

• High-pressure, through-coolant drilling provides a host of benefits;
• A Chicago broaching shop remembers its past to invigorate its future
• 4 deburring methods for mass finishing microparts
• Machine shops: are they ready to use MTConnect
• Machine simulation is the 5-axis programmer’s constant companion.

CAM systems generate innovative toolpaths to quickly remove large amounts of material when endmilling. PLUS:

• Cobalt-chrome alloys are a good fit for implants and other medical and dental parts, but machining them can be a headache
• Coolants and the systems that apply them require regular maintenance;
• Automated pallet systems in small and medium-size shops can reduce labor and increase productivity
• Overlooked areas that can improve indexable-insert cutting tool performance.

The quality of the sealing, braking and bearing systems must be considered when specifying a rotary table. PLUS:

• If you’re not monitoring the condition of your CNC equipment, you’re machining in the dark;
• For manufacturers looking to effectively clean their parts, industrial ultrasonic cleaning systems are a sound option
• Boring tools with a digital readout aren’t the standard in U.S. shops, but their use is growing.

Quick-change tooling on a CNC lathe saves money by reducing setup times. PLUS:

How moldmakers select the right cutting tools, toolholders and machines

Oil mist filtration for machine tools makes for a cleaner working environment

Baggies, boxes and bubble wrap, oh my! Tips for packaging, shipping and storing machined metal parts

Locating the right tool turns a nightmare job into a dream at one California shop.

Making aerospace parts from difficult-to-cut metal requires heavy-duty machines. PLUS:

• When the application is appropriate, form tapping provides real production benefits
• Key trends in machining center technology
• Advice on controlling the spark gap when wire EDMing
• Mori Seiki focuses on energy reduction and efficiency gains when building machine tools.

Cross-hole drilling can test a machinist’s mettle. PLUS:

• The benefits of inspecting metal parts with industrial computed-tomography
• Joining flexibility with high productivity when gear milling
• How Bombardier Transportation uses tool management to keep on track
• Using a new calculation for determining cutting force components and power when turning.

Choosing the right multitask machine can be a shop game changer. PLUS:

• Tips and techniques for improving bandsaw blade life and performance
• Developments in superabrasive grinding wheels help eliminate the need for dressing
• Getting a handle on chip handling for small to medium-sized job shops
• AMT’s Global Forecasting & Manufacturing Conference provides caution and optimism.

The ability to hard turn is a good reason to trade in your old grinder for a lathe. PLUS:

• When IDs and ODs must be concentric, consider a combination ID/OD grinder
• Pros and cons of marking parts with laser, micropercussion and scribing technologies
• Manufacturing faces more uncertainty than usual in 2013, but the year ahead could be a good one
• Machining titanium requires a rigid machine tool and strong spindle connection.

2013 Buyers Guide issue:

• Manufacturers index
• Disributors index
• Machne Shop index.