Cutting Tool Engineering Magazine

Using multitask machines to finish hardened workpieces can boost accuracy and cut cycle time. PLUS:

• Milling plastics is just easy enough to be difficult
• Solid-carbide drills penetrate the gundrill deep-hole market
• Sophisticated indexable-tool repair calls for automated equipment
• School programs and competitive events help young machinists hone talents.

A growing number of shops are shelving their taps and opting to thread mill heat-treated steel. PLUS:

• Cermet-tipped circular saw blades are eating into carbide’s market share
• Evolving tool and cutter grinder software boosts toolmakers’ and machine shops’ production of advanced cutting tools
• Close-ups of the grinding process via an electron microscope
• Our year-end recap and outlook report finds metworking getting back on its feet
• Learn about companies’ specialties as suppliers to the metalcutting industry.

Implementing new technologies helps military parts manufacturing stay on the cutting edge. PLUS:

• Engineered coating combinations control heat and keep chips flying when dry-drilling
• Wire EDM gains ground as the go-to technology for prototyping parts with intricate geometries and those made of hard materials
• On-machine probing can reduce setup time, boost productivity and minimize costs
• Guidelines for turning tool steels apply to both tool- and part-making applications
• Industry publications detail the latest metalcutting products and services. 

Machining large, compacted graphite iron castings for diesel engine components is rife with challenges—but using the right tools and techniques can help. PLUS:

• Lights-out production can put a shine on the bottom line of even low-volume, multiple-part operations
• As coolant costs climb, it’s more important than ever to know how to properly evaluate fluid products, equipment and services
• Among the strengths of the HSS insert is its flexibility, which makes it the tool-of-choice for some tough applications
• Understanding tool wear and using new coating technologies to combat it can enhance tool life and machining productivity.

Understanding tool geometry and selecting the right tap for diff erent workpiece materials can help take the stress out of tapping operations. PLUS:

• U.S. companies that adopt electromagnetic workholders heartily endorse the technology
• Shot peening boosts part performance and life
• Combination tooling, custom fixtures and creative solutions help Apex Precision thrive
• Who should perform spindle maintenance in machine shops?

Drills with interchangeable carbide tips provide productivity, fl exibility, accuracy and economy. PLUS:

• Reducing a machine tool’s energy consumption helps achieve ‘green’ machining
• Tool presetters help three shops boost accuracy, productivity and savings
• What to consider when ordering engineered, application-specific milling tools
• Routine grinding machine maintenance boosts productivity and parts accuracy
• Fire suppression systems protect your shop—and your future
• Learn details about the many products manufacturers offer the metalcutting industry.

Shops seeking to true and dress superabrasive grinding wheels need solutions beyond ‘tried-and-true’ methods. PLUS:

• New laser machining center laser ablates 3-D profiles in superhard cutting tools
• Maximizing productivity and calculating required machining power when facemilling titanium
• The abrasive waterjet has become the tool of choice for trimming and shape cutting composites for aerospace applications
• Parts that meet drawing dimensions can still end up as scrap if they lack surface integrity
• New tools give shops a battle-ready edge for this difficult-to-machine material
• How to get the most from multitask machines; and learn who offers what types of training by reading summary reviews of companies’ training programs.

Innovative technologies and techniques for manufacturing minimally invasive medical devices. PLUS:

• Parts manufacturers should head straight to their high-strength round inserts to turn nickel-base alloys
• Despite economic turmoil, builders of vertical machining centers are keeping their customers and themselves in the game with new technology, services and added value
• Boring tools can do more than true holes—they can also help overcome manufacturing obstacles
• Shops can be both lean and green by using a work cell-based approach to parts washing as well as environmentally friendly cleaning compounds and technologies
• Learn who off ers what in metalworking products, from insert holders to cutting tools to grinding machines, by reading summary reviews of companies’ literature.

Quality Mould Inc., a maker of molds for glass products such as lamps and headlights, thrives by leveraging its skills and using advanced technology. PLUS:

• Tracking and reducing burr costs or—better yet—minimizing burr formation can improve productivity
• Process monitors—either vibration- or digitally based—help parts manufacturers save money and ensure quality on small production runs
• Challenging Swiss-style machining jobs can require specialty collets or novel applications of standard workholding
• Rough-and-ready grinding calculations—and an opinionated Viking—help quickly determine appropriate grinding parameters
• With a new ownership structure in place, Kaiser AG is entering it seventh decade serving the metalworking industry.

New materials, the need for lightweight parts and the burgeoning size of some aircraft challenge manufacturers of landing gear components. PLUS:

• The ins and outs of specifying and ordering a flexible specialty machine tool and having a machine builder produce it
• Ballsizing, lapping with wire and brushing are three simple and economical hole-finishing techniques that yield impressive results
• How to machine polymeric composite materials with single-layer diamond abrasive tools
• The benefits of minimum-quantity lubrication—which is suitable for many types of  machine tools—are numerous
• Today’s Web-based training programs can get machine operators ready to cut metal before they ever lay hands on the real deal
• A parts manufacturer fi nds that brushing the cutting edges of tools with nylon bristles extends tool life, improves part quality and reduces manufacturing costs.

Machining wind turbine components provides opportunities for diversifi cation and growth. PLUS:

• Expanding orthopedic implant market spurs search for new turning center technology
• Examining the process through the lens of an electron microscope
• Computer-aided error detection and prevention helps prevent disasters and improve machine efficiencies
• Grooving miniature parts requires a conservative cutting approach and a choice between solid-carbide and insertable tools
• One of the world’s largest cutting tool companies began as a kitchen-table operation in a remote part of Israel. 

Production of precise, tough oil-field components demands the use of sophisticated multitask machines. PLUS:

• Keys to maximizing productivity when facemilling steel
• Case histories and comments about hard milling from frontline die and mold shops
• Increasingly sophisticated drills enable shops to tackle nickel-base superalloys with ease
• Carbide drill with unique design reportedly minimizes walking while extending tool life
• With its patent expired, the Coromant Capto modular toolholding system is now governed by an ISO standard.