Joe Braun, general manager of Indianapolis machine tool builder Hurco North America, announced that Hurco will hold its inaugural Chipmaker Challenge contest for entrepreneurs in manufacturing. The contest gives new shops the chance to pitch their business plans for a chance to win their choice of a Hurco VMX42i mill or TM8i lathe.
Participants will answer a series of questions and provide an essay and/or video during the application period from July 1 through Aug. 8, 2014. The top five finalists will appear in front of a panel of judges at the Hurco IMTS booth Sept. 9, 2014.
"The idea of the Chipmaker Challenge evolved as we discussed ways to add some excitement to IMTS and get publicity for the entrepreneurs in our industry who do remarkable things each and every day," Braun said. "Our customers are competitive, proud of the businesses they've built and the products they make. We decided to model the Chipmaker Challenge after the TV show Shark Tank in order to create an exciting, competitive, entertaining event that showcases manufacturing entrepreneurs and highlights the hi-tech aspect of manufacturing in this country.
"We know there is an effort to rebrand manufacturing so young people and their parents better understand 21st century manufacturing, and we hope the Chipmaker Challenge might bring more attention to the industry," he added.
Related Glossary Terms
- lathe
lathe
Turning machine capable of sawing, milling, grinding, gear-cutting, drilling, reaming, boring, threading, facing, chamfering, grooving, knurling, spinning, parting, necking, taper-cutting, and cam- and eccentric-cutting, as well as step- and straight-turning. Comes in a variety of forms, ranging from manual to semiautomatic to fully automatic, with major types being engine lathes, turning and contouring lathes, turret lathes and numerical-control lathes. The engine lathe consists of a headstock and spindle, tailstock, bed, carriage (complete with apron) and cross slides. Features include gear- (speed) and feed-selector levers, toolpost, compound rest, lead screw and reversing lead screw, threading dial and rapid-traverse lever. Special lathe types include through-the-spindle, camshaft and crankshaft, brake drum and rotor, spinning and gun-barrel machines. Toolroom and bench lathes are used for precision work; the former for tool-and-die work and similar tasks, the latter for small workpieces (instruments, watches), normally without a power feed. Models are typically designated according to their “swing,” or the largest-diameter workpiece that can be rotated; bed length, or the distance between centers; and horsepower generated. See turning machine.
- milling machine ( mill)
milling machine ( mill)
Runs endmills and arbor-mounted milling cutters. Features include a head with a spindle that drives the cutters; a column, knee and table that provide motion in the three Cartesian axes; and a base that supports the components and houses the cutting-fluid pump and reservoir. The work is mounted on the table and fed into the rotating cutter or endmill to accomplish the milling steps; vertical milling machines also feed endmills into the work by means of a spindle-mounted quill. Models range from small manual machines to big bed-type and duplex mills. All take one of three basic forms: vertical, horizontal or convertible horizontal/vertical. Vertical machines may be knee-type (the table is mounted on a knee that can be elevated) or bed-type (the table is securely supported and only moves horizontally). In general, horizontal machines are bigger and more powerful, while vertical machines are lighter but more versatile and easier to set up and operate.
- pitch
pitch
1. On a saw blade, the number of teeth per inch. 2. In threading, the number of threads per inch.
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