Industry News

As leaders of developing and deploying emerging technologies to new users, Mitsui Seiki USA Inc., Franklin Lakes, N.J., and TechSolve Inc., Cincinnati, will host a public unveiling of the Blue Arc machining technology at a technology preview and demonstration in Cincinnati on June 6.

BLM Group USA Corp., Novi, Mich., appointed three regional sales managers to support the company's high-precision laser tube and flat sheet cutting and tube bending business in the United States and Canada.

To build cars, appliances and airplanes, it takes tools made in Idaho. At Micro 100 Tool Corp., a cutting-edge operation helps create cutting tools. "We make carbide cutting tools that are used in all machining and manufacturing operations around the world," said Dale Newberry, president of Micro 100 Tool.

Once again, the International Manufacturing Technology Show is right around the corner. IMTS 2018 takes place Sept. 10-15 at Chicago's McCormick Place, which is literally just down the road from where I live.

ZOLLER Inc. inaugurated its new North American Headquarters on May 18, 2018, in the presense of the Zoller family, esteemed architect David Gebhardt, and Paul Krutko, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. The entire North American employee base and their families and friends also attended the gala celebration event. The new facility encompasses more than 44,000 sq. ft. and houses the U.S. corporate offices including sales, service and administration. In addition, the facility features an 8,800 sq. ft. Industry 4.0 Tech Center.

Some people say there is an art to machining. In some cases, there is actual artwork. Machinists Inc. in Seattle, the largest precision machining shop in the Northwest, has made big sculptures since the early 1990s. The first piece was a 17'×13'×3' steel sculpture that hangs in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and many more have followed. However, art accounts for only about 1 percent of the manufacturer's work, said Weld Engineer Steve Pollard, who has been with the company for 30 years.

I received an email from a reader letting me know that he disagreed with my recent article on tapping versus thread milling. In it, I stated, "There's little chance of successfully thread milling metals much above 45 HRC. And if you're going to try to tap them, be prepared to duck the flying shrapnel when the tap explodes!" We all make mistakes. So when Tom Fares, president of TNT Custom Equipment in Stow, Ohio, called me out on that section of the article, saying that he routinely taps holes in 45 HRC steel alloy and thread mills into "the low 60s," I listened to what he had to say.

Seventy years ago when the Society of Carbide Engineers launched the trade magazine that eventually became Cutting Tool Engineering as its official publication, the articles primarily covered carbide cutting tools. After all, the association advertised that those who were engaged in studying, using, supervising the use of or furthering the use of carbides were eligible for membership.

Ohio Tool Works LLC, an industry-leading manufacturer of precision honing machines, tooling, abrasives and accessories, announced that Paul Lykins joined the engineering department as the senior controls engineer.

Hexagon AB, Stockholm, a leading global provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications, acquired sole ownership of Licom Systems GmbH, a German distributor of Alphacam CAM software for woodworking, metal and stone cutting.

Hexagon AB, Stockholm, a leading global provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications, acquired ProCAM SRL, an Italian distributor of CAD/CAM solutions and complementary software.

Index Corp., Noblesville, Ind., as part of a revitalized sales, marketing and service strategy, partnered with five new, highly qualified distributors and realigned sales territories.