Industry News

The partners responsible for producing Manufacturing Day at the national level have refreshed its website, MFGDAY.com. The upgraded site offers more resources for sponsors, companies, supporters and volunteers which, according to the group, make it easier to participate in this year's annual celebration of manufacturing, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2. 

Hand scraping mating surfaces on CNC machine tools helps maintain high levels of machining accuracy and reduces wear and tear, resulting in a long, stable and productive life for the machine, as detailed in a new white paper from machine tool builder Okuma America Inc., Charlotte, N.C. 

Titan Tool Supply, Buffalo, N.Y., offers a range of deburring and microfinishing tools, including grinding and bottoming pins, grinding wheels, polishing products, miniature diamond files, Swiss needle files, diamond needle files, scrapers and blades and Uni-Vise blade and file handles. 

Absolute Machine Tools, Lorain, Ohio, now offers a full line of EDM consumable products and services through its AccuteX EDM business unit, based in Mason, Ohio. AccuteX EDM now offers not only consumables for its line of EDMs, but also for most other OEMs, such as Mitsubishi, Sodick, FANUC and others. 

Industrial distributor Fastenal, Winona, Minn., has partnered with The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) to provide maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies to government entities nationwide. TCPN's lead government agency, Region 4 Education Service Center, uses a competitive solicitation process consistent with applicable procurement laws and regulations.  

Among the 85 respondents to Cutting Tool Engineering magazine's Salary Survey Addendum, the annual average salary for manual machinists stands at $39,340, which represents an average hourly wage of $18.91. Combining the survey addendum results with CTE's 2014 Salary & Benefits Survey, which is based on data collected last fall from 215 respondents, the annual average salary for manual machinists is $39,202, which is about $18.85 an hour. 

Toolmaker NAP GLADU has expanded its diamond cutting tool servicing capabilities with the installation of additional equipment at its Statesville, N.C., service center, serving North Carolina and surrounding states. "This expansion improves our ability to provide our customers fast, high-quality sharpening and repair service on their diamond cutting tools," said Glenn McClain, service center manager, east. "Adding equipment and investing in jobs at our Statesville center reinforces our commitment to fast turnaround times and the local community." 

A new corporate website has launched following the merger of Dormer and Pramet, along with updates to its social media accounts and several new interactive apps. The website, www.dormerpramet.com, brings both previous company sites together into one location to feature all relevant information on Dormer's rotary program and Pramet's indexable tooling ranges. The new site is available to view in 15 languages.  

OSG USA Inc.'s training tour, Train the Nation, is back for 2015 and 2016. The Glendale Heights, Ill.-based toolmaker will host an eight-discipline course covering the machining of 3D parts. Experts from OSG will introduce techniques that highlight programming, machining applications and cutting tools.

3D Systems, Rock Hill, S.C., has completed its acquisition of all shares of Israeli CAD/CAM software firm Cimatron Ltd. for approximately $97 million, inclusive of Cimatron's net cash. 

FLP Tooling's Applitec brand has launched its 2015-2017 product catalog with three new product lines added: Top-Watch, Trio-Line and Micro-Line. Top-Watch is a line of inserts and holders for micro machining ultrasmall parts, developed in collaboration with Swiss watchmakers. The Trio-Line boasts 3-sided inserts, including a set of grooving inserts for circlips, adhering to DIN 6799 and DIN 471 standards.

OSG Tap & Die Inc., a Glendale Heights, Ill.-based manufacturer of taps, drills, endmills, dies and indexable cutting tools, has changed its name to OSG USA Inc. The corporate name change was made to better reflect the products and services OSG markets domestically, according to the company. 

A total of 1,679 events were held across North America, in all 50 states, three Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico.  For the first time this year, more than a dozen virtual events were held.  Discovery Education and Alcoa hosted the largest virtual event — with more than 100,000 students participating.

BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc., Hoffman Estates, Ill., celebrates 25 years of North American operations in 2015. Incorporated in the spring of 1990 under the name Kaiser Precision Tooling (KPT), the subsidiary of Heinz Kaiser AG, Oberbüren, Switzerland, provided the North American market access to Kaiser's boring tools and modular boring systems. 

Seco Tools LLC, Troy, Mich., collected 15 percent more used carbide in 2014 than the previous year for its North American Carbide Recycling Program. The company received 350 returns during the year and processed a total of 144,877 pounds (65,715 kg) of used carbide tools. Since the recycling program began in 2011, Seco Tools has received over a half million pounds (226,796 kg) of used carbide. 

The Eriez 5-Star Service Center, located at the separation technologies provider's plant in Erie, Pa., offers equipment service and repair, inspection/preventive maintenance and rebuilds as well as a certification and exchange program for lift magnets.  

The University of Tennessee—Knoxville, a longstanding member of the Council on Competitiveness, was selected by the White House to lead a public-private partnership of 122 leading companies, universities, research laboratories and non-profits that will create a $250 million manufacturing innovation hub.  

Machine tool builder Okuma America Corp. hosted "A Day at Okuma America Corporation" for area high school students at its Partners in THINC technology center in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 16. The event gave students the opportunity to learn more about CNC machining and technology and to speak with professionals in the CNC manufacturing industry.  

The Industrial Diamond Association of America will hold its annual Intertech conference May 19-20 at the Marriot Downtown in Indianapolis.

Cohagan Engineering Inc., West Palm Beach, Fla., has merged with Cat Technologies LLC to create Full Spectrum Manufacturing Inc., a new company offering manufacturing services including CNC milling, turning and plasma cutting, manual milling, turning and grinding, welding and fabrication, and 3D printing.