General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

Mastercam 2020 Public Beta is open to all Mastercam customers with current Maintenance. Shops all over the world—from small job shops to Fortune 100 companies—get a chance to test-drive Mastercam 2020 before it is released and provide valuable feedback to help shape the final product.

ETQ announced the availability of ETQ Reliance 2019, a significant enhancement to the company's flagship offering. The latest release of ETQ Reliance 2019 includes an entirely new user interface (UI) and several enhancements that improve personalization and collaboration. The company has also packaged ETQ Reliance 2019 to make it easier and more cost-effective for customers to select from a range of bundled QMS solutions that closely match their unique quality processes and workflows.

From January to November 2018, the Institute for Supply Management reported that Buffalo, New York's Purchasing Managers' Index was consistently higher than the national PMI, averaging 72.4, which was more than 10 points above the national average. With a long history as a manufacturing hub and recent growth, it's not surprising that there are many great manufacturing jobs available in the community. Moreover, the types of jobs advertised are changing. Instead of traditional manufacturing positions, employers are hiring for roles like machinist and programmer, which usually offer higher wages and better advancement opportunities.

The Kuebler Group offers contact and contactless slip rings for reliable Ethernet transmission—achieving higher data rates and greater cycle synchronicity in demanding industrial environments.

igus has developed an exchange bearing for its drylin W linear guides that allows for swift replacement in high-frequency applications. To execute the exchange, users simply unlock the bearing, push out the old liner and replace it. The exchange bearing saves time and cost, and is available in sizes 16 and 20 for linear guides on the drylin W series, besides the standard installation size 10.

The RG2-FT from OnRobot is a new gripper available to manufacturers around the world. An update to OnRobot's first edition, the RG2-FT now has built-in force/torque sensing, supporting workpiece detection and centering.

OnRobot kicked off the new year by shipping pre-orders of its new Gecko Gripper, that uses millions of micro-scaled fibrillar stalks that adhere to a surface using powerful van der Waals forces—the same way that geckos climb. The Gecko Gripper lets robots pick up flat, smooth objects with significant energy savings over existing grippers such as vacuum grippers, which require compressed air that is costly, power-intensive, and bulky.

Shops that seek to maximize milling performance while they reduce tooling inventories will benefit from newly introduced Power Milling Chucks from Seco Tools. With holding power and transmittable torque that rival hydraulic and shrink-fit holders, Power Milling Chucks deliver high precision with 5-micron runout accuracy at 3 times diameter in addition to enhanced application flexibility and cost effectiveness.

The DeHoff 1024C is a 6-spindle gundrilling machine used for high-volume production of automotive camshafts. The machine is designed to gundrill a hole down the centerline of the camshaft to reduce weight. This enables a Tier 1 automotive supplier to produce lighter camshafts in large volumes for use in new high-efficiency engines.

The bridge-like design of a gantry provides the framework for controlled precise overhead motion that is often sought after for 3D printing, assembly, pick-and-place, alignment, inspection and industrial automation applications. PI introduces the A-341 HGS hybrid gantry – designed to combine maximum throughput with smooth and highly accurate motion.

PI (Physik Instrumente) LP has released the new model E-619, a high-power piezo amplifier designed to drive high-capacitance multilayer piezo actuators with rapid rise times or high frequencies. As a special form of electro-ceramics, piezo materials are the industry standard when it comes to speed, force and precision in a small package.

Custom composite clad metal wire that can combine the properties of several materials where solid wire is limited or too expensive is available from Anomet Products. In addition to serving OEMs, the firm is seeking wire suppliers who want to expand their product offerings.nnn