General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

An article at HR (as in Human Resources) Dive revisited the ongoing skills-gap issue, noting that "today's talent lacks the skills required to complete manufacturing tasks in a computerized world." Two experts—Mitch Free, chairman and CEO of ZYCI CNC Machining and founder of MFG.com, and Chris Hobbs, reliability solutions manager at Advanced Technology Services—make the case that certification programs offer "at least a partial solution" to the problem.

Vero Software has launched the latest version of WorkNC, a specialized CAD/CAM software package for 2- to 5- axis machining. WorkNC 2017 R2 takes advantage of the latest improvements made to the Vero Software Waveform Roughing strategy.

ARNO USA, Harvard, Ill., has hired Kevin S. McCabe as the company's new Regional Technical Support Engineer for the Midwest region of the country. McCabe will provide technical sales, engineering and training activities for ARNO USA's range of cutting tools over a four-state territory that includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.

The Star Cutter Co., Farmington Hills, Mich., plans to mark its 90th anniversary throughout 2017 by reflecting on the company's past and future. Founded in 1927 by Howard B. Lawton and Frank Burgess, Star Cutter is a fourth-generation, family owned business and one of the oldest Michigan-based manufacturing companies.

BIG KAISER's Mega New Baby Chuck is now available up to 1"-dia. clamping for drills, reamers and finishing endmills with 0.00004" runout accuracy. The Mega New Baby Chuck is a high precision and multiple-purpose collet chuck system.

The DeHoff BTA/STS 2084 is designed for drilling on-center holes using the BTA/STS process. It is being utilized to manufacture drive shafts for helicopter tail rotors.

J.W. Winco Inc. offers GN 817.8 metric size, steel indexing plungers with removable pin lock-out or non lock-out type. The RoHS compliant GN 817.8 indexing plungers are designed so that special versions of the indexing pins can be made economically in smaller unit quantities.

Contrary to public perception, U.S. manufacturing and logistics industries experienced dramatic growth over thepast generation, says a new report from Ball State University. U.S. manufacturing production grew 11 percent since the dot.com bust (2000-03) and the ensuing economic turbulence of the 2001 and 2007-09 recessions.

Coldwater (Ohio) Machine Co., an engineered solutions company that manufactures and integrates precision equipment and tools, has announced the expansion of it complex part machining capability with the addition of a DMG Mori NTX-2000 5-axis multitask machine to enhance its build-to-print and design-and-build services. The company is recognized for precision machining of workpieces with complex geometries in a variety of materials for customers in the aviation, automotive and energy industries.

Machine tool builder GF Machining Solutions LLC announced its new "learn and earn" apprenticeship program during the first day of the machine tool builder's 2-day Solutions Days open house. The event, which took place June 6-7 at its Lincolnshire, Ill., headquarters, included technical presentations and equipment demonstrations.

The latest release of VISI, Vero Software's specialist mold and die solution, delivers a number of user experience enhancements and addresses an issue that is often neglected, but that can have an important effect on the final shape of a formed sheet-metal component. When the sheet metal part is removed from the die and the forming forces released, material elasticity will cause the part geometry to experience springback. The new Springback prediction functionality in VISI 2017 R2 is designed to reduce the time and cost of a typical trial and error approach to solving this long-standing industry issue.

Driven by end user demand for improved visualization into their automation solutions portfolio, Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc. has introduced the GT2107 wide series human machine interface. The GT2107 is an interface that monitors and controls machine components with a graphical touch screen that connects to equipment such as PLCs, VFDs and servos.