General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

American National Carbide (ANC), which manufactures tungsten carbide products for the metalworking, agricultural, and energy industries, recently announced a major reorganization, according to a news release issued by the Tomball, Texas-based company. Newly appointed CEO D. Greg Stroud has named new vice presidents to lead the four major areas of the company.

New FN5060 dv/dt filters from Schaffner EMC Inc. protect AC motors from destructive effects of peak voltages and inrush amps, increasing service life and system reliability. This patented technology protects motors and adjacent equipment without capacitors or resistors, making them simple to install.

General Carbide has expanded its operations to produce more than 40 standard and custom sizes of wire EDM blocks for a range of stamping and fabricating applications. To help ensure that blocks are of the highest metallurgical quality and reach customers intact and quickly, the company processes every order in sinter-HIP furnaces, ships the blocks in durable packaging, guarantees turnaround of 3 to 5 business days and tracks shipments door-to-door.

eNETDNC released three new monitoring reports for its eViewer, a Crystal Reports-based report generator, which every eNET-monitoring customer receives. The new reports offer daily, weekly and monthly breakdowns of machine availability.

David Harroun, recently named Sales Manager of Koepfer America, South Elgin, Ill., is tasked with strengthening the company's sales efforts of all gear manufacturing products, comprising hobbing machines, shaping machines, worm milling machines, hard finishing tools, and cutting tools. With the addition of Harroun, Koepfer expects to provide more focused technical sales support for North American manufacturers of all types and sizes of gears, according to a recent company news release.

Okuma America Corp., Charlotte, N.C., recently added two industry experts to its Sales and Product Specialist Teams. With more than 50 years of combined experience in the CNC machine tool industry, Brian Sides and Tom O'Toole will be responsible for supporting regional sales teams and Okuma distribution partners.

When choosing the best hand tool for everyday work, craftsmen look for tools which are as light as possible and which take up as little space as possible in their toolboxes, cases and belts, while still featuring excellent functionality and ergonomic and time-saving properties. When developing new products, Wiha focusses closely on user requirements and is now launching its latest innovation, the LiftUp 26one magazine bit holder, an assistant for every day.

Wiha Tools USA has introduced two new TorqueControl pistol ratchet sets. The 59-piece sets, #28584 and #28585, includes a new Cushion Grip pistol ratchet handle, "overtightening the screw is eliminated with Wiha reliable torque technology."

March billings among 40 U.S. cutting tool companies increased 5.7 percent over February and 15.4 percent over January, according to a recent report from the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI), which surveys U.S. cutting tool companies each month for USCTI's Current Business Report. Total billings in March reached nearly $166 million, compared to nearly $157 million in February and nearly $144 million in January.

Say "EDM" and most manufacturing folks think mold, tool and die work. Yet sinker, wire and hole-popping EDMs are often employed in conjunction with, or as alternatives to, traditional part-making processes, such as milling and turning.

International Mold Steel Inc. announced the results of a study that showed reduced vibration with Toolox 44 (made by SSAB) toolholders. A recent study conducted at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology of Sweden, compared Toolox 44 with conventional tool steel alloyed with chromium, molybdenum and vanadium.