General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

With so much of the news focused on manufacturing lost to China, India and elsewhere, Illinois ProTurn is growing, doubling in size, says Dan Lamz, president of the McHenry, Ill., shop. The majority of the shop's work is in the plastic injection mold industry, and Lamz says the company's forté is hard turning. View the video above to learn more about Illinois ProTurn's success and its ability to produce tight tolerance parts over and over again.

Companies work to interest youths in manufacturing through outreach efforts and partnerships with schools to offer courses that lead to college degrees in manufacturing.

Parts manufacturers can keep chips flying and maintain part accuracy by protecting their spindles against misuse, thermal expansion, collisions and penetration by coolant and metallic dust.

Western Oklahoma job shop Kos Machine LLC makes it a point to help out local farmers. Follow along as Kos repairs an old Case tractor in this video slide show.

Watch how some companies are fighting the negative image of manufacturing with a clean, high-tech message aimed at youth.

CTE Plus offers a look at minimum-quantity lubrication in action thanks to video provided by the Horkos Corp.

This brief video report features United Titanium employees who demonstrate the production of proprietary threaded titanium fasteners.

Tool vending machines save money and provide other benefits.

Tungsten-carbide grades to use in tools for different applications.

Creating the machine tools that make microparts.

Interrupted turning is common in aero-engine machining, said Sean Holt, aerospace specialist for Sandvik Coromant Co., Fair Lawn, N.J. There, a complete, finished component is machined out of a single, large block of material (most commonly Inconel 718) in several process stages that involve accurately removing a vast amount of material to meet strict parameters for the finished part's dimensions and characteristics. Sandvik Coromant claims to have cutting tools and machining methods that greatly improve aerospace component manufacturing.

Greenleaf Corp. introduced its WG-300 ceramic composite tool material about 25 years ago. The ceramic matrix is reinforced with silicon-carbide "whiskers" that boost toughness. Initially applied in the relatively constant cutting conditions of turning operations, the composite tools provided a significant increase in productivity when roughing aerospace alloys. Shops are now using WG-300 tools in hard milling operations.