Machining

In 1928, a precision optics machine arrived on U.S. shores on a ship from Europe. The SIP MP4 machine, serial number 88, was bound for its new home at the General Electric plant in Lynn, Massachusetts, a town located 14 miles northeast of Boston.

The FORMTRACER Avant is a revolutionary hybrid measuring system that measures advanced contour and surface roughness features with high precision, speed, flexibility and efficiency in one machine. "Hot swapping" heads along with an inclining X-axis drive, double-sided conical stylus for continuous measurements of upper/lower surfaces, and a wide variety of optional accessories to measure nearly any type of workpiece makes the Avant Series one of the most versatile machines of its type.

TungMeister is designed to reduce a significant amount of tool changeover time through the ability to replace used heads instead of an entire tool. Since it takes no more than one minute for tool exchange, setup time can significantly be reduced to as short as one tenth of the time it would typically take to replace solid carbide end mills for maximum productivity and cost effectiveness.

Weiler Abrasives is offering the 4-1/2 inch Tiger Aluminum flap discs in Type 27 or Type 29 with either 7/8 or 5/8-11 arbor holes and two grit options. The 36-grit disc is a good choice for chamfering, weld removal and stock removal, while the 60-grit disc is ideal for weld blending, finishing and cosmetic detail work.

The F-35 Lightning is one of the most complex and lethal combat fighter jets in the world, and this machine is constructed with thousands of precision components. Starrag machinery are used to produce some of the most complex components on these precision jets.

Contract programming houses are an excellent resource for shops with overloaded programming departments, a troublesome project, or are venturing into five-axis territory for the first time. Ron Branch, vice-president of 5th Axis CG Inc. shared valuable insights about machining optimization with Gene Granata, Vericut product manager at CGTech.

With new larger diameters finally available, these high-efficiency indexable drills span from Ø0.500"~Ø2.000" and Ø12mm~Ø60mm sizes.Achieve excellent drilling precision with less variation in hole diameter.

The additional cutter designs feature a smaller 5mm D.O.C. insert size with the same cost-efficient, double-sided, 6-edge design from the M-SIX line.

The expanded range of ANSI tap collets is fully compatible with existing powRgrip holders and only require shanks with tolerances of h9 or better. Manufactured with an internal square, these collets are specifically designed for use on CNC machines with synchronized machine spindle speeds and feed rates.

The Bell Helicopter Drive Systems Center (DSC) in Arlington, Texas, can never be confused with anything "little." It's a huge facility, filled with the latest milling, drilling, and boring technologies. In fact, some newly installed equipment is making some of the company's biggest components in its history.

With fixed and adjustable pocket seats, the new milling cutter provides the option for semi-finishing as well as fine-finishing applications, exceeding the highest surface quality requirements. With carbide, ceramic and PcBN inserts, this new tool is a flexible, cost-effective and user-friendly solution that is ideal for any type of CNC machining center.

Laser technology was developed in the mid-20th century, and over the decades has emerged as a leading processing method for a broad range of applications. One of the newest uses is for high precision laser micromachining.