Machining

Kurt has launched the DX4 CrossOver Vise, a reduced size version of its successful DX6 CrossOver vise. Similarly designed to provide workholding strength and performance where flatness and parallelism are critical, this DX4 CrossOver vise answers machinists' needs for smaller workholding.

The CoroThread 266 thread turning tool from Sandvik Coromant is available with precision over- and under-coolant to improve process security and maximize efficiency. The addition of over-coolant improves chip formation for more secure machining, while under-coolant controls temperature for long and predictable tool life.

Zenith is Rigibore's automated solution to producing micron accurate bores. The Zenith solution offers significant savings and a tangible return on investment by reducing labor costs, eliminating scrap and supporting 24-hour production through lights-out manufacturing.

The precision and ruggedness of BIG KAISER boring heads deliver measurable performance advantages, significantly reducing finishing cost and cycle time. This is proven through the development of the EWE digital boring head.

While placing a telescope outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere may seem like the best way to study the cosmos, CTE Editor Alan Richter holds a different view after the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization Corp. reached out to explain how it's working with Boeing Research & Technology on an Earth-bound telescope that will minimize distortion from the atmosphere.

By using thermocouples embedded in a cutting insert's coating, a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison successfully overcame the challenge of measuring the tool/chip interface temperature.

END USER: Sonaca Montreal Inc., (450) 434-6114, www.sonacamontreal.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Fives Liné Machines Inc., (450) 372-6480, www.fivesgroup.com. CHALLENGE: Machine aerospace parts more efficiently and precisely while increasing part size. SOLUTION: A 5-axis, high-rail vertical gantry mill.

Many nonmanufacturing people would be surprised by the amount of resources expended on parts cleaning, but it is a critical aspect of part quality. Failure to maintain a rigorous cleaning program can cause significant issues in complex assemblies.

Vertical turning lathes have a significant drawback: the chips fall onto the workpiece where they are subject to recutting. By inverting the spindle, chip problems are virtually eliminated.

In a recent blog post, Joshua Jablons, president of Metal Cutting Corp., Cedar Grove, N.J., discussed a topic that leaves many machinists scratching their heads: What is the proper way to measure feature concentricity on a round workpiece?

Shop Operations Columnist James Harvey shares a few unorthodox machining methods that have worked for him.

A shop writes to the Grinding Doc: There's lots of discussion at my company about the best diamond fluting wheel for grinding tungsten carbide. Is there a quick test to determine which wheel is best?