Machining

Electrical discharge machining (EDMing) goes by many names—burning, spark machining, spark eroding, vaporizing—but they all refer to variations on the same process: removing material by running an electric current between an electrode and a negatively charged workpiece material submerged in a dielectric fluid.

Opinions vary on the definition of hard turning. Some industry experts say it's the single-edge cutting of hardened steels from 58 to 68 HRC, while others suggest hard turning begins at 45 HRC and includes hardened irons and superalloys. All, however, agree it presents difficulties but is quite manageable provided the right cutting tools, machine and process parameters are used.

Industry experts predict better, if not yet spectacular, times for manufacturers in the coming year.

There was plenty to see, eat, drink, hear and learn at the United States Cutting Tool Institute's 2016 Fall Meeting, held in New Orleans Oct. 15-17.

Fixtureworks has introduced its lineup of ultra-low profile TriGrip carbide gripper inserts and TriMax vises. TriGrip carbide gripper inserts are designed for ultralow profile 0.14 in. (3.5 mm) clamping with no dovetail workpiece preparation.

MecSoft Corp. has announced the availability of Visual CAD/CAM 2017, the latest version of its flagship standalone CNC programming software.

Buy a used drill chuck, which didn't work flawlessly to begin with, for almost $50,000? Sounds like a bid for lunacy. And it is, literally. Auction house RR Auction recently took bids on the chuck that was part of the lunar-surface drill used on the Apollo 15 mission by Commander Dave Scott in 1971.

Versatile, productive and reliable, the UNE 12-2 compact gundrilling system brings new levels of increased manufacturing capacity to a variety of industries, including automotive, medical and firearms. Whereas a shop may perform deep-hole drilling on Swiss automatic machine tools, a dedicated deep-hole drilling solution, such as the highly engineered UNE 12-2, significantly reduces lead times and provides a higher degree of accuracy and precision.

The DSM series of heavy-duty duplex milling machines from You Ji is engineered specifically for two-, four- or six-sided production squaring and chamfering of square and rectangular workpieces.

A pipe milling end prep tool for beveling water wall boiler tubes at biomass processing facilities in preparation for precision welding repairs is being introduced by Esco Tool. The Esco Wart MILLHOG is a boiler tube beveling machine that features a rigid ID clamping system and uses TiN-coated cutter blades to machine carbon steel or highly alloyed tubes without cutting fluids.

Shop Ingenuity is the first in a planned series of video reports featuring shop innovations. In the debut episode, Cutting Tool Engineering visits with CNC Supervisor Jeffrey Johnson at Tuttle Manufacturing in Barrington, IL. Johnson set out to improve the production time for a part that the shop has been running every other month for a customer who continues to increase the order each time.

Iscar Metals Inc.'s Heli Tang T490 milling cutter for roughing accepts inserts with serrated, chip-splitting grooves. These grooves can improve performance when the machine power is limited or when evacuating chips from narrow slots or deep cavities, according to the company.