Machining

How flame hardening works

Increase part quality and productivity when deep-cavity micromachining while achieving tight tolerances. A heat-activated, wax-based compound for holding parts.

Enhance precision and shorten changeover time when machining retention knobs. Quick-change collet chucks.

Keeping employees' personal matters separate from professional ones.

Methods for minimizing chatter.

Vertical machining centers play a central role in the growth of S&S Machine Shop.

When grinding complex cutting tool profiles, attention should be paid to the software, the wheel and the tool blank for best results.

Boring heads that improve productivity.

When shops purchase new machinery, a common error some make is accepting the standard live tooling package from the builder without considering other options. This is not a criticism of those packages, but end users should do as much evaluation of their processes when determining the proper tooling package as they do when evaluating machine tools.

Dr. Jeffrey Badger, who authors the Ask the Grinding Doc column, answers questions about barreling and scrubber nozzles.

Intrepid Tool Industries, Surprise, Ariz., has released its new 2015/2016 full-line catalog, showing the company's current offering of drills, reamers and countersinks for machining composites, aluminum, titanium and other aerospace materials. Additions include a new series of "W" point drills, combination drill/countersinks, porting tools with through-tool coolant holes and a full line of PCD drills and countersinks.

KAISER Precision Tooling Ltd., Rümlang, Switzerland, reports that it has strengthened its long-term partnership, BIG Daishowa Seiki Co. Ltd., Japan, by agreeing to be acquired by the BIG Daishowa group as of April 15. KAISER Precision Tooling, a supplier of modular boring tools, and BIG Daishowa Seiki, a producer of toolholders and measurement devices, have had a technology and distribution partnership since 1980.