Machining

GF AgieCharmilles' Mikron HSM 20U LP (linear performance) milling machine is available in 3- and 5-axis versions and can produce parts via simultaneous 5-axis high-speed machining. The machine's 50,000-rpm, 11.4-hp Step-Tec spindle assists in imparting surface finishes as fine as 0.05µm Ra.

A wheel supplier urged a shop to use a 150 mesh grit wheel to put a 0.005" radius into a part, but when the shop went from its 80 mesh grit to the smaller grit the result was horrific chatter. In fact, the shop always gets chatter from small grit wheels.

A fixturing system for enabling ceramic coatings to be efficiently deposited via cathodic arc evaporation.

Lightweight and easy-to-program robotic arms.

END USER: 1-866-Dial-EDM, (866) DIAL-EDM, 1866dialedm.com. CHALLENGE: Produce a high volume of 0.006"-dia., 1/16"-deep blind-holes in an exotic material. SOLUTION: An EDM drill.

END USER: Continental Motors Inc., (800) 718-3411, www.genuinecontinental.aero. CHALLENGE: Boost productivity when rough and finish milling cast aluminum crankcases. SOLUTION: PCD-tipped, cartridge-type facemills.

END USER: David Buchberger, (585) 208-7382, www.hispeedcorp.com. CHALLENGE: Efficiently machine lightweight components for an "extreme" racecar. SOLUTION: High-performance cutting tools, including a drill and endmill.

Manufacturing faces more uncertainty than usual in 2013, but the year ahead could be a good one.

Holding a few tenths tolerance on a piece of 60-HRC steel was once the domain of expensive grinding equipment. Today, it's no big deal.

Similar to a multitask machine, a machine tool that combines ID and OD grinding enables producing a part in one chucking.

The moving elements of a machine tool have mass. Forces from the actuators cause the masses to move and accelerate. As the speed of the machine tool motion increases, the ability of the actuators to cause acceleration becomes more important.

Dear Doc: I grind fine threads into hardened stainless steel with a fine-mesh aluminum-oxide wheel. The threads are 0.8mm deep in a 5mm-dia. ID. There are three threads per part. This operation just chews through the wheel, and I get only one part before I have to dress a 0.2mm depth in my 4mm-dia. wheel.