Machining

Dr. Jeffrey Badger, the host of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine's Grinding Doc Video Series, fields a question from a shop that hasn't had any luck with ceramic abrasive. Watch the 2nd episode of the video series now.

What does CAM software have to do with mowing your lawn? More than you might think. Consider this imaginary story in which a machine shop owner tackles that bane of suburban life.

There's more than one way to machine a part. The trick is to match the part's complexity and volume requirements with an optimal production process.

An array of milling tools is available, including endmills, facemills and plain mills. Typical milling applications include facing, filleting or edge cutting, profiling, slotting, pocketing and blind slotting.

In recent years, monolithic machined aluminum components have been replacing sheet metal assemblies throughout the aerospace industry. The monolithic structures are lighter, less expensive and stronger than their conventional sheet metal counterparts. Machining the components requires fewer special tools, fewer hand operations and less assembly time.

Understanding tool wear is the first step to extending tool life—which can be further enhanced with new coating technology.

With the cost of high-performance coolants on the rise, coolant management is more important than ever. It starts by getting the basics right.

Even low-volume operations producing many different parts can benefit from lights-out production.

Machining large compacted graphite iron castings for diesel engine components is challenging, but applying the proper tools and techniques can help.

Watch Sandvik Coromant Co.'s CoroMill 365 cutter mill an engine blockmade of compacted graphite iron in this online complement to our September CTE cover story.

The debut episode of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine's Grinding Doc Video Series fields a question from a shop wondering about the relationship between coolant velocity versus the flowrate. Dr. Jeffrey Badger, the host of the video series, takes a look at the coolant issue.

Talking Shop August 2009 column