Machining

Articles • September 1, 1998 • Mike Yates

Manual Mills Get CNC Makeovers

A manual milling machine can be retrofitted with a CNC system for about one-fourth the cost of a brand new CNC machine. This article discusses the pros and cons of retrofitting and provides guidance to determine when retrofitting is the most appropriate solution.

Articles • September 1, 1998 • Robert Eade

Opening the Door to Greater Control

This article charts the gradual move by CNC manufacturers from proprietary hardware-based machine controllers to open, software-based systems. The article also reviews recently developed controllers that represent steps in the direction of totally open controls.

Articles • September 1, 1998 • Matthew Mueller

Precision In Their Pocket

Researchers using computer simulation and refined probing techniques attempted to mill a pocket as accurately as possible. This report tells how the researchers used their high-tech tools and how close to perfection they came.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Austin Weber

Purchasing Holds the Reins

This report of a Cutting Tool Engineering survey charts the shift in the way shops are purchasing tools. As the survey's findings indicate, an increasing number of tools are being bought directly from manufacturers and many shops are narrowing down the number of tool suppliers they do business with.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • David Ridenour

Speed Tapping

Tap and tapholder manufacturers have introduced technology to speed up the inherently slow tapping process. This article reviews a number of innovations, including tension/compression holders for rigid tapping, self-reversing tapping heads and quick-change tapholders.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Martin Eastman

Crying for Help

This article discusses the reasons students are not choosing to become machinists, and it reviews some of the measures being taken to recruit and train workers for tomorrow's shops. The programs reviewed are designed to encourage an interest in manufacturing, teach shop basics and ensure the quality of those entering the workforce.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Melissa Kennedy

Tooling Trends

This article provides a review of the research and technology trends that will shape metalcutting in the years to come. Innovations in workpiece materials, coatings, machine tool design and nontraditional machining are explored.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Austin Weber

Best of Times or Worst of Times?

This article reports the results of a survey of shop owners. The survey found the executives worried about finding and retaining help and customers and keeping up with technology. It's not all gloom and doom, however. The survey also found respondents upbeat about their business and the economy in general.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Herb Smith

Flowing Together

Tramp oils, which are machine lubricants and hydraulic fluids that find their way into the coolant, can seriously hinder the coolant's performance. This article discusses the properties and components of machine maintenance fluids that can ensure their easy separation and removal from the coolant.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Changsheng Guo

Adaptive Ceramic Machining

Machining ceramics is considered a difficult and costly operation. With the growing use of ceramics, shops are anxious to find cost-effective ways to work with the materials. This article discusses attempts by researchers to achieve maximum metal-removal rates without damaging the workpiece.

Articles • August 1, 1998 • Robert Eade

Are Metalworking Fluids a Threat to Health?

Representatives of management, labor and the government are working together to arrive at a workable regulation to reduce shop-floor exposure to metalworking fluid mist. This article reviews the debate and looks at ways shops can reduce their own workers' exposure.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Martin Eastman

All Together Now

This article looks at the close partnership forged between a toolmaker and a machine tool manufacturer. The alliance requires the two to share detailed information about proposed products as well as the customers each is working with. Such cooperation has made it possible to develop several new products and processes.