Machining

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Melissa Kennedy

Grinding Research Pays Big Dividends

Grinding research has led to innovations in wheels and machines, which have expanded the range of applications grinding can be used for. This article highlights some of the research being conducted and the work that has made it to the shop floor. An accompanying article discusses CBN abrasives.

Articles • June 1, 1998 • Stephen A. Batzer

The Dry Cure for Coolant Ills

With safety and health precautions driving up the cost of using metalworking fluids, many shops are attempting to machine dry. This article looks at the reasons why a shop might want to eliminate coolants and the effects this decision will have on part quality and tool performance.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Ed Kwasnick

Diamond Tames Graphite’s Bite

Graphite electrodes are extremely difficult to machine because of the material's abrasiveness. This article explains why it takes an endmill with a CVD diamond coating and multiple flutes to cut graphite without wearing tool quickly.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Dandridge Tomalin

Why Do EDM Wires Break?

Adequate flushing is needed to keep EDM wires from breaking. This article explains why wires break, and how dielectric fluid delivered with sufficient flow and pressure can prevent these failures from occurring even in less than ideal conditions.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Steve Slate

Bonded Graphite Electrodes

To produce graphic electrodes for EDMing large cavities, shops sometimes must machine the piece in smaller sections and bond them together. This article explains how to build and use a bonded graphite electrode so that a ridge at the electrode's bond line can be avoided.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Bernard North

Tantalum and Niobium

Tantalum and Niobium are important components in the composition of carbide tools. They are also among the most expensive. This article explores how recent trends in metalcutting and tool usage will effect the supply of these two components.

Articles • April 1, 1998 • Christopher Wilkens

Wire EDM Filtration Comes of Age

Centralized mineral filtration for wire-EDM dielectric fluid can remove contaminants down to the 1-micron level and dispose of them in an environmentally responsible way. This article describes the mineral filtration process and compares it to the other common filtration methods.

Articles • March 1, 1998 • William Sluhan

The Good, the Bad and the Smelly

The presence of bacteria and fungi can seriously compromise the effectiveness of metalworking fluids. This article looks at the most harmful microbes and the conditions that allow them to flourish. Preventive measures are also discussed.

Articles • February 1, 1998 • John Earnhardt

Hot Properties

The benefits of TiN and TiCN coatings are list in high-temperature applications such as the machining of exotic metals. TiAlN coatings, on the other hand, perform better at higher temperatures. This article describes the properties of TiAlN that make it the coating to use with high-temperature work. The article also reviews specific applications where shops have used TiAlN to increase tool life and productivity.

Articles • February 1, 1998 • Jeff Fox

Stop Drill Breakage

Several factors influence the effectiveness of a drilling operation. This article looks at a number of them, including coolant delivery, speeds and feeds, and tool selection.

Articles • February 1, 1998 • Christer Larsson

Optimizing Deep-Hole Drilling

Drilling with a single- or double-tube system might be the most efficient way to drill deep holes in some applications. This article, which describes the tools and the process, says tubular drilling can pay for itself in higher productivity, thriftier manufacturing and tighter tolerances.

Articles • February 1, 1998 • S. Chatterjee

What Makes Diamond Coatings Work?

Researchers studying the performance of diamond coatings have found a number of factors of the coating process that determine the ultimate success of the coating. This article looks at factors such as substrate preparation, stresses in the coating and substrate and the diamond coating's formation patterns.