Machining

Using his students as researchers, an industrial-arts teacher sets up an experiment to test claims being made for tool resharpening using cubic boron nitride wheels. The experiment taught the students how to keep a log of tool conditions, use and sharpenings as they gathered data for their study.

Pipe tapping is one of the more demanding threading operations because taper threads raise alignment, sealing, and tool-load requirements. This guide reviews the tools and techniques used to produce taper pipe threads reliably.

Superabrasive bore finishing can achieve results in one pass that rival the finishes produced in several passes by other bore sizing operations. This article recounts how a number of shops have used superabrasive tools to finish bores with a higher degree of quality and a lower overall cost per piece.

A new cryogenic tool treatment subjects tools to minus-320-degree temperatures by immersing them in a bath of liquid nitrogen. This article details the procedure and offers test results from the laboratory and the field that show how the treatment can extend tool life.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.