Milling

As someone who visits job shops and manufacturers almost daily, I know why some are thriving, while others struggle. The ones that are thriving have invested and continue to invest in equipment, software, training and consulting services. Those struggling often say, "I would invest more in these areas, but I can't afford them because my competitors keep underbidding me. They must be giving parts away."r More often than not, owners of thriving shops are not underbidding their competitors -- they're out-machining them. They are taking full advantage of all the competitive benefits made available by their machining systems and advice from consultants to operate more profitably. In short, they've learned to pick the low-hanging fruit available to them and reinvest their profits to bring even higher fruit within easier reach.

Imagine a gear milling method where the toolpath -- not the tool shape -- determines gear characteristics such as diametral pitch or pressure angle. A new concept, involute milling, provides that functionality while delivering machining efficiency and production versatility. The result is a "democratization" of gear milling, moving the process from single-purpose, dedicated machine tools to multipurpose machines that can produce small batches economically because no costly hobs or gashers are needed.