Turning

Youth skills training for machinists takes place in schools with metalworking programs and in connection with competitions, such as WorldSkills.

The guidelines for turning of tool steels include both tool- and part-making applications.

Eagle Machine Inc., in Abbotsford, B.C., frequently takes on challenging jobs, such as modifying a diving bell for deep-sea submarine rescues or designing and machining a set of solid aluminum wheels for an 800-mph land speed car based on an F-104 jet aircraft. Owner Steve Green said, "People come to us with the craziest things because other people tell them, 'the only place you can go is Eagle Machine.' "

Manufacturing is an energy-intensive activity. The U.S. government estimates that manufacturing consumes about one-third of the energy used in the country, stated Scott Hibbard, vice president of technology for Bosch Rexroth Corp., Hoffman Estates, Ill., in his paper "Six keys to sustainable manufacturing."

Shop Operations column for May 2009 Cutting Tool Engineering

March 2009 Get With The Program column

As the orthopedic implant market grows, manufacturers and shops search for new turning center technology to ensure a competitive edge.

Grooving miniature parts requires a conservative cutting approach and a choice between solid-carbide and insertable tools.

Quality Industries Inc. has always been quick to react to new trends by reinventing itself.

The practice of turning threads on a lathe is well known but oftennot well-understood. Toolmakers offer their recommendations on how todo it the right way. By Bill Kennedy There are nearly as many ways to produce threads as there are types of parts that require them. Threads can be cut with a die, rolled, ground, tapped or milled, using lathes, machining centers or specialized machines. In the video, Frank Battaglia, staff engineer for Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, Pa., provides a couple of pointers regarding the use of shims with laydown threading inserts to achieve optimal results.

Editor's Note: This video report is presented as a supplement to Cutting Tool Engineering's January cover story, "Down-hole, High-tech." The animation from Phillips Engineering Technologies was created to clearly illustrate the operation of a twin-ram vertical turning lathe.

Putting a spin on turning tools results in up to a 2,000 percent increase in tool life and opens the door to new turning techniques.