General Shop Equipment & Supplies

Once word got out that PTooling, a self-described small, family-owned machine shop in Amherstburg, Canada, had added a Lasertec 65 3D laser deposition welding and milling machine to its arsenal, major aerospace manufacturers began knocking on its door.

Doug Wetzel, managing director at contract manufacturer Protomatic, Dexter, Mich., is finding business to be slower than he wishes. Like many other U.S. job shops, the 45-year-old company is experiencing a slowdown caused by tumbling oil prices and worldwide political and economic uncertainty. The difference is Wetzel isn't too worried. His advice to fellow manufacturers is to not let market uncertainty paralyze them from seeing a slowdown's silver lining— namely, time to prepare for the inevitable upturn.

F. Zimmermann GmbH has brought its first horizontal machining center onto the market. The new model range is particularly useful for efficient machining of standard components for the aircraft industry. It has two special patented features, applying to pallet handling and the travelling column.

Shape-Master Tool Co. has developed new combinations of PCBN grades and tool coatings for hard turning applications. The coatings are applied specific to each application. Manufacturers have experienced improved cutting performance and tool life.

The NEMI vacuum table is designed to hold parts secure using vacuum. All you do is remove a washer with a magnet or use our auto vacuum valve and place any one of the following on top of the vacuum grid table: a pod, 5/16" round gasketing, 1/4" stand off stock and vacuum pins.

ATS Systems features its Accu-Rock AR 250 model rotary table in this 2-minute video report produced by the Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., company. The video includes an overview of the rotary table and a testimonial from TMX Engineering in Santa Ana, Calif.

General Motors officials are expected to make a "positive plant manufacturing announcement" at the Bay City Powertrain factory this week.

In America's factories, jobs are inevitably disappearing. But despite the political rhetoric, the problem is not mainly globalization. Manufacturing jobs are on the decline in factories around the world.

The new VERO-S WDB clamping technology modular system transfers the efficiency levels of the SCHUNK VERO-S quick-change pallet system specifically to machine directly clamped workpieces. By using clamping pillars with a modular structure, freely molded parts and other workpieces can be clamped directly on the machine table, without the need of additional equipment.

David A. Dornfeld, mechanical engineering professor, founding faculty director of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and a leader at the College of Engineering, died of a heart attack on March 27. He was 66. Dornfeld was a renowned manufacturing expert, widely admired as a teacher and well-regarded as a thoughtful leader.

Carr Lane Roemheld offers a wide range of hydraulic work supports that automatically adjust to the workpiece height, then lock securely to become fixed rests. Available in spring-advanced, fluid-advanced and air-advanced types, these work supports are extremely compact, starting at just 1" diameter, with maximum pressures up to 7,500 psi.

What if your tools could talk to you, providing you with timely information about their status and the conditions they were encountering, as well as tips that enhance your specific application? With Walter's new wear-optimization app, they can.