General Shop Equipment & Supplies

Shop Operations Columnist Tom Lipton offers additional tips for operating a CNC lathe in the February 2014 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Boost productivity and extend tool life when cutting cast aluminum surgical light housings. A special PCD endmill with laser-machined cutting edges.

Increase flexibility and repeatability when machining high-volume auto parts. A hydraulic stationary clamping system.

Bring outsourced parts in-house that were being milled and machine them on a CNC lathe. A 6-axis turning center equipped with a bar feeder.

Keith Jennings, our Manager's Desk columnist, this month responds to readers asking for tips to increase sales, and, yes, his answer emphasizes the need for a Web presence and social media.

Many machine tool spindles are supported in the housing by rolling-element bearings. Cutting forces, spindle unbalance and spindle preload impose cyclic loads on the bearing's balls and races. Over time, the cyclic loading produces fatigue failure, damaging the surfaces of races and balls. This kind of damage causes vibration and noise, limits bearing life and eventually requires bearing replacement.

A through-spindle and through-tool laser-assisted milling process.

A PCD drill with an internal extraction system for removing workpiece dust when drilling carbon- and glass-fiber composites.

Is it morning in America -- and the world -- for additive manufacturing? That's looking more and more likely. While AM, also known as 3D printing, is well-established as a process for making prototype parts, it's making serious inroads into production -- where the real money is.

By their very nature, horizontal machining centers are among the best friends a shop can have if it hopes to remain agile and competitive in this brave new world of low-volume, high-complexity machining.

With a global commercial aircraft order backlog recently valued at $920 billion, jetliner and jet-engine builders are placing volumes of part orders not seen for many years -- if ever.

High-speed grinding can provide great gains when grinding outside diameters.