General Shop Equipment & Supplies

TCD (Total Cost of Design) and TCM (Total Cost of Manufacturing) are essential factors in maintaining a leading position in high-demand and competitive machine-tool markets worldwide. With one eye on the costs and the other on performance level, most of the machine-tool leaders have switched to the cubic concept, invented and developed by REDEX to enhance axis-drive global solutions.

The latest version of REDEX' MSR TwinDrive dramatically simplifies the mechanical transmission system on large vertical lathes.

OML's new SinterGrip vise jaws from Lexair Inc. put an unbreakable grip on just 3.5mm of material to allow aggressive, 5-axis machining of high-value workpieces with minimal waste material.

TDM Systems presents the new release of its tool data management software, TDM 4.6.

FANUC America Corp. offers a Rechargeable Battery Unit Kit that provides reliable long-term backup power for CNC machines and eliminates the use of disposable batteries; providing a more environmentally-friendly solution.

Thomas W. Malone, a professor at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, suggests in the latest Sandvik Coromant "Looking Ahead" video series that recognizing and rapidly responding to change will be critical to the success of any company in tomorrow's business environment.

Element Six, which consolidated its four R&D centers spread around the world into one 60,000-sq.-ft. facility now known as its Global Innovation Centre in Harwell, U.K., offers a video tour of the new facility.

Coherent Inc. demonstrates its HighLight D-Series direct-diode laser for heat treating.

For the 43rd episode Cutting Tool Engineering magazine's Grinding Doc Video Series, Dr. Jeffrey Badger helps a shop having trouble getting its CBN wheel to open up before it burns the first few hardened steel parts, which then must be scrapped.

Three related manufacturing companies have launched new Web sites. Contour Precision Group, a manufacturer of complex prismatic parts; Huffman LLC, a builder of profile grinding machines, laser powder fusion cladding and welding machines and waterjet machines; and Springfield Manufacturing LLC, a provider of advanced manufacturing solutions, are all based in Clover, S.C.

The Shop Operations column suggests that you should use every tool, trick and option at your disposal to get jobs out the door as quickly as possible because speed and momentum reduce costs when applied to part processing.

Eliminate component degradation on tool grinding machines. Switching to a low-viscosity, cobalt-inhibited, hydrocracked synthetic grinding oil.