General Shop Equipment & Supplies

This brief video report features a Mitsui Seiki USA Inc.'s 5-axis trunnion-style machine producing an aerospace part as well as a MAG NBV 700 5X 5-axis machine trochoidal milling a titanium blisk.

In this 38th episode of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine's Grinding Doc Video Series, host Dr. Jeffrey Badger helps a shop deal with the brown, yellow and blue marks that keep appearing on an unground surface. He addresses the difference between oxidation burn, or rust, and genuine thermal damage.

Tim St. Martin knew there had to be a better way of fixturing parts on his company's 5-axis machine tools. "We'd visited some of our suppliers and saw how they were holding parts on their 5-axis machines," said the senior manager of manufacturing engineering for Carlsbad, Calif.-based orthopedic implant manufacturer Alphatec Spine Inc. "They were mounting the blanks into a 'picture frame' and then screwing that frame to a tombstone-mounted fixture. This basically limited access to one side of the workpiece per operation. Many in our company thought we should hold them the same way."

High-performance cutting tools can provide increased efficiency and productivity, but they can also be a drain on tooling budgets. Cost-justifying these tools often requires regrinding and reconditioning them when they are worn or damaged. A successful reconditioning program reduces tooling costs by extending life as long as possible.

Continuing and concluding the theme of my previous two columns, this month's installment provides additional tips for enhancing the operation of a manual milling machine.

Prevent sealed bearings from overheating in a live tooling head. A live tooling head with coolant-fed bearings.

Enhance PCD cutting tool design while decreasing processing times. SOLUTION: A 6-axis rotary erosion machine.

Over the past few months, I've experienced an increasing number of friends, acquaintances and even referred strangers hitting me up for jobs. Most ask about employment opportunities for their kids, dad, brother or even neighbor.

Milling sounds range from loud to quiet, and experienced machinists often use those sounds to judge what is occurring in the cutting zone. It is difficult to position a sensor such as an accelerometer or a displacement probe close to the cutting zone, and it is often a challenge to see the cutting zone, but the sounds are pervasive.

A model-based design and verification method for reducing the time to build complex vehicles and aircraft.

When I read about The Brookings Institution's proposal to develop 20 U.S. manufacturing universities, my first thought was "what will the mascots be for the football teams?" Purdue already has the time-honored "Boilermakers" moniker but what about the others? Would they be the Michigan Machinists, the Caltech CAD/CAMs, the Lehigh Lasers or, maybe, the Fightin' Facemills?

Drilling cross-holes in some parts is no big deal. These are often simple parts, such as aluminum valve bodies, where the holes aren't too deep and meet on-center, and the customer can live with a small burr at the intersection.