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Articles
Exploring Niches With New EDM Technologies
A shop specializing in wire EDM for large mold components now offers EDM “turning” of small, intricate parts. Despite the potential risks involved in early adoption of new technologies, the shop believes this practice gives it a leg-up on the competition and lets it gain experience with alternative machining techniques before offering them to customers.
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Integrating Design, Manufacturing Processes
Lack of associativity between this shop’s design and manufacturing software packages led to extra work and a high risk of introducing errors into the process. To address these challenges, the mold manufacturer implemented an end-to-end CAD/CAM package from Cimatron that ensured a seamless workflow and eliminated time-consuming manual operations.
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Shop Aims For G Code
When rising material prices and the weak U.S. dollar contributed to a surge in demand from the mining industry, this manufacturer of rock-crushing equipment knew it had to boost productivity to keep up. Along with extensive support from trusted suppliers and an investment in new machines and cutting tools, the shop pushed the limits of its long-time CAM system to stay ahead of the curve.
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Alternate Tool Material For Hogging Large Workpieces
Shops often use either carbide or high speed steel cutting tools for hogging out the large workpieces common to the aerospace and moldmaking industries. While both materials have their advantages and disadvantages, cutting tool manufacturer Precision Cutting Tools says powder metal combines the best features of both.
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Consider Swiss-Types For Medical Opportunities
Adopting the latest machining technologies is key for shops to accurately and repeatably create medical components. Swiss-style lathes offer a good combination of precision and repeatability for these applications thanks in part to their guide-bushing design, which provides support for the workpieces very close to the cut.
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How to Hone an Atypical Aluminum Alloy
Hypereutectic aluminum used for engine blocks contains silicon particles that must be exposed during cylinder honing. This can be done using a cushioning, elastomer honing tool that allows individual abrasive particles to “bounce” over the silicon particles.
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Programming A Robot The Way You Program A CNC Machine Tool
Programming a robot with the same CAM software used for a multi-axis machine tool makes it unnecessary to “teach” the robot by jogging it manually from point to point and recording these point-to-point moves as the robot’s motion commands. Robotmaster is a software package that provides this CAD/CAM-based, off-line programming for robots. It runs fully integrated inside Mastercam CAM software for CNC machine tools.
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If You Prototype It, They Will Come
For an upcoming article, I recently visited Protofab in Petaluma, California. I wanted to learn how this small job shop got into micro-machining medical implants. It turns out the shop didn’t win this work because it had the right equipment or because it was knowledgeable about machining tiny parts. The equipment a
Read MoreMaking Your Shop Eco-Friendly
A recent of MMS Extra issue asked how shops feel about environmentally conscious machining and carbon-footprint reduction. Dan Goldsmith at Elmira Stamping & Mfg. in Elmira, New York, ( www.elmirastamping.com ) responded by mentioning some of the practical steps that have been taken at his shop to reduce its e
Read MoreCheck Machine Details Before Delivery To Your Shop
When I am interested in writing about a new type of machine tool, I like to visit a shop or plant that has a representative model in place. Getting this user’s perspective is more objective and more relevant than just picking up info from other proponents. Writing the article is more fun, too. So typically, I talk
Read MoreIf The Shoe Fits
Trouble with our feet can be trouble, indeed. Foot problems can make our whole bodies ache. In many cases, if left untreated, these problems can be disabling. James A. Ryan, a doctor of chiropody in Toronto, Ontario, has devoted his professional career to helping people overcome foot problems. Chiropody is the medi
Read MoreMTConnect Moves Ahead
MTConnect is a machine tool communication standard being developed by AMT—The Association For Manufacturing Technology ( www.amtonline.org ). It’s reaching a critical point in its progress. It will soon need some “early adopters” who will embrace the concept, apply it to their products, champion the cause to other
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