Articles
Jan. 2010 Housing Permits Up 8.5%
Housing permits are a key leading indictor for construction machinery industrial production. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, housing permits in January 2010 were 39,400, an increase of 8.5% compared to January 2009.
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High Speed Machining's Origin Moment
An important episode for high speed machining illustrates one of the most underappreciated aspects of the value of manufacturing.
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Modern Machine Shop Blog Goes Live
Our audience is changing—seeking information across a growing range of media.
Read MoreSpindle Probes Can Automate Trial Machining
An often-overlooked use for spindle probes is in trial machining applications. These applications are useful when a setup person is worried that the cutting tool might not machine a tight-tolerance workpiece attribute correctly on the first try. In this case, an adjustment will be made (commonly using an offset) to ensure that excess material will be left on the attribute.
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Let’s Go to the (Automation) Video
While visiting shops to gather info and take photos for stories, I and the other MMS editors also look for neat processes that lend themselves to helpful video.
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Nov. 2009 Air Transport Data
The U.S. Department of Transportation has released its data on air transportation for November 2009. The key metric that I focus on in this release is system revenue passenger miles (SRPM). I focus on SRPM because it is a good leading indicator for aerospace industrial production.
Read MoreOverall Equipment Effectiveness
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is “a key machining performance indicator.” It tells you how well your shop or plant is operating.
Read MoreA Show For Shops With Evolving Roles
Machine shops and mold makers are being asked to play a changing role in product development cycles. An upcoming event highlights strategies shops can apply to become more effective at the rapid manufacturing services their customers need.
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December 2009 Machine Tool Sales
On December 8th, the USMTC released its monthly report on machine tool orders. The report showed that December was by far the best month for machine tool sales in 2009. Both December unit and dollar sales were at their highest level in 2009.
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Dial Down or Dial Up?
Vibration analysis may be the machining center’s missing piece. If you haven’t performed this analysis on your high speed machine, you probably don’t know what the machine can do.
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The Promise of "High Cube" Machining
Tool paths and a new tool design provide an alternative to high speed machining for achieving high metal removal rates in hard metals on lighter-duty machines.
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Economics in One Lesson
Okay…so I can’t teach you economics in one lesson, but the title of this blog post just happens to be the title of one of my favorite books. “Economics in One Lesson” was written by Henry Hazlitt in the mid 1940s.
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