Mark Albert Editor Emeritus

Turning Tools 27 Jun 2014

In the Groove for 50 Years

It’s an American success story. In 1964, William and Hazel Kaiser founded a company to produce and market Thinbit, an innovative line of grooving tools. At first, the business operated out of the couple’s attic and garage. Fifty years later, the Kaiser Tool Company’s products continue to help shops such as Mack Tool and Engineering with successful solutions for demanding grooving applications.

20 Jun 2014

Metal Storm Thunders through Sudbury

Methods Machine Tools Inc. hosted its annual open house and mini machine tool show at the company's headquarters in Sudbury, Massachusetts, last week. The highlights of this customer event are here.

Holemaking 16 Jun 2014

Deep Holes with a Difference

Upgrading its deep-hole drilling capability with a Precihole three-axis machine from Absolute Machine Tools made a positive difference in this shop’s part processing, business strategy and customer service.

Data-Driven Manufacturing 6 Jun 2014

Machine Monitoring Proves Its Worth

These three short case histories document the value of implementing a manufacturing execution system for machine monitoring. In each case, MERLIN hardware and software modules from Memex Automation led to productivity gains and improved overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

30 May 2014

Empowering the American Supply Chain

Major U.S. industries such as automotive will face shortages of parts and the production tooling to make them unless American suppliers step up to increase capacity. An expert in online marketplaces suggests strategies that will bolster the supply chain in this country.

20 May 2014

Good Enough Rarely Is

When it comes to acquiring a new machine tool, buying one that is just “good enough” may be short-sighted and disappointing.

CAD/CAM 20 May 2014

Dynamic Motion Moves Past Old Boundaries

The Dynamic Motion option in CNC Software’s Mastercam generates tool paths by following an expansive set of rules that are different from those most CAM software has traditionally followed. The motion of the tool is not defined strictly by boundaries of the area to be machined. Instead, the rules take into consideration not only the area from which metal is to be removed, but also the changing condition of the material throughout the various stages of machining.

Five-Axis 19 May 2014

QFS Keeps Its Customers Moving With Integrated CAD/CAM

Quickly updating tool paths to remachine die surfaces enables this shop to provide short runs of prototype formed sheet metal parts. This fast response to engineering changes and design adjustments helps its customers adhere to tightly scheduled vehicle launch programs. QFS relies on integrated CAD and CAM software to make this happen. In this case, the software of choice are PowerShape and PowerMill from Delcam.

Basics 13 May 2014

Ballbar Basics—Running around in Circles

A ballbar testing system has three main components: the ballbar, a precision magnetic mount that attaches to the machine table, and a second precision magnetic mount that attaches to the machine spindle or spindle housing.

Automation 9 May 2014

These Coolant Videos Are Cool

Haas Automation has created a series of educational videos on proper coolant maintenance. The mix of animated graphics and how-to demos is just right (just like the mix of coolant concentrate and water should be).

Watch

Shop Management Software 2 May 2014

Surprises from Machine Monitoring

When Mazak implemented an MTConnect-enabled machine monitoring system at its machine-tool factory in Florence, Kentucky, the data yielded some surprising results when analyzed. Read about what was discovered here.