Matt Danford Former Senior Editor
Wear Compensation Ensures Accurate Wheel Contours
Profile grinder manufacturer Blohm Jung's GEOID system automatically compensates for wear in diamond dressing tools. By removing variables that require operator attention, the system is said to ease wheel dressing, ensure accurate profiles and extend the service life of dressing tools.
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Cold Clamping For Small, Delicate Parts
Icing plates use the adhesive power of ice to securely clamp parts of virtually limitless shapes and materials for milling and turning operations.
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Getting Credit Where Credit Is Due
Although current economic climate is by no means conducive to securing a lease or loan for a new machine or other equipment, shops with the right plan in place can still obtain the financing they need. One expert offers some advice for manufacturers seeking to obtain equipment financing amid the downturn.
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Multi-Sensor CMM Eases Micro-Measuring
By combining an optical sensor and a touch probe, the F25 CMM from Carl Zeiss enables users to use the same machine platform to perform metrology operations on a variety of miniature parts.
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Software Streamlines First-Part Prove-outs
On-machine part prove-outs can increase costs by tying up valuable manufacturing time and increasing the risk of errors that can damage both the workpiece and the machine itself. With Vericut simulation software from CGTech, this aerospace manufacturer has not only avoided these issues, but also increased confidence to the point where it commonly uses its multi-spindle machines to cut multiple first-run parts simultaneously.
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In-Machine Robot Provides Gantry System Alternative
Fortune International offers its VT series lathes with an integrated robot in place of a tailstock, a configuration that is said to significantly reduce part-changeover time compared with an external gantry robot.
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Tool Storage System Standardizes Setup
Faced with time-consuming setups and tool handling, hydraulic manifold manufacturer Apollo Machinery set out to develop its own compact tool storage and tracking system. In the process, the shop not only increased its own efficiency, but also developed a product that it says could set a standard for CNC machine setup.
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Adjustable Drill Drives Inventory Cost Savings
During a difficult application, the inserts on this shop’s standard IC drill would sporadically fail, causing the entire tool to break down. This required the shop to stock a large inventory of costly replacements in various sizes to fit different-sized holes. Allied Machine and Engineering’s Revolution drill allows the shop to adjust tool diameter and cut holes of different sizes with a single tool, while replaceable insert cartridges on the front end keep insert failure from wrecking the tool itself.
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Frictionless Machining Reduces Heat, Chatter
Friction resulting from moving machine components rubbing together can create vibration and heat buildup, both of which can cause problems during machining operations. One machine from NTC America uses hydrostatic components to eliminate sources of friction for high-precision, small-parts machining.
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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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Clean Fire Suppression Protects Machines, Workers
Machine tool fires can cause unscheduled downtime, or worse, damage to the machine itself and possibly a shop’s facility. In fact, Siemens Building Technologies (Buffalo Grove, Illinois) says that more than 10 percent of all machine tools using non-hydrous coolants will have a fire incident within five years after installation.
Read MoreManufacturing Systems Designed For Continuous Or High-Volume Production
The company offers two manufacturing system design approaches for the automotive industry: Agile Systems and the Global Transfer Line. Agile Systems consist of CNC machines and inter-machine part handling automation, built for production of engine blocks, cylinder heads, transmission cases and other parts using eit
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