Peter Zelinski Editor-in-Chief

Horizontal Machining Centers 16 May 2005

Machining Centers Reconsidered

A stable customer relationship gave this shop the chance to fundamentally change its equipment.

Holemaking 16 May 2005

A Time To Tap, A Time To Mill

Thread milling and tapping are two methods for machining threads in a hole. Tapping is more popular, but thread milling has several advantages that might be important in your application.

2 May 2005

Are Declines In The Dollar The Wages Of Sin?

A tsk-tsk-ing, judgmental tone tends to infect media reports of America's trade deficit, foreign debt and declines in the value of the dollar. Americans consume too much, the story goes.

12 Apr 2005

Beyond Low Bidding

This online marketplace seeks to communicate information instead of brokering transactions. Because the site doesn't use an auction model, low bidders tend not to get the work.

12 Apr 2005

The Off-The-Shelf Alternative

This job shop sees standard products, developed internally, accounting for a growing share of the shop’s business. The latest standard product may be the “big gun” in more ways than one.

12 Apr 2005

CAM Software For Turning With Wiper Inserts

A wiper insert can achieve a smooth finish while turning at a high feed rate, but the insert's complex geometry makes programming accurate tool paths difficult. A CAM company working with a supplier of wiper inserts has addressed this problem.

1 Apr 2005

At The Intersection Of Molds, Manufacturing, And A Smooth And Comfortable Shave

As absurd as it may sound, I think I am going to write a letter or an e-mail to the company that makes my shaving cream. I have some constructive feedback about the design of the container.

Five-Axis 29 Mar 2005

Different Directions In Machining Center Motion

Some machining centers have begun to appear that use resultant motion in less elaborate ways. That is, these machines use the resultant motion of different elements moving in different directions to achieve the motion along X, Y or Z, but they do so within machining center designs that are considerably more like standard machines.