Peter Zelinski Editor-in-Chief

Holemaking 15 Dec 2002

A Boring System For Non-Round Holes

Machining an out-of-round bore is easy if you're not particular about the location or magnitude of the roundness error. But accurately machining a hole that has a precisely defined non-round profile is a capability that would seem to be well beyond what a standard boring bar can accomplish.

Lean Manufacturing 15 Dec 2002

The Post-Machine-Shop Process

Making the transition from batch production to a build-to-order strategy meant removing the kinds of barriers that separated machining from the rest of manufacturing.

1 Dec 2002

Hidden Costs Vs. The Invisible Hand

With the United States losing manufacturing work to suppliers in other countries, some see government support as a means to halt the outflow. Certainly government can play a role.

Inspection and Measurement 1 Nov 2002

Tight Tolerances And Trial Runs

This contract shop is committed to difficult jobs. The shop often takes on a job without knowing how the part will be made.

1 Nov 2002

Industrial Towns

Cincinnati is a city of hills and valleys. Thanks to elevation changes, a small and simple city park can offer a stunning view of the city below.

1 Oct 2002

Welding On A Machining Center

Multiple-process machine tools generally combine two or more processes for metal removal. A lathe may have milling capability, or a machining center may perform grinding. But what about combining metal removal and metal joining in one machine? A process called 'friction stir welding' permits exactly that.

1 Oct 2002

Beyond Tweaking

When vertical machining centers took the place of manual machines in short-run production, some of the machining knowledge that used to be applied at the machine tool began to be applied somewhere else—at a programmer's desk. Now, with horizontal machining centers replacing VMCs for many of these same applications, another relocation of process knowledge is taking place.

Cutting Tools 15 Sep 2002

New Borders For Swiss-Type Turning

The traditional niche may be too narrow. This shop uses sliding-headstock lathes for jobs that wouldn't normally be run on this type of machine.

1 Sep 2002

To Honor The Day

If it's early September when you're reading this, then I am in Chicago. The International Manufacturing Technology Show—IMTS—is held during the first half of September in every even-numbered year.

Automation 1 Aug 2002

Get Fat—In A Good Way

A shop's next big improvement in efficiency or capabilities may require the kind of understanding that can only come from personal investigation, or from experimentation. New automation, for example, may require new operator procedures to be proven out.

CNC & Machine Controls 15 Jul 2002

DNC With A Direction

A small shopfloor network lays the groundwork for large-scale, low-cost DNC throughout a major manufacturing facility.

Titanium Machining 1 Jul 2002

Curvilinear Tool Paths For Pocket Machining

Recognizing the limitations of traditional approaches to pocketing, mathematicians at The Boeing Company have developed a system for generating tool paths that are better suited to pocketing at high feed rates. The same tool paths have demonstrated their usefulness at lower feed rates as well.