Peter Zelinski Editorial Director

12 Dec 2003

Fast Machining With Fewer Tools

Machining centers capable of precise motion at high feed rates can reduce the number of tools it takes to complete a part.

2 Dec 2003

Who Pays?

Government is too big not to play a role in U. S.

1 Nov 2003

What You Don't Know Holds You Back

As you read about the shops profiled in this issue, try looking at their successes through the prism of one word: consistency. Elite Mold focuses on a specific type of work so that it can serve its chosen niche more effectively.

1 Nov 2003

The Difference The Software Makes

Looking back, this shop can see clearly what the clues were that it was time for the software to change.

1 Nov 2003

Basic Math For Ballnose Tools

The ballnose end mill is a special sort of tool. Its ability to mill up and down the contours of complex surfaces makes it invaluable to mold shops and other makers of 3D forms. And yet, the tool is lacking in a capability one might take for granted in other cutters: the ability to machine a flat surface.

15 Oct 2003

Cutting Costs With Cutting Tools: Instead Of Life Or Price, Look To Capability

A shop that wants to win cost savings from its cutting tool purchases is likely to take two factors into account: tool life and tool price. But that approach might be flawed.

1 Oct 2003

You Can Automate More Than You Think

This shop expedites 3D milling work by reducing its dependence on employees for all of the information-related tasks that occur before the machining center can start to cut.

1 Oct 2003

Costs And Consequences

How good is your shop at connecting its purchasing decisions to the operations that those decisions affect? An article this month (Cutting Costs With Cutting Tools: Instead Of Life Or Price, Look To Capability) offers some representative cost figures to illustrate a straightforward point. Namely, tool life and tool price generally do not have a large impact on the cost of machining, but tool capability does.

1 Sep 2003