Basics

CAD/CAM 15 Feb 2000

Making Sense Of Model Data

Designs often arrive incomplete downstream. There may be no changing that. But these tools can reduce the amount of time spent on reworking customer models.

Basics 5 Feb 2000

Taking Steps To Improve Your Processes

Most of us recognize there is room for improvement in the way we do things. We would like to introduce these improvements, but unfortunately, with the daily pressures of meeting deadlines and doing whatever it takes to satisfy our customers, we just do not have the time.

Basics 15 Oct 1999

Tooling Tips For High Productivity Milling

Today's machining centers feature higher spindle speeds and feed rates, but if you want to push this capability to the limit, there are some tooling considerations that must be addressed.

Basics 2 Jul 1999

To Surf, Or Not To Surf?

Do you know someone who's convinced that the Web is the answer to all ills, that it will replace telephones, magazines, newspapers, television and CNC programmers by the end of this summer? Do you also know someone that thinks the Internet is absolutely, positively the most useless waste of resources since the 8-track tape? As for me, the answer to both questions is yes. But just as surely as these two types of folks have me scratching my head, they also bring up today's great question for shop owners and managers, regardless of where they stand in the Internet debate: Should I provide Web access to the shop floor? On the one hand, some managers believe that teaching shop floor personnel how to use the Web responsibly is going to expose them to an enormous amount of useful technical and commercial content.

CAD/CAM 1 Jul 1999

Understanding NURBS Interpolation

The right way to program curves? A solution to yesterday's problems? The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Inspection and Measurement 1 Jun 1999

Never Forget The Basics

We spend a lot of time in this column discussing sophisticated gages and out-of-the-ordinary applications—so much so, that perhaps we've lately been neglecting the basics. After all, the fanciest electronics, computers and software won't deliver accurate results if good gaging practice is absent.

Basics 15 Mar 1999

Surface Finish: A Machinist's Tool. A Design Necessity.

Simple "roughness" measurements remain useful in the increasingly stringent world of surface finish specifications. Here's a look at why surface measurement is important and how to use sophisticated portable gages to perform inspections on the shop floor.