Tooling

Facing And Center Drilling Machine

Oil Sealed Vacuum Pump System

Leveraging Little Holes To Lure Additional Work

Not many contract shops can drill a 0.001-inch hole. This one can, and it uses its micro-hole-making capabilities to attract more 'traditional' machining work from its customers.

Making It In Medical Machining

Examining this shop's healthy medical machining business shows that both medical components and medical customers require special care.

An Indexable Insert

The solid end mill is a machine shop staple. Its positive cutting edge removes metal by slicing through the material, rather than by scraping.

Five-Axis Machining When You Want It

This California job shop has managed to demystify the application of five-axis machining. Using a portable trunion attachment on a vertical machining center, five-axis capability can be on the machine or off the machine as the production mix dictates.

Ergonomic Vacuum Lifter Picks Up and Pivots Loads

Mechanical Vacuum Lifter Has No Hooks, Grabs or Magnet

The Technology Of Lean Machining

This plant makes different choices for its machining cells depending on whether the parts to be machined there are known or unknown.

Diaphragm Chucks Break A Bottleneck

Finding a better way to hold the part meant more parts per shift, better tool life and improve surface finish.