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November, 2005
Editorial
Good planning can drive heat away from the shop
Features
in this month's issue of AMERICAN MACHINIST address two forms of heat: The internal
heat that comes from machines operating at full tilt, and the external heat
that comes from...
Features
Hot Shots
Thermal images capture potential equipment failures before they cause production
shutdowns.
Creating a 'culture of safety'
Regulations and procedures are not enough if workers don't buy into the program.
Drilling crankshafts a whole lot better
Machining system improves oil-hole precision and optimizes crankshaft manufacturing.
Manufacturing growth and competition heating up in 2006
Need for increased efficiency and productivity improvements emphasized.
Tech Trends
Grinder tool-measurement system
CNC tool and cutter grinder machine manufacturer Anca has developed a compact
tool-measurement system that the company says gives machine operators a detailed
look at tools while they are...
Hard, lightweight metal composite on the horizon
A London-based company has filed a patent application for a new metal-matrix
composite that combines aluminum, titanium and carbon to produce a strong and
hard metal with increased wear...
Software accelerates development
GE Fanuc Automation Americas Inc., Charlottesville, Va., has released a new
version of software that the company says streamlines and unifies its manufacturing
controls.
Solid August tool consumption
After
a minor dip in July, U.S. machine tool consumption for August increased according
to the United States Machine Tool Consumption report from The American Machine
Tool Distributors'...
Vacuum heat treating eliminates distortion
Solar Atmospheres of Souderton, Pa., says its vacuum heat treating process
helps to eliminate distortions caused by oil quenching heat-treated metal parts,
while matching stringent heat...
Cutting Tool Digest
Abrasives company vp
David Boatwright has been named vice president and controller of Even Cut Abrasive
Co., Cleveland, and Even Cut Abrasive Canada Ltd.
Adjustable fine-boring system
The
Romicron fine-boring system from Romi Machine Tools Ltd, Erlanger, Ky., permits
graduated dial adjustments of 1 micron on the tool radius without removing the
tool from the machine.
Collet indexers
Single and dual-axis collet indexers from Troyke Manufacuring Co., Cincinnati,
incorporate pneumatic collet closers with up to four spindles and 0-rpm to 50-rpm
speed range.
Compact rod actuators
Type
Cres high-thrust rod actuators from THK America Inc., Shaumburg, Ill., have
maximum strokes of 130 mm and work well in nontraditional applications including
positioning systems,...
Controllers for multiple safety devices
The
UE 100 series — UE 440/470 — configurable mid-range safety controllers
from Sick Inc., Minneapolis, are for implementation of multiple safety devices
such as light...
Cutters for holemaking
Copperhead
annular cutters from Hougen Manufacturing Inc., Flint, Mich., have carbide-tip
cutting edges brazed onto a steel body for wear resistance when drilling hard
alloys or abrasive...
Milling tools
Helido490
and Helido845 tools from Iscar Metals Inc., Arlington, Texas, join the company's
Helimill line of milling tools.
Modular toolholding system
Sandvik
Coromant designed its Capto polygon-shaped modular tooling system for use with
turning and milling centers, and machining centers.
Solid-carbide tool catalog
A catalog
from Metal Removal, Augusta, Ga, highlights solidcarbideend mills, conventional
and high-performance drills, reamers and burs.
Three-jaw grippers
DTE and DTH three-jaw grippers from Robohand, Michigan Heights, Mich., are
for machining and grinding.
Turning grade for steels
Kennametal
Inc. says its turning grade KC9105 can machine most steels at up to 40 percent
higher speeds.
Government Matters
Wassenaar Failure
The Coordinating Committee on Export Controls, known as "CoCom," was a creature
of the Cold War.
Machine of the Month
Production-ready grinding platform
Any number of turnkey applications start with the Accura Technics 1210G grinder.
Law and Liability
Machine maker not liable for injury
On June 11, 2001, Linda Thompson was injured while operating a circuitboard
laminating machine for Sheldahl Inc., a Minnesota manufacturer.
Casebooks
CBN turns up brakedisc production
While its ceramic inserts cut at nearly 4,000 sfm, Prazisions-Brems-Scheiben
(PBS) GmbH of Lemgo, Germany, could not ignore the possibility of upping that
speed to 6,550 sfm using CBN...
Inserts do it the hardfacing way
Cleveland Hard Facing (CHF) Inc., a full-service hardfacing and machining shop,
specializes in wear, corrosion and heat-resistant overlays, graphite oxidation
prevention, refractory tubes...
Laser scanning in space
NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely from its recent mission thanks
in part to laser scanning and beam-positioning technology from General Scanning,
a member of the GSI Group of...
Lathes prove special in secondary work
Living up to its namesake, Advanced Secondaries, Inc., performs secondary drilling,
tapping and turning operations to make specials from standard screw machine
or coldheaded parts.
Software takes off at aircraft-tool shop
With its old shop-management software, Magnavon Industries Inc. had to painstakingly
navigate through nine steps, each of which involved that many separate screens,
reports and approvals to...
New Equipment
Abrasive blaster provides consistent surface prep
Guyson
Corp. of U.S.A. says its new Model RSSA-8 rotary blast system permits more consistent
surface preparation than manual blasting systems.
Built-in power boost for vise
The
built-in power intensifier of Posi Lock Puller Inc.'s MVP5 vise produces up
to 6,000 pounds of clamping force with shop air and eliminates add-on power
sources.
Collet chucks improve machine parameters
Command Tooling Systems says a recessed nosepiece design gives its DR (ER) 32 Shorty
collet chucks short projections that improve machining parameters for small
vertical machining centers...
DRO sports LCD
Acu-Rite
Companies Inc. has developed a digital-readout system that uses clear liquid
crystal displays to replace LED or VFD displays.
Easy-to-use measuring system
Mahr
Federal Inc. has developed a portable measurement gage that the company says
can be used to determine roundness, flatness, concentricity and axial run-out
on the shop floor.
Expanding collets
Econo-Loc
expanding collets from Rovi Products Inc. hold parts internally when there are
no collet fixtures or actuators for lathes or mills.
Finishing tools for steel
Rex-Cut
Products Inc. says its Rex-Cut Double-Cut carbide burs remove exit burs from
drilled holes on stainless steel, high nickel alloys, common steel tubing and
cast iron pipe.
Good finishes from inserts
Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corp has developed end mills and face mills that
the company says are designed to provide good wall finishes and high squareness
during shouldering or slotting...
Grind and turn gear shafts
United
Grinding Technologies Inc. is offering a new series of cylindrical grinders
for hard turning and grinding of shaft and chucked parts such as gear shafts,
camshafts and turbocharger...
HMCs provide quick feed rates
Toyoda
Machinery USA is now offering horizontal machining centers that the company
says provide the cutting power of a boxway machine with 20 percent quicker feedrates.
Independent axes make multitask machine
Tong-Tai
Seiki U.S.A Inc.'s parent company — Ton-Tai (Topper) — introduced
a multi-tasking machining center at the TIMTOS-05 trade show in Taiwan in late
August.
Mid-power lasers do fine cutting
A new
family of compact, midpower, industrial lasers from GSI Group Inc. is designed
to handle fine-cutting applications and highprecision welding.
Mills feature live spindles
Giddings
& Lewis has introduced a new line of floortype,-horizontal boring mills
that have live spindles for drilling and tapping and extended reach for boring
operations.
Size drill bits and fasteners
Intromark
Inc. says the Easy Gauge can be used to accurately size drill bits. The tool
is semicircular in shape, and features a cutout arch to size tools in millimeters
or inches.
Soft brick vise
Stevens
Engineering Inc. has developed a soft-jaw vise that eliminates the need for
changing vise jaws.
Turning inserts tackle steel
Kennametal
Inc. has developed new tool insert materials for tackling high-performance finish
turning to medium machining of steel workpieces, such as carbon, alloy and tool
steels, as...
Twin-spindle VMC
Chiron
America Inc. has introduced a twin-spindle vertical machining center that features
an 800-mm trunnion bridge plate with a 450-mm swing circle.
Vises sport quick-change systems
Jergens
Inc.'s BallLock baseproduction vises feature the BallLock mounting system built
into the vise base for quick changeovers.
Practical Ideas
Formula taps into drill sizes
I quickly calculate proper tap-drill diameters using this simple formula. Tap-drill
diameter equals nominal diameter minus thread pitch.
Gage-holder idea is a go
I
often have trouble keeping track of precision go/no-go pin gages for sizing
holes during production.
Pick the winning Practical Idea!
Select the best Practical Idea in this issue by logging on to the associated
URL.
Retrospective
