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October, 2004
Editorial
Political intervention can be devastating
In this election year, there are plenty of U.S. politicians criticizing the present administration and corporate America for the loss of manufacturing jobs. I think that's a bit hypocritical...
Features
What's Ahead For CAD/CAM?
Continued integration among CAD, CAM, and CNC software will make tomorrow's machine tools smarter, faster, and more accurate.
Tech Trends
Intelligent grinding process learns to do it right
Researchers at Purdue University are working with industry to develop an intelligent system that improves precision-grinding processes. The system could save U.S. companies $1 billion annually in...
Metal deposition repairs critical parts
Extending the life of aging aircraft, combat vehicles, artillery, and small arms for the Department of Defense (DoD) requires sophisticated repair and overhaul techniques. A costeffective solution to...
Shot heard round the world
Said to be the world's first electron-beam machine (EBM), the PF32A from Sodick Co. Ltd., Schaumburg, Ill., applies mirror finishes in a short time to part surfaces, especially those on molds and...
Cutting Tool Digest
Chamfering solutions and new drill grade
Kennametal has introduced new chamfering rings, a spotting drill with built-in chamfering capabilities, and grade KC7315 for its KSEM modular drills. The chamfering rings and spotting drills allow...
Coated end mills
Vega Tool Corp.'s line of Hitachi end mills has a nano-crystal CS coating that reportedly improves lubricity without compromising hardness for good surface finishes and long life. In carbon-steel...
Copy-mill catalog
An eight-page, four-color catalog provides comprehensive technical information on ValMill V500 copy mills. The catalog presents drawings and specification tables for end-mill and face-mill-cutter...
Internal-thread mills
Emuge's line of Threads-All indexable-insert thread mills is for producing internal threads on CNC machining centers. Threads-All mills have hardened CNC-ground tool-steel bodies with Weldon-style...
Modular-tool-system catalog
A full-color catalog from BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling highlights the company's precision face-milling tools, 112.200 boring heads, and back-boring insert-holder program. The 108-pg catalog, number...
Source for P/M information
Information Handling Services (IHS), a provider of technical codes, standards, and product specifications and the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) are partnering to distribute powder...
Government Matters
What's the best course on China's currency?
China's currency continues to pose problems to the U.S. economy. Last month a group known as the "China Currency Coalition" filed a Section 301 petition with the U.S. government, charging that the...
Machine of the Month
Modular machines handle mass production
Designed on a common platform for mass production of compact workpieces, Mori Seiki's NX series features horizontal and vertical machining centers and a turning center.
Bits & Bytes
A view to a CAD model
With Delcam's free CAD viewer — users see but can't change — CAD models in all major formats, including Catia versions 4 and 5, Pro/Engineer 2001 and Wildfire, SDRC, Unigraphics,...
CNC makes for efficient machining
Kimray Inc. in Oklahoma City manufactures control valves and related equipment for oil and gas-producing companies. It reports a 40% to 50% increase in machining efficiency due largely to CNC-based...
PC-based CNC
The S-120M is a high-end, PC-based CNC that controls up to eight axes, including four CNC axes, PLC axes, and a spindle. The product features a 1,000-block/sec processing time and what's described as...
Software delivers the look of metal
A long with other enhancements, MachineWorks V6.1 incorporates OpenGL rendering for a realistic metallic effect within its animations. With this simulation-andverification software, users add...
Windows XP-certified software
SMGlobal's FastMaint computerized maintenance-management-solution (CMMS) software version 4.1 has successfully completed Microsoft's Verified for Windows XP-certification test, confirming that it...
Law and Liability
Client not responsible for test injury
Charles Labatut worked as a welder for Pax Cryogenics Systems Inc., a steel-fabrication yard specializing in fabricating process-piping skids for the industrial gas market. In the spring of 1998,...
Workers' comp is sole remedy for estate of statutory employee
Milliken & Co. hired Sanders Brothers Inc., a mechanical contracting firm, to provide workers to assist Milliken employees on machinery maintenance and installation projects in its dye package...
Casebooks
Dual vises put the squeeze on setup problems
Postioning and clamping hammer dies weighing as much as 1,500 lb and measuring up to 24 3 26 3 12 in. is no easy task. That's why Impact Forge Inc. of Columbus, Ind., incorporates a twin-vise setup...
Lighting system brightens energy-cost outlook
Orion Energy Systems wants American manufacturers to replace their legacy electric lighting, known as High Intensity Discharge (HID), with Orion's Illuminator Series lighting. According to the...
Production center eliminates setup time
For an axle-flange drilling project, Kira America incorporated simple modifications to a standard CNC machine and supplied its manufacturing customer with zero setup times for 19 different forgings...
Software streamlines enclosure designing
For one air-handling-system manufacturer, automated software that works in conjunction with AutoCAD reduces system-enclosure design time 60%, improves manufacturing quality, and lets the shop handle...
System keeps hose damage from taking off
At a large German airplane refitter, most of the operations involved in converting passenger planes into cargo carriers is done with compressed-air-powered tools, for instance, wrenches and drills....
New Equipment
90° corner milling
Univex Premium square-shoulder mills have high positive geometries and unequal pitches for smooth performance and accurate 90° corner milling. They feature nickel-plated bodies and...
Accurate HMCs
FH-R Series HMCs come with a 50-taper, 6,000-rpm spindle. They are boxway machines with hand-scraped guideways. Dual ballscrews and drives in each axis generate high-acceleration rates up to 1,890...
Additional accessories for lathe
An optional subspindle and X-axis linear glass scales are available for the Elite 8/51 lathe. It sports a 2-in. capacity, 20C collet-ready spindle. The lathe's base weight has increased more than...
Additions to micro-drill line
Solid-carbide Sphinx micro-drill line now includes sizes from 0.039 to 0.078 in. in 0.00039-in. increments. Tolerance ranges are +0/0.0016 in. The tools feature a reinforced shank and come in...
Cross-slides spotlighted on lathe
The OL-1 Office lathe's high-speed cross-slide accepts various gang-style tools and features X and Z-axis travels measuring 8 3 8 in. Reportedly, the cross-slide makes for quick setups and...
Cutters prevent step generation
Xtra-tec F4041 shoulder-milling cutters include rhombic indexable inserts with four positive-cutting edges and precise 90° approach angles. The cutters feature inserts with extreme spirals, and...
Drill and chamfer in one operation
The manufacturer of sumiChamfer systems tooling claims the collar that fits around its carbide drills help them drill and chamfer in one operation. Tool inserts yield two indexes and come with or...
EDM rotary tables
Jauch & Schmider CNC rotary tables from Koma Precision add one, two, or three axes to EDM machines. They are fully submergible and come in standard and application-specific, multi-axis...
Grinder wipes away metal
The molecular-decomposition-process (MDP) grinder removes metal with a combination of electric current, special electrolytes, and abrasives. The electric current flows through the electrolyte between...
HMC highlights chip removal
A heavy-duty, one-piece waycover protects the Bluestar 5 HMC's ways and linear scales from chip contamination, while two spiral conveyors double chip-removal capacity. The machine comes with a...
Indexer control handles brush/brushless motors
The digital servo control of the 5C indexer supports brush and brushless-motor indexers from Hardinge and other manufacturers. The control has an intelligent power module that operates coolly and...
Large tools added
Tools with diameters up to 3.9 in. are now in the CoroMill 210 line for plunge and high-feed face milling. When feeding the tools tangentially, 10° entering angles permit extreme feedrates at...
Laser markers
TLM 500 E Series diode-pumped, solid-state, lasermarking systems use CW/Q-switched Nd:YAG end-pumped lasers with remote, fiber-coupled light sources. Average diode life is more than 15,000 working...
Less noise and vibration with toolholder
VC toolholders deliver high accuracy (runout within 0.00012 in. at 4 3 diameter) and precise finishes, and their slim and smooth profiles lessen noise from high-speed rotation and air current created...
No-jaw-lift chucks
Kitagawa's DL Series dual-lock power chucks are reportedly the first radial-guideway power chucks with no jaw lifting and Z-axis repeatability near zero. The chucks actuate and clamp parts using...
Practical Ideas
Cutting corners
A standard cornerrounding end mill or ball mill works well for cutting convex or concave radii on workpieces using a manual lathe. After choosing the appropriate cutter, I clamp it in an Aloris-type...
Retrospective
Working on the crane gang
A letter to the editors, entitled "A Workman's Spite," printed in the October 6, 1904, issue, described the writer's recent experience with an old lifting crane that was the source of long-standing...
