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March, 2005
Editorial
Big Three automakers strike out
We commonly refer to General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler as the Big Three. But times are changing and this term may be inappropriate in the months ahead. Once considered the giants of the...
Features
Why Wait to Automate?
Machine tools packing factory automation are on the shop floor in days not years.
Tech Trends
2004 all about the robots
Last year was good for the robotics industry as North American manufacturing companies purchased 14,838 robots valued at nearly $1 billion in 2004. This was a 20% rise in units over 2003 and the...
GM adopts noncontact inspection technology
General Motors plants worldwide will soon use close-range photogrammetry software to assure specification measurements of automotive tooling equipment. This equipment positions automobile components...
Materials have magnetic appeal
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Florida State University are working on a new process to create steel that is lighter, stronger, and more flexible...
Self navigating truck nears the starting line
A manufacturer of specialty trucks has teamed with a company that makes aviation autopilot systems in an attempt to win this year's DARPA Grand Challenge— and a $2 million prize. Oshkosh Truck...
The search for America's most skilled workers
A shoe company has launched a search for America's Master Tradesmen. In celebration of its 100th anniversary, Minnesotabased Red Wing Shoe Co. will recognize 100 American workers demonstrating high...
Cutting Tool Digest
Capscrew counterbores
Carbide-tipped capscrew counterbores have heattreated alloy-steel straight shanks with integral pilots and come in material-specific carbide grades. The pilots come in nominal screw-body diameters...
Grades/geometry tackle cast iron
Sandvik Coromant has three new insert grades and a new cutting geometry for cast-iron turning. The GC3205 grade is for high-speed machining of grey cast iron, GC3210 for high-speed machining of...
Manual/hydraulic vises
Double-station HDL vises from Kurt have a quick-change jaw feature and a 4-in. hard-jaw opening for each clamping station. The vises come with machinable aluminum, cast iron, or hard jaws and easily...
Business Trends
Okuma companies merging management
Japan's Okuma Corp., Okuma & Howa Machinery Ltd., and Okuma Engineering Co. Ltd. are combining managements into one holding company, Okuma Holdings.
Toyota Motor affiliates to merge
Toyoda Machine Works, Kariya, Japan, parent of Illinois-based Toyoda Machinery USA, is merging with Koyo Seiko, Osaka, Japan. Both are affiliates of Toyota Motor Corp. and are combining to take on...
Machine of the Month
Configurable horizontal boring mill fits the bill
Giddings & Lewis Machine Tools Fond du Lac, Wis. glmachinetools.com
Bits & Bytes
Connecting machine tools
Both Embedded e-DNC Hub and e-DNC Explorer enhance machine tool communications. The e-DNC Hub device connects machine tools to local area networks (LAN) or the Internet for uploading and downloading...
Data-management software
MeasurLink Version 6.0 global data-management software incorporates special industry features including real-time 3Dgraphical part representation, a Windows XP-style tool bar, and Crystal report...
Downloadable viewing
JT2Go, a set of no-cost 3D-viewing products for companies to globally share detailed 3D product and manufacturing data using a lightweight JT format, is now downloadable to any desktop by visiting...
Sheetmetal software
BlankWorks 3.0 software gives SolidWorks users an embedded application for determining accurate 2D-blank shapes for complex 3D sheetmetal stampings. Shops gain a competitive advantage during...
Software serves higher learning
Noted for its design curriculums, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in Preston, U.K., is exclusively running VX CAD/CAM software on 15 high-end HP computers in its new CAD-design suite....
Law and Liability
Denying benefits subverts law
Juana Sandoval Palacias was injured on the job while working for Continental Pet Technologies Inc. in Georgia. She had been in the United States illegally since 1994 and worked full time for...
Machine disassembly/reassembly is not design
While John A. Brough was operating a BC-3 blow-molding machine at the Owens-Brockway Plastic Products Inc. bottle-processing plant in Kansas City, the machine malfunctioned and crushed his left arm.
Making healthcare coverage less onerous
By Dr. Paul Freedenberg Vice President Government Relations AMT—The Association For Manufacturing Technology
Casebooks
Controls make old grinders new
It was time to rebuild aging grinders at Timken's Rutherfordton, N.C., plant. Machine controls were dated, programming code was cumbersome, experienced service suppliers were few and far between, and...
Shop blows through tank measuring
Kautex in Avilla, Ind., manufactures plastic fueltanksystems, automotive clearvision systems, blow-molded functional components, modular fluid-management systems, and fuelfiller assemblies. The...
Shop goes printless
Middleton Machining and Welding (MMW) often takes on parts that are tough to machine and, in some cases, impossible to produce without the surfacing capabilities of CAM software. The Middleton, Wis.,...
Shop relies on bandsaw-blade performance
Production Job Services (PJS) refers to itself as 100% Starrett. That's because the Brookfield, Wis., shop runs nothing but Starrett bandsaw blades for its cut-to-order operations, and has done so...
New Equipment
Added functions in software
Additional functions to GibbsCAM 2005 CAM software include feature drilling for smart depths and clearances, profiler support for drilling, user-controlled entries and exits in contouring and...
Calibration system for rotary tables
Optodyne's system for calibrating rotary tables and 5-axis machines' A, B, and C rotary axes reportedly provides high accuracy and consistency and reduces machine downtime. A programmable motorized...
Control for higher performance
The Sinumerik 840D NCU 573.5 reportedly provides about 160% higher numericalcontrol performance, 300% PLC performance, and more CNC user memory combined with an integrated PLC 317-2DP. At maximum,...
Delivering high speed
The Okuma & Howa Millac Series 44V machining center has a silent ballscrew with center cooling and an advanced hybrid lubrication system that delivers 1,417-ipm (36,000 mm/min) rapid traverse and...
Drill shape improves hole quality
The CoroDrill 880 uses Step Technology that provides balanced cutting force for improved productivity and hole quality. It has a shaped centerinsert with four cutting edges and wiper geometry to hold...
Economical VMC
Compared with previous models, the VC Nexus 410A VMC's electric-power consumption during standby is 20% less, its air consumption 32% less, and waste oil is 57% less thanks to an automatic...
Enclosed dual-column saw
The C-3350NC saw features an enclosed cabinet that keeps chips and cutting fluid contained during highspeed operations and 21-in.-diameter band wheels mounted on dual columns that improve stability....
Flute mills for deep cuts
ValMill V595 extended-flute end mills provide long options. Their multiple deep-cutting inserts rough and finish grooves, slots, and cavity side walls, along with other peripheral and end-milling...
Grinder for internal and external work
Studer S33 1000 universal cylindrical grinders address internal and external applications on single-machine platforms. Center heights are 6.89 in. (175 mm) and between centers grinding lengths are...
High-speed wire EDM
Charmilles has increased the ignition voltage and tripled maximum amplitude for the generator of its Robofil 440cc wire EDM. The digital CC generator protects workpieces from electrolytic effects....
Lathe motor attached to tool
The NL2500Y lathe features a milling motor inside a turret directly connected to milling tools. Reportedly this reduces tool-spindleacceleration time by two-thirds and diminishes vibration and noise...
Machinable artwork
As an add-on to Mastercam Mill or Router, Mastercam Art lets users create 3D sculpted images from 2D artwork. Input can range from fully developed CAD models to artwork scanned from a napkin. A suite...
Maintain waterjet standoff height
The Dyanamic Contour Follower (DCF) component for abrasivewaterjet systems automatically sets and tracks stand-off distances between mixing tube tips and materials being cut. It is well-suited for...
Rough and finish in one
Finishred end mills Fast Metal Removal (F.M.R.) design does roughing and finishing applications in the same process. They are suitable for all types of steel as well as titanium, Inconel, and...
Toolholding without changes
Slim-Fit toolholders provide shrinkfit or collet-style holding without changing toolholders. They are drawbar-style holders with extra power for quick changes between collets, collet extensions, and...
VMC control options
For all of its VMCs, Fadal offers three standard CNC options — the Fadal 104/D digital, the GE Series 18i MB5, and Siemens Sinumerik 840D for high-speed moldmaking.
VMC for moldmaking
Haas' moldmaking VM-2 VMC packs a 12,000-rpm, 40-taper spindle with an inline, direct-drive system that connects it directly to the motor. This results in less vibration, heat, and noise as compared...
VMC handles long workpieces
The VM3 VMC is a 50-in., X-travel machine suitable for manufacturing long parts. It comes with a 40-taper, 8,000-rpm spindle and a 16-pocket, swing-arm ATC. Its Hurco Max control lets operators...
Waterjet machining
Of the two JetMachining waterjet centers, the 2652 and 2626XP, the 2652 is a basic workhorse model compact enough for a small job shops. It cuts standard-size sheets of steel and aluminum.
Practical Ideas
Grooving manually
I machine grooves and undercuts in bored parts on a manual mill using a standard boring head. To accomplish this, I locate the machine spindle at the bore's centerline, set X and Y as zero, and...
Painting over part imperfections
My idea takes the warp out of thin plates for grinding them flat. When the warp is more than 0.001 in., I place shims under the plate. But when it's less, I use a paint marker.
Retrospective
Brightening up office decor
The March 16, 1904, issue detailed an "alleged new and wonderful invention which will take dictation and automatically write out the matter which has been dictated." The editors were concerned that...
Excavating the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was the subject of an unusually large meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The meeting, which editors described in the March 9, 1905, issue, included an address...
