Peter Zelinski Former Editor-in-Chief
The Overhang Effect
The length by which the tool extends from the toolholder is a variable that can be used to 'tune' the machining process. Contrary to what you may expect, increasing the tool's L:D ratio may reduce chatter and result in more productive milling.
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A Boring System For Non-Round Holes
Machining an out-of-round bore is easy if you're not particular about the location or magnitude of the roundness error. But accurately machining a hole that has a precisely defined non-round profile is a capability that would seem to be well beyond what a standard boring bar can accomplish.
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The Post-Machine-Shop Process
Making the transition from batch production to a build-to-order strategy meant removing the kinds of barriers that separated machining from the rest of manufacturing.
Read MoreHidden Costs Vs. The Invisible Hand
With the United States losing manufacturing work to suppliers in other countries, some see government support as a means to halt the outflow. Certainly government can play a role.
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Tight Tolerances And Trial Runs
This contract shop is committed to difficult jobs. The shop often takes on a job without knowing how the part will be made.
Read MoreIndustrial Towns
Cincinnati is a city of hills and valleys. Thanks to elevation changes, a small and simple city park can offer a stunning view of the city below.
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Welding On A Machining Center
Multiple-process machine tools generally combine two or more processes for metal removal. A lathe may have milling capability, or a machining center may perform grinding. But what about combining metal removal and metal joining in one machine? A process called 'friction stir welding' permits exactly that.
Read MoreBeyond Tweaking
When vertical machining centers took the place of manual machines in short-run production, some of the machining knowledge that used to be applied at the machine tool began to be applied somewhere else—at a programmer's desk. Now, with horizontal machining centers replacing VMCs for many of these same applications, another relocation of process knowledge is taking place.
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New Borders For Swiss-Type Turning
The traditional niche may be too narrow. This shop uses sliding-headstock lathes for jobs that wouldn't normally be run on this type of machine.
Read MoreTo Honor The Day
If it's early September when you're reading this, then I am in Chicago. The International Manufacturing Technology Show—IMTS—is held during the first half of September in every even-numbered year.
Read MoreGet Fat—In A Good Way
A shop's next big improvement in efficiency or capabilities may require the kind of understanding that can only come from personal investigation, or from experimentation. New automation, for example, may require new operator procedures to be proven out.
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DNC With A Direction
A small shopfloor network lays the groundwork for large-scale, low-cost DNC throughout a major manufacturing facility.
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