Workforce Development

Cutting Tools

Gear Manufacturer Gains Efficiency With Tool Management System

When producing a large number of complex, high-value-added parts, processes are continually examined and optimized, and this influences the style and numbers of cutting tools that are used each day. Avon Gear Company (Rochester Hills, Michigan) knows this first-hand.

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Holemaking

Self-Reversing Tapping Head Speeds CNC Production Job

When Prestige Precision Products (PPP), a shop in Rochester, New York, began ramping up for a recent high-production job, it made a substantial investment in new equipment dedicated to the project. Among the acquisitions were a new HMC with a pallet changer, customized tombstone fixtures for the pallets and some innovative tooling items. The part, an aluminum component for the automotive industry, had one hole to be drilled and tapped.

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A Subscription To Spindle Speeds

A peculiar characteristic of machine tools is that they can't be put to use until the user performs a critical final assembly step-installing the cutting tool in the machine.

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Automation

Simplfying Thread Repair

Repairing damaged or worn threads on a workpiece is a common chore for toolroom lathes, especially in the oilfield industry. Haas Automation has a new feature for its conversational control units that simplifies and automates this process.

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Automation

Making Strides To Maximize Worker Efficiency

This 40-year-old shop combines original best practices with new technologies and manufacturing approaches to make the most of its home-grown skilled labor.

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Finishing Process Extends Life Of Cutting Tools And Components

By applying compressive forces and abrasive media to cutting tools or workpieces, this surface finishing process improves component wear resistance and lubricity.

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Basics

When The Labor Disappears

Evaluating the strength of U. S.

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Task Simplification Or Increased Training?

I’ve written about task simplification in several of my previous columns. Task simplification lowers the skill level required of a person performing a task, minimizes the potential for mistakes and shortens the time required to perform the task.

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Basics

How To Handle Tall Wire EDM Work

Modular workpiece fixturing plays a vital role in this shop’s quest to win larger, more difficult wire EDM jobs.

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