Machine Tool Orders Slip on Monthly Basis in July, Post Gain Year-Over-Year September 10, 2018 Machine tool orders fell slightly on a monthly basis in July but posted a solid gain compared with a year earlier.
Five-Axis Workholding: Modular Approach Yields Many Benefits October 30, 2018 The rules of thumb for shops experienced in five-axis machining aren’t any different from those for first- time users of this sophisticated machining process. The difference is that the experienced shop has already traveled the learning curve for five-axis machining.
Industries Still Struggle With Automation, Consulting Company Says October 11, 2018 Various industries are still struggling with automation despite long-standing efforts, consulting McKinsey & Co. said in a report.
Six-axis cobots serving as automation ambassadors April 3, 2018 Have collaborative, six-axis robots reached a tipping point in establishing their niche in manufacturing? And could they be opening doors for manufacturers to adopt automation overall?
High-Torque Retention Knob Gives Job Shop Spindles The Competitive Edge April 25, 2018 Despite the addition of more than 750,000 CNC mills in the past 15 years in the US, CNC machining job shops often hover at the bottom of the totem pole, where there’s little room for error as most bids are won by a 1–2% price variance.
Shrink-Fit Toolholder Offers Consistency When Setting Tools April 23, 2018 Shrink-fit toolholding is a simple concept—an induction coil is adjusted and fits over the top of the toolholder. The induction coil heats the toolholder end of the shrinker, expanding the inside diameter, which opens the engagement bore (IDs of shrink-fit toolholders are smaller than the shank diameter of the cutting tool).
Will Automation and Robots Change the World? April 3, 2018 I’ve had quite a month, again, covering clever software and gadgets that continue to inch their way into performing tasks once reserved for humans. These tasks range from mundane material handling to highly skilled engineering design. It has made me think quite a bit about how our world of manufacturing and engineering will be affected by all this artificial cleverness.
How Small Shops Can Go Digital — Economically! April 4, 2018 In the early days at CNC Software, we saw that our Mastercam CAD/CAM system was only part of a larger manufacturing solution and that an open architecture foundation could allow seamless data communication with complementary devices and systems across the shop floor.
Streamlining Processes at Small, Medium-Sized Manufacturers with ERP Software February 8, 2018 ECi services a multitude of industries, but we presently have four products that service manufacturing and what FABTECH attendees would be focused on: these include Macola, Max, JobBoss, and M1, which is the product I represent.
Tough Slotting Solution Was Just the Beginning of Savings for Replaceable Tip Cutting Tool February 5, 2018 At Flexco Inc. (Downers Grove, IL), finding a solution to speed up slot-milling with Chip-Surfer replaceable tip solid-carbide cutting tool from Ingersoll Cutting Tools (Rockford, IL) has led to benefits in a host of other operations as well. Flexco, a manufacturer of belt conveyor components, estimates that retooling with Chip-Surfer replaceable solid-carbide tip cutting tools has saved about $200,000 a year overall on slotting operations and the company expects to save as much again on mill-turn operations.
