The Wonders—and Worries—of Round Tool Reconditioning October 29, 2018 One of the great benefits of solid round cutting tools is the ability to resharpen them after heavy use. Done right it’s like having a cat with nine lives: Dull…then like new. Dull again…and like new again. And since the cost to recondition solid tools is generally lower than the cost to replace them, there’s an economic benefit. The question then becomes what’s the best way to achieve the greatest possible benefit?
Adding it Up at IMTS 2018 August 8, 2018 Additive manufacturing (AM) pioneer Charles Hull introduced the first commercial 3D printer, the SLA-1, in 1987. Jaws dropped, machinists wondered about their next career, pundits said it spelled the death of traditional manufacturing. None of that happened, thankfully; in fact, some said 3D printing was a bunch of hype, good for little more than investment casting patterns and proof of concept prototypes.
Hot Techniques for Cutting High-Temperature Alloys August 1, 2018 For Dale Mickelson, Yasda product manager at Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA) and author of several books on hard milling, tackling heat-resistant superalloys (HRSAs) requires the perfect combination of machine, workholding, tooling, tool paths and coolant.
IMTS Tooling, Workholding Suppliers Target Growing Applications August 8, 2018 You don’t have to be an engineer to appreciate the solutions for the tooling or workholding challenges that shops will bring to exhibitors when attending IMTS 2018. One thing is certain you’ll never have a better time to find suppliers of advanced tooling and workholding technology under one venue like McCormick Place.
At IMTS, Makers of Gear Machines Look to Showcase Improvements August 10, 2018 Makers of machine tools used to produce gears are looking to the 2018 edition of IMTS to demonstrate how they’re meeting customer demands.
When it Comes to Simulation Software, Seeing is Believing October 25, 2018 In a perfect CNC world, the first part is always a good one. There’s no need for extra blanks or barstock. Setup times are only as long as is needed to swap out a few tools and load a new program. There’s never a crash, never the need to reprogram an inefficient bit of code. The operator just pushes the green button and out pops a finished workpiece minutes or hours later.
Rummaging in the IMTS Tool Box for Tooling Solutions September 25, 2018 One thing remains clear about IMTS 2018: Solutions to virtually every conceivable tool holding or workholding challenge could be found, if visitors to the exposition took the time to walk aisle after aisle in search the latest advanced technology, whether in the supplier’s booth or at work on machines in builder booths.
Humatics, Eckhart Demonstrate New AGV August 23, 2018 Humatics Corp. and Eckhart Inc. this week demonstrated a new factory automatic guided vehicle (AGV) capable of changing routes on the fly.
Replaceable Tip Drills Offer Versatile Design Improvements April 24, 2018 Since their introduction about 20 years ago, replaceable-tip drills have become increasingly accurate and cost-effective alternatives to solid carbide units.
Big, Heavy, Awkward Parts Need Workholding, Too April 23, 2018 If you’ve ever seen industrial wind turbine components on the back of a flatbed truck rolling down the highway, you have a good idea of what a large, heavy, difficult-to-handle workpiece is. For example, with a single blade on the GE 1.5 mW turbine being almost as long as a football field, the entire blade assembly weighs about the same as 36 small cars.
