Aerospace machining encompasses machines small and large. These range from the Tornos SwissNano to the Makino MAG3, as Rich Sullivan put it. He is the OEM manager for Iscar Metals Inc., Arlington, Texas.
Swiss-style machine tools can be a good choice for making complex parts. On the downside, however, Swiss machining itself has a reputation of being complex—and, therefore, more difficult to master than standard machining.
Do you have what it takes to raise your milling productivity to the next level? In addition to the requisite know-how, you need cutters and machine tools that will allow you to employ milling techniques that exceed what’s normally possible. Aided by the right hardware, you may soon be performing feats like pushing your feed rates to new highs and cutting harder materials than ever before.
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.
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.
Originally marketed for their proficiency in heavy metal removal applications while delivering longer tool life and multi-point efficiency, turning inserts have grown more sophisticated in response to advances in materials, machines, methods, and even social factors.
Anyone who’s worked with wind turbine blades or just seen one up close can attest to the massive size of these clean-energy workhorses. Ever thought about what happens to that costly, high-tech material once the blade reaches the end of its lifespan in 20 years or so?
Infinite Material Solutions LLC announced the launch of a water-soluble 3D printing support material called AquaSys® 180.
BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling has promoted Jack Burley to President/Chief Operating Officer, effective January 1, 2021. Chris Kaiser, BIG Kaiser President and CEO for 30 years, will take on the role of Executive Advisor.
Solid-carbide round tools have seemingly been around forever; before them, high-speed steel (HSS) tools ruled the roost, and after them a growing selection of alternative processes like indexables, EDM, waterjet and now additive manufacturing emerged as competition.