New work materials are developed continually to improve the capabilities of finished parts, making them lighter and stronger, among other properties. When these materials catch on, cutting tools must adapt to their often challenging properties.
Glenn Bridgman describes the difference between his shop’s manual grinders and its newest state-of-the-art CNC ID/OD grinder, a Studer CT960 OD/ID from United Grinding (Miamisburg, OH), as “feel vs. facts.” Bridgman, president of Bridge Tool & Die (Buckley, MI), believes that manual grinding is a somewhat personal operation.
From Boeing 787s to new Navy destroyers, fiber-reinforced composites are gaining in use. As production scales up, more-efficient manufacturing remains a focus. One key to that efficiency is tooling for composites. These molds and forms give the final shape to a part, and are often integral to their final curing.
It is common sense—a vehicle that weighs less requires less fuel to move it. A number of studies show that reducing the mass of a vehicle by 10% results in anywhere from 4.5 to 6% better fuel economy—well worth the effort.
Piecing together FHE commercialization in the U.S.
For three decades, Darin Gray has spent his days teaching young people to share ideas, learn cool stuff, and above all, make a difference
Taking years of additive manufacturing experience in entirely new directions
Improving outcomes for the most precious of all surgical patients – children
Solutions for ceramic machining—and machining ceramics.
The additive manufacturing industry is on the cusp of designer materials, purpose-built powders that provide specific attributes either during the 3D-printing process or in the final part.