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.
Securing America’s future through biomanufacturing innovation, education and collaboration
3D Systems said it verified properties of NASA's new laser powder bed fusion super alloy, GRX-810.
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.
Solutions for ceramic machining—and machining ceramics.
Piecing together FHE commercialization in the U.S.
As aerospace ramps up its use of advanced composites, robots and automated manufacturing systems will assume ever larger roles in building and machining these challenging materials.