Okaloosa Manufacturing – Playing Well in a Great Sandbox June 5, 2020 Machining, the military and magnificent beaches work well together in Okaloosa County, Florida. Famous sugar-white sands are frosting on the cake when companies examine the business-friendly climate, educational opportunities and quality of life in Okaloosa County.
Shops Use Shrink-Fit with Presetters for Toolholding Efficiency April 15, 2020 Unlike its name, the use of shrink-fit tooling is expanding. A shrink-fit toolholder starts with a slightly undersize bore that is heated to enlarge the inner diameter enough to accept a cutting tool and then grip the cutter as it cools and contracts.
Replaceable-Tip Tools Get Permanent Spot in Shop Inventories April 13, 2020 When weighing the choice of replaceable-tip mills and drills or solid-carbide tools, consider this succinct statement from one industry expert: carbide equals cost.
How to Choose the Best Toolholding System for Your Shop April 16, 2020 Many job shops hold onto traditional, inexpensive tooling systems. ER collets and Weldon flats are tried and true; they work and are proven. At the same time, newer, advanced machining technology, such as multi-axis machines, may perform better when newer, advanced (and more expensive) toolholders are deployed.
Laser Marking: Going Places April 12, 2019 The well-established field of laser marking continues to break new ground with expanding business opportunities in automotive, oil and gas, medical and other industries.
What To Consider When Choosing Grippers April 9, 2019 Automated manufacturing operations are finely tuned ecosystems in which all components must function in complete harmony. Grippers used to pick and place, orient and hold components or end products at various points along the production chain are key to this process.
Unlocking the Industrial Internet of Things with PLM Software April 4, 2019 Digital manufacturing solutions with product lifecycle management (PLM) tools hold great potential for manufacturers to eventually fully unlock the promise of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Structured Vision in Manufacturing April 4, 2019 Structured light systems measure surfaces by projecting a pattern of fringes, then using cameras and sophisticated software to convert them into point clouds of metrology data. Accuracy can reach the single-digit microns over millions of points.
Aerospace Machining Solves Challenges Big and Small April 3, 2019 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.
Optimization Module Tackles Tough Materials March 8, 2019 Most anyone who’s worked in a machine shop for any length of time has at some point attended a trade show or machine tool distributor’s open house. There they see canned demonstrations of CNC machines busily carving up chunks of brass, mild steel, or aluminum into business card holders and tic-tac-toe games.