Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 5/1/2013
Cometic Gasket (Concord, OH), which got its start in 1989 in an 800 ft2 (74 m2) facility with limited production capability, today employs 50 and occupies a 70,000 ft2 (6503 m2) facility. Cometic supplies stock and custom gaskets for all kinds of motorsports, serving OEMs, NHRA, NASCAR, as a licensed product, and individual motorsports enthusiasts with gaskets for automobiles, watercraft, snowmobiles, stock cars and motorcycles of every brand.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2013
The forte at Lakes Precision (Three Lakes, WI) is creep-feed grinding, specifically continuous dress creep feed (CDCF) grinding to precise tolerances of 0.0002–0.0005” (0.005–0.01-mm) with surface finishes of at least 8 Ra.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 3/1/2013
If Reliance Tool & Manufacturing Co.’s research and test-cutting operations continue to progress at their current pace, the Elgin, IL shop foresees it will soon be able to cost effectively produce an entire ceramic bearing assembly, not just rollers, but also the races. Reliance is developing optimized machining processes for extremely hard ceramic materials, such as those in the Rc 80 range.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2013
It wasn’t too long ago that Brad Miller, vice president-operations, Miller Welding & Machine Co. (MWM; Brookville, PA) was quite cautious about new large equipment installation, and rightfully so. Such major investments aren’t to be taken on lightly. You have to look before you leap is how you might look at it.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 12/1/2012
Mikelson Machine Shop Inc. (South El Monte, CA) is a 100% aerospace contract manufacturer that continually looks for ways to improve production of its highly complex manifolds, valve blocks, and other hydraulic aircraft components.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 11/1/2012
To solve a production problem in a high-volume setting, R.H. Sheppard Inc. (Hanover, PA) found that tangential milling improves process security for a difficult rough-milling operation. The lesson here is that you don’t have to settle for the first thing that works better. Dig deeper for what’s best. That’s why manufacturing engineers at R.H. Sheppard spent almost a year working to fix a tool wreck problem in a rough-milling operation.
Full Article Author: Senior Editor Patrick Waurzyniak
Date: 10/1/2012
Better coolant and chip management leads to more productive plants, higher quality parts. Filtration machine builders are improving their offerings with mobile units and machines that clean better and more efficiently.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 10/1/2012
From CAM to precision gears to five-axis solutions: Case studies that help solve problems on the shop floor.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 9/1/2012
Since its founding nearly two decades ago, Taser Inc. (Scottsdale, AZ) has become the recognized leader in electronic control devices (ECDs). In fact, Taser ECDs are employed by approximately 80% of the police forces in the US, as well as by the military and security firms.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2012
For many industries, composites are the material of choice for achieving lightweight, fuel-efficient and strong designs. The challenge going forward for engineers is to take full advantage of the properties of composites by using advanced analysis tools to predict margins of safety, performance, cost, and design for manufacturability.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2012
Thrustmaster of Texas Inc., a leading manufacturer of marine application thrusters, develops all of its products in-house. Almost every order is unique to the customer.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 6/1/2012
Manufacturing cells that group machine tools together for processing components made from similar materials and families of parts are key to a lean environment. Cells allow manufacturers to better manage their workflow, parts quality and ultimately operate faster and more productively.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 5/1/2012
Parts used in the oil drilling business for the Oil Patch are tough and large with hardness of Rc 36–40 with diameters to 40" (1016 mm), lengths to 220" (5.6 m), and weighing up to 2 t. They require equally tough, rigid, highly flexible machine tools to deal with them. Some shops with the right tools thrive on the challenge of machining these workpieces.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2012
Rigid rotary tables are well known for their ability to reduce cost and increase accuracy. When added to a three-axis machining center, rotary tables add a fourth or fifth axis, making the machine an affordable alternative to a full five-axis machining center. Of course, while adding axes may improve productivity, use of less rigid rotary tables can hinder speed and accuracy.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2012
Laitram Machine Shop Inc. is a producer of machined components for Intralox, a major developer and manufacturer of industrial conveyor systems and for Laitram Machinery, a manufacturer of automated shrimp-processing equipment. The challenge is always to produce parts in the shortest possible time to the highest standards while reducing the cost to machine the parts.
Full Article Date: 12/1/2011
The Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center (Rock Island, IL) operates like a combat-ready military outfit. It has a strategic plan in place and is well-equipped with the latest technology to carry out its mission to provide world-class manufactured products, services, and logistics specifically in support of the US Army.
Full Article Date: 11/1/2011
With the economy barely showing signs of recovery and the demand for goods and services still depressed, one could wonder about the reasoning behind starting a manufacturing business, and probably find no encouragement. Not so for Paul Beckwith, founder of TraTek Inc. (Noblesville, IN).
Full Article Date: 10/1/2011
While titanium parts and equipment are in strong demand due to their extremely high strength-to-weight ratio, it is well known that they’re also difficult to machine. This is of particular note in the aerospace industry where strong but lightweight parts make a critical difference in the success of aircraft development and performance.
Full Article Date: 9/1/2011
Kawasaki encourages motorcycle enthusiasts to "let the good times roll," but good times of another sort are rolling at the company’s Maryville, MO, small engine plant. There, two five-axis scanning probe systems are slashing CMM inspection and probe calibration times and speeding up QC feedback for machining of small engine components.
Full Article Date: 8/1/2011
Entrepreneurial thinking means taking entrepreneurial risks. For workholding specialist Allmatic (Unterthingau, Germany), a member of the Jakob Group, that meant making a decision about installing a new flexible manufacturing system (FMS) and deciding which new machining centers to invest in that would allow it to meet the production challenges for its workholding products.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2011
It takes a lot of prop to push a racing boat across the water at speeds up to and over 200 mph. And it takes a lot of world-class machining to convert a stainless or titanium casting or forging into a high-performance prop. Hering Propellers (Marysville, WA) does it every day, and judging from their reputation, they’ve got the process down pat.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 6/1/2011
Technology change has had a universal impact on competitiveness—from the smallest shop to the largest plants. Most who invested in new technology have found that once they’ve made the leap forward, they have to continue to keep up with technological change.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 5/1/2011
OpenHealth, one of the world’s leading providers of business and technical solutions to the dental healthcare industries, was formed by the owners of five major international dental lab groups—Aurum, Cordent, DTS, Race, and ZMC.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2011
In his quest to build a reproduction of one of the first planes that flew around the world, Bob Dempster, a relentless aeronautical researcher, was unable to find any plans or drawings of the original prop.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 3/1/2011
When a contract manufacturer sees an opportunity in the competitive aerospace market, it sets priorities aimed at providing the right combination of processes required to meet the industry’s exacting demands. Precision machining and finishing, parts inspection, and, of course, certifications from OEMs and industry alliances are at the top of the list.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2011
Thinking "outside of the box" has enabled General Motors to realize "weeks to hours" reduction in line change and transmission-build dynamics at its Toledo Powertrain plant.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2010
"From the manufacturer's point of view, each part is a single copy," says Michael Kiehl, production manager of Zelter GmbH (Rhenish Hennef, Germany), slowly moving his thumb along the contour of a 500-mm long turbocharger housing. "Nevertheless, in the end they are two of a kind—at least with regard to their critical dimensions. For the bearings of rotor blades rotating at up to 300,000 rpm, a precision of ± 0.05 mm must be guaranteed."
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 6/1/2010
Back in 1967, West-Mark Inc. (Ceres, CA), began business as a manufacturing and repair facility for dairy transport tankers. It quickly expanded to become a leading West Coast builder of fluid-transport vehicles for many industries, including petroleum, firefighting, military, construction, food, liquid sanitation, even arctic equipment.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 5/1/2010
For small-to-medium job shops, constant process improvement can prove to be an exhausting and time-consuming endeavor. Equipment manufacturers are constantly innovating, and thousands of new products arrive every year, each promising increased productivity and better performance. Increasingly, smaller manufacturers are calling for suppliers to take on a more prominent role in this area.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2010
Though reaming may represent just a tiny slice of total machining cycle time on a part, you may be surprised at how much time is wasted servicing that reamer. Dave Roberts, process engineer at Kirby Risk Precision Machining (KRPM; Lafayette, IN), discovered just how much and, more important, a way to cut reaming cycle time on a 8 lb (3.6-kg) cast-iron housing by a factor of 7 to 1, extend tool life by 100 to 1, and reduce tool changing time from an hour to just 2 min.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 3/1/2010
People whose lives may depend on having enough light when they need it, like military and emergency personnel, rely on high-performance illumination tools from SureFire LLC (Fountain Valley, CA). SureFire is a manufacturer of flashlights, weapon-mounted lights, and other tactical equipment favored by SWAT teams and elite special-ops groups.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2010
Located in the heart of the South Texas petrochemical area, Bradleys' Electric Motors (Corpus Christi, TX) is a recognized leader in all motor-repair fields, handling motor sizes from fractional to 25,000 hp (18,650 kW). Bradleys offers large electric-motor repair, large electricmotor storage and maintenance, and new-motor sales from its 59,300 ft2 (5509 m2) facility.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 1/1/2010
It was easy for almost anyone to turn a profit in the machining business prior to 2000. That's the belief of Mohamed Shahin, president of Sandy Bay Machine (Rockport, MA). Today, the executive says it's much more difficult. That's why his company has begun investing heavily in advanced technology so that whenever the market turns, the company will be better positioned to compete with the shops still standing.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 12/1/2009
Advanced CNC machining is enabling Stryker Corp. (Kalamazoo, MI) to achieve 20% reduction in cycle times in producing its surgical tools, improving R&D results, and increasing production output. Stryker is a global leader in manufacturing medical devices and equipment, ranging from orthopaedic implants to all types of surgical apparatus and patient-care devices. Stryker's products, which are found in medical care facilities around the world, are used primarily for orthopaedic, spinal, neurological, and ENT procedures, plus minimally invasive interventional pain procedures.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 11/1/2009
Since its founding in 1947, Arrow Gear Co. (Downers Grove, IL) has provided precision gears to industries including aerospace, defense, mining, racing, irrigation, and power tool. The company produces a full range of gears, including spur and helical designs and precision spiral-bevel gears for aerospace and commercial applications in mining equipment, automotive racing, and agricultural technology.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 10/1/2009
Chuck Paul is an optimist who believes hard work will keep operations running through the worst business cycles. He founded Paul Precision Machine (Tulsa, OK) with a conventional lathe and a conventional mill in his garage in 1978. Three years later he purchased a 4000 ft2 (372-m2) building, and in 1988 he moved into his current 18,000 ft2 (1672-m2) facility. In the best of times, he employed over a dozen workers.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 9/1/2009
When setting out to reduce machining costs, contract manufacturers might consider tackling the highest-volume jobs first with a new milling cutter. The results may be surprising and affect the entire enterprise. That strategy paid off for General Manufacturing Inc. (GMI; Elk Grove Village, IL), which had retooled a 20,000-piece-per-year milling job on cast-iron pump parts.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 8/1/2009
Hypertherm (Hanover, NH) was founded in 1968 by President Dick Couch and Bob Dean when they discovered an innovative way to increase the speed and accuracy of plasma cutting to levels that had not been achieved before. Radially injecting water into a plasma cutting nozzle created a narrower arc and became the foundation of Hypertherm's advanced plasma-cutting technology.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2009
When a company touts a state-of-the-art automation system, several images immediately leap to mind. Most manufacturers envision large pallet pools, robots loading and unloading machines, or conveyor belts transferring work in progress from one station to the next. While these are some of the most common automation concepts used today, none of them can be found at .decimal (Sanford, FL), a medical device manufacturer with a unique business model built around nontraditional automation.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 6/1/2009
After thousands of hours of preparation in shops and training on tracks, motorsports teams achieve victory and racing success in a series of moments measured in a hundredth of a second here, a thousandth of a second there. Put them end to end and they add up to a few brief seconds that are often enough to snatch a place in Nascar history as a winner in the season-long Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 5/1/2009
National Coupling Company Inc. (NCC; Stafford, TX) has developed hydraulic coupling technology for oil and gas production systems requiring high-reliability subsea components since the early 1980s. Today, the company has more than 300 US and foreign component patents granted. NCC primarily produces hydraulic couplings for critical applications, including designs for extreme highpressure/high-temperature environments.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2009
Crankshafts come in sizes matched to the engine or device for which they transmit power. At Ohio Crankshaft (OC; Cleveland), crankshafts are produced that can be as large as 15' (4.6-m) long, weigh a hefty 7500 lb (3402 kg), and are machined from forgings up to 27" (686 mm) in diam.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 3/1/2009
Trafimet (Vicenza, Italy), a leading manufacturer of MIG, TIG, and plasma welding torch tips and sockets, produces millions of plugs and sockets per year, much of which is manufactured from brass. That has required three shifts per day. Although the production is relatively high, the company seeks to keep inventory to a minimum and produces according to a just-in-time schedule.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2009
Joey LeRouge has followed a familiar path in starting his own company, graduating from his own garage to a fully equipped 9200 ft2 (855-m2) manufacturing facility located in Broussard, LA. While employed at a well-head company, LeRouge started High Tech Components in 1987, distributing highpressure gate valve parts to oil drillers. He relied on local machine shops to supply the manufacturing.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 1/1/2009
In most companies, engineering departments support manufacturing operations. Turbine Technologies Ltd. (Chetek, WI) is different—the mission of its machine shop is to support the engineering function. Instead of thinking in terms of shrinking the "time to market," Turbine Technologies focuses on compressing "time to test." This is particularly true for its newest product, the PT-50 turboshaft engine for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 12/1/2008
Cutting large stone slabs into high-end kitchen countertops, reception desktops, and other beautiful interior and exterior fixtures takes tough machinery and a lot of power and control. The hardest challenge facing the stonecutting industry isn't cutting through solid marble or granite, however; it's doing so with maximum productivity, precision, and efficient use of raw materials.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 11/1/2008
Grauch Enterprises (Philpsburg, PA) does just about everything when it comes to processing materials—milling, turning, drilling, plastic injection molding, painting, and finishing. Materials processed include a full line of plastics (ABS, nylon, polycarbonates, laminates) and metals (brass, aluminum, stainless, alloy steels, titanium, Inconel, beryllium, copper, copper-alloy castings, cast aluminum, and cast iron). Typical machined parts include more than 650 different items for the US Department of Defense (DoD).
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 10/1/2008
Armstrong International Inc. (Three Rivers, MI) is a global supplier to commercial users of steam, air, and hot water for environmental and process control. Its products serve industries worldwide as diverse as food processing, health care, manufacturing, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and agriculture. Armstrong even owns and/or operates and maintains utility plants for Fortune 500 energy users.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 9/1/2008
C.F. Martin and Co. Inc. (Nazareth, PA), is a world-famous guitar manufacturer, better known by its Martin Guitar brand name. With 175 years of history behind it, Martin Guitar has long been the acoustic guitar of choice for some of the world's most renowned musicians. Elvis, Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Sting, Jimmy Buffet, and Paul Simon are just a few of the legendary guitarists who made music history on a Martin. The company's influence continues today, with prominent artists such as Beck, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, and Jonny Lang relying on the quality of Martin guitars to convey their music to the world.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2008
Telsmith Inc. (Mequon, WI), a manufacturer of crushers and screens for mineral and aggregate processors in the booming global mining industry, needed to find ways to substantially increase its production. The company chose to reorganize its factory based on Lean manufacturing principles as one aspect of its multipronged approach.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 6/1/2008
Owners of Harley-Davidson, Sportster, and Buell brand motorcycles, among others, and builders of custom motorcycles are always looking for that high-performance edge. Precision-manufactured engines and high-performance aftermarket components can make their bikes faster and more powerful, but, equally important today, their performance must meet emissions-compliance standards required by the EPA and the California A.R.B. (Air Resources Board).
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2008
Devices and instruments machined from high-performance plastics and polymers for the medical industry, as well as other industries, offer many advantages over aluminum or stainless. They are lighter, just as strong and durable, and some are radiolucent (permeable to X-rays or other forms of radiation). These materials are often machined on the same types of VMCs or HMCs as metal parts, but that doesn't mean the processes are the same.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 3/1/2008
Most everyone in manufacturing is familiar with the quotation: "Failure is not an option." That statement rings especially true with the management at Kirby Risk Precision Machining (Lafayette, IN), a parts supplier to manufacturers of diesel engines, off-road vehicles, agricultural equipment, offshore oil-drilling equipment, and power-generation equipment.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2008
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the richest oil-producing regions in the western hemisphere. Over the years, the region has generated a tremendous amount of work for Gulf State machine shops dedicated to oilfield work. Today, those shops are busier than ever. One of these shops, Gulf Coast Machine Inc. (Broussard, LA), sits among Louisiana's coastal bayous, about 100 miles (161 km) west-northwest of New Orleans. The family-run shop produces a common, but essential, oilfield commodity: threaded drill pipe.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 1/1/2008
What started off with Bob "Big Bob" Birdsall Sr. building hot rod and boat components as a hobby more than 25 years ago has grown into Birdsall Marine Design, a 27-person company located in West Palm Beach, FL. Birdsall's more than 100 distinctly crafted marine products adorn boats around the country. Boats owners from as far away as North Carolina and Puerto Rico bring their boats in to receive the Birdsall touch.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 12/1/2007
If you believe hand deburring is an unavoidable evil in external thread cutting, recent experience at Warren Screw Machine (WSM; Niles, OH), should come as good news. By switching from a ground top notch tool to a pressed threading form tool from Ingersoll Cutting Tools (Rockford, IL) on one high-volume job, Warren Screw Machine eliminated 2 min of hand deburring per part.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 11/1/2007
When it comes to unique knives with a broad selection of available styles and models, it's hard to beat US knife manufacturer Kershaw Knives (Tualatin, OR), a company with an unusual history. Software Sharpens Laser Cutting In 1974, Pete Kershaw, a sales manager for Gerber Knives, struck out on his own and began importing knives from a Japanese company called Kai Cutlery Center Co. Ltd., a one hundred-yearold manufacturer of large knives and disposable razors.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 10/1/2007
NASCAR introduced Wegner Motorsports' spec engine in 2005 for teams in the NASCAR Grand National Division at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) event in Orlando, FL. The spec engine represented a concerted effort by NASCAR to reduce the cost of racing in the Grand National Division, which includes the AutoZone Series and Busch East Series.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 9/1/2007
The oil drilling boom has proven to be an excellent match for thermally-applied coatings and machining processes that are the specialty of Watson Grinding & Manufacturing (Houston). The 47-year-old company has built its reputation by offering turnkey manufacturing of oilfield components such as valves, pumps, and compressor parts.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 8/1/2007
The trend toward micromilling parts instead of risking the high cost of a micro-mold for prototype parts is growing, according to Andy Phillip, president of Microlution Inc., a Chicago builder of micromachine tools. The parts produced by these micromilling machines are no larger than a 2 1/2" (63.5-mm) cube and are used in a variety of industries, including aerospace and biomedical.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 7/1/2007
It wasn't part of his balance sheet calculations when President Denny Denic made his initial cost justifications to purchase a new centralized filtration system for Quality Carbide Tool (QCT; Bensenville, IL). However, in the six months since its installation, sales of reclaimed carbide from the manufacturer's operation have returned a tidy windfall to QCT's bottom line.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 6/1/2007
An overhead robotic system that loads and unloads six wire EDM machines and a CMM machine has enabled a major manufacturer of plastic molds and molded products to increase its level of automation and increase productivity. Moldmakers Inc. (Germantown, WI) is a member of MGS Mfg. Group, a full-service organization that services the plastic injection and blow molding industries throughout the US and globally.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 5/1/2007
It was just like any nightmarish day at a typical US high-tech manufacturing plant. Give a team of trusted workers eight hours to accomplish what could easily take ten or fifteen, then half way through the day, throw in a curve ball change order that requires them to back track and redo work they have already completed.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2007
Greg G. Wright & Sons LLC (Cincinnati) traces its history back to its founding in 1860 as a pioneer in manufacturing engraved steel blocks, custom tags and plates, and metal stampings. As a US manufacturer, Carl Fries, president and CEO, is a realist and a fighter, who believes that there are opportunities for the shop that employs newer technology and higher quality technology.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 3/1/2007
The demand for mining equipment has never been greater, driven by high commodity prices and skyrocketing demand from China and India. Mining equipment manufacturer, P&H Mining Equipment Inc. (P&H; Milwaukee) has sought ways to take advantage of the market surge and satisfy its customers by improving delivery times.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2007
A strong sense of mission and a firm focus on five-axis machining and automation have propelled Turbocam Automated Production Systems (TAPS; Barrington, NH) into a leadership position globally in the high-volume production of machined impellers and blisks from wrought alloys to replace cast components.
Full Article Author: Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 1/1/2007
Selecting the right communication technology can simplify life on the shop floor
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 1/1/2007
To a soldier on night patrol, a police officer with weapon drawn facing danger, or a firefighter entering a burning chemical plant, having the most reliable equipment may spell the difference between life and death. In the lobby of Wilcox Industries Corp.'s (Newington, NH) facility, visitors can see wall-length murals of soldiers or lawenforcement personnel with the company's products in use in the most difficult and potentially life-threatening situations.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 5/1/2006
Engine components for Air Force One, aircraft parts riddled with bullet holes, jet engine cases ripped open by ice and other projectiles—these are just some of the repair and overhaul jobs that Component Repair Technologies Inc. (Mentor, OH) has handled in its more than 20 years in business.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 4/1/2006
Machining tiny electrical connectors and contacts instead of stamping or forming them enables Positronic Industries Inc. (Springfield, MO) to achieve a high level of precision for use primarily in circuit boards for avionics, military, and even space-bound applications like the Mars Rover.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 3/1/2006
Suppliers whose work must perform on the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, or other spaceflight applications depend on sourcing precision-engineered parts and components that are reliable. Products supplied to NASA have only one opportunity to do their job correctly.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 2/1/2006
Moeller Aerospace Technologies (Wixom, MI), a division of Moeller Manufacturing Co. Inc., is a supplier to major aircraft and power-generation OEMs such as GE Aircraft, GE Power Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens Westinghouse. The company employs 400, and has 115,000 ft2 (10,684 m2) of production space.
Full Article Author: Edited by Senior Editor Jim Lorincz
Date: 1/1/2006
If a precision chassis part isn’t made correctly for a Formula One race car, the vehicle could be “stuffed right into a wall,” says Phil Kightley, co-founder and managing director of Taylor-Kightley Engineering (Northampton, England, UK). Head ports and other high-performance engine elements require a balance of close tolerance and fast flexibility for machining change.
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