Vertical machining centers with advanced features and functions are earning their stripes as more productive members of machine shops’ CNC equipment arsenal.
The U.S. auto industry has been automated for decades. Production of cars and trucks is associated with large, hulking robots fenced off from human employees. Inside those fenced off areas, tasks such as welding are performed. The industry, though, is advancing on the automation front.
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.
Horizontal machining centers (HMCs) are versatile four-axis and, increasingly, five-axis machine platforms that maximize processing of multi-sided large parts by minimizing part handling.
Advancements in waterjet technology lead to new uses, industries.
CMMs and other multifunctional metrology devices are becoming faster and more sophisticated, but top-quality gages and measuring tools still have an important place.
To produce complex titanium parts more cost-effectively, machine shops are increasingly incorporating advanced forging equipment to complement their existing CNC capabilities.
FANUC America, a leading supplier of CNCs, robotics and ROBOMACHINEs, announced a West Campus expansion that will push its operational space in Oakland County, Michigan to nearly two million square feet.
Digital twins are breathing life and innovation into increasingly more areas of manufacturing as well as solving challenges for machine shops of all sizes. With the skilled labor shortage and an ongoing effort to reshore high-tech manufacturing to the U.S., digital twins have a lot to offer.
Measurements have been used to define and attempt to control the stuff we make throughout recorded history. Here's the latest.
