New features mean more choices in cutting with inserts
On paper, it should have been smooth sailing. When Fairbanks Morse installed a robotic welding cell at its Beloit, Wis. headquarters, the goal was to increase output of the massive marine propulsion systems they manufacture.
Some trends in machining remain constant. Machine speeds continue to increase. Difficult-to-cut materials are used more frequently.
SMW Autoblok has introduced the TX Series 3-jaw pull-down chucks featuring repeatability of up to 4 µm (0.00015”) and precise, self-centering accuracy for heavy duty metal cutting applications.
The experience an Italian electronics manufacturer had with emerging tools provides a glimpse of a better world.
Cutting small holes or features sometimes only visible through a microscope requires special expertise from those supplying the cutting tools.
Eltool Corp. of Mansfield, Ohio, has announced that, in addition to 1:1 ratios, live lathe tools are now available with 5:1 and 1:5 gearboxes for high-torque and high-speed machining applications.
The company creates a new laser unit while releasing a new tool grinding machine.
The need to permanently laser mark parts for tracking and tracing continues to grow.
The three keynote speakers of HOUSTEX, EASTEC, SOUTHTEC and WESTEC—the Manufacturing Technology Series—offer perspectives pertinent to manufacturers in general, but of particular use to small and medium-sized manufacturers.
