On race day, everybody sees the race on TV, but behind the scenes there’s a competition going on between shops where time is everything, according to Matt Gimbel, Team Penske’s production manager.
In the 1955 short story “Autofac,” Philip K. Dick envisioned a world dominated by self-replicating robots that work incessantly, eventually depleting the planet’s resources.
Every manufacturer aims for faster, better parts. While chip making time is often the focus when it comes to time savings, Chris Mahar, Associate Editor of Manufacturing Engineering, talks with Steven Baier, Vice President of Sales for Haimer USA, about time savings that go beyond cutting time.
Intelligent factories have existed since manufacturing’s historical inception, but intelligence—defined as the acquisition and application of manufacturing knowledge—resided only with the factory’s staff.
Fabrisonic, Now 6 Years Old, Moves to Develop New Processes, Materials
High-speed, small footprint milling machines have challenged traditional spindle retention knob technology to achieve the design safety required in today’s advanced shops.
Allied Machine & Engineering, a leading tooling manufacturer of complete holemaking solutions, has launched its new engineering training department, which provides hands on education programs for new employees, end users and distributors.
At Jaktool LLC (Cranbury, NJ), a team of young inquisitive engineers is investing the time to explore the full potential of its manufacturing software and machines to take on the complex jobs no one else wants. Using Mastercam CAD/CAM programming software from CNC Software Inc. (Tolland, CT), Jaktool is able to save setup times and tooling costs, and reduce cycle times, while delivering exceptional customer service to a diverse cross section of industries.
As machining has evolved, toolholders have advanced to include rigid, secure systems with anti-pullout protection. These advanced systems are needed to take on difficult-to-machine materials, such as titanium and heat-resistant superalloys (HRSA), and accommodate ambitious removal rates and long tool overhangs. Think of them as insurance against tool pullout and breakage—a situation nobody wants.
Manufacturers are always looking for signs of what the economy and the business outlook have in store for them. Since the election of President Trump and, more recently, passage of the tax reform law in December, confidence among businesses of all sizes has been overwhelmingly positive.
