Edge Finishing — Product Enhancement or Wasted Cost? June 1, 2009 Edge finishing is a relatively new term in manufacturing. It’s a new and deeper focus on what many used to call deburring, edge honing, edge preparation, edge prepping, burring, chamfering, or edge blending. Edge finishing goes beyond any of those definitions. Deburring, which is often considered wasted effort by managers, wrongly carries a negative connotation. In reality, deburring and edge-finishing processes add many benefits to parts—they create highly desirable edge quality—the quality most products need.
Tooling It Up for Composites April 1, 2010 From Boeing 787s to new Navy destroyers, fiber-reinforced composites are gaining in use. As production scales up, more-efficient manufacturing remains a focus. One key to that efficiency is tooling for composites. These molds and forms give the final shape to a part, and are often integral to their final curing.
Mix and Match for Lightweight Autos September 1, 2014 It is common sense—a vehicle that weighs less requires less fuel to move it. A number of studies show that reducing the mass of a vehicle by 10% results in anywhere from 4.5 to 6% better fuel economy—well worth the effort.
Bar Feeders Boost Turning Productivity March 1, 2004 One of the most cost-effective ways to obtain the benefits of automation is by adding a bar feeder to a CNC lathe or other bar machine. Costing anywhere from about $10,000 to $40,000 depending on configuration, the devices can add hours of untended operating time for part volumes of a few hundred to tens of thousands.
A Crazy, Mixed-Up Method of Welding September 1, 2016 Friction welding may be just the recipe for joining lightweight materials
With Machine Monitoring, Instant ROI is Possible August 18, 2016 There have been many process improvement trends in manufacturing over the decades, and none have had more significant ROI than machine monitoring. The increase in machine monitoring is owed in large part to the rise in popularity of the open and royalty-free interconnectivity standard MTConnect.
Oerlikon to Build Advanced Materials Manufacturing Facility in Michigan November 11, 2016 Oerlikon announced today that it will be building a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Plymouth Township, Michigan, USA, dedicated to producing advanced materials for additive manufacturing and high-end surface coatings.
Laser Takes Heat Out of Tough Tool Grinding December 1, 2016 Cutting tool maker Shape-Master Tool Co. (Kirkland, IL) needed to expand its tool grinding capability beyond that of its conventional machines or run the risk of losing work to the competition.
Metrology With White Light July 1, 2010 White-light metrology is a noncontact method that uses a familiar, safe light source—simple white light. Simplicity and accuracy may make white light the system of choice in many applications.
Laser Welding Applications Expand March 1, 2014 Solid-state laser technology has matured, leading to development of new, cost-effective welding applications, such as hybrid welding