Extrusion and Drawing Knowledge January 2, 2015 Extrusion and drawing, two related, stalwart topics in material forming, are covered from top of punch to bottom of die in more than 200 papers in the SME Technical Paper library. The range of contributors is broad, from companies like Alcoa, Westinghouse, ASEA, Western Electric and General Electric to universities in Japan, Germany and the US, as well as individual entrepreneur metalworking shops.
Tooling to Match Composite Production April 1, 2009 It’s getting harder to imagine any market that isn’t benefiting from the latest developments in parts manufactured from advanced composites. “Advanced composites will arguably dominate consumer and production products, especially in the near future,” says Bert Erdel, industry consultant and executive technology advisor, Morris Group Inc. (Windsor, CT), “as they have begun to gain wide acceptance in solving energy-related issues.”
Solutions for Difficult Machining January 1, 2009 The machining challenges for two of the most advanced concepts in cutting tool materials are pretty well known. Cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools of varying designs are being used to cut hardened ferrous metals with or without interrupted cuts, as well as welded and clad metals.
New Generation 3D Lasers Grow Metro-Detroit Job Shop November 2, 2017 Sometimes succession of a family business from one generation to the next doesn’t always go as planned. Take, for example, Laser Specialists Inc. (Fraser, MI). Incorporated in 1986, the company was positioned at the forefront of laser cutting technology.
Pilot Composites Workshop Wows Students February 7, 2017 Carbon fiber is a magical material. That or similar comments were heard over and over from Roosevelt High School (Seattle) students attending a Composites 101 Workshop held at the National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education (MatEdU), a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (ATE)-sponsored program at Edmonds Community College (Lynnwood, WA).
Searching for the Perfect Lightweighting Recipe September 1, 2016 Lightweighting is so established it’s now part of marketing for new vehicles. Automakers routinely detail how much less models weigh than their predecessors. General Motors Co., for example, has said a range of its vehicles is anywhere from almost 250 lb (112.5 kg) to 700 lb (315 kg) lighter.
Fiber Lasers Continue to Gain Market Share in Material Processing Applications February 1, 2016 The first kilowatt-class fiber laser for material processing was introduced by IPG Photonics in early 2002. Since that time, the adoption of fiber lasers for production applications has grown at a rapid rate. Today, fiber lasers are becoming the choice for most major production laser applications as well as converting traditional welding and cutting processes to fiber laser technologies.
Honeycomb Heroes: Making Composites for Aerospace June 24, 2016 There’s an old saw that if bumblebees were aeronautical engineers they would know they can’t fly. Quite apart from the miracle of their flight, bees also happen to make a lightweight structure of surprising strength, just the sort of thing you’d want if you were building aircraft: honeycomb.
Smashing Silver Microcubes Toughens Up Materials January 4, 2017 Scientists at Rice University (Houston) are smashing tiny silver cubes into a hard target in order to make these metallic microcubes ultrastrong and tough by rearranging their nanostructures upon impact.