Manufacturing Engineering: August 2018
The August 2018 edition of Manufacturing Engineering is available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.
Hot Techniques for Cutting High-Temperature Alloys
August 1, 2018
For Dale Mickelson, Yasda product manager at Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA) and author of several books on hard milling, tackling heat-resistant superalloys (HRSAs) requires the perfect combination of machine, workholding, tooling, tool paths and coolant.
By Ed Sinkora
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Stepping Up In Class to More Productive Horizontal Machining
August 1, 2018
About the time that the equivalent of a couple of vertical machining centers are going full bore out in the shop, you’ll know that it’s time to make that commitment to a major investment in horizontal machining center technology to keep up with your order book.
By Jim Lorincz
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Manufacturability Starts with Communication, and DFMA Can Help
August 2, 2018
Controlling cost and complexity starts in design. Capturing and applying experience in a disciplined manner is vital, for both design engineers and their manufacturing counterparts.
By Bruce Morey
Senior Technical Editor,
SME Media
Hirsh Precision Trusts the System
August 2, 2018
From a simple locating pin to a complex fluid manifold, every manufactured part starts out as an idea. A Colorado shop brings its customers’ concepts to reality by blending advanced manufacturing technology and careful process and data management with a team-focused company culture and nearly 40 years of experience.
IMTS 2018 Showcases New Manufacturing Technology Trends
August 6, 2018
To stay current with technology and peer into the future of manufacturing, take a look at our preview of IMTS—The International Manufacturing Technology Show, to be held at McCormick Place in Chicago from Sept. 10 through Sept. 15. In the following pages, ME provides in-depth examinations of each pavilion at IMTS, as well as previews of the products you will be able to see displayed at exhibitors’ booths.
Adding it Up at IMTS 2018
August 8, 2018
Additive manufacturing (AM) pioneer Charles Hull introduced the first commercial 3D printer, the SLA-1, in 1987. Jaws dropped, machinists wondered about their next career, pundits said it spelled the death of traditional manufacturing. None of that happened, thankfully; in fact, some said 3D printing was a bunch of hype, good for little more than investment casting patterns and proof of concept prototypes.
Take Control at IMTS 2018
August 8, 2018
Most anyone attending IMTS 2018 is well aware that machine tools are the lifeblood of virtually any manufacturing company. Without lathes and machining centers, parts don’t get made, barstock collects dust on the shelf, and machinists…they’d have nothing to do.
EDM Burns Brighter Than Ever at IMTS 2018
August 8, 2018
Whether your shop produces plastic injection molds, does tool and die work, or wire-cuts precision features on medical and aerospace components, you’ll want to check out the latest and greatest in EDM technology at IMTS 2018. More than two dozen exhibitors will be there, demonstrating larger, faster machine tools along with innovative ways to make them more productive.
IMTS: Fabricating & Lasers Pavilion Shows Need for Constant Improvement
August 9, 2018
The Fabricating & Lasers pavilion of IMTS shows how makers of machine tools have to keep improving their product lineup. For one thing, customer expectations continue to rise.
By Bill Koenig
Senior Editor,
SME Media
At IMTS, Makers of Gear Machines Look to Showcase Improvements
August 10, 2018
Makers of machine tools used to produce gears are looking to the 2018 edition of IMTS to demonstrate how they’re meeting customer demands.
By Bill Koenig
Senior Editor,
SME Media
IMTS Metalcutting Pavilion: Transformational Innovation Leads the Way
August 9, 2018
There is every reason to believe that IMTS 2018 will be the largest version of the biennial manufacturing exposition yet, based on the number of exhibitors, expected attendance from early bird registrations, floor space, and the level of advanced technology.
By Jim Lorincz
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
IMTS Tooling, Workholding Suppliers Target Growing Applications
August 8, 2018
You don’t have to be an engineer to appreciate the solutions for the tooling or workholding challenges that shops will bring to exhibitors when attending IMTS 2018. One thing is certain you’ll never have a better time to find suppliers of advanced tooling and workholding technology under one venue like McCormick Place.
By Jim Lorincz
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
At One IMTS Pavilion, Clean Is the Word
August 13, 2018
In manufacturing, a shop can have the most-up-to-date cutting machines operating at the fastest speeds. But it still needs to deal with chips and fluids. That’s where the Machine Components, Cleaning, and Environmental pavilion at IMTS comes in.
By Bill Koenig
Senior Editor,
SME Media
In Abrasive Machining, Timing May Not Be Everything, But…
August 10, 2018
If there is a primary goal for what companies in this sector want to deliver to their customers it is quality. But throughput comes in a fairly close second.
Quality Assurance Passes with Flying Colors at IMTS
August 14, 2018
The world of quality measurement devices and software continues to expand, and IMTS years are especially exciting times. If there is a theme in the many offerings—new devices, new software—it might be how quality devices are continuing to burrow their way into the heart of manufacturing on the shop floor.
By Bruce Morey
Senior Technical Editor,
SME Media
Up Front
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Expert OpinionSee You in September—at IMTS!
August 17, 2018Just in case you hadn’t heard the news, IMTS 2018 starts up in Chicago on Monday, Sept. 10, for a week-long run. As you may have guessed from the heft of this extra-large version of Manufacturing Engineering, we are presenting previews of the IMTS Pavilions, including commentary on technology trends and LOTS of product previews.
Advanced Manufacturing Now
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Expert Opinion
3D Printing Boosts Creativity, Problem Solving at Small Medical Startup Firm
August 7, 2018Alex Berry and his team at Sutrue Ltd. (Colchester, England) exploited the benefits of 3D printing prototypes when developing two new automated suturing devices. They also coined a phrase to describe their prototyping technique. -
Quality/Inspection/Test
Hexagon Thinks Big, Gets Bigger
August 8, 2018It’s easy to become dazed by the continuing stream of buzz words. For those of us in manufacturing, all this buzz creates a sense of impending change, but no clarity on what that change might be. Uncertainty means anxiety. -
Seven Machining Metrics that Matter Most
August 8, 2018Manufacturing economics should be “Job One” for any plant manager or owner, and this approach should infuse operations all the way down to the shop floor.
Mfg Intel
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Hybrid Machine Tools Offer One-Two Punch
August 17, 2018When additive manufacturing first hit the market, some said it would eventually be the death of traditional, or subtractive, CNC machining. More than 30 years later, new machines are showing additive manufacturing as it really is—a complementary technology.
SME Speaks
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Students Experience RAPID + TCT Show
August 8, 2018AS A TEAM OF FOUR MANUFACTURING engineering undergraduate students from Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA), we had our minds blown within seconds of walking onto the RAPID + TCT show floor when we attended the event, April 23-26, in Fort Worth, TX.
Workforce Pipeline
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Workforce Development
Creating a Talent Pipeline Requires Collaboration
August 9, 2018Manufacturers, and all businesses throughout Ohio, are looking for talent to compete in a global economy that is rapidly changing. With these changes comes the need for better collaboration between businesses and education and training providers.
Viewpoints
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Three Ways Industry 4.0 Is Forcing Manufacturers to Rethink Lead Times
August 10, 2018Named the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector by McKinsey & Company, Industry 4.0 is sweeping through manufacturing—combining connectivity with computational power and data for unparalleled capabilities. Here are three ways Industry 4.0 is forcing manufacturers to rethink one key metric: their lead times.
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