BLOG

Workholding

Parts and Programs: Setup for Success

By: John Miller

Tips for program and work setups that can simplify adjustments and troubleshooting.

Machines

TTI Brings Specialty Gear Production In-House with Multiaxis Machining

By: Nathaniel Fields

By bringing gear production in-house, this manufacturer turned a four- to ten-week lead time into a one- to two-week lead time.

Solve Worker Shortages With ACE Workforce Development

By: Tony Schmitz

The America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) program is addressing the current shortage in trained and available workers by offering no-cost online and in-person training opportunities in CNC machining and metrology.
#workforcedevelopment

Lights Out Machining With An Automated 5-Axis Cell

Legacy Precision Molds takes us on a tour of their moldbuilding facility. They've recently implemented two automated 5-axis cells for metal and graphite machining that run lights out during nights and weekends.
#videoVFMS

Machines

Joint Ribbon Cutting at Fagor, Danobat Showrooms

By: Eli Plaskett

Danobat and Fagor co-hosted an inaugural event for their co-located facilities in the Chicago area.

Measurement

How to Choose the Correct Fixed-Body Plug Gaging Solution

By: George Schuetz

The two types of fixed-body plug gages are both accurate, fast and easy to use. Consider these factors when selecting one for your gaging application.
#Basics #qualitygagingtips

Turning Machines

Inside the Premium Machine Shop Making Fasteners

By: Evan Doran

AMPG can’t help but take risks — its management doesn’t know how to run machines. But these risks have enabled it to become a runaway success in its market.

CNC & Mach Controls

Tips for Designing CNC Programs That Help Operators

By: Mike Lynch

The way a G-code program is formatted directly affects the productivity of the CNC people who use them. Design CNC programs that make CNC setup people and operators’ jobs easier.
#cnctechtalk

Metalworking Activity Stayed Consistent in July

By: Jan Schafer

Metalworking activity hung together better in July, with all but one GBI component contracting.
#economics

Measurement

Process Control — Leveraging Machine Shop Connectivity in Real Time

By: Brent Donaldson

Renishaw Central, the company’s new end-to-end process control software, offers a new methodology for producing families of parts through actionable data.

CNC & Mach Controls

From Tradition to Transformation: Century-Old Manual Machine Shop Adds CNCs

By: Nathaniel Fields

After 122 years of working with manual mills and lathes, this fifth-generation shop acquired assets of a local CNC machining business and hired the owner. Here’s how it’s going a year later.

Measurement

Electronic Bore Gage Automates Bore Data Acquisition

By: Nathaniel Fields

This new portable gage provides precision measurement and verification of custom parts with integrated data collection.

Measurement

The Link Between CNC Process Control and Powertrain Warranties

By: Brent Donaldson

Ever since inventing the touch-trigger probe in 1972, Sir David McMurtry and his company Renishaw have been focused on achieving process control over its own manufacturing operations. That journey has had sweeping consequences for manufacturing at large.
#thesetup

Measurement

Rethink Quality Control to Increase Productivity, Decrease Scrap

By: Udo Jahn

Verifying parts is essential to documenting quality, and there are a few best practices that can make the quality control process more efficient.
#Basics #viewfrommyshop

How Summer Heat is Affecting Your Parts

By: John Miller

All machines have thermal shift. Follow these tips to keep your tolerances tight even as shop temperatures flucatuate in the warmer months.

Machines

Inverting Turning and Five-Axis Milling at Famar

By: Evan Doran

Automation is only the tip of the iceberg for Famar, which also provides multitasking options for its vertical lathes and horizontal five-axis machine tools.

Additive

5 Big Themes in Additive Manufacturing at Formnext Forum: Austin

By: Peter Zelinski

Formnext Forum: Austin, a two-day event at the end of August focused on additive manufacturing for production, includes a conference exploring important ideas in AM related to supply chains, bridge production, enterprise transformation and more.
#zaxis