February 2011 Issue

February 2011

EDM Energy Conservation Without the Effort

Most machine tool energy conservation systems simply track power consumption, placing the burden of actually reducing energy use on manufacturers. GF AgieCharmilles aims to change that with the EconoWatt II, an automated system for wire EDM.

Features

Featured articles from the February 2011 issue of Modern Machine Shop

Shop Management Software 12 Nov 2010

The Case for Software-as-a-Service ERP

The owner of a die manufacturing business describes why he prefers to subscribe to ERP software rather than buying it.

EDM 2 Feb 2011

Wire Rethreader Hits The Mark

The rethreading system on a wire electrical discharge machine helps a U.S. manufacturer keep up with production requirements for a critical pistol component.

Turning Machines 2 Feb 2011

A Role to Remember

The performance of this company’s machine tools for turning and milling large workpieces is critical to applications such as environmental cleanups. Its part in the recent Gulf oil spill was a dramatic example.

25 Jan 2011

A Clean Fire Prevention Alternative for Machine Tools

This environmentally friendly fire-extinguishing system does not lead to ozone depletion. Plus, it is said to be ten times more effective in extinguishing fires than halon.

Workforce Development 21 Jan 2011

Job Shop Uses 3D Wire Bending and CNC Machining To Find Its Niche

Marshall Manufacturing melds CNC machining and 3D bending to create intricate medical components from small-diameter barstock and tubing. Customer needs spurred the shop to carve out what has become a successful medical-manufacturing niche.

Horizontal Machining Centers 15 Dec 2010

The Online Optimizer

Coming soon: The Machine Tool Genome Project promises to let almost any machine shop use its machining centers more productively. Shops will benefit from tap-test findings without personally tapping any of their own machines or tools.