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Get New Machine Training Online

Buying a new machine tool usually involves some training. Training can be expensive, though. It costs money to get training. It costs money to give training, too. It’s no surprise, then, that some machine tool builders are moving to online training courses for their machines. Training delivered over the Internet can save the cost of travel, can be scheduled for convenience and can be received when the trainee is ready to use the training (when retention is the highest). Developing effective online training is not cheap, but the effort has to be made only once. One of the machine tool builders that has online machine training available is Haas Automation. These training courses include a variety of topics, including control unit functions and features.

Upcoming Event

MoldMaking Expo 2008
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Discover the latest moldmaking product and process technology.
www.moldmakingexpo.com

Your Thoughts
If I Had a $1,000,000...
If your shop could buy one new piece of equipment, even if it cost as much as $1 million (or a little more), what machine tool or piece of equipment would you buy? Tell us why that purchase would be your top priority. Dream boldly!

Please send your comments by e-mail to Mark Albert.

If we publish your response, you’ll receive your choice of one free book from the metalworking section of the Hanser Gardner bookstore.

re: Your Thoughts
How Valuable is Your Shop's Website?
A recent issue of MMS Extra asked for comments about how valuable your shop’s Website is.

Dan Miller at Miller Welding & Machine Company in Brookville, Pennsylvania, had this to say about his shop’s new, professionally designed Web site:

“We added virtual tours with professional and eye-catching imagery and were finally able to represent our company’s capabilities and showcase projects. We added client case studies and industry solutions. Within the first 90 days of launching the new site, it proved to be a critical catalyst in aiding us to land two new accounts that will be top 10 accounts this year. The response has been great, and I think I can honestly say that our new site has contributed to closing deals. We can use the online capabilities tour as a sales tool, and the site also helps us recruit new hires. At this point, we're busier than ever.”

Some parts that are being ground in centerless grinding machines.

Inbox Insights
Centerless Grinding Surprises
Earlier this year, I had a chance to visit Studer Mikrosa, the manufacturer of centerless grinding machines, in Leipzig, Germany. One of the things I learned there is that centerless grinding can be used on a much wider variety of parts than I ever imagined. The part that surprised me the most was a cylindrical roller on which the two end tapers were ground simultaneously on a centerless machine. The key is having a grinding wheel and a regulating wheel with the appropriate concave and convex contact surfaces. Other surprising parts that can be ground without centers are eccentric shafts, universal joints and tapered rolls. Even grinding of faces can be done on these machines.

Visit the MMS Online Grinding Zone

New Automotive Design & Production e-mail Newsletter

Gardner Publications, Inc., the company that publishes Modern Machine Shop, also publishes Automotive Design & Production (AD&P). AD&P is all about designing and producing cars and other motor vehicles. Their version of MMS Extra, called “autofieldguide e-Newsletter,” launched this month.

To subscribe or view a sample of the autofieldguide e-Newsletter, click here (or on the adjacent sample image)

OUR NEXT ISSUE
Die/Mold Machining

The April 2008 issue of Modern Machine Shop shows how one mold shop is tackling the challenge of getting the skilled machinists, moldmakers and programmers it needs. The shop hired its own full-time training coordinator. The idea could work for any shop in the same situation.

We’ll also look at some basic machining parameters for hard milling. The speed and feed formulas in this article are a good place to start.

Don't Forget —The MoldMaking Expo & Technical Conference takes place April 23-24 in Novi, Michigan. Along with a number of other new features, this year's show is introducing a half-day die/mold machining workshop for conference registrants entitled “New Technologies In Mold Manufacturing.” This workshop will include process presentations and live machining demos on more than 13 different machines at the Makino Tech Center in Auburn Hills. Vist www.moldmaking.expo for more details.

Be sure to subscribe or renew your subscription at www.mmsonline.com/subscribe.

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