Admit it. There have been instances in which an operator’s mistake or a programming error turned one of your shop’s perfectly good cutters into a deformed creature like this (see image to the right).
Well, an operator accidentally advanced the coolant-through drill in rapid mode smack-dab into a tombstone. The tip broke off and ... To find out more and learn how you might reduce the likelihood it’ll happen in your shop, click here.
Your Thoughts
Recycling Carbide
Do you recycle your used carbide tools? If so, what kind of savings are you realizing? If you don’t recycle them, why not?
Share your opinions and experiences. If we publish your response, you’ll receive your choice of one free book from the metalworking section of the Hanser Gardner bookstore.
To respond, send an e-mail to Derek.
Inbox Insights
Enter an Extreme Machining Contest
Show Mori Seiki how talented you are by entering the company’s Innovation of the Americas contest. The contest will showcase innovative parts designed and machined in North, Central and South America. The 2008 contest is open to all shops, schools and R&D institutes that are involved in metalcutting. Ideal entries are those that demonstrate intricate cuts in challenging materials. The only requirement is that the entry must be processed on a CNC machine tool (from any builder). The deadline to enter is June 30, 2008.
There will be a total of 20 contest winners. The top 12 finalists will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for two to IMTS 2008.
Visit Mori Seiki to apply online. Click here for examples of award-winning work from the 2006 edition of the Innovation of the Americas contest.
New On MMS Online
Benefitting From Depreciation
In a new InMotion presentation from Makino, the machine tool manufacturer’s finance manager and a tax adviser run through this year’s changed depreciation rules for capital equipment and how you can benefit from it. They also detail three components of the tax savings that a shop or manufacturer might realize on new equipment put to use this year.
View this detailed, narrated presentation.
Our Next Issue
Machining the Big and the Small
Our June cover story describes how a shop was able to diversify into medical implant machining work by overcoming some “little” challenges: small part sizes, small lot sizes and short lead times.
On the other side of the spectrum, another feature addresses the difficulties a shop faces in machining 40,000-pound hub castings for wind turbines.
A third feature tells how sister companies machining parts for the aerospace and medical industries strive to be manufacturing partners with their customers, instead of just “shops.”
Be sure to subscribe or renew your subscription.
