Makino

The EDAF series of ram EDMs features a new mechanical design for increased rigidity and reduced thermal distortion.

Makino (Mason, Ohio) has released the schedule for its summer seminars, which cover topics including milling, EDM and automation as well as the company’s latest machining technologies.

Investing in a hard milling machine from Makino has enabled this fineblanking manufacturer to reduce lead time by 55 percent, reduce manual labor and improve part quality.

The challenge for the aerospace machine shop is to produce titanium parts productively and profitably. The challenge for the machine tool builder is to help such shops meet this challenge.

Makino’s F series VMCs are designed to provide stiffness and rigidity for chatter-free cutting; agility for high-speed/hard-milling; and accuracy for tight tolerance blends and matches typical of complex, 3D contoured geometry associated with die/mold and medical production.

Makino will host a Global Titanium Day on Thursday, May 20th at its Mason, Ohio Global Titanium R&D Center.

This small hole is actually large enough that any of three different processes might be used.

Makino’s MMC-R automation system is designed for robotic fixture plate distribution in HMCs and VMCs.

Designed to machine complex geometries, Makino’s F3 VMC is designed for rigidity and micron-range positioning accuracies and repeatability.

summary

Vibration analysis may be the machining center’s missing piece. If you haven’t performed this analysis on your high speed machine, you probably don’t know what the machine can do.

Technology improvements steadily expand the range of tool and die parts that justify high speed machining.

Manual loading of heavy housings was this manufacturer’s prime bottleneck. It had limited experience with automated cells, but decided to install a big one. A look at the manufacturer’s $13 million cell reveals an intriguing layout and blend of technologies.

 Shops and plants can't afford to overlook any opportunity to cut costs and improve their financial picture.

 Excessive wire consumption on a wire electrical discharge machine is costly. Technology that allows slower unspooling speeds without compromising results appears to be the answer.

Machines with geared-head spindles are typically employed for machining titanium and other tough materials that require high torque. However, replacing such models with integral-drive HMCs from Makino has enabled this contract manufacturer to significantly improve productivity on time-sensitive aerospace jobs.

Makino’s online seminar series reached a new milestone June 4 with the 100th seminar broadcast. All 100 seminars are available at the company’s online seminar library.

Here are highlights from a presentation by an auto-industry observer at Makino’s recent technology expo.

A reader with a 10,000-rpm drill press can drill a 0.019-inch hole in stainless, as long as all the contributors to runout are controlled.

A reader recently asked about speed, feed rate and depth of cut when using small tools in steel.

A reader wants to mill with small tools on a straightforward VMC used for full-sized work. MMS Online’s micromachining expert offers advice.

Attendees to Makino’s Advanced Manufacturing and High-Precision Technology Expo will have the opportunity to gain industry-leading advice and witness machining demonstrations from Makino and other prominent suppliers, the company says. Scheduled for September 16 and 17 at the company’s Auburn Hills, Michigan Tech Center, the event will feature presentations from speakers including Kim Korth, IRN owner and president; Conrad Winkler, Partner of Booz & Company; and Dr.

Makino’s next generation of MAG series five-axis machinery, the A7, provides increased accuracy and reduced cycle times for large complex aluminum monolithic parts for aerospace structural applications. The A7 is designed with extended X-, Y- and Z-axis travels of 276" × 99" × 40" (7,000 mm × 2,500 mm × 1,000 mm) to accommodate parts as large as 276" × 79" × 28" (7,000 mm × 2,000 mm × 700 mm) that weigh as much as 11,024 lbs (5,000 kg).

Through-spindle coolant is good if you can get it, but the spot drilling might not be necessary. Try a pilot hole instead?

Various techniques address the challenge of getting a clean machined feature at microscopic scales.

Makino’s T4 five-axis HMC combines lean manufacturing methods with increased metal removal rates for aerospace applications. It is specifically designed for the production of large titanium and titanium alloy aerospace parts including edge frames, pylons and bulkheads.

An expert in micromachining says one answer is to check various aspects of the drilling process. Another answer is not to use a drill at all.

The company offers a five-axis version of its V33i hard milling VMC, the V33i-5XB. The VMC will be integrated with an Erowa robot at the show to demonstrate how shops can utilize automation in high-accuracy hard milling applications.

Hummingbird takes on machining work that is too small for most shops to handle. In fact, Hummingbird tries not to handle it either. To accurately machine the tiniest parts, this shop relies on processes that are as hands-off as possible.

The a51 HMC is designed for performance and reliability. According to the company, the simple-to-operate machine is compact, easily maintained and quickly deployable for manufacturing applications that require maximum throughput and dependability. The machine is suited for medium- to high-volume production shops, first- and second-tier automotive parts suppliers and general-contract machining operations.

Makino has launched version 5 of its EDcam offline programming software, which provides shops with more options in a wider array of applications. This update adds to features from previous versions, upholding the value of continuous machine run time and operator multitasking. New features include expanded model data, machining conditions technology upgrades and new electrode material types to encompass a larger number of application needs.

Machine-mounted video cameras are part of a system that help a shop owner get more work done while spending less time in the shop. He can monitor and control what’s happening on his machines remotely. He’s also developed strategies for reacting to events such as unexpected tool wear or sudden tool breakage without returning to the shop to fix the problem.

The success of Makino’s online seminar program has led to the creation of the Online Seminar Library, a multimedia educational resource designed to further the manufacturing competitiveness of North American shops. The library features more than 60 online seminars broadcast by Makino applications engineers since the program’s inception two years ago. Upcoming live events are expected to bring the total number of seminars to 100 by the end of the year.

Makino's D500 five-axis VMC is designed for complex part production where part quality is paramount, the company says. The work zone for the center is 500 × 450 mm. The X, Y and Z axes provide strokes up to 550, 1000 and 500 mm respectively. Rotary table axes A and C provide rotational motion of +30 to -120 degrees

I hope that all of you could identify with some of those examples, with some of the applications and challenges that you come up with in your own manufacturing environment. So we took a look at fixture economics and looked at several examples of case studies applying some of the more innovative technologies for

This is a transmission case for an automotive manufacturer. This is one part per fixture. It again is an integral pallet and fixture design, using Continuous Pressure Hydraulics. But the unique thing about this particular fixture is this: You can see in the picture that this fixture is about halfway between the

This is an air brake compressor housing for an over-the-road truck manufacturing application, a four-position hydraulic fixture. A lot of the challenge that this part gave us was that we have to run 15 different part numbers on this fixture. And the configurations of these parts, as you can see by looking at th

You're looking at a solid drawing, solid model drawing of this particular fixture. This is a steering knuckle, also over a million parts per year in production volume. Again, we went with an eight-position hydraulic fixture. These are aluminum knuckles and there are three different part numbers that have to run

This fixture that you're looking at now is a steering gear fixture; it is a nodular iron steering gear housing, a rather large piece. This is an extremely high-volume application, one million parts plus per year. We're using an eight-position hydraulic fixture, expanding locators inside of those parts in order

This is showing a machine cell setup with our CPH system. Part of the CPH system, and obviously CPH is an option on the machines, is visual control. Now how that basically translates is on this CPH-ing machine you have an auto door option. In this particular case at a customer's facility they're running automot

When we look at high-production workholding there's a few different areas of concentration that we need to think about. Obviously, robust and easy loading is one of the largest concerns that I see; it's probably one of the most overlooked areas of fixturing, especially during design. It's not often that the fix

This is an example of a robot-loaded cell and fixture combination on one of our machines. You can see that this particular operation uses CPH, automatic robot loading, and a few of the other features that we've been talking about. That's a good look at the CPH trunion. And there is the coolan

As I mentioned earlier, this is just showing that same fixture looking head-on. You can see how the oil pan is rotated to access the compound angle features. We've eliminated the need for a second operation; we don't need a fifth axis. Obviously, there's no off line work. A lot of times customers, instead of cr

This is an automotive oil pan fixture. It is similar to the video that you watched earlier showing the tip axis or rotate axis that we've incorporated onto some of our fixtures. This is a one-position fixture and it looks rather complicated; you see an awful lot of hydraulic lines on there. Obviously, we're usi

This is the same power steer gear housing used in; it's a second operation fixture, again it's a two-position fixture. We're using the Continuous Pressure Hydraulics again. We've got part seated detection; that it is different from part presence sensing. We have part presence sensing on this fixture as well, ag

This is a power steering gear housing that was done for an automotive application. You can see that we have two parts up in a vertical orientation. The use of CPH, look at the top of that picture; you can see our twelve-port trunion. So we're using the Continuous Pressure Hydraulics for that actuation of this f

I'd like to talk about some of the newer methods, as Bob said, which really gets into systems with higher reliability and lower maintenance. One system that we see becoming very popular is something that we call Continuous Pressure Hydraulics, or CPH. With this type of a system you often see the potential for i

In a high-production workholding environment there are different types of clamping. The traditional method of hydraulic clamping and unclamping still remains very popular. Within that family of hydraulic clamping there are several different slices or different flavors of hydraulic clamping that you can have. On

Now we're taking a look at a very different kind of a modular fixturing for larger parts. This is really not new, and the title of our presentation is for innovative fixturing, so I'll just touch on this. This type of modular fixturing is big with aerospace applications. On the left there you see a vacuum

I'll talk briefly about some modular fixturing concepts and then get into a couple of traditional fixture designs. This video is courtesy of Curt Manufacturing, their Industrial Products Division. What we're showing here is something many of you may be familiar with. It is more less a manual, modular type fixtu

The meat and potatoes of this presentation, from a fixture designer standpoint, begins with what we like to call fixture economics. Inside of fixture economics we're looking at cycle time versus the number of parts per fixture. Basically we're trying to figure out exactly where and how many parts we should have

Other key elements include the machine performance and size, work zone considerations, part volume, quality requirements required, part process considerations in how you'll process a part with a stand-alone machine, manual or hydraulic or automated fixtures versus a more of a cellular approach or an automated p

Welcome to Makino's seminar on Innovative Fixturing. I am Tim Jones, product line manger for Horizontal Machining Centers at Makino, and your other host is Bob Kuzner. Bob has over twenty-five years of fixturing experience in the manufacturing environments and we're hoping you can benefit from his experience, k

Next what we want to talk about is technology transfer. What we refer to by technology transfer learning the details of how to hard mill. One way we do this at Makino is a die/mold process training class. In this class, we share information that we have acquired in testing, in time and use, and through partners

This video is of a 62 Rockwell piece of A2. We are cutting using a collapsing tool path starting from the inside and going outward doing a Z-level roughing routine. This tool path is also utilizing Trochoidal roughing, creating little arcing motions and morphing out on the part as it goes along. The cutter

This die punch is at a hardness of 62 Rockwell. The material is A2, so it is a die type material. The cutter that we are using is a Hitachi TH coated. The cutter is a 12 millimeter diameter. It is a flat, six fluted cutter. The 45 degree angle on it is why the chips are coming off and looking the way that they

The best way to figure out feedrate is to use the guide that the manufacturers give to you as a starting point, but then acquire your own knowledge. Take good notes and pay attention to processes that have worked in the past. Every hard milling application is different, and feedrate is really where machining ex

Now we are going to talk about spindle speeds and some of the considerations that go along with the different types of materials. I basically just kind of broke this down on material (see chart in presentation). Not to say that every tool can be ran at these rpm's, but this is at least a guideline to help get y

The video is of a piece of A2 at 60 Rockwell. The cutter itself is a four-fluted ballnose endmill. It is the true ball design by OSG. It is a 12 millimeter diameter ballnose endmill, cutting at a spindle speed of 5,040 rpm. The feedrate is 76 inches per minute. The step over is four thou worth of stock or step

When cutting 60 Rockwell, be aware that there are cutters specifically designed for this material. Using anything less will cause unwanted results. If you want to get to a bench-free surface finish and want that part to have an accuracy based on being able to shoot a mold, you need to be mindful of the tol

We need to talk about tool holders and some of the considerations that go with tool holders when dealing with hardened materials. The mill chuck is a very effective roughing tool holder for 60 Rockwell materials. When I am roughing I am creating vibration. That vibration has to be absorbed somewhere. This t

Re-machining, to me, is the most critical part of cutting 60 Rockwell materials. To be effective your re-machining has to be intelligent enough to go back in and pick out only the excess material. This is where stock model recognition comes into play. Without it, you can't go back in there and remove the materi

We want to look for a cam system that is specifically designed for 60 Rockwell materials - a system that utilizes solid model recognition and is very good at re-machining. Ultimately we are looking for a system that can provide a highly accurate tool path and gives us the different processes and approaches that

Next we want to talk about lead in and lead out. A few examples are helical ramp in, vertical ramp in, and horizontal ramp in. All of these are extremely effective for coming into material. Ultimately what we are trying to do is eliminate any entry marks. If I'm doing a roughing routine and I'm starting on

I would like to talk about now are the requirements in order to get to 60 Rockwell high performance machining: machine construction, spindle construction, control technology, tool holders, cutters and cam software. So these are the things it really takes to get to the high performance machining or hard metals.

Welcome to the presentation on Solutions for Hard Milling. I'm Craig McQueen, machining center application team leader out of Makino's die/mold headquarters for North and South America located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. First, let's talk about the benefits to hardmilling. One of the primary benefits to har

As I stated at the beginning I would like to introduce you to one of our customers, Mr. Tom Frick. We have recently added HEAT to his machine. I would like him to tell some of his experiences. TOM FRICK: My name is Tom Frick, I'm the owner of Intricate EDM in Columbia, Pennsylvania. I purchased a Makino

Right now I would like to get into to some real world applications that are taken directly from customer request and also demos. Many of these examples that we are showing you guys today involve poor flushing conditions. This is a trim dye for the automotive industry. You can see our average rough speed is abou

This is a great little chart here that shows not only do we gain that speed but we also have a tolerance that's over two hundred millimeters, we are looking at five microns. So not only does our cutting speed increase but also we are maintaining this with superior accuracy. This is another chart that comp

These are certain applications that you could associate for the HEAT technology. We are basing it around poor flushing as I mentioned. So you can see some of the various punches here and parts that are associated with this kind of condition. This is a performance chart that show traditional technology. What I m

The results that we have came across now utilizing this technology is that we've increased our speed and accuracy on our first pass also on our second pass utilizing the ten and twelve thousandths wire. With one pass we are getting straightness's of TIR about five tenths with one pass. Those of you in the busin

Some of the technology enhancements that we have done to the machine are as follows. We took our flushing nozzle technology into a better design to help with the flow to the work piece. We have improved upon our flushing capabilities themselves doing some things to our pump systems. We have also extended the li

Before we started this technology development we wanted to set some targets and as far as real world kind of targets. We wanted to standardize to ten thousandths and twelve thousandths diameter wires. We wanted to focus on technology using brass and coated wires and paraffin or non paraffin types of wires and m

Those are the examples I wanted to present to you today. To summarize the purpose of today’s topic was to pursue zero defects in the manufacturing process. You can do that and make a more efficient, lower cost process, as part of the pursuit of zero defects through effective error proofing. This is something th

Another method of error proofing the machine process is monitoring system on the machine controllers today. Specifically, I've got a case study and it’s one of my favorites and really a wonderful example of a Poka-yoke process that saves you a lot of money.  This customer was applying a spindle load moni

Another method of error checking on the machine itself is something we call, ‘BTSOMA.’  That is an acronym for Broken Tool Sensor Outside the Machining Area. We supply a lot of these features on our horizontal machines because it’s a good error checking process. It adds liability to the process and basically wh

Now, moving on to the machine itself and what can be done on the machine to reduce errors. The first thing I want to point to is a system that we call, ‘Automatic Pallet Confirmation.’ Automatic Pallet Confirmation takes the location of the pallets and the machine tool to an extra level of error proofing.  I ha

Another technique in the Poka-yoke process that can be applied to tooling would be something that when we deliver turnkey projects we incorporate and call, ‘Offset checks,’ into our part programs. What an offset check is, it’s use of a macro program designed to check and offset value and verify it is within a n

Moving on to tooling. Tooling is an area of the highest frequency of errors that might occur in the machining process. You have diameter and length associated with each and every tool, and sometimes you’ve got a complex part with 20-30 tools, and everything has to be perfect.  Remember back to that slide that a

Unfortunately, there is no recognized standard that everyone can agree on. That means that you, as a buyer, will need to understand and properly compare specifications, keeping in mind the differing standards of measurement and how the specs interact with one another. You’ll need to determine your own wa

There are hundreds of other issues, including pallet change time and pallet repeatability. Pallet change time can greatly impact your “floor-to-floor” time, and the overall part cycle time and ultimately the cost per part. Some people measure pallet change unloaded, which can distort the actual times you

A common misunderstood area is horsepower and torque specifications. An interplay exists between horsepower and torque, though horsepower says little about cutting performance. Torque is really what controls potential metal removal rates because it determines the available amount of force to support cutting act

Tool-change specifications are another aspect that must be examined. They can represent a significant amount of cycle time, and it’s non-productive time because you’re not in the cut. If you have 50 tools in a part, you’re adding more and more non-productive time every time that tool is changed out. How you ana

Another issue that must be considered is what other machine characteristics will affect your cycle times, like rapid, acceleration, and deceleration. You can spend a significant amount of time in non-cut, or non-productive times, that are very dependent on rapids, acceleration, and deceleration. You have a lot

I think everyone assumes that basic accuracy specs are the same on every machine tool. Just about everybody’s seen laser checks, and everyone assumes that the specs are relatively universal. If you go back in history, you can see from the 1960s to the 1990s there was significant improvement in positionin

I’d like to start out by explaining what a specification is. If you look in the dictionary, basically a specification is a means to define, or a description. Specs are used by machine tool buyers to compare different products and predict expected performance. Standards Consumers needed a way to evalua

Our topic is “Buyer Beware: Are Specifications Really What They Seem?” First, we’re going to talk about what a specification is and why it is needed. The next topic is where are specs now, and what that means to you as a buyer. We’ll also take a look at how specs are used as an evaluating tool for key perfo

Staying with the programming theme, there have been some things that we’ve done here at Makino. Historically, we do turnkeys for a lot of our customers; we’ve done around 450 different part configurations for our customers. I have a lot of experience with processing and programming, myself. One of the things we

Now that you’ve seen the software, and if you have been thinking about addressing the programming stage of your process with verification software like this, there are a couple checklists of what you might look for when you look for products out on the market.  First, does it verify G-code programs? All

Moving on from the couple of fixture techniques we just looked at, I wanted to talk about the programming side of it because that’s obviously a key part of the manufacturing process. The thing I want to address here is tool path verification software. This is a good way of simulating and therefore, anticipating

The other thing we do in this particular example is part seat detection, which validates the setup. That’s the use of the air sensing system that I mentioned before that can detect if this part is properly up against its locators and not miss-set to the fixture so it will be machined properly by the machine too

First of all, I talked a little bit on the fixture side of things, and we have a method and a product that we use here at Makino called continuous pressure hydraulics. There are a number of error proofing methods that are applied within this fixturing process which is why we develop it.  We apply these techni

What is Poka-yoke? By definition, it’s the implementation of fail safe mechanisms to prevent a process from producing defects. It’s a pretty simple concept. Error proofing becomes a method of 100 percent inspection at the source, rather than down the line. That’s a little bit misleading the way I stated

In our business, we’ve discussed some of the typical errors through talking to a number of our customers and simply being around the industry for 25 years. Sometimes process steps may get missed. This may be due to a number of reasons, like familiarity with a process by an individual or some printing issues, or

First of all, I just want to kind of talk about errors and mistakes. It’s kind of a negative topic. But errors are something that happen, whether it’s in a manufacturing processes or in our own personal lives.  I have a slide and I just want to mention that errors are inevitable even by knowledgeable peo

Good morning, and welcome to our Webinar this morning with Makino. My name is Tim Jones, I’m the Horizontal Product Line Manager here at Makino. Our topic this morning will be Error Proofing the Machining Process. I chose the topic of Error Proofing the Machining Process because I thought it would provid

So what exactly is a Makino MMC? It’s a palletized automation system. It will take a part from a work-setting station, where a raw part would be loaded, for example, and move that part to an available machine or to a pallet storage system to await an available machine. On the other side, it will take a finished

The MMC’s primary ROI benefit is improving spindle utilization by keeping new work delivered to a machine. It also concentrates the work on where the work-setting stations are, streamlining workflow, and removing the need to have many operators, each at their own machine. The MMC also provides unattended operat

What does it take to get your MMC software running? You’ll need to enter all the required information needed to get it started. These fields are things such as your NC programs, part number data, tooling information, fixture information, pallet information, and production information. Basically, you assign a pa

Using an MMC cellular manufacturing system requires a lot of data to be input and stored to produce the parts you need when you need them. In order to do this, you need an advanced software system. At Makino, we have the Makino Advanced System, or MAS. It allows you to input and store all your part

The MMC consists of several parts. First, the pallet carrier, which is a single-rail, guided vehicle. It can be a single layer or up to three layers, depending on the desired pallet capacity. The work-setting station is where pallet setup and change-out of parts takes place. The pallet stocker is the storage ar

Reduced setup time is another important factor with an MMC. With a stand-alone operation, you typically have an operator at each or every other machine. Because an MMC uses a work-setting station, a central location to load and unload parts, you can get much more out of your existing labor and reduce the time i

Unattended operation is an important feature of an MMC. Pallets and fixtures can be loaded and stored, awaiting the first available machine. Machining continues through breaks, lunch, and during off-shifts. This allows for minimum interruption of part production, increasing the number of parts produced per mach

Today we’ll be presenting the return on investment, or ROI, achieved by flexible manufacturing cells. We’ll be discussing palletized automation systems, or in terms of what Makino offers, a Makino Machining Complex or MMC. We’ll also talk about the ROI you can expect to receive from this type of investment. And

In molding, if you don't control the surface temperature, the resin will not flow correctly, which will cause a weld or seam. There is a new process that allows you to eliminate this problem and create weldless or mold-free parts. In order to do this, you must have much higher control of the mold and its temper

Here we have some pictures of parts molded with conventional and weldless processes. You can see in these parts the seam lines that have been eliminated in each part where the material, in the conventional process, did not flow together properly. Some of these images show you how the surface finish can often lo

Other members of the alliance that create a weldless mold include Sysko Corporation, which is a manufacturer of large-scale heating and cooling equipment. Their equipment is used to heat and cool, and their method of changing from heating to cooling is a changeover valve unit. They came up with a way to quickly

Makino has patented a vise that we've named the Rotary Smart Vise. It is a vise that allows you to place the intermediate plate in between two grippers in grooves manufactured into the plate. By clamping between centers, it isn't necessary to hold the workpiece very tightly because the cutting forces are relati

Manufacturing of the intermediate plate creates some interesting challenges. Number one, it's thin, which creates issues to hold it without bowing or bending. Second, it's machined on both sides and on the periphery. One side is very detailed-literally the features you'll mold into your part. On the other side,

First we need to understand the basic process, which is having a mold core or cavity created typically on a high-quality machine and placed in the molding machine. The mold is heated up, the plastic resin is injected, and the mold is cooled. The finished part is then ejected from the mold and the process is rep

There are a few key points from the video I’d like you to remember. First, automation can significantly reduce direct labor costs in the right environment. As you saw previously, in a continuous manufacturing process, it is possible to increase output without increasing the direct labor that you would pay again

We know of a company with an aero and precision division that machines aircraft parts that recently installed a work-holding pallet system. Let’s take a look at their system. The system they installed consists of two a61-5XR 5-axis horizontal machining centers, one self-propelled transfer robot, two work

Makino has developed a new pallet system concept called the work-holding pallet system. This system enables smart workpiece setups suitable for multi-faced machining. A horizontal machining center serves as the core machine. The first machine pallet has a 4-axis specification. There is another 5-ax

The business issues here include cutting lead-times. In many cases, we’ve seen people who automate a 5-axis system and cut their lead-times in half. The ability to easily run low volumes is really a big part of this. You can significantly reduce WIP and finished goods inventory, mostly because you can do

What you’re looking at here is our topic for today. We’re referring to the 5-axis machining, which you can see in the sample aircraft airframe part on the left, and on the right is an automated setup with a pallet management system. The idea is to put these two production advantages together to give you

Most of you have probably gotten into lean implementations. Lean is basically about getting rid of waste—time, space, materials, and expense—within your manufacturing setup. For instance, lean manufacturing can lead to reducing inventory and reducing WIP, which is a big deal. With 5-axis machining, you can elim

Moving to higher levels of machining technology, in the context of this presentation, is 5-axis machining. Most of you are probably aware of the advantages of 5-axis machining, but we’ll go over them quickly. First, you can begin reducing setups because you can reach up to five sides of the part in a sin

First of all, let’s talk about automation. These are some quotes we’ve taken from customers over the last couple of years, in testimony to what automation can do for your business. For example, a customer mentioned that he went from 25 to 95 percent spindle utilization on two shifts. You can imagine the

The topic of 5-axis machining has been hot lately, which is why we wanted to bring it your way. But we also wanted to add the other dimension, which is automation. In response to ever-increasing global competition and competitive price pressure, companies are moving toward higher levels of automation and

CHRIS: Some things to keep in mind for 2008. If a company wants to take advantage of the section 179 $250,000 deduction, but they perceive their total purchases may exceed the $800,000 cap, you could utilize a blend of capital leases or purchases with operating lease or tax lease productions. TONY:

C HRIS: Let’s take a look at a few examples. Assuming that a company’s total purchases for 2008 are less than $800,000, and they plan to buy an asset for $125,000. Under section 179, they’d be able to fully deprecate their purchase for the year. TONY : Correct, as long as that deprecation does

Let’s talk about the bonus deprecation a bit. The bonus deprecation feature allows a tax payer to depreciate 50 percent of any qualified purchase to an unlimited amount. Qualified purchase can be anything from computer equipment to machining equipment with exceptions such as luxury vehicles. TONY : Its

Let’s walk through the Stimulus Package and talk about each point. First, the business expensing is limited to $250,000 for the tax year beginning in 2008. Section 179 Business Expensing Second, the incentives will include 50 percent depreciation allowance for any qualified purchase for 2008.

Hello, my name is Chris Lyle. I’m the customer finance manager at Makino. Today, I have a guest, Tony Schweier, CPA of Clark, Shaefer, Hackett & Company. We’re going to be discussing the Economic Stimulus Package 2008 Tax Bill, and how it relates to your business. Tony, I’m sure you’ve been a

Here are some speeds, feed rates and depths of cut for a productive hard milling process.

Compacted graphite iron is increasingly used for diesel and racing engine components. The choice of cutting tool can dictate how effective shops are able to machine this challenging material.

High-end manufacturers know the frustration of watching customers base buying decisions on price. Pursuing low price has sent companies searching the globe for suppliers, and some have been disappointed in the result.

Available in four sizes, Makino’s MCF series of HMCs  are designed for production work on complex parts as large as 5,300 mm in diameter and 3,000 mm tall.  Each model features an 18,000-rpm spindle, feed rates as fast as 16 m per minute and the company’s Geometric Intelligence technology. Average positioning accuracy is 2 microns in the X axis, 1.

"Lights out" doesn’t require an intense commitment. This job shop achieves flexible unattended machining when it needs it using palletized HMCs.

This maker of implantable medical components can now machine the entire outside surface of a knee component in one setup.

Eclipse Mold makes a good case for high-end machining centers as the basis for effectively machining to zero.

A job shop that specializes in hard milling shows why this technique is becoming indispensable for mold manufacturers. Hard milling allows mold components to be machined in the hardened state, thus skipping several expensive and time-consuming processes such as electrical discharge machining and hand polishing. Hard milling requires a certain type of machining center, tool holding system and programming software. The requirements for each of these elements are explained.

Measuring the length of the cutting tool in the spindle is critical.

Multitasking capability is coming to EDM. This ram EDM unit can switch from ram to wire EDM to produce holes as small as 0.03 mm in diameter.

This collection of hole making-technologies offers some new, unusual and overlooked ways to make holes in machined parts. One of these tools might be the solution you're looking for. All of them will help you rethink your approach to hole making.

An OEM and contract shop have found value in an unconventional, untethered hydraulic workholding method that uses mechanical energy transfer to charge a fixture's sealed hydraulic circuit. Free and easy HMC pallet movement is the result.

Most U.S. mold shops still leave extra stock on the cores and cavities of the molds they machine. This practice is unnecessary and wasteful, say proponents of advanced machining technology.

Machie tools designed for submicron accuracy and subminiature workpieces are following design strategies that depart from conventional practice. The Hyper2J from Makino is described as a case in point.

Wire EDM (electrical discharge machining) has been configured with the wire in a vertical orientation for decades, so the appearance of a wire machine that orients the wire horizontally is truly a novel development.

HSM can let milling serve as an alternative to EDM for making dies or molds from the hardest materials (50+ Rc).

Innovative approaches to funding help shops and plants acquire the technology they need.

A grinding shop in western Pennsylvania uses self-teaching CNCs to boost productivity.

Large monolithic aircraft parts may be machined more productively one at a time instead of three at once.

This shop was pleasantly surprised to discover that, besides making chips faster, its new horizontal machining centers also enabled them to eliminate a time-consuming, secondary operation.

Machining an out-of-round bore is easy if you're not particular about the location or magnitude of the roundness error. But accurately machining a hole that has a precisely defined non-round profile is a capability that would seem to be well beyond what a standard boring bar can accomplish.

The setup for batch processing of each stem version and time expended in load/unload for the second operation created a production bottleneck that became more critical as market demand for the part took off.

Starting with a flexible cell, this shop added efficient tool management plus workholding hardware designed for fast and error-free changeover.

Implementing an integrated tooling system proved to be this mold shop's first step toward automated operation of its electrical discharge machines and graphite mills. Today, the shop's robotic cells can run around the clock in an unattended mode.

'High speed machining' is accepted and commonplace in many shops. HSM is so widely used, in fact, that its acceptance is beginning to affect the design of machine tools.

The high speed horizontal machining centers in this manufacturing cell represent a very efficient process for machining cast iron transmission cases. How the crew runs and maintains this cell represents a very efficient process for making this cell ever more productive and cost effective.

Using machining centers that might otherwise mill electrodes, this Minnesota mold shop does its cutting directly in steel. The streamlined process has exceeded expectations and yielded a striking increase in sales.

In many die and mold shops, the choice between ram EDM and CNC milling is far less clear than it used to be. Changing technology is changing the rules.

To machine holes for less, this shop considers the whole process.

Look-ahead is a common CNC capability today. The term describes the control's ability to read ahead some number of blocks in the program, to anticipate sudden changes in speed or direction and react accordingly. Different CNCs look ahead different numbers of blocks. But are more blocks better?

Producing fine finishes on EDMed surfaces has long been a goal, especially for mold and die shops that operate ram-type electrical discharge machines. Lately, there has been renewed interest in using additives in the dielectric oil to achieve ultra fine finishes with graphite electrodes without excessive burn times.

The precision craftsmanship that goes into building an engine will usually separate the winners from the also-rans at NASCAR's highest levels. This certainly applies to cylinder head development, because so much power from the engine is produced in and around these chunks of aluminum. Cylinder heads are horsepower, and horsepower delivers speed. When an engine builder gets a new cylinder head in at the shop, there's a lot of work that needs to be done to get it into racing condition.

Raytheon Aircraft recently decided to set the competitive standard rather than follow it. In turn, the company is modernizing its manufacturing plants and processes to ensure continuous improvement.

Machining centers make sense for this high volume process, even though the machines have continuously produced just one part for years.

This new process utilizes a semi-conductive powder mixed into the dielectric fluid and produces superior surface finishes in significantly shorter time. It achieves a uniform surface finish over larger workpiece areas, reducing polishing times and associated direct labor.

The ability to import complex curves into CNCs promises to let shops finally get beyond old limitations imposed by contouring with linear interpolation. Faster and smoother cutting will be the result.

High volume machining centers have become so efficient outside the cut that the widest margin for productivity gain is within it.

Though high speed machining means different things to different people, all of the diverse applications of this process involve performing operations fast enough to break into a new realm of possibilities.

Mold makers and injection molders are riding a wave of increasing demand for molded plastic and cast metal parts in consumer products. Yet efficient production requires parts that need little processing or finishing after molding or casting. The challenge for die/mold makers today is to satisfy the contradictory demands for intricacy and speed.

These tips from an experienced pro will help shops take some of the mystery out of the process of high speed machining.

Automation and 5-axis machining continue to gain popularity due to their favorable impact on productivity and manufacturing cost reduction. This video seminar presented by Makino will illustrate how to combine both technologies to achieve high productivity while also providing high flexibility and ease of use.

Video captured with a microscope shows that a full-scale machining center is capable of micro-size milling work.

The Makino EDFH1 is a fine-hole EDM machine capable of machining holes as small as 10 microns in diameter using a 6-micron-diameter electrode. One user of this machine is Hummingbird Precision Machine in Lacey, Washington. This video taken at Hummingbird shows how the electrode is loaded.

A wire EDM machine designed for micromachining uses negative air pressure to thread the fine wire.

A machining center able to maintain precise control at high feed rates makes it practical to machine holes through helical milling as an alternative to drilling.

In this seminar, Makino will demonstrate weldless molding capabilities only possible with new, cutting edge technologies and techniques.

Learn about the advantages and features of the Makino Machining Complex(MMC2) palletized part-delivery system and Makino's Advanced System(MAS) cell controller software.

When buying a machining center, you’re bombarded with specs. What do they really mean, and how do the inconsistent ways of measuring performance truly stack up? Makino's inMotion offers a review issues and tips for buying.

n this video presentation Chris Lyle, Customer Finance Manager at Makino and Tony Schweier, a CPA of Clark, Shaefer, Hackett & Company discuss the Economic Stimulus Package 2008 Tax Bill, and how it relates to your business.

Makino presents error-proofing your process to maximize throughput and speed up your entire operation. You learn how to eliminate common problems in production operations to make a more efficient, lower cost process, as part of the pursuit of zero defects.

Makino demonstrates how High Energy Applied Technology (HEAT) smokes the Wire EDM Competition in poor flushing conditions, cutting parts 35% to 50% faster while holding tolerances of form and straightness to 0.0002" with one roughing pass.

Makino demonstrates the latest techniques and technologies for high-speed machining of hardened materials for die or mold applications. Check out tips, tricks, and new technologies you can use to mill the toughest steels, shortening your lead times, lowering your costs, and eliminating bench work.

MMS inMotion Multimedia Presentation Makino demonstrates the latest techniques and technologies in fixturing. Check out presentations on fixture economics, fixture design, modular fixturing, new technology in CNC workholding as well as case studies of shops using innovative fixturing.