Systematic Success
A more efficient manufacturing process has enabled this manufacturer to ramp up production of its devices for the oil and gas industry.
Matthew Jaster
Associate Editor
Aerospace Machine Shop Opts for CAM Simulation Over Dry Runs
NCSIMUL Machine software has taken Marton Precision’s G-code program verification from a 16 hour manual process to a mere two hours.
Composites Specialist Makes CNC Chops Count
Machining capability drives evolution from race car builder to aerospace and defense contractor.
Meet Colossus: An Inside Look at One of the Largest Five-Axis Machining Centers in the U.S.
My behind-the-scenes tour on the shop floor of Baker Industries began and ended with its Emco Mecof PowerMill, one of the biggest five-axis machining centers in the United States. The tour also shed light on the company’s highly aggressive approach to new equipment purchases.
For Large-Part Machining, Five-Axis Capabilities Prove Essential to Staying Competitive
Metalcraft of Mayville’s old milling machine for large parts failed just when the company began seeing increased pressure to take on projects requiring more flexibility and capabilities. Two five-axis HMCs from Toyoda helped the company stay in step with the trend.
When Machining Long Parts, Machine Shop Climate Matters
Machining long titanium tufting needle bars required a milling machine with a super-long X-axis travel. But the real challenge was thermal compensation in the Georgia heat.
What Is Single-Lobe Peeling?
A manufacturer of large turn-mill machines has developed a bar-peeling process to complete large, progressive cavity pump rotors in one setup.
Going Live on a Vertical Lathe
For this company, investing in live tooling and a high-pressure coolant system on a pair of new CNC vertical lathes eliminated setups, increased throughput and led to safer material handling on the shop floor.
Russ Willcutt
Associate Editor, Production Machining
A Vertical Bridge Mill Provides Big Opportunities
Seeing your company as a boring-mill shop is a problem when only 20 percent of your jobs are actually boring-mill related. It’s also a problem to have the space and potential to produce large parts when you only win 6 to 14 percent of the large-part jobs you quote.
Large-Parts Manufacturer Wins Big with Vertical Bridge Mill
Napoleon Machine required new equipment to compete in large-parts machining. Toyoda’s LB63324M vertical bridge mill with right-angle head increased quoted job wins from 6 to 52 percent.
What’s Behind Door Number Three?
While most shops are producing shorter aerospace parts on five-axis machines or larger parts on gantry-type equipment, this shop found its niche somewhere in the middle thanks to an advanced profiling machining system from Mazak.
Precision Profiler Opens Chances for Larger Aerospace Parts
Fort Walton Machining could only process smaller aerospace parts without investing in large, expensive-to-operate equipment. Mazak's Vortex 160 horizontal profiler increased the shop's part size capabilities.
Soraluce Tech Days Highlights Multitasking, Automation and Productivity
The machine tool builder launched new innovations at an event hosted at its Limburg, Germany, Center of Excellence earlier this month.
Why Was This Machine Chosen for Composites?
General Tool adds a metalcutting machining center with the expectation that this machine is likely to perform a significant amount of machining of CFRP.
The Million-Dollar Job
A shop specializing in large parts describes the most expensive single order it ever shipped.
Peter Zelinski
Editor-in-Chief, Modern Machine Shop
Big Multifunction Machines for Big Castings
Turn-mill technology enables this company to minimize lead times and handling for its large machined castings.
Bloodhound Fin Support Machined with Vortex
Machining strategy contributes to 40 percent cycle time saving on large five-axis aluminum part.
Large Machines and Capacity in Renovated Pfronten Facility
DMG MORI hosted its 20th open house earlier this month in Pfronten, Germany. The event featured 76 machine tool exhibits, including four world premieres, and nearly 8,800 attendees had the opportunity to tour the recently renovated and expanded facility to see its latest machine tool technologies. Here are some observations from the event:
TMX Delivers 8,000-Pound Chuck
Custom 71-inch workholding is going to be used on a welding positioner for cladding large valves for the oil and gas industry.
Shops Serving Oilfield Customers Appreciate Retrofits
Buying new is nice, but there are reasons why retrofits make sense for shops serving the oilfield industry.
A Modular Clamping System for Bulky Parts
Here’s one fixturing alternative for clamping large workpieces such as mold and fracking components.
Vertical Turning Adds a Horizontal Ram
For American Vulkan, having both a vertical and a horizontal ram on a large VTL is a critical advantage. The added flexibility enables the company to finish some of its biggest coupling components in one setup to a level of precision and surface quality not attainable otherwise.
Mark Albert
Editor Emeritus, Modern Machine Shop
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Profiler Expected to Exceed 100 Cubic Inches per Minute in Titanium
Five-axis, five-spindle machine aims at reduced cost per piece for production of large aircraft components.
A Novel Modular Clamping System
This clamping system minimizes setup times, enable a machine to access five sides of a part and provides highly repeatable positioning for bulky components.
Laser Encoder Feedback for 40-Meter Wing Parts
Large machine travels, long machining cycles and changing aircraft manufacturing precision demands necessitated a non-contact approach to machine-tool position feedback.
Video: Horizontal Boring Mill Turns 23-Foot-Diameter Part
This shop leverages large-scale multitasking machines. Learn why, and see one of its horizontal boring mills turning a terribly big mining industry part.
Multitasking's "Big" Advantage
As demonstrated at this Cincinnati-area shop, machines that both mill and turn shine brightest when workpieces are massive.
Taking Titanium Seriously
Does titanium justify a machine that is engineered for this metal?
