In the rapidly changing medical industry, Mike Riley reports how talented entrepreneurs at allshape AG are transforming the dental technician profession from a craft-based profession to one based on CAD programming as dental labs search for more sources to deliver customized and innovative dental implants as quickly as possible to patients.
February 2012
EXPERT COLUMNS
EDITOR'S FORUM
CNC INSIDER
CNC: IT’S ALL ABOUT NETWORKING.
LET ME EXPLAIN . . .
Competitive Edge: Randy Pearson of Siemens Industry explains how machine control can now provide data to every department in the shop, multiple facility companies, even outside partners, to keep everyone “in the know”.
WELDING TIPS
RELEVANCE OF DROP-WEIGHT TESTING IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE REFERENCE NIL-DUCTILITY TEMPERATURE
The drop-weight test has become commonplace in the testing of ferritic steel and weld metal used in several types of components in nuclear reactor pressure vessels. But Regis Geisler of Lincoln Electric questions whether this method is now obsolete and whether there is another predictive tool that should be used to determine the RTNDT of weld deposits.
THE SAFE SIDE
PREPARING FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE:
WHAT TOMORROW’S SAFETY PROFESSIONAL SHOULD BE STUDYING TODAY
In a dynamic business environment, the decisions one makes today can have a profound impact on their safety career tomorrow. Phil La Duke of Rockford Greene explains how simple planning today can greatly improve the chances of a richer and more fulfilled career in safety in the future.
THE CUTTING EDGE
MAXIMIZING PARAMETERS IN LASER CUTTING
Increased cutting speed is the answer to increasing productivity, right? Not exactly. Brian Welz of Trumpf revisits some techniques that may actually slow you down to negotiate obstacles faster, reduce the overall process cycle, and increase your productivity.
FINISHING PASS
WHY “ELEVATOR SPEECHES” DEFEAT SALES
There are few offenses in business worse than challenging the validity of the near sacred “elevator speech,” that one-minute message verbalizing the unique qualities of what a salesperson does or sells. But John Graham of Graham Communications explains why engaging conversation – though more demanding – is much more effective.
METAL FORMING & FABRICATING
Continual upgrades of its cutting operations with JETCAM software and Hypertherm high-definition plasma technology enabled this Canadian job shop GT Metal Products to grow its business, shrink its operating costs and become an aggressive competitor in diverse metal fabrication markets.
AMECO USA Creates Presidential Backdrop for Reagan National Airport
The custom metal fabricator manufactures the crescent-shaped backdrop for the prestigious Ronald Reagan Memorial Statue installation in Washington, DC.
STAMPING OUT A NEW GENERATION OF AUTOMOBILE PARTS
The question Ford and General Motors asked was how to produce hoods and doors with improved productivity, design flexibility and reduced costs. The answer from Schuler, Bosch Rexroth and Morrell was a compact crossbar transfer press that does all that and more.
WELDING
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PULSED MIG WELDING OF ALUMINUM
Three manufacturers share their tales with Mike Vandenberg, Jeff Herb and Chris Roehl of Miller Electric of pulsed MIG welding of aluminum and how new technologies have made the process more viable in their operations by reducing distortion and rework, improving productivity and standardizing wire size.
METAL CUTTING
BANDSAW BLUNDERS: HOW THEY CUT BLADE LIFE
Ron Saxon and David Rosing of Simonds International reveal the top five sawing mistakes . . . and how to prevent them.
SURGICAL PRECISION:
How Advanced Technology Meets the Close Tolerances Needed for Medical Tools
Because the medical manufacturing market is more competitive than ever before, the search is on for new ways to perform more reliable, faster and more cost effective precision cutting of complex medical instruments made of exotic materials. Here is a closer look at how some of the latest developments in advanced technologies from Miyachi Unitek, Haas, and Rego-Fix are meeting these needs.
D&S Manufacturing Gets New HMC to Meet Demand
The plant purchases a Toyoda FH1250SX horizontal machining center to expand its machining envelope, reduce part changeover, and reduce overall cost to its customers.
DIAMONDS ARE A BLOCK’S BEST FRIEND FOR HONING
Engine remanufacturer Jasper Engines & Transmissions and engine builder White Performance & Machine are two shops with different needs that illustrate how new diamond honing abrasives technology from Sunnen simplifies the boring process, cuts cycle times as much as half, and improves dyno results.
FACTORS YOU MUST CONSIDER WHEN PURCHASING A NEW VMC
In a typical production machine shop, the processing capabilities required can vary greatly between applications: some value power and torque over rpm, others value spindle speed more than torque or power. To ensure the highest level of productivity in all cases, William Howard of Makino evaluates all of the factors that manufacturers must consider when making new investments in VMCs.
TOOLING & WORKHOLDING
HOW TO INCREASE THE PRODUCTION OF HEAT EXCHANGERS
Without heat exchangers, all process and thermal powergen plants would grind to a standstill. To meet demand, a new milling cutter from Ingersoll Cutting Tools has debottlenecked one of the most time consuming and repetitive operations in shell-and-tube heat exchanger fabrication and reduced tube sheet grooving down to one third the time so that finished units can ship days or even weeks sooner.
S-PADS REPLACE COLLETS IN MULTI-SPINDLE SHOPS
S-pads from Hardinge are much faster to change than collets from job-to-job and can be shared between many brands of machines, whether the master collet is mounted directly in a machine spindle (single or multiple), in a collet adaptation chuck, or in a collet block.
VERSATILE T-SLOT BLOCKS MAKE MACHINE JOBS FASTER AND EASIER
The versatile color coded T-Slot Block workholding system from from Tau Ceti Co. is modular, so it can also be used as dedicated fixture plates or dedicated setup stations.
SLOTTING OR GEAR HOBBING ON ONE MACHINE
Shops no longer have to rough gears on one machine, then transfer them to another for gear hobbing. This compact system from Exsys Tool can now generate splines, spur or helical gears in one operation on a horizontal turning center.
MICRO COLLET SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL MANUFACTURING
This system from IBAG North America delivers accuracies of one micron TIR at the collet nose and handles up to 1/8 in tool diameter to meet the precision milling and ultra small drilling demands of ultra precision parts manufacturing.
SHORTER SETUP TIMES WITH QUICK JAW CHANGE CHUCK
With the ROTA THWplus chuck from Schunk a complete jaw set can be changed in less than 60 seconds with a repeatability of less than 0.0005 in, which eliminates the need to re-bore jaws.
MEASUREMENT & INSPECTION
Inspection of a bore in an open setup often requires multiple measurement steps and mathematical calculations, but portable CMM technology from FARO can alleviate much of this work by allowing the user to fix the part in one spot, take several points to create an alignment of X- and Y-axes, and measure the bore. Software then determines the position of the bore and its deviation from the called out position.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY
THE ENVIRONMENTAL EVOLUTION OF A METAL STAMPER
For Connecticut Spring and Stamping, which manufactures close tolerance precision parts, environmental responsibility has evolved over the last 20 years from something imposed by regulators to a way of life embraced by the company and celebrated as a key differentiator. Now this press shop has positioned itself as a vendor that can meet or exceed all U.S. and European environmental standards, placing it at a distinct competitive advantage.
