May 2005 ISSUE

COVER STORY

Rethinking The Multi-Spindle

When the Index MS line, with its open front-end design, hit the streets 4 years ago, it was obviously different. The question is why is it so different? The answer is revealing.

FEATURES

Turning Machines

Affordable, Flexible Production Turning

A newly introduced bar machine from Romi Machine Tools is purpose built to perform both mid-range production (500 to 10,000 pieces) and short run, high mix applications.


Tooling

Boning Up On Thread Whirling's Advantages

Thread whirling attachments installed on this bone screw maker's Swiss screw machines prove to be just the right prescription for the company's mix of screw sizes and run quantities.


Toolholders

Coolant-Through Turning Toolholders Deliver Increased Performance And Tool Life

It should be obvious to anyone who has ever washed a driveway or patio with a garden hose: For the best results, you must keep the stream of water precisely where it's needed. The same principle applies to delivering coolant to the cutting zone.


Data: The Language Your Process Uses

These days, with six-sigma, zero ppm, loss function, lean and many other programs, it is easy to overlook the basics. We have many different processes, systems and computers. Where is the knowledge that is contained in our daily deluge of information? Whose desk is not drowning in sea of paper? And yet, when a problem occurs, we ask for data that describes the problem and are met with blank stares.


Cutting Tools

Fast Taps For Today's CNC Machines

Emuge Corp. (Northborough, Massachusetts), has expanded its line of Full-Speed taps with ten new styles, each available in 20 different sizes, in both inch and millimeter.


German Form Tool Maker Opens U.S. Manufacturing Facility

Although this tooling manufacturer developed a loyal following in this country, many customers were reluctant to make major commitments to a firm whose manufacturing was located overseas. It became apparent to the company that to gain a larger share of the form tool market in this country, it would have to establish a manufacturing presence in the United States.


Micron Manufacturing's Lean Team Reduces Setup Time By More Than 50 Percent

Micron Manufacturing, a PMPA member located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, faced a setup problem. More than half of the company's sales came from its Acme Gridley multi-spindle equipment. Unfortunately, the average run quantity was shrinking, thus increasing the number of setups required. Because the setup time was becoming a greater percentage of each order's total time, it was driving up costs.


Turning Machines

Pipe Fittings Produced In A Single Operation

As with many manufacturers today, streamlining production to stay competitive in the global market has become increasingly important at this company. Thatýs why it sought out a machine to produce a double-ended pipe fitting in a single operation as opposed to having to do the back-tapping in an entire second operation.


PMPA Education Foundation Presents First Grants

The PMPA Education Foundation recently awarded its first educational grants to benefit training programs in Ohio and Illinois. According to foundation president, Michael B. Duffin, the grants have been used to help educate the metalworking technicians of tomorrow.


Rethinking The Multi-Spindle

When the Index MS line, with its open front-end design, hit the streets 4 years ago, it was obviously different. The question is why is it so different? The answer is revealing.


Why Do Customers Buy From Us?

"Why do customers buy from us?" is one of those easy-to-overlook questions that can explain much about the state of our current business. With its easier-to-answer but trickier-to-solve cousin, "What do customers buy from us?" the question can illuminate your underlying business approach and explain why your sales are what they are.


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