Seco Tools is in the midst of hosting free training courses at its North American Headquarters in Troy, Mich., as part of its Seco Technical Education Program (STEP). These courses ensure Seco customers and distributors are up-to-speed on the latest tooling systems and metal cutting techniques.
“We designed STEP to keep our customers in touch with a rapidly changing industry,” Don Graham, education and technical service manager at Seco, says. “After all, without an in-depth understanding of the new metalcutting technologies on the market, many customers find the decision making process more difficult as the range of tooling systems expands.”
STEP Courses, which include STEP Into, STEP 1 and STEP 2, are non-commercial blends of hands-on training and classroom discussions, providing students with both practical experience and technical knowledge to maximize the learning process. Furthermore, Seco can adjust its STEP training to suit specific customer demands.
STEP Schedule for Customers:
Date CoursePrerequisite Registration Deadline
May 21 – 23 STEP 2 STEP 1 May 6
June 3 STEP Into None May 20
June 4 – 6 STEP 1 None May 20
July 23 – 25 STEP 2 STEP 1 July 8
Sept. 24 – 26 STEP 2 STEP 1 Sept. 9
Oct. 21 STEP Into None Oct. 7
Oct. 22 – 24 STEP 1 None Oct. 7
STEP Schedule for Authorized Seco Distributors:
Date CoursePrerequisite Registration Deadline
June 10 STEP Into None May 24
June 11 - 13 STEP 1 None May 24
Aug. 13 – 15 STEP 2 STEP 1 July 29
Sept. 9 STEP Into None Aug. 26
Sept. 10 – 12 STEP 1 None Aug. 26
Nov. 12 – 14 STEP 2 STEP 1 Oct. 28
To learn more about STEP and register for upcoming classes, please click here or contact Koni Sarkisian.Please note classes fill up quickly and registration deadlines are subject to seating availability.
HaasTec 2013, held at the company’s Oxnard, California headquarters attracted a global audience of 3,000 attendees.
Haas Automation Inc. reports that its recent HaasTec open house was a complete success, attracting almost 3,000 attendees to the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facility in Oxnard, Calif. The 4-day event drew visitors from the U.S., Canada, and around the world, with attendees from 44 countries, including China, India, Korea, Latin America, the Middle East, and many European countries. In addition, more than 300 students – from regional high schools, colleges, and universities – attended the event.
Held the second week of April, HaasTec included machine demonstrations, extensive tours of Haas Automation’s 1 million-square-foot facility, a catered lunch, and 38 vendor booths with representatives from major CAD/CAM, tooling, and workholding manufacturers. As an added bonus, Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet racecar was on display, courtesy of Stewart-Haas Racing. A high percentage of the racecar’s high precision chassis and engine components are machined exclusively on Haas machines by Stewart-Haas Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.
Visitors to HaasTec often arrived in large groups, accompanied by representatives from their local Haas Factory Outlet (HFO). More than 30 HFOs worldwide arranged trips to the event to personally show customers and potential customers what goes into making a Haas.
Providing visitors with a historical perspective, HaasTec also included a display of the company’s very first VMC – machine number one, fitted with an early Haas rotary table – alongside its modern-day equivalent. Today’s VF-1 still sells for less than the machine’s 1988 introductory price of $49,900, proving that Haas is the industry leader in machine tool value. This year marks Haas Automation’s 30th anniversary, and the 25th anniversary of the VF-1.
By all accounts, HaasTec 2013 was an overwhelming success, providing attendees an opportunity to see first hand what goes into making a Haas machine, and why Haas Automation is America’s leading machine tool builder.
Methods Machine Tools has provided new machines to Ivy Tech Community College’s Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (OAMTC) in Warsaw, Ind. The company is donating the use of a Feeler VMP-580 CNC vertical machining center and a Feeler HT30-Y turning center during the 2012-2013 academic year, to be part of the curriculum of the Advanced Manufacturing program and the Orthopedic Quality Standards and Technical Skills certificate program. Methods intends to replace the machines with the latest models in subsequent academic years.
According to Ivy Tech North Central Chancellor Thomas Coley, “This generous donation from Methods ensures that Ivy Tech students will always be training on the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art equipment available. Coursework and training at the OAMTC already meets rigorous standards, and students will now have the added value of experience on always-current machines. Employers who hire our graduates will also see the benefit of new employees who have a wider range of machine-related experience.”
"One of the key issues facing our industry is the shortage of skilled, qualified machinists," Dale Hedberg, Feeler product manager at Methods, explained. "Through the years, we have partnered with different technical schools, colleges, and universities across the country to help train the workforce. The students get a great education on high-tech equipment, the industry gets trained people, and students leaving here know our equipment."
The Feeler HT30-Y turning center features linear guideways on the X and Z-axis, 30° slant bed construction and a Fanuc 18i-TD control. It offers a 3,500-rpm, 30-hp spindle with a hydraulic chuck diameter of 10" (254 mm) and a bar capacity of 3" (78 mm). X-axis travel is 7" + 3.2" (178 mm + 82 mm), Y-axis travel is 3.9” and +/- 2” (100 mm +/- 50 mm), and Z-axis travel is 31.3" (795 mm). It also includes a 12-station turret and offers a maximum turning diameter of 14" (356 mm) and a maximum turning length of 27.75" (705 mm).
The Feeler VMP-580 machine features a 10,000-rpm spindle with 15 hp, linear guideways on X- and Y-axes and boxways on the Z-axis. X-axis travels range from 23” to 43” (580 to 1,100 mm), Y-axis travels range from 16.5” to 24” (420 to 610 mm) and Z-axis travels are from 20” to 23.6” (510 to 600 mm). The VMP-580 also provides a 24-tool automatic tool changer and a standard Fanuc 0i-MD control.
One of the best aspects of social media blogging and LinkedIn is the follow up and connections in response to what is posted. I continue to be impressed by the quality of the comments and conversations on LinkedIn as a result of my posts.
“And how about closing the loop? You need to have a post job review with the estimating dept to make sure the quote was accurate, and if it wasn’t, why wasn’t it, and what will you do differently in the next quote so it doesn’t happen again.”
Thank you Michael. We couldn’t agree more.
Does your shop have an interdepartmental post job review process to address issues with the process and improve it going forward? Is it real or just proforma? What are the best lessons you have learned from your post job review debriefing?
Thanks again to Michael Unmann for taking the conversation to the next level.
Thanks toPotomac Testingfor the photoof an interdepartmental meeting.
“How High Speed Machining Can Improve Your Bottom Line,” the title of the webinar presented by the manufacturers of GibbsCAM (Gibbs and Associates), will discuss how the implementation of several existing and proven CAM strategies, technologies and methodologies working in harmony can have a significant impact on a shop’s profitability and bottom line. The concepts of high volume material removal, plunge roughing, three- to five-axis morph roughing and finishing and even selecting the right application approach can all play a significant role in overhauling the efficiency of any shop. The webinar on June 12, 2-3 p.m. EDT, will discuss the definition of high-speed machining (HSM), factors contributing to optimized high-speed machining, why HSM is important in today’s manufacturing environment, what elements comprise HSM , HSM tools, technologies and methods, and HSM and cost reduction. To register, click here.
