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Serendipity: Where You Find It 

Because I travel a lot, I've become very familiar and fond of serendipity—"finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for." I can honestly say that I have never not experienced serendipity even if I'm visiting the same place for the tenth time.

In part, experiencing serendipity is a function of attitude. One must be open to it and looking for it. But most important, you've got to go where it is.

I've travelled with too many colleagues who focus so tightly on the mission; they miss many of the "valuable and agreeable things" that are in plain sight. It's like blinders on a horse. When asked, "How was the trip?" they reply, "I didn't see anything new."

I respectfully disagree. There is always something new if you just READ MORE

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The Story of Boris

Most of our readers are familiar with Delcam, a leading supplier of CAD/CAM solutions for manufacturing including PartMaker, FeatureCAM and PowerMill. The company's product logos are easily recognizable as they incorporate a CAD-rendered spider named Boris. But what is the origin of this arachnidian model and how did it become a manufacturing software icon?

In 1984 Jon Hunwick joined Delcam (or Delta CAE, as it was known then) as technician to the DUCT Development Unit in Cambridge. After an initial training period learning how to do routine tasks such as making sure the PRIME 250 computer started up every morning and creating backup tapes (reel-to-reel!) of all the previous days' work, he was approached one morning by David Sturge with a copy of the DUCT 4.2 manual and some brief training notes. David simply said, "Learn this."

Hone In On A Honing Method For Your Application

Like many metalworking processes, there are several machining methods for honing operations, and knowing which one is best for your particular application is critical for finding efficiency and cost effectiveness for your shop.

What is honing? Honing is a secondary operation used to improve the geometric form of a bore. A rotating tool, using either a diamond-coated sleeve or stone abrasive, is used to remove metal from an interior surface to create a specific diameter and cylindricity. The length of stroke and the size of the abrasive give honing the advantage over internal grinding for workpieces with a length-to-diameter ratio of 2 to 1 or more. The tool and the abrasive itself determine the accuracy of the operation, often within tolerances of 0.000040 inch. READ MORE