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Technology Is Everywhere

This story appeared in a publication sent to me from Mikron Corp. It caught my eye so I received permission to share it with you this month.

Although conceived in the first half of the last century, its achievements improve with age. It’s a common instrument that celebrates 70 years in 2008. It has a life expectancy of more than 10,000 meters with amazing reliability along with impressively consistent performance. Yes, we’re talking about the READ MORE

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Crack the G-Code For A Chance To Win

Job shop owners who are looking for ways to increase productivity can continue their investigation through an online "Crack the G-Code" promotion launched by Siemens Energy & Automation's Machine Tool Business (Elk Grove Village, Illinois). Already a provider of CNC solutions for complex applications in aerospace, automotive, medical and other industries, Siemens has recently taken strides to offer simpler CNC products for small- to mid-sized job shops.

The Sinumerik 802D CNC is an operator-panel-based system that combines the NC, the programmable logic controller (PLC) and the human machine interface (HMI) in a single unit. It has the capability of READ MORE

Thread Rolling: A Non-Metalcutting Process

Although I’ve used this column as a learning tool for typical metalcutting processes so far, I decided to delve into a different type of operation this month—thread rolling.  Thread rolling is unlike a typical metalworking operation in that it does not cut metal. Instead, it forms a thread into a mirror image of a roller die.

Why use this operation in lieu of cutting threads? Rolled threads have improved physical properties. The cold working that takes place in the thread rolling process produces an increase in tensile strength and a better surface finish than what is achieved with cutting operations.

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