Manufacturing & Metalworking

Machining center manufacturers are in the hunt for and many are touting their ability to reduce part cycle times.  They're doing this by offering faster and more efficient machines.  In today's economy, job shop and part production customers of these products demand this now.  The reason is clear; their end-product customers are driving the philosophy of lower per-part costs.  And many times that's just so they can stay in business!

A high-speed machining center can make a significant difference in operational productivity and per part cost.  However, the tooling utilized on that machine can be another determining factor that should not be overlooked.  The efficiency of this kind of new and special purpose proprietary tooling can even further enhance the output of a horizontal machining center.  It can provide a wide degree of flexibility in compressing several machining processes, especially in parts production.

For example, Makino, a global provider of advanced machining technology says that the use of special-purpose and multifunctional tools, like the SmartTools it manufactures, helps in this process compression.  They claim that these specially designed and patented tools reduce cycle times as well as production costs which obviously can save money.

There are a number of unique special tools that can reduce the initial capital investment and substantially reduce process time in the machining of engine blocks.    Cylinder bores can be finished and honed with a precise closed-loop boring system that will automatically compensate for tool wear or thermal distortion and produces exceptional repeatability.  You can also grind bimetallic surfaces utilizing a cubic boron nitride superabrasive grinding wheel all on a standard machining center.

Machines incorporated with this multifunctional tooling will outperform a number of individual specialty-purpose machines when used in an integrated system.  Mid- to high-volume parts manufacturers often invest in state-of-the-art machine tool technology and can further enhance their flexibility and productivity with the use of this kind of tooling.

With more and more demand to streamline processes and production cycle times, especially from original equipment manufacturer outsourcing operations, there is a growing need for more valuable and cost-effective solutions for jobs shops and production facilities.  And, the solutions exist to allow them to "work smarter" not just harder and longer hours.

Click on Manufacturing and Metalworking to learn more from two excellent Wikipedia articles.

How to Forge Metal: Basic Metal Working Techniques : How to Fire Up a Metal Forge