Chris Koepfer Editor Emeritus

Chris Koepfer has been involved in metalworking for 30 years. His first 14 were in the machine tool group at Cincinnati Milacron where he honed his technical writing skills in turning, machining and grinding before joining Modern Machine Shop in 1992 as an associate editor. In 2001, he helped found MMS’ sister publication Production Machining, which speaks to the precision machined parts segment of the industry. Chris is now retired.

19 Jan 2019

Masters of the Small Hole

Hole making is considered the most frequently performed metalworking operation. Hole making on a micro level, say 0.010 inch and smaller, is where it gets interesting. This shop is very good at making small holes.

Automation 21 Dec 2018

Include Robotics in Your Company Plans

This article reviews some “hows” and “whys” for considering robots, and includes a discussion about traditional versus collaborative robots.

14 Dec 2018

Gaging System Cuts Costs

This article looks at one shop that adapted the idea of finding savings in its inspection operation and has seen a production cost reduction of 27 percent with 100 percent inspection.

Data-Driven Manufacturing 30 Nov 2018

Getting Ready for Industry 4.0

Read how one company is making its machines ready for Industry 4.0 and enabling its customers to take advantage of the benefits derived from a connected shop floor.

23 Nov 2018

Multitasking Inspection

The article looks at a new inspection and measurement cell that is configurable to perform various functions automatically.

Swiss-Types 20 Nov 2018

Still Learning After 102 Years

It’s said that successful people endeavor to maintain the mentality of being a student for a lifetime. Under four generations of family ownership, and a century-plus in business, Nolte Precise exemplifies this philosophy of always learning as it applies to a modern metalworking shop.

20 Nov 2018

It was Never Only About the Writing

I’ve never considered myself a writer; my professional passion is about manufacturing—how things work, how things are made and learning from the people who make that happen.

16 Nov 2018

Moving Beyond Swiss-Type Parts

The basic Swiss-type machine concept has evolved so far beyond the original intent that many of the parts that are processed on Swiss machines bear little resemblance to long, slender shafts. This article describes some examples of parts that show the versatility of modern CNC Swiss machines.