Chris Koepfer Editor Emeritus

Single & Multi-Spindles 19 Apr 2005

Affordable, Flexible Production Turning

A newly introduced bar machine from Romi Machine Tools is purpose built to perform both mid-range production (500 to 10,000 pieces) and short run, high mix applications.

Turn-Mills 18 Feb 2005

One Lean, Mean, Metalcutting Machine

Increasingly, builders are responding to customer demands for part-processing flexibility and reduced part handling by designing machine tools capable of performing numerous operations within a single platform.

Measurement 18 Feb 2005

Applied Process Intelligence Software Puts World Class In Reach

Automating the process predictability control function control function for this 42-person shop has helped move it toward its goal of being a world-class component parts company. For 2 years, Topcraft Metal Products, Inc. (TMP) has been implementing the comprehensive software system Micronite.

18 Jan 2005

Laser Simplifies Form Tool Chip Control

The creation of a 'bird nest' is a problem for any turning operation. These uncontrolled wads of chips tend to wreck havoc on tooling, equipment and continuous operations.

Single & Multi-Spindles 24 Aug 2004

Seeing A Multi Through Different Eyes

Sometimes if you don’t 'know' any better, applying technology in new ways simply makes sense. That’s partly what helped drive this family-owned OEM to acquire its first, and so far only, multi-spindle to help it get a better handle on production and inventory control.

Transfer Machines 15 Jul 2003

Closing The CNC Price Gap

Applying CNC technology to the manufacturing of precision parts is generally accepted as a premium that one must pay for the advantages over conventional actuation systems. Increasingly, however, the gap is narrowing as economies of scale for producing CNC equipped machine tools are incorporated in the unit price of a given machine. In other words, spreading the costs of manufacturing over a larger base of installations will reduce the price of each machine.

1 Jul 2003

New Tricks For The Model B

There is, literally and figuratively, a new lease on life at Davenport Machine. For over a century, this venerable builder has manufactured its five-spindle automatic screw machines on Ames Street in Rochester, New York. But like too many domestic machine tool builders, Davenport fell victim to its own customer complacency, poor management, absentee ownership and stunted product development efforts—spiraling it toward bankruptcy.

15 Nov 2002

Cross-Hole Deburring In-Process

One of the most nagging problems that metal-working shops face is dealing with burrs. Of particular challenge is deburring of the intersection of cross-drilled holes.

Single & Multi-Spindles 15 Sep 2002

Using CNC On Cam Multis

Much buzz around the industry is focused on how best to apply CNC in multispindle screw machine shops. Some advocate total commitment to the technology, while others believe a mixture of mechanical and electronic actuation is the ticket. We visited multispindle builder Euroturn to see how it decides what an appropriate level of CNC and mechanical actuation is.

15 Mar 2002