Machine Tools & Metal Working Blog

The metals manufacturing business has always been a noisy affair full of machine tools that cut, grind, bend, and stamp resistant materials into shape. But could it one day be a more restrained business with machines that silently fuse metal powders using lasers? To what extent will laser sintering and similar "rapid manufacturing" techniques replace established metal cutting processes in the future?

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Are social networking Web sites turning into useful educational and business resources? Companies like CAD vendor Autodesk think so. What kind of information, posted on YouTube and similar outlets, would help on your job?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Machine Tools & Metal Working, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Machine Tools & Metal Working today.

Deburring and finishing harder materials can be an expensive and time-consuming problem. Recently, Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) was approached by a manufacturer of carbide wear rings that was having difficulty achieving their required surface finish. BRM recognized an application for its Diamond Flex-Hone, a new tool that's designed for cylinders ranging from 4-mm to 20-mm in diameter.

As the pictures on BRM's website show, the Diamond Flex-Hone is well-suited for the surface finishing and cross-hole deburring of harder materials such as carbide, ceramic, and space age alloys. In the case of the carbide wear rings, the Diamond Flex-Hone was used in progressively finer grits to create a near mirror finish, lowering the Ra from 0.7 to just 0.05 μm.

Choosing the Right Tools

Brush Research Manufacturing has a surface finishing laboratory for solving difficult finishing and deburring problems. Customers send in parts for evaluation, and BRM then selects the appropriate tools. After running tests, BRM recommends tools to its clients along with the operating parameters and surface finishing measurements, if required.

With the Diamond Flexhone, there are three available grit selections. Tools that are designed for cylinders other than 4-mm to 20-mm in diameter are also available.

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Interesting piece of news recently that Japanese aircraft manufacturer Mitsubishi has decided to use aluminum rather than carbon fiber for the wings of a new jet it is planning. Why? Because the metal's strength-to-weight ratio makes it a better choice than the newer material. Has the use of composite materials in aircraft construction peaked?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Machine Tools & Metal Working, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Machine Tools & Metal Working today.

There are definite signs of an upturn or at least statements of confidence from major organizations in the industry that the economy will now start to pick up. But if manufacturing companies were taken by surprise by the downturn last year are they now in the right shape to take advantage of an upturn? What about your company? If the orders start to come back, do you still have the people to operate your machines — or were staff laid off when things got bad? What about suppliers? Are the firms that were the sources for your components and materials, say 18 months ago, still in business themselves?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Machine Tools & Metal Working, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Machine Tools & Metal Working today.