Columns

On the Election

Looking for lessons in the November election outcome, here is what I find.

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The Cost of Doing Business

Developing skilled employees internally is expensive, but not doing so might be more expensive still.

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Watch and Learn

These videos share ideas that might be relevant to the challenges your shop is facing.

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CNC Tech Talks

System Variables Versus the G10 Command

Custom macro B enables users to read and write data into accessible registers, whereas G10 code permits writing into all offset registers. But which option is best for applications that only require the ability to write data?

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Should You Gage to Part or Part to Gage?

There are many questions to ask when deciding what gage to choose for an application, but whether to bring the gage to the part or the part to the gage is one of the most fundamental. And the decision is influenced by a host of factors.

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CNC Tech Talks

Different Company Types Have Different CNC Needs

A company’s CNC needs can vary depending on what it produces.

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The Dirt on Gaging—It’s All Around

The common gage is always in contact with dirt. Accurate air gaging requires proper tooling maintenance and air supply vigilance.

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Look Like a Leader

What distinguishes the best-performing shops? Here are my impressions.

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CNC Tech Talks

Add Intelligence to a Tool-Changing Custom Macro

Knowing what is accessible from within a custom macro can help you decide whether you need a more-intelligent tool-change command.

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Losing Accuracy One Micron at a Time

Most gages on the shop floor provide a specified level of accuracy in conditions for which they were designed. However, it’s critical to think about gaging requirements before putting instruments in tight-tolerance production environments, and possibly having them not meet expectations.

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Two Cases of Gage-Improvement Failure

The call is a common one: When tolerances are tight, better gages are needed to improve the measurement process. However, what might seem like a simple fix can sometimes lead to unforeseen issues.

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Leave the Average Productivity Behind

Official measures of U.S. manufacturing productivity are overstated. Productivity at the extremes is the real story.

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