CNC & Machine Controls
Low-Cost Machines Meet High-End Controls
Mold and die makers have been less than enthusiastic about low-cost VMCs in a large part because their controls typically aren't designed to deliver the high performance 3D contouring capabilities so necessary to cutting cores and cavities. But two companies are out to change all that by bringing together low-cost machining capabilities and high-end contouring control on a single platform.
Read MoreSimplifying Documentation Methods
While most companies take setup documentation quite seriously, many do little in the way of program running documentation. This is documentation aimed at CNC operators to ensure they understand just how a cycle is to be run.
Read MoreSimplifying Operator Responsibilities - Dimensioning Methods
All companies expect quite a bit from their CNC operators. Minimum responsibilities commonly include workpiece load/unload, cycle activation, offset adjustments to hold size, inspections on completed workpieces, and reporting inspection results to the statistical process control (SPC) system.
Read MoreAutomating Milling Machines Expands List Of Machinable Projects
Find out what this manufacturer chose when they decided to automate their milling machines.
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Software Is The CNC
Imagine a computer numerical control (CNC) system set free of proprietary hardware. Two shops discuss their experiences with software-based machine controllers.
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The Shop With A Nervous System
Automatically recording and distributing information about what's happening while a machine tool is in operation leads to process improvements and higher productivity for this aircraft manufacturer.
Read MoreDrive Train Facility Moves From Punched Tape To DNC
This Rockwell plant measures 200,000 square feet, employs a staff of 460 and is primarily involved in the production of drive shafts for semi-trucks. As the product line evolved, so did their manufacturing methods.
Read MoreAcu-Rite Reinvents Its Products And Its Processes
It's a brave company that makes the commitment to obsolete its current product line and bring on-line a new one. As of September first, that's exactly what Acu-Rite (Jamestown, New York) will do. A leading manufacturer of digital readouts (DRO) for thirty years, the company decided in 1995 to begin a process that would replace the entire product line in a single stroke.
Read MoreOpen-Architecture CNC Closes Servo Loop In Software
The company developed Compact II, an NC programming language that quickly became one of the most widely used in the metalworking industry.
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Break The Accuracy Barrier
"Reference comparison" uses probing to hold accuracies tighter than inherent process error.
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