Machining
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Vertical Machining Centers
Economically priced and ideal for both small job shops and larger machining operations, vertical machining centers (VMCs) use vertically-oriented spindles with tools that stick straight down from the tool holder to approach workpieces mounted on a table for machining operations…
Ram EDM Machines
Ram electrical discharge machining (EDM), also known as die sinking, uses an electrode typically pre-machined to a specified shape from graphite or copper that is sunk into a workpiece submerged in a dielectric fluid, leaving a negative imprint. A controlled…
Multitasking Machines
To help shops react quicker and more flexibly to market demands for increasingly complex parts in smaller batch sizes, multi-tasking machines use a single setup to perform different metalworking operations that completely process a part of raw material into a…
Milling Machines
A milling machine uses a horizontal arbor or vertical spindle to rotate a cutting tool above a horizontal table that moves a clamped and stationary workpiece using feed motion transmitted from the machine tool. The cutting tool shaves off and…
Lathes
A lathe is a basic two-axis machine tool that consists of a headstock with spindle, a chuck for holding the part, a lathe bed, carriage and cross-slide, tool turret and tailstock. The workpiece is loaded into the chuck and rotated…
Horizontal Machining Centers
Ideal for automation and uninterrupted, unattended production operations, a horizontal machining center (HMC) uses a horizontally-oriented spindle, parallel to the ground floor, with tools that stick out of the side of the toolholder and cut across the surfaces of a…
Honing Machines
Honing machine tools remove stock to produce the final size and desired finish pattern on the interior of tubing or cylinder bores of almost any material by expanding, rotating and reciprocating abrasive stones of a specified grit and grade with…
Grinding Machines
To make precision cuts that produce very fine finishes, a grinding machine removes material from a workpiece by abrasion, using a power-driven grinding wheel as a cutting tool spinning at a required speed determined by wheel diameter and manufacturer’s rating,…
Gear Cutting Machines
Gear cutting machine tools adjust and control cutting speeds for precision production of a specific number of gear teeth, including the milling of circular, holed plates without teeth, hobbing or cutting out of teeth, broaching or boring through inner surface…
Drilling Machines
From small handheld power drills to bench-mounted and floor-mounted drill presses, drilling machines cut holes and do tapping, countersinking, reaming, boring and counterboring into or through metal, wood, or other materials using a cutting tool held in the drill by…
Machining
Material removal through cutting, turning, milling, drilling, grinding, tapping and more using machinery such as laser cutting systems, plasma cutting systems, oxyfuel cutting systems, milling machines, drill presses, lathes, horizontal machining centers, vertical machining centers, turning centers, multitasking machines, electrical discharge…
Boosting Machine Tool Efficiency: How to Integrate Automated Machining Systems
Despite the benefits of automation, its complexity can intimidate first-time investors. Shops must learn how to effectively define, plan, justify, select, implement and execute a full system integration. To do this, they should become familiar with the process and the key considerations needed for a seamless integration.
