Recently added articles from American Machinist:

Machinists of NASCAR: lessons learned from the best.(AUTOMOTIVE)

Jul 01, 2008; Haftl, Lawrence ... Race teams that compete in the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Cup Series put demands on their machine shops that most machinists would consider impossible or, at least, unreasonable. To be among the best in your profession, you need to identify those who ...

A robot cell to die cast for.(AUTOMATION)(materials handling robots)

Jul 01, 2008; Bates, Charles ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Die-cast products comprise the bulk of mass-produced items manufactured by the metalworking industry, from alloy-based children's toys to automotive engine parts, and the integrated design of a die-casting work cell is critical to make these products at ...

North American robotics companies reported that new orders sold to North American manufacturers fell 17 percent in the first quarter of 2008 from the same quarter in 2007, while revenue rose 5 percent.(Automation News)

Jul 01, 2008 ... North American robotics companies reported that new orders sold to North American manufacturers fell 17 percent in the first quarter of 2008 from the same quarter in 2007, while revenue rose 5 percent. Orders to non-automotive companies surged, an encouraging sign for future robotics ...

Precise automation Inc. (www.preciseautomation.com), an automation products developer, has been awarded u.s. Patent 7,343,684 for its traction drive.(Automation News)(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... Precise automation Inc. (www.preciseautomation.com), an automation products developer, has been awarded u.s. Patent 7,343,684 for its traction drive. This zero-backlash drive, currently used in the company's 3-axis and 4-axis PrecisePlace Cartesian robots, provides linear motor ...

End-of-arm press tooling.(Automation News)(SAS Automation Ltd. has introduced end-of-arm tooling )(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The importance of robotic end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) cannot be overstated when it comes to metal handling, the tool plays a significant role to ensure exact repeatable blank transfer and placement in-and-out of a press. The slim design of SAS ...

U-joints accommodate misalignment.(Automation News)(Curtis Universal Joint Company Inc. has developed its block-and-pin universal joints )(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... Curtis universal (www. curtisuniversal.com) designed its block-and-pin universal joints to handle misalignment as high as 35 degrees while safely accommodating gross overloads for applications such as pumps, conveyors, compactors, power ...

Customized actuators.(Automation News)(Mack Corp. has introduced hydraulic and pneumatic linear actuators )(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... Mack Corp. (www. mackcorp.com) offers a comprehensive line of hydraulic and pneumatic linear actuators that the company ...

Barfeeder: side by side.(AUTOMATION)(Swiss-type sliding-headstock machines)

Jul 01, 2008; Bates, Charles ... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Shops that work with fixed-headstock turning machines increasingly are migrating toward multi-axis turning operations that use Swiss-type sliding-headstock machines. They are doing so to meet the growing demand for larger volumes of smaller parts coming ...

Stop teaching robots.(AUTOMATION)

Jul 01, 2008 ... Shops can spend days programming a robot's moves. Now, a new release of Robotmaster CAD/CAM software eliminates having to use the "teach" method to program a robot and shortens the teaching process considerably. "What once took days, is done in hours," Greg Culp of ...

Are you measuring up?(FROM THE EDITOR)

Jul 01, 2008; Vernyi, Bruce ... We have in this issue the results from our 3rd annual benchmark survey of the U.S. machine shop industry, and the analysis of the numbers that more than 200 of our readers provided. We made minor changes in the survey from last year. We replaced one or two questions with ...

Another piece of environmental legislation fails to pass.(GOVERNMENT MATTERS)

Jul 01, 2008; Freedenberg, Paul ... The Democratic leadership in the Senate admitted that it would be unable to pass the "Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act" aimed at curtailing greenhouse gas emissions. On June 6, this so-called "cap and trade" legislation was pulled from the Senate calendar and is highly ...

Tooling U provides manufacturing training from mobile devices.(INTERNET CONNECTIONS)

Jul 01, 2008 ... Tooling U, a Cleveland-based online training company specializing in manufacturing, has created a mobile training platform that is designed to allow users to access its training web site from anywhere in the world. Tooling U expects its new mobile training plat form to increase ...

Dow performance fluids launches internet Q&A.(Websites)(dow-answer. custhelp.com)(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... Dow Chemical Co.'s Fluids & Lubricants operations in mid-May launched a Dow Answer Center devoted to lubricants. The answer center is based on a dynamic knowledge database that is designed to provide answers to frequently asked technical questions, regulatory content, and other ...

5 key strategies for reduced costs and profitability.(Websites)

Jul 01, 2008 ... Striving to reduce costs and increase profitability while remaining competitive is not easy. Epicor Manufacturing will present ways to plan, schedule, execute and monitor your manufacturing operations--from raw materials to final product--to develop the ...

Webinar on retrofits.(Websites)(Conference news)

Jul 01, 2008 ... If you missed the web seminar on "The Best Kept Secrets of Successful Retrofits," on May 21, you can still view it at www. americanmachinist.com/ Webcasts. GE Fanuc and American Machinist presented the hour-long webinar, and it is available in the American Machinist ...

Camfil Farr.(www.green-air-filters. com)(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Camfil Farr, a producer of industrial air filters, redesigned its website, and emphasizes ...

SMIT Hydraulics.(smithydraulics.com)(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... SMIT Hydraulics, a provider of transmission systems has redeveloped its Internet site to include a wide selection and ...

Keeping an eye on manufacturing: webcams become the next must-have tool in the machine shop.(MACHINE TOOLS)(Suburban Tool Inc. makes use of webcams to monitor its employee works)

Jul 01, 2008; Bates, Charles ... Watching a machine run via webcam may not be as compelling as the evening news, but for many shops, visually monitoring machines has become an important practice in improving manufacturing operations. As a manufacturing tool, cameras that can be accessed remotely are growing in ...

Shop goes to the video tape.(Jobshop M.R.S. machining )(Brief article)

Jul 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jobshop M.R.S. machining (www.mrsmachining.net), a 2007 American machinist top 10 shop, used to photograph its setups and tooling for its repeat jobs as a guide for its machinists. However, even with photos as guides, setup times still varied ...

Combine and conquer.(MACHINE TOOLS)

Jul 01, 2008; Bates, Charles ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The more manufacturing processes a shop can do on one machine the better. Machines that combine operations such as grinding, turning, drilling, milling, and boring allow workpieces to be clamped only once for complete machining with a number of ...