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Article: The hunt for metalworking's Holy Grail. (Straight Talk).
- Article from:
- Tooling & Production
- Article date:
- November 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Nelson Publishing. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Multitasking. That was the one word you could hear echoing throughout the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago in September. It seemed like everyone was chasing the Holy Grail--the machine or tool that would permit completion of a part in one setup. Many exhibitors were claiming to have a key that would unlock the door and bring metalworking closer to that production promised land.
At dinner one evening, Tak Yamazaki, senior managing director of Yamazaki Mazak Corp., heading up sales and marketing in Japan, insisted I visit his booth to see a demonstration of a machine tool that eliminates the casting process and machines a large generator ...