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While walking the aisles at the recently completed EMO Machine Tool Exhibition in Hanover, Germany, I had an opportunity to talk with Jerry Gagnon, the North American sales manager for [...]

If you are a regular reader of this column you will note that it tends to feature small companies with the second or third generation owners pushing their organizations to [...]

Sometimes you have an idea that is way ahead of its time, but there can be benefits to your new 'baby' that catch the eye of a user, even if [...]

STAN SEIBERT SEKA International 5390 Peach Drive Gibsonia, PA 15044-4907 (724) 443-2407 Fax: (724) 443-7806 Toolholder Improves Surface Finish Rapidac Machine, a Rochester, New York, contract manufacturer of molding and [...]

In the last couple of issues of MODERN MACHINE SHOP I have been discussing how you, as the originator of a new product that improved the manufacturing process in your [...]

Exporting is practical and profitable, and it is not just for the giant corporations, but it is also for firms with limited resources. In fact, almost any U. S. firm [...]

The following is going to be a slight departure from what I generally talk about in this monthly column. I've been involved with the overseas sale of American-built equipment for [...]

Most of the topics discussed in this column are the result of someone taking the time to make me aware of a manufacturing process that was improved. This month's topic [...]

In the field of workholding we have known SMWAutoblok as a worldwide supplier of quality chucks. From its base in northern Italy the company has spread its knowledge around the [...]

Last month a manufacturer's representative in Northern California, Mark Drazba, contacted me about a column idea. Mark and other machine tool and accessory salesmen are in a unique position. Their [...]

OK, you recognized the production bottleneck, and late one night the solution hits you! The next day (if you can wait) the new device begins to take shape. The first [...]

During the past couple of years I have discussed many of the innovative men and women I continue to meet in my travels. They are like most people involved in [...]

The following story is probably the most difficult column that I have written for MODERN MACHINE SHOP. It's not so much because of the product that I want to share [...]

There were many new and exciting new products exhibited at IMTS in Chicago. As I mentioned last month, I planned to spend a good deal of time in the tooling, [...]

It's early September of an even numbered year, and for those of us in metalworking trades, that can mean only one thing--IMTS. Every two years the best minds in our [...]

CAMCO, a Schlumberger Company (Houston, Texas), is a manufacturer of oil field components consisting of packers and safety valves. Due to the size of the parts, the company recently replaced [...]

One of the most interesting parts of my job is that I get to visit a large number of manufacturing facilities during the course of a year. My travels not [...]

I recently came upon a new workholding product line that promises to increase the productivity and profitability of companies machining smaller workpieces. The smaller the workpiece, the more suited it [...]

'It's not uncommon for people to think of pallet changers on vertical machining centers for high volume production jobs. Changing parts and cleaning chips on the 'off pallet' while the [...]

Work on a five-year, $11 million cost-shared program directed to enhancing the air flow passages of automotive components has recently been completed. A joint venture was formed for the collaborative [...]

D.J. Amici Tool, Inc. is an eight-person shop in Algonquin, Illinois, a northwestern suburb of Chicago. Recently, the shop adopted a system of modular precision boring tools and has seen [...]

A few years ago, a former business associate of mine telephoned me. During our discussion, he indicated that he was going to follow through on a life-long ambition to start [...]

Patty Schwieger, a longtime employee at Fuchs Machinery (Omaha, Nebraska), is currently the manager for the territory that includes Oilgear Company in Fremont, Nebraska. On the Oilgear project Patty was [...]

Tony Goff, plant manager of The Oilgear Company's Fremont, Nebraska, pump facility is not a newcomer to manufacturing. But his almost 25-year career had not prepared him for the impact [...]

Manufacturers may forge a deal with their suppliers to improve the efficiency of their processes. Such was the experience of Huron Machine Products Inc in Fort Lauderdale, FL. David Lindemann, the company's president, noticed that the unloading of the raw steel it purchases from its supplier disrupts the company's overall workflow. To remedy this, Lindemann struck an agreement with its supplier to shift to a just-in-time delivery arrangement. Through this deal, Huron reduced its inventory cost, saved on production space and stabilized its workflow., In the past couple of columns, we highlighted small contract manufacturers who solved production problems with new product ideas. But not all improved process solutions result in a marketable product. [...]

Recently, a plant manager (who chooses not to be identified for competitive reasons) needed a machine to produce threaded eyebolts. Thread sizes ranged from 1/2 inch to more than 1 [...]

Prior to Sept. 11, the metalworking industry had been having a fairly rough time. I won't use the 'R' word, but I can't remember business being as bad as this [...]

This month's column is dedicated to Kelly Ann Hintemeyer, my daughter and the 'KA' in our company, SEKA International. I can hear you asking, 'What is Stan talking about now, [...]

Snecma is a French company that is a world leader in the design and development of jet engines. It also manufactures and markets these engines to commercial and military aircraft makers. Its production facility in Le Creust, France, provides a telling demonstration of how French companies are able to stay ahead of the competition in other countries. This facility, which is dedicated to the machining of turbine disks, produces 290 turbine disks of 12 different types. The plant accomplishes this by using a flexible machining cell arrangement that allows CNC machines to be efficiently used., The French are noted for manufacturing high tech products. They must export to survive because their domestic market is not large enough to consume their entire production of the aircraft, [...]

Carbinite coating is capable of increasing or decreasing the coefficient of friction between a tool and a workpiece. The process, which also contributes to wear reduction, involves adding a thin layer of carbide that ranges from 40 to 320 emery equivalent on the clamping surface through a process called electrofusion. Carbinite coating, which can be applied to all steel materials such as stainless, 6061 and 7075 aluminum, also increases tool performance and tool life., You design and build a workholding fixture. Then you install it on the machine, load the new program, and set up the tooling. Soon you are making parts to print [...]

The size range of the 5C collet provides manufacturers with the best variety and value existing in machine tools and accessories. However, a 5C collet is considerably large compared to a diameter part measuring one-eighth of an inch. An adapter has been developed by Masa Machine Tool Accessories that enables a typical 5C collet machine tool to handle very small diameter parts. It needs no modifications nor special mounting procedures to install., When you need to make small parts, the size range of the 5C collet is where the best variety and value exist in machine tools and accessories. You don't want [...]

The 2nd-Cut milling and deburring machine is manufactured and marketed by Denver, CO-based S&T Machine Lab. The machine's parts are made from 440 C stainless steel on an automatic machine. The protrusion tip removal is completed on a belt sander supporting a V-block fixturing. It can be retrofitted with an attachment for flat stock plastic deburring, nd plates, bushings, spacers and cutter to deburr tube IDs., The 2nd-Cut milling and deburring machine was developed by Bud Buddenbaum, a job shop owner in Illinois. Currently manufactured and sold by S&T Machine Lab (Denver, Colorado), the machine was [...]

Machine tool accessory manufacturer Production Dynamics has constantly striven to improve its production processes since 1990. The firm manufactures collet chucks which reduce cycle time in computer numerical control lathe operations typically by three to five seconds. The latest successful process enhancement in machining using Production Dynamics' collet chuck is a sub-spindle application where finished parts are manufactured in an unattended operation., Production Dynamics has been improving manufacturing processes since 1990. The original product introduced by the company was a mechanical-grip/air-released, self-contained collet chuck. The Full Bore Chuck has established itself as [...]

Abbott Workholding Products is a manufacturing facility based in Manhattan, KS, that provides solutions to workholding problems. Founded in 1954, the company is known for its Pie Jaw chuck jaws. The jaws are designed to eliminate problems associated with rectangular jaws attempting to hold thin-walled material. Moreover, the company's product line includes more than 3,800 straight jaws, master plates and segments., Manhattan, Kansas is gaining worldwide recognition for more than a greatly improved college football program and its association with the storm that transported Dorothy to the Land of Oz. Abbott [...]

Bock Products' quick-change Twin Vises were based on Bock Workholding system, which offers flexible solutions to workholding problems both on horizontal and vertical machining centers. Bock Products Pres Joe Cousins worked with Jeff Baur, Harry Hanna and Nick Flaitz on the manufacturing solution to the growing problem of Bock's. They envisioned a solution that would grow along with the company's needs. In 1998, they came up with a three-machine FH-580/40 Palletech system from Mazak with two workstations and 22 pallets which provided cost savings and efficiency., The Bock Workholding system, which we discussed last month, provides flexible solutions to workholding problems on vertical and horizontal machining centers. The lightweight, hard-coated aluminum sub-plate provides the foundation for [...]

The Bock Workholding System revolutionized the manufacturing industry by introducing a locator sub-plate which serves as the foundation for 4th axis indexers, existing vises and non-rotating chucks. The plate is made of a hard-coated, lightweight aluminum with precision bored holes in a 2-inch grid pattern. The development of the Bi-Lok vise initiated the development of the Bock system. Both systems improved workholding and machining operations., Last fall in this column we told the story of Jim Chick. The solution to his manufacturing problem resulted in the 'Bi-Lok' vise and changed the stationary workholding industry. Joe [...]

Sterling Machine Co's foreman, tool designer and chief engineer Steven T. Bidwell developed the EZ-ID-OD Gage Set, a tool designed to accurately measure the size of completed parts. The tool featured a centerline hub assembly characterized by a base, a centerline post and expandable jaws. It also integrated a free-style swing gage supporting an indicator, a contact probe, a pair of side bars, and a front and rear swing body., When Al Caravella went into business in 1956, I am sure he dreamed of the successful manufacturing facility that Sterling Machine Company has become. His two sons, Greg and Tom, [...]

Dan Diorio Jr. of CNC Enhancements designed the Autobar 400 bar loader which revolutionized the machine tool industry. The design uses a feed-to-length approach to increase productivity of the loader. Since its launching in 1996, other short stack bar loader manufacturers have begun offering feed-to-length versions of their products. Other CNC Enhancements products are also described., Our industry is family oriented. Husbands and wives are still the most popular business partners. Children 'following in the footsteps of their parents' are more than a dream in our [...]

Midaco Corp was able to maximize machine cycle time in a profiling job by utilizing a lift-off pallet system that permitted operators to change parts in about 15 seconds. It allowed the firm to save most of the 1440 hours that were lost annually because of excessive downtime. Moreover, Midaco was able to market the pallet system to other machine shops making the company a multi-facility manufacturer of products that promote efficiency and productivity., This story will surely bring a smile to the face of readers who have ever worked with their fathers. And all parents who have worked with their children in our [...]

Sometimes manufacturers of the most common industrial products that we use can provide us with that 'little bit extra' that sets them apart from the competition. By furnishing these services [...]

Heating and air conditioning manufacturing company Valeo Climate Control reduced its mold changing time using magnetic platens. Magnetic platens, such as Technomagnate platens, can hold large die pieces. The mold change time is down to 16 minutes from 30 minutes. The UK-based company accomplished the time cut-down by streamlining mold-handling procedures such as mold mounting and clamping. Valeo still looks for ways to decrease its mold change time to 10 minutes., When UK-based Valeo Climate Control in Swansea, Wales, set out to reduce mold changing times on its three 1,000-ton presses, it achieved dramatic results. Downtime went from about 3 hours [...]

The emphasis on continuous process development is helping French manufacturers be successful in the international markets despite high labor costs in the country. This is evident in the case of La Francais de Mecanique, a joint venture of Renault and PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) which is the biggest automobile engine factory in Europe. The company produces over 400 metric tons of parts per day, including 26,900 critical components, 5,200 camshafts, 44,000 cylinder liners and 12,000 crankshafts., Last May, just before the EMO machine tool exhibition in Paris, Ralph Nappi, President of the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA) led a group on a trade mission to [...]

Business or personal improvements can be achieved in several ways. An example of business improvement is the effort made by machine shop owner Jim Chick to address the challenge presented by a customer to develop a machine part similar to a hydraulic manifold. Although the order was a profitable one, the shop was not big enough to handle it. To address this problem, Chick developed a workholder would be capable of performing two separate jobs simultaneously., During my 30-year career in our industry I have been exposed to some very innovative men and women. They are like most people involved in contract manufacturing-doing what they need [...]