Photo Credit: Exact Metrology Exact Metrology, a 3D metrology service provider and hardware sales company, has installed a large scale coordinate measuring machine (CMM) at their location in Moline, Illinois. This machine is a high accuracy CNC CMM that reportedly guarantees a maximum permissi

Photo Credit: NCCS Corp. NCCS Corp. has announced the release of PostWorks Connect, a machine control software with Connect technology. According to the company, PostWorks is a high-end universal post processor that generates precise NC code for a wide variety of machines, including mills, lathes

Sodick’s K4HL CNC small hole drilling machine Sodick’s five-axis K4HL CNC small hole drilling machine and AL G series of rigid linear motor driven die-sinker EDMs feature Sodick’s proprietary rigid linear motor control technology for what the company says is outstanding accura

Select machines from Okuma America Corporation’s core product line now come equipped with the company’s Advanced One Touch-Interactive Graphics Function (AOT-IGF) conversational programming software. AOT enables shops to achieve faster setup times, increase machine productivity and c

Have you ever noticed that witness marks left on milled surfaces are not consistent between linear and circular motions — even though they use the same feed rate? Have you wondered why milling cutters tend to chatter when they machine internal arcs? The reason is related to the differ

Hurco has recognized Reynolds Machinery, the exclusive distributor for Hurco CNC machine sales and service in Ohio, with the Hurco 2020 Top Unit Sales Award for North America. “We’re very proud to win the #1 distributor award,” says Scott Mays, president of Reynolds Machi

Previously, this column discussed an issue related to the feed rate required to make circular motions when targeting a constant contouring speed — specifically, with internal arcs or external arcs when removed material is balanced around a contour being machined (finish

Methods Machine Tools Inc., has moved its Chicago Technical Center from Elgin, Illinois, to Gilberts, Illinois. All other contact information, including telephone numbers and phone extensions, remains the same. Methods says it relocated to a larger facility to expand its customer services in th

Some programmers shy away from using custom macros because they feel these macros make it more difficult to restart a program from the middle of a complex machining operation. This concern can often be overcome with a little planning. Indeed, custom macros sometimes make it easier to restart the

What is the smallest value a shop’s CNC can use? Most machining and turning centers display coordinate and offset data to three places in the Metric (millimeter) measurement system and to four places in the Imperial (inch) measurement system. In days past, the least input increment,

If you have programmed with Custom Macro, you probably know that one way to call a Custom Macro program is to use a G65 command. Users typically input this command in a main program, specifying the program number for the Custom Macro (with a P-word) and a series of letter address arguments (vari

When CNC machines are properly used, they are flexible, productive, long-lasting and safe. A misused machine or a mishandled application can have just the opposite results. Typically, the most egregious offenses should be obvious and easy to avoid, but not all serious issues are easy to s

Glebar’s DM-9CNC Wheel Dressing Machine is a stand-alone machine that allows operators to dress grinding wheels while the grinder is in production. Available for 9”- and 10”-diameter wheels, the machine uses CNC to dress precision contours in vitrified grinding wheels. Use

Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH (SW) has introduced user-experience enhancements like multi-touch capabilities and simplified troubleshooting and program management with its recently released CNC HMI, the C|one Control Panel. The main display of the C|one measures 24

Tormach Inc’s xsTech Router Mill, a ready-to-use tabletop system with full CNC capabilities, is a small-but-versatile CNC system for cutting plastics, wood and aluminum.  Tormach recommends xsTech, which comes ready to run and requires no assembly, for students learning CNC

Tool length compensation simplifies programming and enhances trial machining and sizing during setups and production runs. It also makes it possible to assemble and measure cutting tool lengths using an offline tool length measuring device. Though tool length compensation is a good featur

Manufacturing is about constant improvement. Just as machine shops work hard to improve the speed at which they get parts out the door without losing quality, OEMs have thousands of people dedicated to improving manufacturing equipment to make their customers’ jobs easier. In this flurry of in

Mazak has launched its VC-Ez Series of three-axis vertical machining centers, which it describes as a lower-cost solution for reliable machine-tool performance. Featuring the company's new Mazatrol SmoothEz CNC and optimized for simple operation as well as fast and easy installatio

America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), a national initiative for machine tool technology development and advancement, has developed a CNC machining training program in collaboration with IACMI — The Composites Institute and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This training program consists of an o

  Three-jaw chucks are among the most-used workholding devices used on CNC turning centers. Two common methods for attaching top tooling (commonly hard or soft jaws) to the chuck’s master jaws are quick-change systems and tee nuts.  What are the methods of jaw mounting? Quick