Companies adapting to the “new normal” in manufacturing are looking for ways to become more efficient and stay one step ahead of their competitors. Here’s why improving toolroom productivity is a powerful approach to this problem.  Ask any machine shop owner or production supervisor

Despite slow, large-scale adoption, advanced ceramics and ceramic matrix composites are finding a home in key aerospace and military applications. Today’s ceramics have come a long, long way from the kilns of the ancient world. Ceramics go back 24,000 years. Their application, howev

To help the bottom line, plant and operations managers not only have an opportunity to address costs but can use high quality tooling to boost output in meaningful ways. Use this Sandvik Coromant infographic to see how. Did you know that a 20 percent increase in machine utilization

What will the future bring to coolants, lubricants and metalworking fluids? We talked to industry veterans to better understand the evolution of today’s coolant landscape and tomorrow’s innovations. What’s new and next for metalworking fluids? It depends on a few essential conditio

Learn all about the process of grinding parts in metalworking in this must-see infographic. Surface, centerless, cylindrical and creep-feed grinding are some of the most common types of finishing and smoothing used in today’s metal parts making. But there are many factors that need

  What does it take to make aircraft wings in today’s hyperproductive aerospace industry? As Part 2 in our series on aerospace and defense manufacturing, tooling makers explain how they are helping the industry find more and more hours to shave from the process. Wings are not neces

Aerospace is one hot industry, but hiring and retaining machinists can be tough for smaller players. We talked with Rusty Gwyn, owner of General Machine-Diecron, to find out what it’s really like for one job shop. Pike County is 219 square miles and has only one red light in the wh

Live tooling increases a manufacturer’s cutting options and enables machinists to perform operations other than turning. Here’s what you need to know to maximize your investment. Traditional, 2-axis CNC lathes are slowly going the way of white

There’s no denying that the need for filling manufacturing jobs is a near-term reality. But that doesn’t mean millennials and members of Generation Z are not working as machinists and programmers today. We shine a light on next-generation machinists who have found their calling in me

What’s the future of manual machining? How is manual machining used to teach the next generation of machine operators, CNC machine programmers and process engineers today? We asked manufacturing professionals and instructors from different regions to find out. Will manual manufactu

Are you on the fence about 5-axis CNC machines? Dive into the details of our infographic to discover how and why they open up a whole new world of manufacturing options and time-saving opportunities. The throughput and accuracy that is possible on 5-axis machines are difficult to ar

Todays demand for quality products at a lower cost requires all of us to look more closely at our manufacturing operations. Optimizing our manufacturing process is not just a good goal, its a requirement for our futures. Optimized machining is not achieved by following a set of fixed

Choosing the right product for metal grinding or finishing applications can save time and money.  The best choice can also minimize the risk of removing too much material and ensure the best possible finish. Flap discs, in particular, provide delicate blending and finishing work, whi

Introduction Although the parts, workpiece materials and machining processes they work with differ widely, all manufacturers share the goal of machining a certain number of workpieces of a desired quality, in a specified amount of time, at an appropriate cost. Manufacturers typical

As the electric vehicle boom accelerates, new materials are being used to manufacture vehicle components, presenting a machining challenge for automotive suppliers. Here’s why polycrystalline diamond cutting tools are quickly becoming an automaker’s best friend. For as long as there

Precise machine tools and advanced cutting tools together provide outstanding metal-cutting productivity. However, the link between the cutting tool and machine spindle – the tool holder – is crucial in fully achieving that productivity. Tooling manufacturers offer a wide variety of

Many machinists regard thread milling as the preferred method of generating internal threads. Tapping, on the other hand, is significantly faster, is largely considered easier to set up and generally calls for less-expensive cutting tools. When comparing one machining method with an

From MFG Day events to pre-apprenticeship programs, the manufacturing industry is taking advantage of available resources to introduce, find and build the next generation of skilled machinists. We spoke with several nonprofits dedicated to helping the cause—including one program dedi

Material strength and surface finish testing examines the limits of crucial parts used in critical products. Here’s what you need to know about assessing the boundaries of material strength and construction, which are so important to the integrity of many products. If you’ve ever as

Do balanced tools increase productivity? The effect of unbalance is one of the simplest physics theories for anyone 
to visualize. Consider what happens when
 you have too many wet towels on one side
 of your washing machine as it rotates. Or
 how your ride would be if you didn’t hav