CNC Programmers Neal Ziemer and Bill Lighter at Astro Machine Works work on laptops at the machine to eliminate round trips between CNC machines and remotely located Mastercam workstations.
programming on its CNC equipment, it’s up to them to decide the fastest way to keep parts moving through the shop to the next phase of production. Eric Blow, company president, explains: “Psychologically, it has been good to empower our team with these tools, rather than just relegate them to a single individual in a program- ming offi ce on mahogany row. Many shops do not give opera-
tors access to these tools, because they consider operators expendable. We don’t have operators; our CNC departments consist of fully functioning CNC machinists.” Recently, because of a number of productivity enhance- ments to the CAD software in Mastercam X5 Mill and Lathe from CNC Software Inc. (Tolland, CT), the machinist/program- mers had found themselves making numerous trips to the remotely located Mastercam programming workstations. To resolve this issue and keep parts moving, Astro invested in additional laptops, so machinists could create CNC programs right at their machines. During the past fi ve years, the company has taken advantage of Section 179 tax incentives for purchasing new equipment and software. Blow doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that these have also been consecutive years of substantial growth. While Astro gives its team members the best tools, the machinists themselves are challenged to innovate new and better ways to use them.
I HAVE PROBES ON MY MACHINE; I DON’T NEED A PRESETTER
Misconception #8
The Truth Is: A probe may be an effective way to verify tool lengths between cuts, but it is not the most efficient way to set your tools. A “guess-and-check” process for making adjustments wastes valuable cutting time. A Speroni MAGIS Tool Presetter can verify runout, measure length, diameter, radius, and other geometries using measuring icons, and it can also inspect tools for wear. Spend less time adjusting and more time cutting.
The notch-free nut design of our Mega Micro Chuck prevents vibration at high speeds for superior balance and concentricity. It not only eliminates whistling noise and coolant splattering, but also assures increased strength of the nut itself. The super slim taper design of the body offers added strength for micro end milling, and reduces interference in long reach applications.
Truth Learn about more common misconceptions and p solutions at www.bigkaiser.com/truth or call 888-866-5776. productivity R
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