Friday, November 02, 2007

Carbide Cutting Tool

Carbide cutting tools are used when your regular high speed steel cutting tools are not removing enough material in the time allowed for the job. Carbide cutting tools are a bit more expensive then regular steel cutting tools, but make up that by lasting longer and removing more material per cut. Making a carbide cutting tool strictly from carbide is prohibitively expensive. The usual method is to braze carbide onto the steel cutting surface. Carbide is harder than steel and holds an edge longer under harder use than plain steel.

An example of a carbide cutting tool is the blade on your circular saw. Most saw blades for circular saws are carbide tipped for more cutting capacity and for longevity purposes. A carbide cutting tool just lasts longer than plain steel. Carbide cutting tools cut through the material you are cutting so much faster that ordinary high speed steel cutting tools do, that most cutting tools today come with carbide tips on them. if high speed steel will cut the material you are handling, then a carbide cutting tool will cut it faster and more economically. A carbide cutting tool does not need to be sharpened as often as high speed steel does.

In the metal machining industry carbide cutting tools have become the standard for most cutting situations. The hardness of a carbide cutting tool and the longevity that it brings to the cutting surface simply makes it more economical to use than the high speed steel cutting tools. Productivity is the key to successful business and the time saved in not changing cutters or in resharpening cutters more than makes up for the higher cost of carbide cutting tools. Also being able to carry a smaller inventory of cutting tools due to the longevity of carbide cutting tools means a lessor investment in the overhead of a metal machining business.

When cutting a very hard material with a carbide cutting tool, a cooling system is used to keep the temperature of the blade and material lower. This keeps the material being cut from warping or in the case of heat treatable material, it keeps it from hardening and possibly changing the temper of the material. It also prolongs the life of the carbide cutting tool by retaining the carbide tips. When a carbide cutting tool starts to remove less material or otherwise shows signs of dullness, it is very easy to sharpen. Sharpening is just a matter of removing a very slight amount the carbide to return the carbide cutting tool to it's former shape and cutting ability.

When you go to the store to get replacements for your cutting machine, be it a saw or a complex milling machine, your first choice should be a carbide cutting tool. The slightly higher expense over a high speed steel cutting tool will, in the long run, turn out to make the carbide cutting tool less expensive both because or the greater productivity and the longer lifespan of the carbide cutting tool over an ordinary high speed steel version.

The Best Rowing Machine Suppliers

Have you been looking for Rowing Machine Suppliers? Then look no farther. Here you will find a comprehensive list of providers, which machines they carry and even some prices involved. Finding the right Rowing Machine Suppliers is as important as buying one. Knowing where to look is only half of the battle.

The first Rowing Machine Supplier on the list is Jih Kao Enterprise Co Ltd; they carry the Foldable Rowing Machine, and are located in Taiwan. You will find that they have over 59 products available along with some reviews as well. Next is the TMC Fitness located in China, they have the T-bar Rowing Machine, made from 2.00 mm Steel Tubes, with over 65 products available.

The next Rowing Machine Supplier on the list is Body Sculpture International Ltd in Taiwan, supplying you with 74 products and a Adjustable Rowing Arms Rowing Machine. Shanghai Double Wing Fallow Products Co Ltd in China is next with 99 products. TMC Fitness is next with 65 products, located in China.

If you are looking for somewhere a little closer to the United States, then you have a few options here as well. The first on the list is The Comfort Store in Ohio, with a reasonable price of $449.00 and free ground shipping as well. The Stamina Specialist in Cambridge, Massachusetts is next they have the Stamina GlideMaster 1210 Conversion Rower for only $160.00, free Ground Shipping and occasionally nice gifts like Gift Certificates and Tool Kit for easy assembly. The Rowing Machine Supply Store has the LifeCore Fitness R900 Rower; this Rower is at an affordable price of $1199.00 at and can come with great incentives such as Cash Back, Tool Kit, heart monitor, and Free Ground Shipping.

With over 30 Stores carrying more than 20 different Brands and styles you are sure to find the Rowing Machine Suppliers for you. You can shop from places such as Affiliate Fitnes, Amazon.com and Amazon.com Marketplace Used, Big Fitness, GNC, Target and more you can find a Supplier near you. The wide variety of Brands available such as Bowflex, Champion, Quantum and Schwinn you are sure to find one that fits your needs.

Monday, October 29, 2007

The Mini CNC Machine

The mini CNC machine gives the manufacturer a way to reduce cycle time. The mini CNC machine helps the manufacturer to avoid a long void between the end of one operation and the start of the next operation. The manufacturer who decides to purchase a mini CNC machine has chosen to apply the principles of cycle time to the area of production machinery.

The nature of the mini CNC machine creates three ways by which miniaturization can pave the way for cycle time reduction. This article will list three ways by which a manufacturer can reduce cycle time. It will also provide details concerning how the mini CNC machine permits the manufacturer to apply the principles of cycle time reduction to the operation of the mini CNC machine, and ultimately to the process of machine production.

The effort to reduce the manufacturers cycle time begins with an attempt to minimize the amount of time that operators spend loading and unloading various materials. The operator of a CNC machine will work more efficiently if he or she is able to minimize the workplace loading and unloading. This minimization is achieved through use of the mini CNC machine.

The operator of the mini CNC machine can save time by using large bed sizes and a small footprint. The operator of a mini CNC machine will save money by loading into the machine a wide piece of material and then limiting each process (cutting, engraving, routing, and drilling) to a small footprint.

The operator of a CNC-based piece of equipment can reduce cycle time by reducing the tool maintenance time. Such a reduction is made possible by the mini CNC machine. The small size of the miniaturized machines facilitates the creation of multiple design options. The large number of options leads to creation of a generous number of spare parts. Meanwhile the surplus of spare parts guarantees the ready replacement of any malfunctioning parts.

The operator of a mini CNC machine also reduces cycle time by decreasing the program execution time. The clamping of small elements to the mini CNC machine and the automation of the tiny machine parts leads to a lowering of operator intervention. Whenever operators can afford to devote less time to matching the quality of a previous result, then the manufacturer saves money.

It thus becomes obvious that the characteristics of the mini CNC machine guarantee the application by the operator of the principles of cycle time. Three aspects of any CNC program fall under the control of the product manufacturer.

1) The time required for workplace equipment to accomplish the loading and unloading of the material that requires a transformation (a cutting, drilling, routing or engraving),
2) The length of the program execution time,
3) The length of the tool maintenance time.

The ability of a mini CNC machine to substantially alter any of the above three aspects could lead to a reduction in cycle time. A reduction in cycle time could improve performance of the process machinery.

Tools - Machine Tools

The definition of a machine tool, if you look in the dictionary, is a powered machine used for cutting or shaping or finishing metals or other materials. This actually applies to a wide variety of tools such as a broach, drill, gear shaper, hobbing machine, lathe, milling machine, shaper, and grinder.

Of course this definition doesn't really describe the usefulness of these type of tools. So we'll try to do just that in this article.

Most machine tools, also by definition, are tools that are tools that use a power source. In other words, not operated manually. But there are some tools that are considered machine tools that are operated by hand.

The first, what were considered machine tools, were actually made for the purpose of making other tools. These tools removed the human element from the process of stamping these tools by hand. Instead they were now stamped by machines.

The first lathe machine tools were invented in 1751 by Jacques de Vaucanson. He was the very first to mount the cutting instrument of the tool on a mechanically adjustable head. This took the tool out of the hands of the operator.

Machine tools can actually be powered by a number of sources. Aside from human and animal power, the energy for these tools can be captured from waterwheels and steam engines, in the early days, and finally electricity today. The Industrial Revolution had a huge impact on the progress made with machine tools.

Machine tools can be manually operated or automatically controlled. The very early machine tools used flywheels to stabilize their motion. They also had complex systems of gears and levers to control the machine and whatever piece it was that it was working on.

After World War II a new advanced machine was made called the numerical control machine. This machine used a series of numbers punched on paper tape or punch cards that controlled their motion.

In the 1960s, computers were then added to the function of making these machines work. These computers gave more flexibility to the process. These machines became known as computer numerical control machines and they could repeat the same set of instructions over and over similar to an assembly line. These machines could produce pieces that were much more complex than anything produced by even the most skilled tool operator.

It wasn't long before these machines could automatically change the cutting and shaping tools that were being used in the process. To give an example, a drill machine might contain a magazine or cartridge with a number of drill bits. These bits could be used for producing holes of different sizes. Before it was automated, operators would have to manually change the bit in order to drill a different size hole. Today, we have the technology to create a machine that can alternate the drill bits by computer program control.