Here is Lynn Tilton, CEO of Patriarch Partners, a private equity firm dedicated to strengthening manufacturers, explaining why the President’s plan is more of a sound bite than a sound plan.

CNC Software, Inc. has introduced Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks, a fully integrated CAM application that runs seamlessly in SolidWorks. SolidWorks users can now program their parts directly within SolidWorks using Mastercam’s industry-leading toolpaths and machining strategies.

Mastercam for SolidWorks provides a full suite of cutting strategies, including Feature Based Machining (FBM) and 3D High Speed Machining (HSM) toolpaths. Mastercam for SolidWorks also delivers a powerful set of automated cleanup toolpaths, letting you get parts off the machine faster and with little or no handwork.

Mastercam for SolidWorks offers many benefits to both the Mastercam and SolidWorks communities alike. It relies on familiar, shop-tested parameter screens and processes, and presents a machining tree that provides quick access to any point in the machining process.

In addition to conventional 2D programming such as pocketing and contouring, Mastercam for SolidWorks offers a range of high power machining functions:

• Dynamic Milling creates a constantly adapting toolpath that delivers more consistent cutting conditions and allows use of the entire tool flute length.
• High Speed Machining can deliver a faster turnaround and a superior finish.
• Peel Milling assures efficient constant climb milling between two selected contours or along a single contour. When cutting hardened material, the peel mill toolpath allows you to use the full flute depth of the cutter and avoid taking many shallow cuts.

There are many more toolpaths in Mastercam for SolidWorks. For more information, please visit www.mastercamforsolidworks.com.

My first editor-in-chief gig was as head honcho of Gases & Welding Distributor, a sister publication of Welding Design & Fabrication. In fact, the WDF’s editor – Brad Kuvin at the time [now editor of MetalForming magazine at Precision Metalforming Association] – had the office next to mine. We even shared some staff.

In some restructuring at Penton, American Machinist moved into our publishing group. It was the big dog on the block: rarely less than a half-inch thick, the rest of the books – that’s publishing jargon for magazines – in the Industrial Group were less than dust beneath its feet. Since GWD was a small bimonthly book, it was a rare day when the editor back then had a good word – or any word, for that matter – with what he considered a pee-wee book such as GWD.

My other connection with AM came when I edited Modern Applications News. AM was one of our direct competitors, though you couldn’t tell from MAN’s name. I had just come from being a tech writer in the IT department of a large bank where computer programs were called “applications.” For me, a magazine called Modern Applications News, should have been about programs. Maybe that’s one reason it was never much of a leader in the field, despite it’s 42-year history.

All things considered, the demise of AM, WDF, and MAN bring up the issue of where people in the industry are getting their news?

Blowing Sunshine Up Readers’ Exhaust Ports
Let’s face facts, there is more than a close relationship between manufacturers and B2B magazines. While I tried to maintain something of a firewall between editorial and advertising, it wasn’t unknown for some books to be predisposed to working more closely with advertisers than I was comfortable with.

But, we all tried to maintain the idea we were independent of undue business influence. Now, however, with print publications disappearing, who will be taking an unbiased view of information coming from manufacturers?

Company in-house magazines, while slick and professionally produced give the impression of an unbiased presentation of facts, they are, in fact the mouthpieces of the company. That’s not a criticism. They wouldn’t last very long biting the hand that feeds them.

That leaves the reader in an uncomfortable, but probably unaware position, of not fully trusting what’s being printed. Not that such publications would lie, but I’m sure they would paint the rosiest picture possible of their products.

E Pluribus Stupid
Many of the websites about machining get most of their content from reader forums. I’ll be charitable and state that most of the participants are less than genius level. Is it really prudent to take advice from people who don’t know how to use the shift key, use multiple exclamation points, lack spelling proficiency, and insert emoticons? The intelligence of a crowd is inversely proportional to its size.

“Bring Out Your Dead!”
So, where does that leave things. I dunno. If I did, I’d have cashed in on it long ago. All I can predict is that newspapers and B2B magazines are on the skids, or as Grandpa Simpson said [and I'm paraphrasing]: “You’re in the newspaper business? Ho-ho! Something that’s going to die before I do!”

Pete Nofel has 30+ years of journalism experience and has held the position of Editor-in-Chief of several magazines covering the manufacturing industry.  His most current thoughts and coverage of the industry can be found at www.machiningbusinessnews.com.

Chalk up another casualty to the decline in the US economy and another hit towards manufacturing in this country. The December 2009 edition of American Machinist Magazine was its last printed edition. Although it wasn’t a big surprise since we reported Modern Applications News Magazine’s demise back in June ‘09, we never expected we could fly cut the thickness of AM’s last issue with a 1/16 endmill.

Before we go spraying doom and gloom because another trade magazine is gone, consider that AM is owned by a larger publishing company, Penton Media. Penton currently offers over 150 publications ranging from agriculture to electronics. When one publication isn’t bringing in their fair share of revenue, cuts are soon to follow. Consider it more of a corporate business move rather than a statement on the health of US manufacturing. It is a sentimental shame however that AM has turned its last page after 132 years of history.

Attention American Machinist advertisers: CNCReport.com is alive and well! (Shameless plug… absolutely tasteless)

Westec is back and we’re looking forward to the show as usual. We must admit that we anticipated last year’s show to be somewhat of a dud, but hats off to the SME on pulling off a well attended show despite the economic downturn. With this years show quickly approaching, SME has done an excellent job of promoting and providing better resources for visitors. For example, the 2010 Westec website is not only well themed, but it is the best functioning site to date. The show is a 3 day event and also sports a smaller floor footprint. The four technical sessions offered are also appropriate for those looking to expand capability or change shop direction for future opportunities.

Paid Technical Sessions:
March 24, 2010
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Swiss-style Screw Machining for Ultra Precision
Innovations in Machining of Exotic Metals
March 25, 2010
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Milling, Drilling and Cutting of Advanced Carbon Fiber and/or Carbon Fiber Laminates
Additive Manufacturing: Turning Ideas into Reality

The Dates:
Tuesday, March 23 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 24 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 25 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The Location:
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015-1399

Dust is such a dirty thing! But when it comes to machining graphite, dust can be a machine killer.

The use of graphite in EDM machining is very common in the US, and is increasingly used in Europe and Asia. It is easy to machine, has excellent wear resistance, and performs well in most EDM machines. However, graphite dust is very messy to work with and dispose of. Without a proper industrial dust collection system, the shop quickly is covered with a fine gray dust. This is unhealthy for humans and machinery as well. Because the dust is so conductive, it has destroyed more than one circuit board in a nearby machine tool.

It is not enough to merely set up a shop vacuum to suck up the dust during the typical manual surface grinding operation to make EDM electrodes. A fine particle filter industrial dust collection system is vastly superior and will help keep the shop atmosphere clean and healthy. Many shops have customized wheel guards in place to help eliminate the dust during the grinding of graphite. This, together with the dust collector can make a huge difference. The operator will greatly appreciate this as well!

The high speed milling machines that now produce many of the electrodes for EDM machining are commonly equipped with a negative pressure chamber that is extremely efficient at dust collection. The inside of the machine cabinet is often squeaky clean, not to mention the air in the vicinity. The carbide cutters and inserts used in these machining centers are expensive. Many are coated with special chemicals to increase their performance capabilities. Removing the dust during machining helps prolong the life of these carbide end mills and ball end mills. A coated micro end mill can easily cost up to $85, so the cost savings is significant.

The automatic tool changer and pallet changer can also be adversely affected, if the dust is not removed from the shop. Similar to the precision tooling, any moving parts will prematurely wear or become inaccurate over time. One other common tool, frequently used in mold repair, is the micro welder, or laser welder. The circuitry can be damaged by short circuits from the annoying dust.

Bottom line: invest in an industrial dust collector and keep the filters clean!

A note from CNC Report host Jay Pierson: Hello everybody. I was all geared up to do another episode, one that would impress and inspire, but then I ran across a presentation that does a far greater job of impressing and inspiring than I ever could. Woody Norris is an inventor and entrepreneur I greatly admire. Though his presentation isn’t machining specific, he does own a Fadal VMC and relies heavily on his manufacturing capabilities to prototype his ideas. For our regular listeners out there, you’ll catch our similar views on education. So, instead of the normal Weekend Podcast, I give you a Ted Talk with inventor Woody Norris.

Cold air cutting doesn’t require hooking up the AC to your machine. Cold air guns convert compressed air into cold air without the use of any moving parts. It’s almost magical, yet it’s simple science.

The Silvent F1 Air Nozzle is designed to deliver a significant improvement in the spot cooling technology used during dry machining. The new patent-pending design permits independent adjustment of airflow and temperature at the cutting site. Two dials at both ends of the body allow the operator to quickly set air flow and temperature. The F1 nozzle generates an exceptionally low noise level, achieving compliance with both the EU Machine Directive and OSHA safety standards. The F1 Air Nozzle has a refrigeration capacity from 0- 94 Btu/hr, air consumption from 0-17.7 scfm and a temperature reduction up to -99F (with inlet air at 70F).

The compact Silvent F1 Air Nozzle is simple to install and it easily replaces existing standard nozzles. The F1 Air Nozzle is available as a single unit on a Flexblow hose in three lengths from 16” to 24”, or as a four-nozzle Flexblow unit in three lengths from 17” to 25”. Both are supplied with a magnetic base.

For contact info visit www.silvent.com.

Other groups I often speak to are machinists wanting to start shops of their own and owners who want to take their businesses to the next level. The advice I give to both groups is nearly identical. Making great parts in a timely manner may be the easy part, but faced with the reality of what it takes to successfully grow and market a company of their own often causes the mental back burners to fire up. Though there’s not one right answer to successfully market a machine shop, I’ll provide several “most bang for the buck” ideas. In part 1 of this “Marketing for Machine Shops” series, I’ll cover one of the easiest marketing tactics to implement and it’s all done through a product called Google Maps.

X Marks the Spot

Google Maps can bring a company to the forefront of people’s searches without having to spend a penny. In fact, it doesn’t even require a company webpage. With Google Maps, users in a geographical area can type in a search term and find a list of related businesses with their locations pinpointed on an interactive map. Having good online visibility is arguably one of the most powerful aspects in promoting a company. Companies registered with Google Maps not only achieve this visibility of appearing on map searches, but also under normal web searches in the user’s geographical area. For example, a user in Chicago searching for “Machine Shops” on Google’s main search page will also see results appear under a map section called “Local business results for machine shops near Chicago”. Very powerful indeed!

Getting Practical

Registering a business with Google Maps is a free, one-time process. Get started with these steps:

1. Go to www.google.com.
2. In the upper right-hand corner of the page, click “Sign In”. An account with Google is necessary to proceed. (An account with Google is an asset that provides many valuable tools to small businesses that I’ll cover in future columns.)
3. In the upper left-hand corner, click on “Maps” or go to maps.google.com.
4. On the left-hand side of the page click the link that says “Put your business on Google Maps”. On the next page, click “Add New Business”.
5. Start entering all pertinent contact information and a well thought out description about the company and click “Next”. Should any of the info change, Google Maps provides the ability to edit details at any time.
6. On the following page, continue to enter as much information about the company. It’s not necessary to fill out all the fields, but don’t skip the “Category” section. Again, this can be edited at a later time.
7. Submit the information and verify everything on the next page.

Once this information is recorded in Google’s database, potential customers will have a far greater chance of making contact with your company and friends will label you the “go-to-guy” for Google Maps.

- Jay Pierson