Modern Applications News

September 2007 Edition

Keyseating

The Key to Keyseating
Cutting keys was a losing proposition until a shop owner invented a better "mousetrap." The new system brought in work and may have the world beating a path to his door.

Marketing

Making the Right Investment in Marketing
Effective marketing is as important to a shop's success as having the right machines

Machining

Commonality Is the Key
Making the most of its machines' time is a key to this shop's success. Common controls on different manufacturers' machines lets it take advantage of time and effort.

Grinding

'Trifecta' Success
A cooperative effort between three manufacturers — two of which are each others customers — provided a lights-out solution for a tool manufacturer

CAD/CAM

Necessity is the Mother of Trunnions
As a company transitioned into a job shop, it found the need for a stable, rigid trunnion. When it couldn't find one on the market, it made its own.

Purchasing

Strength in Numbers
Even though going it alone is an American trait, sometimes e pluribus unum is the way to go in getting purchasing discounts

CAD/CAM

If at First You Don't Succeed . . . Get Better Software
"Try, try, try again" wasn't working for PSC Machining. Reprogramming parts was causing problems. It needed a way to download part programming to break the bottleneck.