I'm pleased to announce the new AMERICAN MACHINIST website. And if you haven't logged on yet and taken advantage of its many exclusive online tools, you are doing yourself a disservice.
We engineered the site to deliver exceptional value to the metalworking community. I believe we've achieved our goal and then some.
Once you've visited the site, I think you will make it your starting point for information on an array of topics — from resolving complex processing issues to locating suppliers that can fulfill your needs.
Using our powerful vertical search engine, you can find articles, technical information, and vendors with a click of the mouse. Additionally, you can search other sites related to metalworking, and, for that matter, the entire web. When you're on the site, try typing in turning, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. The topic even gets its own Technical Zone (see the left-hand navigation bar).
Other special features to americanmachinist.com include the Cutting Tool Selector and Calculators. The Cutting Tool Selector lets users specify tool parameters such as material to be cut, depth of cut, and desired speeds and feeds. It then gives you a list of tools that fit that criteria. You have the option to choose a preferred supplier from the database, which is composed of leading cutting tool manufacturers in the metalworking industry.
Calculators will help you make decisions relative to processing procedures. For example, the Break Even Analysis calculator provides a quantity of parts where it is more cost-effective to use one machine over another. The Tool Life Durations calculator addresses two different conditions. For the turning and drilling of non-interrupted cuts, users enter the cutting time/part in minutes and obtain the number of parts one tool can cut. For milling, users enter the average width-of-cut, the tool diameter, and time-in-cut (in minutes/part) and then receive the minutes/insert. Other calculators include horsepower/kilowatt conversions, speeds and feeds conversions, tool-life speed adjustments, and turning surface finishes.
I've just scratched the surface of americanmachinist.com, but I believe you will find the website one of the best go-to manufacturing sites in existence.
I'm interested in hearing your comments and/or suggestions. Give it a look, and let me know what you think.
