by Phil Kerner | Nov 29, 2018 | Fixture Building, Fixtures, Members Only: The Tool Room, Set-Ups, The Basics - Milling
Just a reminder: one of my main tasks at work is to "prove out" first-time jobs quickly. Once we get a handful of parts through the inspection department, it's usually time for me to move on. I have a lot of leeway in regards to how I approach a new project, but my...
by Phil Kerner | May 25, 2017 | Fixture Building, Fixtures, Members Only: The Tool Room, Real Manufacturing Experiences, Set-Ups, The Basics - Milling, The Basics - Workholding
As most of you who might find themselves in a manufacturing environment these days can attest to, there is a lot of chaos in the industry right now. Customers flipping orders from day to day, suppliers not delivering material on time, and the demands of running a...
by Phil Kerner | Nov 2, 2014 | Fixture Building, Fixtures, Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling
Just this past week, I was handed 10 of these parts that needed the "teeth" milled into them. The center hole and the keyway were already machined, and the the location of the teeth are in relationship to the keyway. Here's a fixture I built in 10 minutes that got the...
by Phil Kerner | Sep 14, 2014 | Fixture Building, Members Only: The Tool Room, Milling, Real Manufacturing Experiences, Set-Ups
Because they count on me to a lot of different and oddly-shaped parts at work, I'm constantly challenged to come up with quick, creative, and consistent ways to locate and hold parts on my Mazak CNC mill. Here's one that's had some gussets welded to it before they...
by Phil Kerner | Jun 19, 2014 | Fixture Building, Inspection, Members Only: The Tool Room
In this lesson, I'll show a few things: A hardened "GO / NO-GO" gauge that I just built, as well as a pretty nifty (expensive) set of thread plugs to insert into the holes. Besides the toolmaking stuff, I enjoy bringing you guys other "machining" stuff that I see and...
by Phil Kerner | Dec 16, 2013 | Fixture Building, Members Only: The Tool Room, Set-Ups
I have to say that I've never - in over 35 years - designed, built, and used a fixture on a saw. Sure, I've set a few "stops" but never had to produce a "finish cut" on a saw. Here's the why and how of this process:
