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CNC Tips

CNC Tips

Toolholder Balancing: What RPM, Which Tools, Why Bother?

By |2023-03-18T18:22:37-08:00March 18th, 2023|Categories: CNC Tips, CNC Vertical Machining Centers|

Let’s pretend you just bought a KVR-series machining center from Kent USA. Furthermore, your shop cuts tons of aluminum, so you opted for the 20,000 rpm high-speed spindle option. Great idea. What’s not so great is overlooking the need for toolholder balancing at these speeds. That’s because an unbalanced toolholder will not only shorten tool life, it might just [...]

Maximize Machining Center Output With a Pallet Changer

By |2023-01-09T17:43:28-08:00January 2nd, 2023|Categories: CNC Horizontal Machining Centers, CNC Tips|

The pallet changer has long been associated with high volume work on horizontal machining centers (HMCs). However, that paradigm is beginning to shift. Automakers and prototype shops alike find that machines such as Kent CNC’s KMH Auto Pallet HMC enjoy OEE levels (overall equipment effectiveness) much higher than those who swap parts by hand. Four-sided machining is possible, [...]

Quick-Change Tooling: Four Off-the-Shelf Solutions to Cut Downtime on CNC Machine Tools

By |2019-04-09T13:52:59-08:00April 9th, 2019|Categories: CNC Tips, CNC Turning Centers, CNC Vertical Machining Centers|

Quick-Change Tooling: Four Off-the-Shelf Solutions to Cut Downtime on CNC Machine Tools Spending a few hours or even an entire shift setting up a CNC machine tool was once considered no big deal. Not anymore. With job quantities dropping and shops under increased pressure to reduce costs, setup time is critical. Of all the continuous improvement [...]

High-Speed Machining: Four Ways to Increase Productivity and Cut Costs

By |2019-03-26T10:47:59-08:00March 26th, 2019|Categories: CNC Tips, CNC Vertical Machining Centers|

High-Speed Machining: Four Ways to Increase Productivity and Cut Costs Hogging with a high-speed steel corncob cutter was once considered the best way to remove lots of material quickly. No longer. The techniques that work well on a manual knee mill have no place on CNC machining centers. Instead, machinists should apply lighter radial depths of [...]

Machining Center Selection: Three Things to Know

By |2019-03-19T13:49:06-08:00March 19th, 2019|Categories: CNC Tips, CNC Vertical Machining Centers|

Machining Center Selection: Three Things to Know Let's face it: if you're shopping for a CNC machining center, there are a number of good choices out there. And just like picking out your next car or a vacation home, there’s a lot to consider before buying one. Kent CNC recognizes this. We encourage our customers to [...]

Bar Feeding’s Faster: Three Reasons to Avoid Slugging

By |2019-03-26T11:36:52-08:00February 20th, 2019|Categories: CNC Tips, CNC Turning Centers|

Feeding’s Faster: Three Reasons to Avoid Slugging In the previous blog post, I offered four good reasons to save yourself some hard-earned cash and skip the bar feeder on your next lathe purchase. These include floor space, material waste, spindle speed limitations, bar preparation, and the not-insignificant cost of the bar feeder (I guess that’s five [...]

Slugging it Out: Four Arguments Against Bar Feeders

By |2019-03-26T11:36:03-08:00February 20th, 2019|Categories: CNC Tips, CNC Turning Centers|

Slugging it Out: Four Arguments Against Bar Feeders   Let’s pretend you just ordered a KLR-series 2-axis horizontal turning center from Kent CNC. Congratulations, but how are you going to keep it fed? One of the biggest decisions anyone can make upon ordering a new CNC lathe—whether it’s ours or someone else’s—is what kind of bar [...]

5 Things To Know About High-Pressure Coolant Systems

By |2020-03-13T11:43:41-08:00January 22nd, 2019|Categories: CNC Tips, CNC Turning Centers, CNC Vertical Machining Centers|

Keep Cool: 5 Things You Should Know About High-Pressure Coolant Systems If you’ve purchased a new end mill or slotting cutter lately, chances are good that it’s riddled with coolant holes. There’s an excellent reason for this. Unless you’re machining gray cast iron, high-carbon or hardened steels, or using ceramic cutting tools—cutting dry, in other words—you’ll [...]

Five Tips for Keeping Cutting Fluids in Tip-Top Shape

By |2019-03-26T11:41:27-08:00January 22nd, 2019|Categories: CNC Horizontal Machining Centers, CNC Tips, CNC Turning Centers, CNC Vertical Machining Centers|

Five Tips for Keeping Cutting Fluids in Tip-Top Shape Nobody likes a stinky machine tool. When cutting fluids are poorly maintained, anaerobic bacteria blossoms, feeding on the way lube and other unavoidable contaminants that collect within any machine sump. This is why Kent CNC’s KVR-series vertical machining centers are equipped with automatic coolant tank skimmers and [...]

3 Chip Management Tips for CNC Machine Operators

By |2019-03-26T12:29:38-08:00November 13th, 2018|Categories: CNC Horizontal Machining Centers, CNC Tips, CNC Turning Centers, CNC Vertical Machining Centers|

3 Chip Management Tips for CNC Machine Operators There’s one basic rule of shop floor economics that everyone should know: if the machines aren’t making chips, the business is losing money. But the shape of those chips and their removal from the work area is every bit as important as producing them in the first place. [...]