KMG Tool & Machine Co., Wichita, Kansas, has recently added more CNC equipment.

The 22-year-old firm, which specializes in tooling, precision machining, welding and fabrication, is adding the equipment to handle larger-sized jobs.

Two pieces of equipment were recently installed. The first is a Mazak AN 60/120 3-axis vertical machining center with a 124"X, 58"Y and 23"Z.

The other piece is a Mazak SV-25 4-axis vertical machining center, which features an 80-tool changer.

"This equipment was needed to handle the larger parts and will also help us expand our customer base," stated KMG Tool & Machine's Mike Coffey.

Other equipment in the company's 24,000-sq.-ft. facility includes: a Flow waterjet (6.5' x 24'); a Mazak CNC lathe, four CNC mills; numerous vertical and horizontal mills; grinding equipment; and an 8,000-sq.-ft welding shop (AWS certified) with aluminum-Heli-Arc, steel-MIG, Tig and Arc welding.

KMG works with CATIA version 4 and 5 CAD software and SMARTCAM software with full 3D surfacing, 411 axis and 5th axis indexing.

The company also has a QC lab with a CMM (48" x 78") and meets the requirements for DI-9000A, MIL-I-45208A and is a delegated source inspector.

"Our employees have an average of 25 years experience building quality tooling and production parts," stated KMG's Ken Coffey.

He noted that KMG has built long-term relationships with several suppliers and can provide such services as: heat treating; plating; broaching; precision grinding; sandblasting and painting.

Every so often, that console-modding Benjamin Heckendorn wanders away from his lair at benheck.com to share some interesting projects with Engadget.
In the past Engadget's very own Will O'Brien has demostrated how to build your own CNC (computer numericial control) cutting machine, and he also plans future articles on this subject. Searching the internet, you can't swing a nunchuk without hitting plans for "do it yourself" CNC machines, motor kits being sold, etc. A CNC machine is truly one of the ultimate projects a hobbyist can build and one of the best tools to have in a shop when finished. Yes, even better than a speed square. However, while much is said of what you can cut with such a machine, the how part of design creation isn't always as clear.

For today's How-To we're going to go through the process of designing a somewhat complex item that can be cut with a standard 3 axis homebuilt CNC machine: a jointed "robotic hand". This requires several design methods drawn in multiple views, which will demostrate many of the techniques that are useful in preparing items for CNC cutting. At the very least it's a good primer for vector artwork in general, if you've ever been curious about it. So let's take a look at what's involved in prepping our CNC robot factory, shall we?

Ok, let's get started designing a robotic hand in order to learn some 2D CNC design techniques. Sure we could have made something boring like an acrylic computer case, but let's face it, fake robot hands are freaking awesome. Plus there's loads of nuances in it that will help us cover several aspects of design.

For this project we're going to design everything to be cut with 1/8-inch thick material using a 1/8-inch diameter bit. It's fun to go hog-wild with the designing but when it comes right down to it, you want to use as few different tools (bits) as possible. On the software side, we'll be using Adobe Illustrator (AI) for design because it's standard program, common, and cheaper than AutoCAD -- and of course, is our favorite. It can also export files to a wide vareity of formats which is handy considering the vast array of CNC machine control software out there. We'll also use Adobe Photoshop for the first step, but any image program than can scan will work fine.

Slicing up ole Xbox consoles or using immensely powerful lasers to heat your morning cup of joe are certainly entertaining ways to make industrial machinery a bit more fun, but the CNC Toast printer ups the ante by providing an over-the-top replacement for those plastic molds we used as youngsters. By hacking a CNC hot-air gun to respond to a "computer-dictated X-Y control system" and affixing it to the carriage of a printer, the evil scientists were able instruct the toasty (ahem) blaster to move around in a user-selected pattern in order to print images and text onto pieces of toast. Cleverly dubbed "digital toast imaging technology," the apparatus was able to affix a number of slightly awkward faces on slices of bread, and even imprint "Hello World" onto one piece in particular. Still, you can't get the full impression of how geektacular this truly is without seeing it in motion, so that's why you should click on through right about now and hit play, cool?

McFarlane Aviation, Inc., Baldwin City, Kansas, has recently installed a new Citizen C32 CNC Swiss lathe.
The 36-year-old company is a manufacturer of replacement parts for Cessna, Piper, Grumman, Beechcraft and Ag-Cat airplanes. It stocks over 2,000 different FAA-PMA parts.

The new Citizen, the company's second, features a 12-foot barfeeder, dual spindles and follower tooling that allows simultaneous operations.

"The Citizens are very reliable," stated Dave McFarlane, founder. "We are able to run 'lights-out'. The service and support from McClain's (McClain Tool & Technology) crew has been fantastic."

McFarlane Aviation was started by Dave and his wife as the only staff in 1970. Today the company operates in a 15,000-sq.-ft. facility at the Vinland Valley Aerodome with 30 employees.

A wide variety of airplane parts are produced at the company including: engine controls; fuel system parts; steering rod boots; seat stops; ruder pedals; seat rails; flap kits; and flight control cables.

Much of the production is done in-house at McFarlane Aviation so that the stringent quality standards for aircraft parts are met.

When he talked about the company's 36 years, McFarlane stated, "We're always looking out for the customer by providing quality products and good service."