This article commences with a description of the four basic types of feeding arrangements, namely, hand feeding, hitch feeds, roll feeds, and slide feeds. Air feeds offer the utility of use with a wide variety of presses and machines. The article discusses the mounting and actuation of the air feeds, which allows automatic feeding in machinery that is not normally adaptable to the use of standard feeds. Automatic press feeds are used to improve production and provide uniform, accurate progressions. The article describes the accuracy control techniques for the automatic press feeds and concludes with information on air circuits for the air feeds.

This article describes the various types of press construction and the factors that influence the selection of mechanically or hydraulically powered machines for producing parts from sheet metal. Presses are broadly classified, according to the type of frame used in their construction, into two main groups: gap-frame presses and straight-side presses. The article describes the various components of mechanical presses and hydraulic presses. It discusses important factors, such as the size, force, energy, and speed requirements, that influence the selection of a press. The article describes the roles of automatic handling equipment that can be categorized as feeding equipment, unloading equipment, and transfer equipment. It concludes with information on the common types of high-production presses, such as dieing machines, multiple-slide machines, transfer presses, fine blanking presses, and flexible-die forming presses.

This article begins with a discussion on the classification of aluminum alloys and the selection of alloy and temper based on machinability. It provides an overview of cutting force and power, tool design and material, and general machining conditions. In addition, the article discusses distortion and dimensional variation and machining problems during the machining of high-silicon aluminum alloy. It also provides information on tool design and material, speed and feed, and the cutting fluid used for various machining processes, namely, turning, boring, planing and shaping, broaching, reaming, tapping, milling, sawing, grinding, honing, and lapping. The article concludes with a discussion on drilling operations in automatic bar and chucking machines and drill presses.

Multiple-slide forming is a process in which the workpiece is progressively formed in a combination of units that can be used in various ways for the automated fabrication of a large variety of simple and intricately shaped parts from coil stock or wire. This article discusses the components of multiple-slide rotary forming machines involved in the blanking and forming of strip stock. It describes a complicated application of the two-level forming, with an example.

This article discusses the presses, auxiliary equipment, and dies used in the blanking and piercing of commonly used magnetically soft materials, namely, low-carbon electrical steels and oriented and nonoriented silicon electrical steels. It describes the effect of stock thickness and work metal composition and condition on blanking and piercing. The article provides an overview of the influence of burr height on stacking factors and presents a discussion on the lubrication and core plating of electrical steels that ease the process.

Bars, structural shapes, and long parts are straightened by bending, twisting, or stretching. This article describes the straightening of bars, shapes, and long parts by material displacement, heating, and presses. It explains the process of parallel-roll straightening, automatic press roll straightening, moving-insert straightening, parallel-rail straightening, and epicyclic straightening. The article concludes with a discussion on straightening in bar production.

Turning is a machining process for generating external surfaces of revolution by the action of a cutting tool on a rotating workpiece, usually in a lathe. This article discusses the process capabilities of turning over other machining operations and describes the classification, controlling methods, attachments, and accessories of a lathe machine. It reviews the design and various operations of single-point cutting tools in turning. In addition, the article discusses the influence of various factors on selection of equipment and machining procedure for a specific part. These include the size and configuration of the workpiece, equipment capacity, production quantity, dimensional accuracy, number of operations, and the surface finish. It presents examples that describe or compare equipment and techniques for production applications. Finally, the article provides a discussion on the classification and compatibility of cutting fluids.

This article describes the operation procedures of wire rolling in a Turks Head machine. It discusses spring coiling, as well as the manual and power bending used in the wire forming process. The article contains a table that lists examples of several wire-forming production problems and solutions. Lubricants for wire forming such as inorganic fillers, soluble oils, and boundary lubricants are reviewed. The article also analyzes the applications of lubricants in wire forming.

This article provides information on the operating principle, tool material and design changes, and safety and protection of various multifunction machines as well as the cutting fluids used. These include single-spindle automatic lathes, manual turret lathes, single-spindle automatic bar and chucking machines, Swiss-type automatic bar machines, multiple-spindle automatic bar and chucking machines, and multiple-spindle vertical chucking machines. The article provides examples that illustrate typical variations in dimensions obtained with a multiple-spindle machine. It also describes the machinability and provides information on the physical condition of the work metal. The article discusses the various factors to be considered in the selection of an appropriate machine. It presents examples that describe the techniques and equipment selected for specific production applications. In addition, the article discusses the types, applications, advantages, and disadvantages of machining centers and transfer machines. Finally, it provides the goals, objectives, and production techniques of flexible manufacturing systems.

This article describes the melting process of casting metals used in hot chamber die casting. It discusses the design and capabilities of injection components, such as gooseneck, plunger, and cylinder. The article reviews the distinctions between hot and cold chamber processes. An example of a typical runner, gate and overflow configuration for faucet fixture casting is shown. Temperature control for die casting is also discussed. The article explains some ejection and post-processing techniques used for the hot chamber die casting: robotics, recycling, and fluxing.

This article discusses different factors for selecting progressive dies: costs, production volume, and press availability. It describes the purposes of strip development for a ring shaped part and presents the principles for the development of progressive dies. The article provides discussions on the general design features of progressive dies and the choice of proper auxiliary equipment such as coil feeders and scrap handling equipment. It concludes with information on different presses for progressive die work: open-back inclinable presses, four-column presses, and automatic underdrive presses.

The handling of billets or bars is an essential part of an induction heating system. This article describes two types of handling systems available for bar heating lines: inclined ramps with escapement, and sling feeder with inclined ramp and escapement. It focuses on the various infeed billet handling systems such as bin tippers, elevator feeders, rotary feeders, vibratory bowl feeders, magazine loaders, and rod feeders. The article provides information on the main categories of billet feeding systems, namely, dual pinch roll drive assemblies, tractor drive assemblies, billet pusher systems, walking beam assemblies, and index/continuous conveyor systems. It also discussed the hot billet handling systems used to deliver heated billets to the forging cell. These methods include billet extractor conveyors, accept/reject systems with pyrometer measurements, extractor rolls, discharge chutes, pinch roll extractors, pick-n-place systems, and robots.

Rotary swaging is an incremental metalworking process for reducing the cross-sectional area or otherwise changing the shape of bars, tubes, or wires by repeated radial blows with two or more dies. This article discusses the applicability of swaging and metal flow during swaging. It describes the types of rotary swaging machines, auxiliary tools, and swaging dies used for rotary swaging and the procedure for determining the side clearance in swaging dies. The article presents an overview of automated swaging machines and tube swaging, with and without a mandrel. It analyzes the effect of reduction, feed rate, die taper angle, surface contaminants, lubrication, and material response on swaging operation. The article discusses the applications for which swaging is the best method for producing a given shape, and compares swaging with alternative processes. It concludes with a discussion on special applications of swagging.

This article discusses the installation of the most commonly used force-monitoring devices, namely, load cells and piezoelectric force sensors. It describes the purpose and operation of commonly used displacement sensors, such as linear variable differential transformers, proximity sensors, photoelectric sensors, and ultrasonic sensors. The article provides information on the sensors used for detecting tool breakages and flaws in parts, the measurement of material flow during sheet metal forming, and lubrication. It also describes the operating stages of machine vision systems used for automated quality-control purposes. The theory of eddy-current-based material properties evaluation is also discussed.

High-pressure die casting is a fast method for the net shape manufacturing of parts from nonferrous alloys. This article reviews the automation technologies for the different stages or steps of the process. These steps include liquid metal pouring, injection, solidification, die open, part extraction, die lubrication, insert loading, and die close. Some manual aspects of the operations, together with automation options, are discussed. The article describes finishing steps, such as finish trimming, detailed deflashing, shot blast cleaning, and quality checks. Automation of the postcasting process is also discussed.

This article focuses on machines that are designed, constructed, and used for drilling. It provides information on the design, materials, selection, and classification of drill. The article describes drills that are specially designed for hard steel and other specific applications. A variety of drill point styles, such as single-angle points and reduced-rake points, are described. The article discusses the factors considered to obtain expected dimensional accuracy of holes. It explains the determination of the optimum speed and feed for drilling, which depends on the workpiece material, tool material, depth of hole, design of drill, rigidity of setup, tolerance, and cutting fluid. The article illustrates the effects of operating variables on drill life of hardened steel. The advantages, limitations, design considerations, insert configurations, and applications of indexable-insert drills are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion on the requirements to drill small holes that differ from those used in conventional drilling.

Tapping is a machining process for producing internal threads. This article provides a discussion on machines and accessories of tapping. It reviews the seven categories of taps, namely, solid, shell, sectional, expansion, inserted-chaser, adjustable, and collapsible taps, as well as their design and functions. It explains the influences of various factors on the selection of tap design features and discusses the principal factors that influence the selection of equipment and procedure for tapping. The article reviews the factors that determine torque demand. It also provides an overview of tap materials and surface treatment and concludes with a discussion on tapping of taper pipe threads.

This article discusses the types and operations of the most common machines used for die threading. The construction, types, and comparison of solid and self-opening dies are discussed. The article explains the modification of chasers for threading Monel shaft. The principal factors that influence thread quality, production rate, and cost in die threading are composition and hardness of work metal; accuracy and finish; thread size; obstacles, such as shoulders or steps; speed; lead control; and cutting fluid. The article examines these factors and describes the tools and cutting fluids used for pipe threading along with the severity of stop lines.