Emerging Solutions: What’s Next for Metal Cutting?
By Rachel Duran
The metal cutting industry is undergoing a transformation as machine shops leverage high-performance strategies and machines to keep spindles turning, lower costs and minimize waste, resulting in a healthy bottom line.
Consolidation of processes continues to drive competitiveness. For example, multitasking machines remain an innovative machining solution to assist shops in overcoming a shrinking talent pool and a lack of specialized skills.
Multitasking machines enable shops to consolidate workflows, where one operator produces parts that previously required three or four employees, not to mention multiple pieces of equipment. By reducing the number of times a part is handled, these machines improve accuracy and performance while bridging the labor gap.
The addition of automation takes the efficiencies even further, from a bar feeder to an autonomous system that handles everything from raw material to cleaning and inspection, the level of integration is based on a shop’s needs. “With automation, the sky is kind of the limit of how much automation you want in your process,” said Luke Ivaska, general manager for engineering, DMG MORI USA, Inc.
The large push for automation will continue, from parts loading to secondary operations such as scanning, measuring or cleaning parts,” said Jared Leick, corporate account product group manager, Mazak Corp. These varieties of automation ensure machine shops remain competitive, particularly with the influx of manufacturing operations back to the U.S. “It is really important to utilize the equipment you have to its full potential,” Leick said.
Adopting multitasking machines, even simple machines where the part comes out in a one and done process increases throughput exponentially, added Jason Taylor, product manager for Mazak Corp.
The Rise of Hybrid Manufacturing
One of the most revolutionary shifts in metal cutting is the increasing developments regarding hybrid manufacturing — a process that integrates additive 3D printing and subtractive CNC cutting into a single platform. This process supports the creation of complex geometries with minimal waste and delivers solutions to labor and resource challenges.
“While we are seeing rapid growth in 3D additive manufacturing — specifically in Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Direct Energy Deposition (DED) — there is a common misconception that these technologies will completely replace traditional methods,” Ivaska said. Hybrid manufacturing technology combines 5-axis machining with laser-based powder deposition to “grow” parts and finish them within a single workspace. This approach enables rapid prototyping and production, particularly for military and industrial applications requiring on demand, remote part fabrication.
“As more innovators enter the space, the adoption of 3D printing is accelerating, but a significant gap remains between a printed component and a finished, production-ready part,” Ivaska said. Most additively manufactured parts require secondary machining to achieve final tolerances, surface finishes and meet functional specifications. Startups entering the DED space often lack the machining expertise required for secondary finishing, ensuring that traditional “chip cutting” technology from job shop’s remains a vital partner to additive manufacturing.
“This is a reality we’ve already embraced at DMG MORI with our DED hybrid machines,” Ivaska said. “For the foreseeable future, 3D printing and precision machining will continue to work side-by-side, or simultaneously in our hybrid machine solutions.”
Hybrid machines are gaining traction, particularly within the military for rapid part replacement, Mazak’s Taylor said. If a unit breaks a piece of equipment while based in the middle of a desert, and they need to manufacture a random part, they will have difficulty finding stock or raw materials. With hybrid manufacturing, processes are carried out on a 5-axis machine where a deposition head builds up the component material, and upon completion, the head retracts and the machine platform acts as a 5-axis machine, where users machine or finish the part they just grew, all in the same envelope.
AI is the New Engine for Industrial Growth
The metal cutting sector continues to explore the best ways to implement AI into manufacturing processes. “A few of the vendors that we’ve worked with are connecting to the machines and pulling the load data and spindle data out of the machine during the process, which is updating algorithms for future programming,” Ivaska said. “It will be very interesting over the next few years to see how much AI gets rolled into this and how much information is funneled into those learning models.”
Leick added the industry is exploring more in-depth uses of AI. Mazak’s Ai Thermal Shield constantly measures and plots temperature fluctuations of machines, adjusting for thermal growth. “We’ve also worked with preventative maintenance on spindles and are working towards various components in the machine that do have a shelf life,” Leick said. “Granted it’s shorter for some people, longer for others. There’s not an exact time where, say, a spindle would fail or would need to be replaced. We are working on a lot of data with that as well.”
The ultimate goal is to leverage AI to revolutionize part programming, representing the next frontier in manufacturing automation, Leick added. The biggest use of AI in manufacturing will be the ability to predict production schedules and how it will tie into controls, Taylor added. For example, with automation systems such as Mazak’s Palletech systems, AI can prioritize projects based on inventory levels.
Blending Timeless Principles with Cutting-Edge Tech
Machine shop leadership is also concerned with how staff deal with machine tolerances, as well as variables in the machining processes. As machine precision improves, industry standards for part accuracy and tighter tolerances continue to rise, Ivaska said.
Older machines often struggle to meet modern precision standards, a gap that skilled machinists could compensate for with manual adjustments and years of expertise. “With that limitation, the process is becoming more reliant on the machine itself then it is in the person that is programming or operating the machine,” Ivaska said.
Machines are also built to stabilize variables such as tool wear. Ivaska noted that most modern machines come with a minimum of a touch probe and tool presetter. “But one other benefit is our machines also come with scales for positional accuracy,” Ivaska said. “The nice part about that is by combining the stability of the machine, and the accuracy of the scales, this allows the customer to utilize the probe to measure part deviations in-process before finishing. With the laser presetters as well you can measure tools prior to finishing passes and automatically adjust for tool wear. Or detect broken tools and automatically swap to a backup tool if needed to continue production.”
Software from machine OEMs also ensures success by breaking down programming into a conversational-based approach so less skilled machinists can adeptly produce more complex parts. “We see an influx of gear production coming back to the U.S. and normally this requires substantial industry knowledge, specific skill sets,” Ivaska said. With the software, instead of having to program off of geometry or set up complex dedicated machines, “by utilizing DMG MORI gearMILL, users can input the gear data directly into the software off of the spec sheet and the software calculates the tools needed, the toolpath, as well as the CMM inspection report,” Ivaska said.
The Smooth Tool Management software from Mazak automates tool tracking by monitoring usage data like cycle counts, run time, and how many times it has drilled a piece of material, Leick noted. By setting tool life limits and using redundant tooling, the system automatically switches to a backup tool once the primary tool life has expired. This ensures unattended, 24/7 operation without the need for manual monitoring.
Taylor added that even entry level machines have tool setters that can be programmed to be automatic. “In the simplest case, if you are running a mill or a lathe that is tapping a hole for instance, you want to make sure the drill didn’t break before the tap goes in there,” he said. “If not, you’re just crashing one machine over and over.” He added it is the small attention to details that add up to ensure successful lights out production.
Leick also pointed out with the ability for machine operators to conduct programming away from the machine, they are able to push programs from an office location directly to the CNC machine. “There’s some that don’t even dry run,” he said. “They go right to cutting parts, which maybe is risky, but it is something that I think more people are trying to accomplish or trying to move towards.”
Adapt and Flex
Multitasking machines and hybrid machines support machine shops in building a more resilient, self-sufficient operation that is prepared to weather market disruptions. The machines provide a versatile, flexible platform that excels across a diverse range of industries. This flexibility allows customers to easily pivot between different market sectors and remain competitive when bidding on various types of work.
“Having that core machine that can compete in several different market segments allows for flexibility in the work that customers bid on,” Ivaska said.
Noted Taylor: “The ability to do many things very well tends to keep our customers happy because it makes them flexible in going out and finding work.”
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About the Author: Rachel Duran
