Advanced Machine Tooling
The key to boosting productivity is to remove more metal in less time. However, faster cutting speeds and feeds require tooling inserts that can take the heat and abuse without dulling. To achieve these goals, tooling suppliers have come up with various cutter shapes, edge geometries and surface coatings that significantly improve tool performance and
Getting it Right
Mark Dodge, owner of Midwest Cylinder Head, can pinch a penny thin enough to see through (and maybe that keeps his businesses alive and well in poor economic times), so you can bet his choice was thoroughly researched and thought out. I wanted to see what this unit was all about and so arranged to
Ford Modular Engine Toast of 20th AETC
Because many engine builders have scratched their heads trying to figure out how to build powerful AND durable Modular engines, Ford fans were waiting in anticipation like kids in a candy store for the 20th annual Conference, ever since the topic was announced at last year’s AETC. AETC prides itself on its access to speakers
It
A bold statement, you may think. Are you thinking that it doesn’t apply to your business? You may think you’re doing okay. Yet my statement applies to everyone – from a one-man shop to a shop with 100 employees or more – because if you don’t do it, your competitor will! The most recent Machine
Street Performance Cylinder Heads
Where I grew up in Connecticut wasn’t the hotbed of street racing like Woodward was in Detroit, but we had the Berlin Turnpike, River Road in Middletown, plus a few local small-town hotspots. It was during this period that I got my first education about the importance of cylinder heads. A local rich kid got
Performance Valve Springs and Retainers
Old school thinking on these matters has usually been to increase spring pressure as much as possible by using the stiffest dual or triple springs that can be installed in the engine. But that kind of thinking is changing, thanks to improvements in spring technology. Stiffer springs are obviously needed if you are building a
Scoping Out the Sport Compact Market
At first it was known as the Import Tuner Market which later morphed into what is currently known as Sport Compact. However, the market could be changing again and may soon be called something else. Last year, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) changed the name of its Sport Compact Council to Street Performance Council
Question: What
Someone recently lamented to me that things aren’t really that good in the engine rebuilding business these days. Is this news to you? Of course it isn’t! We all know that there are many pressures on the industry that affect our jobs everyday. Statistics show that people are keeping their cars longer. This was traditionally
The Agricultural [Engine] Market
This good news for farmers trickles down to other businesses involved in agriculture such as the implement dealers and manufacturers of farm equipment. While 2009 tractor sales are expected to be down about 20 percent, combine sales are expected to be up nearly that same amount. Used tractor sales are also seeing an increase of