Is Social Media as Industrial Marketing a Field of Dreams?

I have watched Social Media for a few years trying to determine if it was an appropriate venue to invest some of the advertising budget. In trying to unravel the “How To”, “Is there enough time in the day?”, “What is it really going to cost?”, “When do we make the leap?” and the most important one “Will anyone care?” I was sometimes paralyzed by those thoughts.



Criterion historically has sold through distribution and advertised in the traditional ways. This unintentionally built a level of insulation between our customers and us. It could take a few years to really get a message of innovation out in the market place. Our sales force would have to be trained. They would have to train the distribution sales force who would go and show the customers. We would have to print literature, design ads, issue press releases and display at tradeshows all of this taking a fair amount of time. Feedback from the market if it ever arrived at all would take time to come back through all of the channels that were built into the system.



I realized that if we participated in this personal forum called Social Media we would be opening the opportunity to deal directly with the individuals who use our products. We could instantly (something I have started calling the speed of Tweet) present new products or improvements to existing products to our customers but more importantly we can get instantaneous feedback from the most valuable people to our company the customer.



I must confess that I am still learning the “How To”, there is enough time in the day, its cost is part of the cost of doing business, we obviously have made the leap and as for “Will anyone care?” the answer is Yes! Those very important customers are starting to find their way out of the cornfield surrounding our Social Media field after only a few weeks.



As a company we still need to participate in the traditional marketing approaches but in the not to distant future I believe that Social Media will be part of the traditional marketing methods because it brings you right to the customer and the customer right to you.



Thank you to the customers who have already allowed us to play on the filed with them. We look forward to hearing and working with more of you as we grow together.




My final confession is I hope my competition does not react as fast as the customers have.

When You Don't Make the Cut You May Have to Live with the Chatter

We had a number of technical support questions this past week about unsatisfactory finishes in the bore. As we talked with the customers and potential customers we asked, “What is the depth of your cut?” and “ What is the nose radius on your carbide insert?”

The reasons for asking these questions is one of the most common mistakes made when cutting a precision finish bore is not leaving enough material in the bore so the boring tool can work properly. 

When the depth of cut is less than the radius on the insert 

(or boring tool) the cutting pressure builds up and tries to push the insert out of the cut. You can see from the arrows on the diagram that all of the cutting force is away from the cut and there is no cutting pressure trying to stabilize the tool in the cut.  

On the second diagram the depth of cut is greater than the insert which gives some stabilizing pressure from the end of the insert so the tool does not want to skip out of the cut.

A general rule of thumb is to have a depth of cut .005/.010” more than the radius of the cutting tool. This will give you a stabilizing force to help eliminate chatter from your bore.

There are many other factors that can affect the finish of a bored hole such as the rigidity of the fixturing, the depth to diameter ratio of the bore to the boring tool shank and spindle rigidity. We will try to give you common sense tips for these factors as we add to our blog.

If you have any questions regarding precision finish boring or modular boring please leave us a comment or send us an e-mail. We enjoy working with our customers to improve their manufacturing processes.

Cri-Tip works with ABS or KA Connections

Our Cri-Tip Modular Boring System is one of the most versatile system available today. It is designed with not only interchangeable boring heads and insert holders but also interchanges with other manufacturer’s modular systems as well. This gives you versatility while allowing you to use your existing modular boring system components.

Cri-Tip Interchangeable Heads

The Cri-Tip Modular Boring System has 8 different bodies that can be converted into 54 different Boring Assemblies by just changing the Insert Holder or Bar Holder. Insert Holders and Bar Holders are available with .00005” direct reading or .001” direct reading dial adjustments. All Insert Holders and Bar Holders are heat-treated and satin chrome finished for toughness and durability.

Cri-Tip Modular Connections

The Cri-Tip Modular Boring System is designed so it can be connected to either the popular ABS connection or the equally popular KA connection. This allows you to take advantage of the Cri-Tip System without the expense of purchasing a completely new modular boring system. This is the first modular boring system designed to work between different manufacturer’s modular boring systems. In addition, the Cri-Tip System also has threaded adaptors available for connecting all of Criterion’s Boring Heads to the system.

We Can't Split an Atom but We can Split .0001 of an Inch

For years the industry standard was .0001” adjustment for “Precision Finish Boring” applications. The demand for closer tolerance Finish Bores pushed us to develop our Modular Boring Systems with .00005” (50 Millionths) adjustability. Putting this into perspective you would have to move our dial 60 graduations to equal the thickness of a normal piece of paper. We have accomplished this with a unique moving wedge design so the boring heads do not require a locking mechanism to ensure their accuracy during the cutting operation.




This Micro-Adjusting feature is an option on our Cri-Bore Modular Boring System, CB Boring Heads, Cri-Bar Adjustable Boring Bars and CBER Modular Boring System for ER Collet Holders



The Micro-Adjusting finish boring products have a .006” on diameter range for the micro adjustment. We use our standard .001” on diameter dial for making major diameter adjustments so you save time when making your initial set-up. We look forward to working with you on any of your Precision Finish Boring Applications.

Is it a Boring Head or an Adjustable Height Centering Tool Holder?

A few years ago we introduced a small boring head for use on drilling/tapping style CNC machining centers and small benchtop style machining centers. The boring head is 3/4" square and has a boring range from .035" to .580" in diameter. The direct reading dial is graduated in .001" increments.  The first cutomer purchased the boring head did so to use in a gang tooling set-up on his lathe. He was exicted about the fact that he could now adjust his tools so they would cut on center. This was an unexpected use for the tool but it spawned the idea of making an adjustable boring head that could use ER11 collets as the tool holder.

We are introducing the TMT-ER11 Boring Head at IMTS2010. This boring head has the same .035" to .580" range as the TMT-0750 Boring Head but the cuting tool shanks are not limited to 1/8" or 1/4". ER11 collets have a holding range from .019" to .275" so you can hold any type of tool in this boring head. You can now use it to boe small holes or hold small shank tools in a gang tooling set-up.

We look forward to showing it off to you at our Booth #W-2100 @IMTS. You can decide what its best use is after seeing it.

CBER16 is Being Introduced at IMTS2010

We will be introducing the new CBER16 size to our innovative ER precision boring system at IMTS2010. The CBER Boring System converts precision ER collet holders into Precision Boring Systems. The CBER16 will fit into most Swiss Automatic style turrets as well as many Right Angle Heads so you can now easily do precision boring where it was difficult to accomplish before.

The addition of CBER16 means the system now covers ER16, ER20, ER25, ER32 and ER40 collet holders. The system is capable of boring holes as small as .035” in diameter to as large as 1.700” in diameter. All of the CBER sizes have a standard .001” on diameter directing reading adjustment dial. The ER32 and ER40 sizes are also available with a 0.000050” on diameter Micro Adjusting Dial. All sizes will be available in a standard and a short length.

All of the CBER sizes have a locator flat for easy establishment of the adjusting axis as well as a convenient location to indicate from when closer adjustments than the dial graduations are required. The CBER systems do not require special tool holders but they do require that the collet nut does not have the extractor lip as it will prevent the boring system from properly being installed into the collet holder.

Be sure and see our booth @IMTS2010 W-2100

If you're making your plans to visit IMTS be sure to include us in your show planner.

You can access the IMTS Show Planner right on the IMTS website under Floorplans.  We're located in the West building.

We'll be displaying the the new products that you're seeing here on our blog.

This year we're talking about cycle time savings!

Check out the picture on the right.  This is where our booth is located. Our booth W-2100 highlighted in red at the right.  

When you click on our booth you can see some of the featured products.

But be sure and stop by for a first hand look at some of the newest time saving Modular Boring Products and Adjustable Boring heads for both CNC Mills and Swiss Turning machines.

Large Diameter Bores? You may already own what you need.

Criterion’s large diameter boring system increased the production of one of our customers in Wisconsin from one part per hour to fourteen parts per hour! This production increase reduced the boring machining cost by 93% of what it had been. Criterion’s modular boring system will PAID FOR ITSELF in 1 week!

The LCB1.5 modular boring system is designed around Criterion’s standard 1-1/2” diameter Cri-Bore modular boring head, a series of extender bars  and a tool holder. 

By using Criterion modular boring heads, that you may already have in your shop, you can use the extender bars to machine larger bores and even install the heads 180 degree around and machine the OD of a boss.


Did you catch that? That means that the LCB1.5 boring heads can also be positioned so they turn a boss on a part–eliminating the need for additional set-ups on other machines.


The use of counterweights allows the system to operate at the recommend SFPM for the carbide inserts. Doing this extends the carbide life—as well as decreases the production times required for carbide boring.

So the bottom line is this: If you have some of our CB1.5 boring heads in your shop, you only need to purchase our extender bars in many cases.


Go out on your floor and take a look around and see if you've got some of our modular boring heads already. Here's what to look for:

CODE NO.	TOOL NO.	A MAX. BORE	B MIN. BORE	C OVERALL LENGTH	D BAR DIA.	INSERT I.C.	INSERT STYLE	THREAD
25337	CB1.5-BD-TP	2.700	1.585	2.480	1.500"	.375	TPGT/TPGW	7/8-20
25341	CB1.5-BD-CP/DI	2.700	1.585	2.480	1.500"	.375	CC or CP	7/8-20

Download our complete LCB1.5 Boring System information in PDF format.

Boring Heads that fit into your ER Holders!

The CBER boring system converts precision ER collet holders into precision boring systems, the company says. The CBER16 boring system, which fits ER16 collet holders, is capable of boring holes from 0.035" to 0.944" in diameter. 

All of the CBER sizes have a standard 0.001" on diameter direct reading adjustment dial. The ER32 and ER40 sizes are also available with 0.000050" on diameter micro adjusting dial. All sizes are available in standard and short lengths.

The boring system is designed for right-angle boring heads, live tooling adapters and other machines that utilize the ER style collet system.


The CBER precision modular boring system converts ER collet holders into precision boring systems. The system fits into ER20, ER25, ER32 and ER40 collet holders and is capable of boring holes from 0.035" to 1.700" in diameter. All CBER sizes have a standard 0.001" on diameter adjustment dial. The ER32 and ER40 sizes are also available with a 0.000050" on diameter adjusting dial. All sizes are available in standard and short lengths.

Criterion 202B Balance Kit operates at speeds up to 5,000 RPM

Criterion Machine Works has introduced a balancing kit for their 202B boring heads. 202B boring heads now can be operated at speeds up to 5,000 RPM. 

The balance kit is a series of 4 weights, 6 shafts and a balance chart. When the weights and shafts are assembled in the correct combinations the boring head can rotate at 5,000 RPM with out introducing vibrations to the operation. 


Criterion also provides complete Modular Boring Systems so you can select standard components instead of investing in special boring tools. The Cri-Bore and Cri-Twin Modular Boring Systems will stand up to not only your toughest metal removal requirements but also your tightest tolerance requirements. 


Criterion’s Boring Heads, Boring Bars, Boring Tools, and Modular Boring Systems have been the Industry Standard for over 70 years. Criterion is proud to be your Partner in Precision Boring. For more information, please visit www.criterionmachineworks.com