Basic Machining Operations and Cutting Technology

Basic Machining Operations and Cutting Technology

  Basic Machining Operations 

  China CNC machining  Machine tools have evolved from the early foot-powered lathes of the Egyptians and John Wilkinson's boring mill. They are designed to provide rigid support for both the workpiece and the cutting tool and can precisely control their relative positions and the velocity of the tool with respect to the workpiece. Basically, in metal cutting, a sharpened wedge-shaped tool removes a rather narrow strip of metal from the surface of a ductile workpiece in the form of a severely deformed chip. The chip is a waste product that is considerably shorter than the workpiece from which it came but with a corresponding increase in thickness of the uncut chip. The geometrical shape of workpiece depends on the shape of the tool and its path during the machining operation. 

  Most machining operations produce parts of differing geometry. If a rough cylindrical workpiece revolves about a central axis and the tool penetrates beneath its surface and travels parallel to the center of rotation,  China CNC machining a surface of revolution is produced, and the operation is called turning. If a hollow tube is machined on the inside in a similar manner, the operation is called boring. Producing an external conical surface uniformly varying diameter is called taper turning, if the tool point travels in a path of varying radius, a contoured surface like that of a bowling pin can be produced; or, if the piece is short enough and the support is sufficiently rigid, a contoured surface could be produced by feeding a shaped tool normal to the axis of rotation. Short tapered or cylindrical surfaces could also be contour formed.

Flat or plane surfaces are frequently required. They can be generated by radial turning or facing, in which the tool point moves normal to the axis of rotation. In other cases, it is more convenient to hold the workpiece steady and reciprocate the tool across it in a series of straight-line cuts with a crosswise feed increment before each cutting stroke. This operation is called planning and is carried out on a shaper. For larger pieces it is easier to keep the tool stationary and draw the workpiece under it as in planning. The tool is fed at each reciprocation. Contoured surfaces can be produced by using shaped tools.   

  Multiple-edged tools can also be used. Drilling uses a twin-edged fluted tool for holes with depths up to 5 to 10 times the drill diameter. Whether the   drill turns or the workpiece rotates, relative motion between the cutting edge and the workpiece is the important factor. In milling operations a rotary cutter with a number of cutting edges engages the workpiece. Which moves slowly with respect to the cutter. Plane or contoured surfaces may be produced, depending on the geometry of the cutter and the type of feed. Horizontal or vertical axes of rotation may be used, and the feed of the workpiece may be in any of the three coordinate directions. 

  Basic Machine Tools 

   Machine tools are used to produce a part of a specified geometrical shape and precise I size by removing metal from a ductile material in the form of chips. The latter are a waste product and vary from long continuous ribbons of a ductile material such as steel, which are undesirable from a disposal point of view, to easily handled well-broken chips resulting from cast iron. Machine tools perform five basic metal-removal processes: I turning, planning, drilling, milling, and grinding. All other metal-removal processes are modifications of these five basic processes. For example, boring is internal turning; reaming, tapping, and counter boring modify drilled holes and are related to drilling; bobbing and gear cutting are fundamentally milling operations; hack sawing and broaching are a form of planning and honing; lapping, super finishing. Polishing and buffing are variants of grinding or abrasive removal operations. Therefore, there are only four types of basic machine tools, which use cutting tools of specific controllable geometry: 1. lathes, 2. planers, 3. drilling machines, and 4. milling machines. The grinding process forms chips, but the geometry of the abrasive grain is uncontrollable.  

  The amount and rate of material removed by the various machining processes may be I large, as in heavy turning operations, or extremely small,  China CNC machining as in lapping or super finishing operations where only the high spots of a surface are removed.   A machine tool performs three major functions: 1. it rigidly supports the workpiece or its holder and the cutting tool; 2. it provides relative motion between the workpiece and the cutting tool; 3. it provides a range of feeds and speeds usually ranging from 4 to 32 choices in each case.