Machining

Machining is a major process of the manufacture of many metal products, but it can also be used on other materials such as wood, plastic, ceramic, and composites.

The precise meaning of the term machining has changed over the past one and a half centuries as technology has advanced in a number of ways.

In the 18th century, the word machinist meant a person who built or repaired machines.

This person's work was primarily done by hand, using processes such as the carving of wood and the writing-forging and hand-filing of metal.

[3] Around the middle of the 20th century, the latter words were coined as the concepts they described evolved into widespread existence.

This is comparable to the idea that the verb sense of contact evolved because of the proliferation of ways to contact someone (telephone, email, IM, SMS, and so on) but did not entirely replace the earlier terms such as call, talk to, or write to.

The cutting edge serves to separate the chip from the parent work material.

Multiple cutting-edge tools have more than one cutting edge and usually achieve their motion relative to the work part by rotating.

An unfinished workpiece requiring machining must have some material cut away to create a finished product.

A lathe is a machine tool that can create that diameter by rotating a metal workpiece so that a cutting tool can cut metal away, creating a smooth, round surface matching the required diameter and surface finish.

Machining requires attention to many details for a workpiece to meet the specifications in the engineering drawings or blueprints.

The inferior finish found on the machined surface of a workpiece may be caused by incorrect clamping, a dull tool, or inappropriate presentation of a device.

[8] They form the three dimensions of the machining process, and for certain operations, their product can be used to obtain the material removal rate for the process: where Machining operations usually divide into two categories, distinguished by purpose and cutting conditions: Roughing cuts are used to remove a large amount of material from the starting work part as rapidly as possible, i.e., with a significant Material Removal Rate (MRR), to produce a shape close to the desired form but leaving some material on the piece for a subsequent finishing operation.

While additive manufacturing methods can produce very intricate prototype designs impossible to replicate by machining, strength and material selection may be limited.