Machining Gliwice: milling, lathing | Śląsk | Knurów
Machining Gliwice, like lathing or milling – It’s one of the methods of acquiring a desired material shape. Instead of adding material, you cut and shred to desired effect. You can say that while 3D printing is like setting bricks, machining is more like sculpting.
In machining, you use a few operations that work in sequence. The three most popular are: turning (lathing), milling and drilling. It’s a very popular and versatile method of production. Thus, you can safely use these methods in different branches of industry with great effects. Metals, plastics, composites, wood – these are all examples of materials that work perfectly with machining.
Machining Gliwice: tools for the job
The tools for the job will differ depending on the material and the thickness of workpiece. The two basic types of cutting tools are: Single point tools and multipoint tools. Use the single point tools for lathing, and stick to multipoint tools for milling. Whatever your operation is, make sure you use your tools properly and keep them in good shape. Sadly, keeping the machines and the tools in proper conditions can be costly.
Single Point Tools
Multipoint Tools
The tools are available in various types of materials. Most popular are carbide and tool steel. You can also use high-speed steel (HSS) for general purpose milling. However, to work harder steel, it’s best to stick with carbide.
Cutting speed, depth, settings
Cutting speed, feed rate and depth are all important factors that you need to consider when you’re machining. Some things that might affect these settings are: material of the workpiece, dimensions, material of the tool. Cutting speed affects how fast the cutting tool moves across the materials, the unit measure is mm/min. Feed rate determines how fast the workpiece moves across the tool. The unit measure is m/min.
Just like scultping in art, so does the workpiece in machining usually undergoes an initial cut or two, to make it look as close to the desired shape and dimension as possible. After this cut, the final, finishing cuts are performed to achieve final dimensions, shapes, tolerances and surface finishes. The final cutting is usually performer on low depth and low feed rate. Also cooling and lubricating liquids are used on the cutting tools.
Lathing (turning)
Lathing (turning) is spinning a workpiece around it’s own axis while the cutting tool moves up and down. In that way we obtain a cylindrical shape. Lathe machines are widely used for these kind of operations.
As is with most machining, lathing(turning) is performed manually or automatically (CNC). The downside of manual machining is the necessity of constant supervision – you need to monitor the dimensions, tolerances, drifting. With CNC, you program the moves, speed and the tool change, then you send those instructions to your lathing machine and start it off, which helps you to achieve constant, repeatable results.
The cutting tools for lathing come in different shapes and angles, to achieve different effects.
Machining Gliwice: drilling
Drilling is a simple operation of making a hole in a workpiece. The tool for the task is a drilling machine. This effect can also be achieved on a milling machines. During drilling and milling, chips are made, which are wastes of metal and the direct effect of removing it. Luckily, the shape of the drill helps to get rid of the chips, ensuring the workpiece remains clean.
Keeping the drill perpendicular to the workpiece helps to reduce drifting. For even more precision, the workpiece is often centered before drilling. Some applications also require angular drilling. It requires special tools that will hold the drill, but there are other options: rotating the head of the drill on a manual machine or working a few axis at the same time on a CNC machine.
To prevent drifting during drilling you can:
- Cast/mold/mark the workpiece
- Center punch a workpiece
- Spot drill/center drill
As is the case with lathing and knives for lathing, so is with drilling and the various types of drills for the job:
- Spotting drills – Short drills for shallow, pilot holes. Using longer drills for these kind of holes may cause the drill to drift.
- Barrel drills – Most often used for making long holes, they often have grooves to help with delivering cooling liquid and removing chips.
- Countersink – Not so much as a drill, but a tool for very precise marking of the center of the workpiece.
Machining Gliwice: milling
Milling is a simple operation of cutting the material with many plates/blades to acquire a desired shape of the workpiece.
Two main types of milling are:
- Peripheral miling
- Face miling
Peripheral miling works two axis at the same time, useful for cutting grooves, threads and gearwheel teeth.
Face miling cuts flat surfaces on the workpiece, the range of the movement can be horizontal or vertical.
The workpiece can be moved on the table in a numer of ways. Conventional miling makes the workpiece move against the rotation of the head, which is a recommended method of manual miling. Climb miling makes the piece move along with the movement of the head – that is a recommended method of CNC milling.
Miling is usually used as a way of final machining, adding holes, grooves and contours to the workpiece.
Machining innovations
Making a perfectly smooth, precise, functional piece requires a lot of work and dedication. A great amount of attention to detail and tons of experience are needed. Lathing, drilling and milling are just a few of the most popular operations of machining. Luckily, with the development of CNC machinery, it’s become much more advanced. Of course, manual machining is still widely used, especially when single pieces or non-standard ones are required.
Armed with years of experience, and lots of projects already done, we’re confident in our ability to design and perform the solution for your needs. Do contact us, and ask for a free quotation on your project!
