Machining services for medium and large-scale production.

If you’ve seen two Lincoln pennies with exact replications of marks and engravings on both faces, you’d wonder how it’s done. If humans did them, there would be clear differences and not a lot of coins because of the production time needed. For the precision and cutting needed, it would involve machining.

Machining is defined as working with metals. It’s the efficient use of machines like drill presses, mills, and blades for cutting, drilling, and turning metals into parts or significant pieces. The creation process often employs two techniques, namely the additive and subtractive techniques.

The subtractive method is the most common. It involves chipping away pieces of unwanted metal from a larger piece to get the required products. The additive method, often referred to as 3D printing, is not very common and involves using digital models to create real-life printed replicas that can be lightweight or strong.

These tools are used in manufacturing metal products with small cuts on surfaces, e.g., coins, or replicating metal equipment, e.g., car parts, medical equipment, and weapons. These machines could be small or large, depending on their purposes. Machining in 2022 makes use of machines with incredible speed, automatic tool changers, and inspection machines to ensure the accuracy of products.

A machinist works at a machine shop or manufacturing company and is trained to create and recreate both simple and complex mechanical parts, tools, and objects with the help of machines. It’s a high-demand job that requires skill and precision. With multiple entry-level positions, machinists can learn on the job or in a trade school.

A strong understanding of metals, mechanics, and mathematics come in handy, especially with hands-on experience, as manufacturing companies highly seek experienced machinists. Simply put, as long as the world keeps using machines, we need machinists. Machinists are responsible for the fabrication of parts and the installation and calibration, especially for custom parts.

Boring

This is often referred to as reaming or drilling and is a type of machining involving making circular or cylindrical holes in metals. It’s a very common process that is used to aid assembly. A boring machine is often used for this process; although boring and drilling are used synonymously, they are different. Drilling is the first step of the process whereby undersized holes are made, and boring is the step that comes after that to fine-tune the holes without exceeding specifications. 

Turning

This process is carried out using a lathe possessing multiple axes that cut across the piece that spins on a spindle. This process can be carried out on the external and internal parts of metal materials.

Milling

This method of machining makes use of a moveable mill with rotating cutters. Depending on the type of mill in possession, the table and cutting tools could be moveable. A milling machine is a versatile tool that can perform milling, planing, cutting, and routing, amongst others.

Sawing

Similar to sawing in woodwork, machining sawing involves cutting off blocks of metals into shorter lengths, shapes, and sizes that are easier to work with. The saws used in this process can be automatic and semiautomatic abrasive, wheel saws, bandsaws, circular, and power hack saws.

Grinding

This is a type of machining that uses grinders to create smooth finishes on flat surfaces. It removes small metal pieces with precision, and great-speed grindings are done on a bench, surface, or cylindrical grinding machine. The machine choice depends on the purpose.

The machining and fabrication industry invests in multiple quality machines devised to improve the product with less human effort. Here are some of the most used machines in the industry.

1. Drill press
2. Lathe machines
3. Drilling machines
4. Grinding machines
5. Milling machines
6. Saw machines
7. Shearing machines
8. Broaching machines
9. Planer machines
10. Shaper machines

Only a few of the metals available to humans can be used in machining because of their unique properties. The commonly used metals are used for different purposes based on these differences. The most commonly used metal for projects requiring precision and resistance to corrosion is stainless steel. For inexpensive production, brass is employed, and for lightweight projects, aluminum is used. Titanium is very difficult to work with and, as such, often disregarded except on request for custom productions.