Basic Machine Tools

Hundreds of varieties of metal machine tools, ranging in size from

small machines mounted on workbenches to huge production
machines weighing several hundred tons, are used in modern
industry. They retain the basic characteristics of their 19th- and early
20th-century ancestors and are still classed as one of the following: (1)
turning machines (lathes and boring mills), (2) shapers and planers,
(3) drilling machines, (4) milling machines, (5) grinding machines, (6)
power saws, and (7) presses.

Turning machines
The engine lathe, as the horizontal metal-turning machine is
commonly called, is the most important of all the machine tools. It is
usually considered the father of all other machine tools because many
of its fundamental mechanical elements are incorporated into the
design of other machine tools.
 latheMetal being cut on a lathe.© sima/Shutterstock.com

The engine lathe is a basic machine tool that can be used for a variety

of turning, facing, and drilling operations. It uses a single-point
cutting tool for turning and boring. Turning operations involve cutting
excess metal, in the form of chips, from the external diameter of a
workpiece and include turning straight or tapered cylindrical shapes,
grooves, shoulders, and screw threads and facing flat surfaces on the
ends of cylindrical parts. Internal cylindrical operations include most
of the common hole-machining operations, such as drilling, boring,
reaming, counterboring, countersinking, and threading with a single-
point tool or tap.

Boring involves enlarging and finishing a hole that has been cored or
drilled. Bored holes are more accurate in roundness, concentricity,
and parallelism than drilled holes. A hole is bored with a single-point
cutting tool that feeds along the inside of the workpiece. Boring mills
have circular horizontal tables that rotate about a vertical axis, and
they are designed for boring and turning operations on parts that are
too large to be mounted on a lathe.

Shapers and planers
Shaping and planing operations involve the machining of flat surfaces,
grooves, shoulders, T-slots, and angular surfaces with single-point
tools. The largest shapers have a 36-inch cutting stroke and can
machine parts up to 36 inches long. The cutting tool on
the shaper oscillates, cutting on the forward stroke, with the workpiece
feeding automatically toward the tool during each return stroke.

Planing machines perform the same operations as shapers but can

machine longer workpieces. Some planers can machine parts up to 50
feet long. The workpiece is mounted on a reciprocating table that
moves the workpiece beneath a cutting tool. This tool, which remains
stationary during the cutting stroke, automatically feeds into the
workpiece after each cutting stroke.

Drilling machines
Drilling machines, also called drill presses, cut holes in metal with
a twist drill. They also use a variety of other cutting tools to perform
the following basic hole-machining operations: (1) reaming, (2)
boring, (3) counterboring, (4) countersinking, and (5) tapping internal
threads with the use of a tapping attachment.

Milling machines
A milling machine cuts metal as the workpiece is fed against a rotating
cutting tool called a milling cutter. Cutters of many shapes and sizes
are available for a wide variety of milling operations. Milling machines
cut flat surfaces, grooves, shoulders, inclined surfaces, dovetails, and
T-slots. Various form-tooth cutters are used for cutting concave forms
and convex grooves, for rounding corners, and for cutting gear teeth.

Milling machines are available in a variety of designs that can be

classified as the following: (1) standard knee-and-column machines,
including the horizontal and the vertical types; (2) bed-type or
manufacturing machines; and (3) machines designed for special
milling jobs.

Grinding machines
Grinding machines remove small chips from metal parts that are
brought into contact with a rotating abrasive wheel called a grinding
wheel or an abrasive belt. Grinding is the most accurate of all of the
basic machining processes. Modern grinding machines grind hard or
soft parts to tolerances of plus or minus 0.0001 inch (0.0025
millimetre).

The common types of grinding machines include the following: (1)

plain cylindrical, (2) internal cylindrical, (3) centreless, (4) surface, (5)
off-hand, (6) special, and (7) abrasive-belt.

Power saws
saw filerDescription of the career of a saw filer.© Forestry Works (A Britannica
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Metal-cutting power saws are of three basic types: (1) power hacksaws,
(2) band saws, and (3) circular disk saws. Vertical band saws are used
for cutting shapes in metal plate, for internal and external contours,
and for angular cuts.

Presses
This large class of machines includes equipment used for forming
metal parts by applying the following processes: shearing, blanking,
forming, drawing, bending, forging, coining, upsetting, flanging,
squeezing, and hammering. All of these processes require presses with
a movable ram that can be pressed against an anvil or base. The
movable ram may be powered by gravity, mechanical linkages, or
hydraulic or pneumatic systems.
Appropriate die sets, with one part mounted on the movable ram and
the matching part mounted on the fixed bed or platen, are
an integral part of the machine. Punch presses stamp out metal parts
from sheet metal and form the parts to the desired shape. Dies with
cavities having a variety of shapes are used on forging presses that
form white-hot metal blanks to the desired shapes. Power presses are
also used for shearing, bending, flanging, and shaping sheet metal
parts of all sizes. Power presses are made in various sizes, ranging
from small presses that can be mounted on a workbench to machines
weighing more than 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kilograms).

Modifications Of Basic Machines

Certain machine tools have been designed to speed up production.
Although these tools include features of the basic machine tools and
perform the same operations, they incorporate design modifications
that permit them to perform complex or repetitive operational
sequences more rapidly. Furthermore, after the production machine
has been set up by a skilled worker or machinist, a less skilled operator
also can produce parts accurately and rapidly. The following are
examples of production machine tools that are modifications of basic
machine tools: (1) turret lathes, including screw machines; (2)
multiple-station machines; (3) gang drills; and (4) production milling
machines.
 READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC

history of the organization of work: Machine tools and

interchangeable parts

Advances in mass production could not be made without the development of the machine-

tool industry—that is, the fabrication of machinery...

Turret lathes
Horizontal turret lathes have two features that distinguish them from
engine lathes. The first is a multiple-sided main turret, which takes the
place of the tailstock on the engine lathe. A variety of turning, drilling,
boring, reaming, and thread-cutting tools can be fastened to the main
turret, which can be rotated intermittently about its vertical axis with a
hand wheel. Either a hand wheel or a power feed can be used to move
the turret longitudinally against the workpiece mounted on the
machine spindle.

The second distinguishing feature of the turret lathe is the square

turret mounted on the cross slide. This turret also can be rotated about
its vertical axis and permits the use of a variety of turning tools. A tool
post, or tool block, can be clamped to the rear of the cross slide for
mounting additional tools. The cross slide can be actuated either by
hand or by power.

Turret lathes may be classified as either bar machines or chucking

machines. Bar machines formerly were called screw machines, and
they may be either hand controlled or automatic. A bar machine is
designed for machining small threaded parts, bushings, and other
small parts that can be created from bar stock fed through the
machine spindle. Automatic bar machines produce parts continuously
by automatically replacing of bar stock into the machine spindle.
A chucking machine is designed primarily for machining larger parts,
such as castings, forgings, or blanks of stock that usually must be
mounted in the chuck manually.

Multiple-station machines
Several types of multiple-station vertical lathes have been developed.
These machines are essentially chucking-type turret lathes for
machining threaded cylindrical parts. The machine has 12 spindles,
each equipped with a chuck. Directly above each spindle, except one,
tooling is mounted on a ram. Parts are mounted in each chuck and
indexed for up to 11 machining operations. The finished part is
removed at the 12th station.

Gang drills
A gang-drilling machine consists of several individual columns,
drilling heads, and spindles mounted on a single base and utilizing a
common table. Various numbers of spindles may be used, but four or
six are common. These machines are designed for machining parts
requiring several hole-machining operations, such as drilling,
countersinking, counterboring, or tapping. The workpiece is moved
from one drilling spindle to the next, where sequential machining
operations are performed by one or more operators.
Production millers
Milling machines used for repet-itive-production milling operations
generally are classified as bed-type milling machines because of their
design. The sliding table is mounted directly onto the massive bed of
the machine and cannot be raised or moved transversely; table
movement is longitudinal only. The spindle head may be adjusted
vertically to establish the depth of cut. Some machines are equipped
with automatic controls that require only a semiskilled operator to
load parts in fixtures at each end of the table and start the machine.
One part can be unloaded and replaced while the other is being
machined.

Special-Purpose Machines
Special-purpose machine tools are designed to perform special
machining operations, usually for production purposes. Examples
include gear-cutting and gear-grinding machines, broaching
machines, lapping and honing machines, and boring machines.

Gear-cutting machines
Three basic cutting methods are used for machining gears: (1) form
cutting, (2) template cutting, and (3) generating. The form-cutting
method uses a cutting tool that has the same form as the space
between two adjacent teeth on a gear. This method is used for cutting
gear teeth on a milling machine. The template-cutting method uses a
template to guide a single-point cutter on large bevel-gear cutting
machines.

Most cut gears produced in large lots are made on machines that
utilize the gear-generating method. This method is based on the
principle that two involute gears, or a gear and rack, with the same
diametral pitch will mesh together properly. Therefore, a cutting tool
with the shape of a gear or rack may be used to cut gear teeth in a gear
or rack blank. This principle is applied in the design of a number of
widely used gear-cutting machines of the generating type. Gear-
generating machines that cut with reciprocating strokes are called gear
shapers.

Gear-hobbing machines use a rotating, multiple-tooth cutting tool

called a hob for generating teeth on spur gears, worm gears, helical
gears, splines, and sprockets. More gears are cut by hobbing than by
other methods because the hobbing cutter cuts continuously and
produces accurate gears at high production rates. In gear-making
machines gears can be produced by cutting, grinding, or a
combination of cutting and grinding operations.

Broaching machines
In general, broaching is classified as a planing or shaping art because
the action of a broaching tool resembles the action
of planer and shaper tools. Broaching tools of various designs are
available. The teeth on broaching tools are equally spaced, with each
successive tooth designed to feed deeper into the workpiece, thus
completing the broaching operation in a single stroke. Examples of
internal broaching applications include cutting keyways in the hubs of
gears or pulleys, cutting square or hexagonal holes, and cutting gear
teeth. External grooves can be cut in a shaft with an external
broaching tool. Some broaching machines pull or push broaching tools
through or over the workpiece.

Lapping and honing machines

Lapping and honing operations are classified under the basic art of
grinding. Lapping is a process in which a soft cloth impregnated
with abrasive pastes or compounds is rubbed against the surface of a
workpiece. Lapping is used to produce a high-quality surface finish or
to finish a workpiece within close size limits. Dimensional tolerances
of two millionths of an inch (0.00005 millimetre) can be achieved in
the hand or machine lapping of precision parts such as gauges
or gauge blocks.

Honing is a low-speed surface finishing process used for removing

scratches, machine marks, or small amounts of metal, usually less
than 0.0005 inch (0.0125 millimetre), from ground or machined
surfaces. Honing is done with bonded abrasive sticks or stones that are
mounted in a honing head. In a typical honing operation, such as
honing automotive engine cylinder walls, a honing machine with one
or more spindles is used. The honing head rotates slowly with an
oscillating motion, holding the abrasive sticks against the work surface
under controlled light pressure.

Boring machines
Boring can be done on any type of machine that is equipped to hold a
boring tool and a workpiece and that is also equipped to rotate either
the tool or the workpiece in the proper relationship. Special boring
machines of various designs are used for boring workpieces that are
too large to be mounted on a lathe, drill press, or milling machine.
Boring and turning operations are also performed on large vertical
turret lathes or on larger boring mills. Standard boring machines are
able to bore or turn work of up to 12 feet (3.6 metres) in diameter.

Automatic Control
To be truly automatic, a machine tool must be capable of producing
parts repetitively without operator assistance in loading parts, starting
the machine, and unloading parts. In this sense, some bar-turning
machines are automatic. In practice, however, some machine tools
designated as automatic are actually semi-automatic, since they
require an operator to load the workpiece into the machine, press the
start button, and unload the part when the operation is completed.

The tooling for automatic machines is more complex than for hand-
controlled machines and usually requires a skilled worker to make the
setup. After the setup, however, a less skilled operator can operate one
or more machines simultaneously. Tracer lathes and numerically
controlled machine tools are examples of machines that use varying
degrees of automatic and semi-automatic control.

Tracer techniques
The tool slide on a tracer lathe is guided by a sensitive, hydraulically
actuated stylus that follows an accurate template. The template may be
an accurate profile on a thin plate or a finish-turned part. Although
tracing mechanisms generally are accessory units attached to engine
lathes, some lathes are especially designed as automatic tracing lathes.
Optional accessories for use on tracing lathes include automatic-
indexing toolheads and one or more cross slides for operations such as
facing, grooving, and chamfering.

Tracing lathes can machine all common cylindrical shapes, straight

and tapered shoulders, and irregular curves. Accessory tools permit
facing, grooving, and chamfering operations. An unlimited
combination of cutting speeds, feeds, and types of cuts may be used,
including roughing cuts and finishing cuts. On machines equipped for
automatic operation, changes in speed, feed, and cutting tools are
automatic.

Willard J. McCarthyThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Numerical control (NC)
Many types of machine tools and other industrial processes are
equipped for numerical control, commonly called NC. The earliest
forms of NC were developed in the 1950s when the movements of the
axes of machine tools were assigned numerical values to facilitate the
replacement of handwheels and dials by control logic. NC requires
accurate product design values; early systems were limited by the lack
of detailed analyses for the geometrical drawings of the components to
be manufactured. Later in the decade, this problem was overcome
when computers were developed that could describe geometric tool
movements as functions of a part-programming language. One of the
best known of these early languages of tool instructions
was APT (Automatically Programmed Tools).

A significant development of the early 1960s was a system known

as Sketchpad, which enabled engineers to draw designs on a cathode-
ray tube by using a light pen and a keyboard. When this system was
connected to a computer, it enabled designers to study drawings
interactively and facilitated the modification of their designs.

An NC system or device is one that controls the actions of a machine

or process by the direct insertion of numerical data at some point; the
system also must automatically interpret at least some portion of the
data. Various kinds of numerical control systems use data coded in the
form of numbers, letters, symbols, words, or a combination of these
forms.

The instructions necessary for machining a part by NC are derived

from the part drawing and are written in coded form on a program
manuscript. The following kinds of data may be included on the
manuscript: (1) sequence of operations, (2) kind of operation, (3)
depth of cut, (4) coordinate dimensions for the centre of the cutting
tool, (5) feed rate, (6) spindle speed, (7) tool number, and (8) other
miscellaneous operations.

The coded information is punched into a ribbon of one-inch-wide

machine-control tape with a tape-punching machine similar to a
typewriter. The tape, usually made of paper or plastic, is inserted into
the NC system, which is connected to the machine tool. The NC system
interprets the information on the tape, thus activating relays and
electrical circuits that cause the machine’s servomechanisms and other
controls to perform a sequence of operations automatically. On some
NC systems, the coded information is inserted into the machines on
punched cards or magnetic tape instead of punched tape. The tape can
be stored for future use on the same machine or on others like it at any
location. NC machines can produce parts accurately to tolerances of
0.001 or 0.0001 inch (0.025 or 0.0025 millimetre) depending on the
design of the machine, the NC system, and other factors, such as
environmental temperature.

NC systems on machine tools can be classified into two basic types:

(1) point-to-point and (2) continuous-path. Point-to-point systems,
commonly used on machines that perform hole-machining and
straight-line milling operations, are relatively simple to program and
do not require the aid of a computer.

Continuous-path NC systems are commonly used on machines that

perform contouring operations, such as milling machines, lathes,
flame-cutting machines, and drafting machines. Program preparation
for continuous-path machines is more complex and usually requires
the aid of a computer.

Computer-Aided Machining
Computer numerical control (CNC)
Altering the operating procedures of early NC systems required
changing the hardware of the machine tool itself. In the 1970s CNC
systems, controlled by dedicated mini- or microcomputers, were
developed to enable machine tools to be readily adapted to different
jobs by altering the control program, or software. Consequently, CNC
machine tools are easier to operate and more versatile than their NC
counterparts, and their programming is simpler and can be rapidly
tested. Since they have less control hardware, they are cheaper to
maintain and are generally more accurate. CNC systems can be used
with a wide range of machine tools such as milling machines and
lathes. Many are equipped with graphic displays that plot the shapes
of the components being machined. Some simulate tool movements,
while others produce three-dimensional views of components.
 computer numerical controlRows of computer numerical control (CNC)
milling machines at the Taylor Guitars factory in El Cajon, California, U.S. ©
Marcin Wichary (CC BY 2.0)

When several CNC machine tools receive instructions for machining

from a large central computer that stores and processes operational
procedures, they are said to be under direct numerical control (DNC).

Adaptive control

Improvements in CNC machine tools depend on the refinement of

adaptive control, which is the automatic monitoring and adjustment of
machining conditions in response to variations in operation
performance. With a manually controlled machine tool, the operator
watches for changes in machining performance (caused, for example,
by a dull tool or a harder workpiece) and makes the necessary
mechanical adjustments. An essential element of NC and CNC
machining, adaptive control is needed to protect the tool, the
workpiece, and the machine from damage caused by malfunctions or
by unexpected changes in machine behaviour. Adaptive control is also
a significant factor in developing unmanned machining techniques.

One example of adaptive control is the monitoring of torque to a

machine tool’s spindle and servomotors. The control unit of the
machine tool is programmed with data defining the minimum and
maximum values of torque allowed for the machining operation. If, for
example, a blunt tool causes the maximum torque, a signal is sent to
the control unit, which corrects the situation by reducing the feed rate
or altering the spindle speed.

Machining centres

A further development in the automation of machine tools is the

“machining centre,” usually a vertical milling machine fitted with
automatic tool-changing facilities and capable of several axes of
control. The tools, of which there can be more than 100, are generally
housed in a rotary magazine and may be changed by commands from
the machine tool program. Thus, different faces of a workpiece can be
machined by a combination of operations without moving it to another
machine tool. Machining centres are particularly suitable for the batch
production of large and complex components requiring a high degree
of accuracy.

Computer-aided design and computer-aided

manufacturing (CAD/CAM)

The technology of CNC machine tools has been enhanced by parallel

advances in CAD/CAM. In the first NC systems, CAD and CAM were
regarded as separate functions. Gradually they have come to be treated
as an integrated operation, with manufacturing processes being
considered at the product design stage.
CAD enables designers to use computers to analyze and manipulate
design data. Using a graphics workstation or computer terminal to
display three-dimensional figures, the designer can examine a
proposed design from different angles, in various cross sections, and
in many sizes. Details of the completed design are transferred to a
second terminal on which a set of engineering drawings can be
produced. All aspects of the design are closely scrutinized at this stage,
and, after final changes are made, the finished, fully dimensioned
design is drawn on a specialized computer printer called a plotter.

CAD/CAM systems also allow design data to be stored in numerical

(digitized) form, from which machine-control tapes and disks may be
prepared directly. The CAD and CAM systems may then be linked by
computer-assisted part programming. With this technique a CAD
system can produce a geometrical profile of a required component as,
for example, a series of connected points. The position of each point,
and the ways in which it can be reached by movements of the tool, is
fed to the computer. After calculating the necessary tool movements,
the computer develops a complete machining program for the part to
be manufactured on the CNC machine.

Robots
The utilization of CNC machine tools has been stimulated by the
introduction of robots—devices designed to move components, tools,
and materials by specific motions and through defined paths. Robots
can have memories (stored sets of instructions) and may be equipped
with mechanisms that automatically perform many tasks such as the
loading and unloading of parts, assembly, inspection, welding,
painting, and machining. Its arm and wrist move like those of humans,
each axis of motion being driven by an electric or hydraulic motor. The
wrist is usually fitted with an “end effector,” an element to which
devices are added to help perform specific required operations. These
devices can include a two- or three-finger gripper for material
handling, a power tool for drilling, or an arc-welding gun. “Intelligent”
robots are also available. These have end effectors fitted with tactile or
visual sensing devices that can determine the proximity of the object
to be manipulated or machined.

Flexible manufacturing system (FMS)

A group of manufacturing cells linked by an automatic material
handling system and a central computer is called a flexible
manufacturing system. The computerized coordination of FMS
enables components to be produced at very low costs, even when only
small quantities are to be made. The main feature of FMS is its ability
to switch from the machining of one component to another (or
between separate manufacturing processes) without undue
interruption. Each machine control unit stores many part-producing
programs in its computer memory. The FMS master computer uses
direct numerical control (DNC) to select and activate these programs
as they are needed during the manufacturing process. As the master
computer governs the supply of workpieces to the machine, the part
program controls individual tooling. If a variety of machining
operations are needed, a large number of tools may have to be carried:
some milling operations, for example, require 60 to 100 tools.

Computer-integrated manufacturing
Computers have come to be used in all stages of manufacture: design,
scheduling, management, manufacturing, and testing.
The integration of these phases of computer involvement is
called computer-integrated manufacturing. For further information
about robots, see the article automation.

Nonconventional Methods Of Machining

Traditional machining processes work on the principle that the tool is
harder than the workpiece. Some materials, however, are too hard or
too brittle to be machined by conventional methods. The use of very
hard nickel-based and titanium alloys by the aircraft engine industry,
for example, has stimulated nonconventional machining methods,
especially “electrical methods.”

Electrical methods of machining
Some machining methods rely on electrical phenomena—rather than
mechanical means—for cutting and machining workpieces.

Electron-beam machining (EBM)

The EBM technique is used for cutting fine holes and slots in any
material. In a vacuum chamber, a beam of high-velocity electrons is
focused on a workpiece. The kinetic energy of the electrons, upon
striking the workpiece, changes to heat, which vaporizes minute
amounts of the material. The vacuum prevents the electrons from
scattering, due to collisions with gas molecules. EBM is used for
cutting holes as small as 0.001 inch (0.025 millimetre) in diameter or
slots as narrow as 0.001 inch in materials up to 0.250 inch (6.25
millimetres) in thickness. EBM is also used as an alternative to light
optics manufacturing methods in the semiconductor industry. Because
electrons have a shorter wavelength than light and can be easily
focused, electron-beam methods are particularly useful for high-
resolution lithography and for the manufacture of complex integrated
circuits. Welding can also be done with an electron beam, notably in
the manufacture of aircraft engine parts.

Electrical-discharge machining (EDM)

EDM involves the direction of high-frequency electrical spark

discharges from a graphite or soft metal tool, which serves as an
electrode, to disintegrate electrically conductive materials such as
hardened steel or carbide. The electrode and workpiece are immersed
in a dielectric liquid, and a feed mechanism maintains a spark gap of
from 0.0005 to 0.020 inch (0.013 to 0.5 millimetre) between the
electrode and the workpiece. As spark discharges melt or vaporize
small particles of the workpiece, the particles are flushed away, and
the electrode advances. The process is accurate, but slow, and is used
for machining dies, molds, holes, slots, and cavities of almost any
desired shape. In CNC wire machining, a thin copper wire is used as
the tool for cutting out two- and three-dimensional fretwork profiles.

Electrochemical machining (ECM)

ECM resembles electroplating in reverse. In this process metal is

dissolved from a workpiece with direct current at a controlled rate in
an electrolytic cell. The workpiece serves as the anode and is separated
by a gap of 0.001 to 0.030 inch (0.025 to 0.75 millimetre) from the
tool, which serves as the cathode. The electrolyte, usually an aqueous
salt solution, is pumped under pressure through the inter-electrode
gap, thus flushing away metal dissolved from the workpiece. As one
electrode moves toward the other to maintain a constant gap, the
anode workpiece is machined into a complementary shape. The
advantages of ECM are lack of tool wear and the fact that a softer
cathode tool can be used to machine a harder workpiece. Applications
of ECM can be found in the aircraft engine and automobile industries,
where the process is used for deburring, drilling small holes, and
machining extremely hard turbine blades.

Other versions of ECM include electrolytic grinding, which includes

about 90 percent ECM with 10 percent mechanical action;
electrochemical arc machining (ECAM), in which controlled arcs in an
aqueous electrolyte remove material at a fast rate; and capillary
drilling, in which acid electrolytes are used to machine very fine holes.

Ion beam machining (IBM)

In IBM a stream of charged atoms (ions) of an inert gas, such as argon,

is accelerated in a vacuum by high energies and directed toward a solid
workpiece. The beam removes atoms from the workpiece by
transferring energy and momentum to atoms on the surface of the
object. When an atom strikes a cluster of atoms on the workpiece, it
dislodges between 0.1 and 10 atoms from the workpiece material. IBM
permits the accurate machining of virtually any material and is used in
the semiconductor industry and in the manufacture of aspheric lenses.
The technique is also used for texturing surfaces to enhance bonding,
for producing atomically clean surfaces on devices such as laser
mirrors, and for modifying the thickness of thin films and membranes.

Laser machining (LM)

LM is a method of cutting metal or refractory materials by melting and

vaporizing the material with an intense beam of light from
a laser. Drilling by laser, although costly in energy since material must
be melted and vaporized to be removed, is used to cut small holes
(0.005 to 0.05 inch [0.13 to 1.3 millimetres]) in materials that are too
difficult to machine by traditional methods. A common application is
the laser drilling of diamonds to be used as dies for drawing wire.
Lasers also are used to drill and cut ceramics and substrates
for integrated circuits; the aircraft industry uses CNC-controlled lasers
to cut profiles and to drill holes in engine parts.

Plasma arc machining (PAM)

PAM is a method of cutting metal with a plasma-arc, or tungsten inert-

gas-arc, torch. The torch produces a high-velocity jet of high-
temperature ionized gas (plasma) that cuts by melting and displacing
material from the workpiece. Temperatures obtainable in the plasma
zone range from 20,000° to 50,000° F (11,000° to 28,000° C). The
process may be used for cutting most metals, including those that
cannot be cut efficiently with an oxyacetylene torch. With heavy-duty
torches, aluminum alloys up to six inches (15 centimetres) thick
and stainless steel up to four inches (10 centimetres) thick have been
cut by the PAM process. The process is used for the profile cutting of
flat plate, for cutting grooves in stainless steel, and, on lathes, for
turning large, hardened steel rolls.

Other methods of machining

Ultrasonic machining (USM)

In USM, material is removed from a workpiece with particles

of abrasive that vibrate at high frequency in a water slurry circulating
through a narrow gap between a vibrating tool and the workpiece. The
tool, shaped like the cavity to be produced, oscillates at an amplitude
of about 0.0005 to 0.0025 inch (0.013 to 0.062 millimetre) at 19,000
to 40,000 hertz (cycles per second). The tool vibrates the abrasive
grains against the surface of the workpiece, thus removing material.
Ultrasonic machining is used primarily for cutting hard, brittle
materials that may be conductors of electricity or insulators. Other
common applications of USM include cutting semiconductor materials
(such as germanium), engraving, drilling fine holes in glass, and
machining ceramics and precious stones.

A modified version of the process is ultrasonic twist drilling, in which

an ultrasonic tool is rotated against a workpiece without an abrasive
slurry. Holes as small as 80 micrometres have been drilled by this type
of USM.

Chemical machining (CHM)

This nonelectrical process removes metal from selected or overall

areas by controlled chemical action. Masking tape can be used to
protect areas not to be removed. The method is related to the process
used for making metal printing and engraving plates. Two types of
chemical machining processes include chemical blanking, which is
used for cutting blanks of thin metal parts, and chemical milling,
which is used for removing metal from selected or overall areas of
metal parts.
Photochemical machining (PCM)

PCM is an extension of CHM that uses a series of photographic and

chemical etching techniques to produce components and devices in a
wide range of metals, especially stainless steel.

Water-jet machining

In the water-jet machining process, water is forced through tiny

nozzles under very high pressures to cut through materials such as
polymers, brick, and paper. Water-jet machining has several
advantages over other methods: it generates no heat, the workpiece
does not deform during machining, the process can be initiated
anywhere on the workpiece, no premachining preparation is needed,
and few burrs form during the process. An abrasive is occasionally
added to the water to improve the rate of material removal, especially
in finishing work. The offshore industry uses seawater as the working
fluid when applying this technique.

Willard J. McCarthyJoseph A. McGeough

LEARN MORE in these related Britannica articles:

history of the organization of work: Machine tools and interchangeable parts

Advances in mass production could not be made without the development of the machine-
tool industry—that is, the fabrication of machinery that could make machines. Though some
basic devices such as the woodworking lathe had existed for centuries, their evolution into…


 automation: Manufacturing applications of automation and robotics

A numerical-control machine tool is a good example of programmable automation. The

program is coded in computer memory for each different product style, and the machine tool
is controlled by the computer program. Industrial robots are another example.…

automotive industry: Economic and social significance

…the largest single consumer of machine tools. Moreover, the special requirements of
automotive mass production have had a profound influence on the design and development of
highly specialized machine tools and have stimulated technological advances in petroleum
refining, steelmaking, paint and plate-glass manufacturing, and other industrial processes.…

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Planer
METAL-CUTTING MACHINE
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Alternative Titles: planing machine, surfacer

Planer, metal-cutting machine in which the workpiece is firmly

attached to a horizontal table that moves back and forth under a
single-point cutting tool. The tool-holding device is mounted on a
crossrail so that the tool can be fed (moved) across the table in small,
discrete, sideward movements at the end of each pass of the table.
Since the cutting tool can be moved at almost any angle, a wide variety
of grooves and surfaces can be generated. The length and speed of its
table travel also may be adjusted.

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machine tool: Shapers and planers

Planing machines perform the same operations as shapers but can machine longer

workpieces. Some planers can machine parts up to 50 feet...

Mechanical planers, or surfacers, also are used for smoothing wood to

an even thickness. The planer consists of a frame, a bed that can be
moved up and down, feed rolls, a feeding mechanism, and a cylindrical
cutting head holding three or more knives that pare off the excess
wood. Models range from the single planer, which smooths one
surface of a board at a time, to machines that can finish several
surfaces simultaneously. Planer sizes are indicated by the width of
work that can be accommodated, ranging from 45 to 125 cm (18 to 50
inches).

LEARN MORE in these related Britannica articles:

machine tool: Shapers and planers

Planing machines perform the same operations as shapers but can machine longer
workpieces. Some planers can machine parts up to 50 feet long. The workpiece is
mounted on a reciprocating table that moves the workpiece beneath a cutting tool.
This tool, which remains stationary during…

Machine tool
 Machine tool, any stationary power-driven machine that is used to shape or form
parts made of metal or other materials. The shaping is accomplished in four general
ways: (1) by cutting excess material in the form of chips from the part; (2) by shearing
the material; (3) by squeezing metallic parts…

Tool

Tool, an instrument for making material changes on other objects, as by cutting,

shearing, striking, rubbing, grinding, squeezing, measuring, or other processes. A
hand tool is a small manual instrument traditionally operated by the muscular
strength of the user, and a machine tool is a…

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  Machine tool

Grinding machine
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working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
See Article History

Alternative Title: grinder

Grinding machine, tool that employs a rotating abrasive wheel to

change the shape or dimensions of a hard, usually metallic, body.
grinding wheelGrinding wheels.Solaris2006
 READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC

machine tool: History

…of machine tools, that of grinding machines. C.H. Norton of Massachusetts

dramatically illustrated the potential of the grinding machine...

All of the many types of grinding machines use a grinding wheel made
from one of the manufactured abrasives, silicon carbide or aluminum
oxide. The wheel is manufactured by mixing selected sizes of abrasive
granules with a bonding agent (such as clay, resin, rubber, shellac, or
silicate of soda) and fusing them together by baking or firing. The
grade (hardness) of a wheel is determined by the ratio of bond to
abrasive. Properly, a grinding wheel is self-sharpening because as it is
worked, the dull grains break off, exposing fresh, sharp grains. The
harder the grade, the more slowly the wheel releases the grains.

The shapes that can be produced by machine grinding depend on the

shapes that can be cut with a diamond or other “dresser” on the sides
and edge of the grinding wheel and the manner in which the
workpiece is moved relative to the wheel. To grind a cylindrical form
in a workpiece, the piece is rotated as it is fed against the grinding
wheel. To grind an internal surface, a small wheel is so mounted that it
can move back and forth inside the hollow of the workpiece, which is
gripped in a rotating chuck.

workpiece by enlarging existing holes with a bore, which may bear a single cutting tip of
steel, cemented carbide, or diamond or may be a small grinding wheel. Single-point
tools, gripped in a boring head attached to a rotating spindle, are moved circularly
against the sides of the existing holes. The diameter of the hole swept out by the tool is
controlled by adjustment of the boring head.

boring machine

On a surface grinder, a flat magnetic plate or a vise holds the

workpiece in place on a table that moves back and forth under the
rotating abrasive wheel. At the end of each traverse the table is moved
automatically a short distance at right angles to the direction of travel.

https://www.britannica.com/technology/boring-machine