Metal cutting machinery is now easily available and readily used therefore all reputable companies also provide guidelines for using these machines. The guides can not only help you decide which machines to use for different purposes but they also explain how each of the machines can be used. There are many metal cutting machines available in the market, each with a different use. If you are new to metal cutting, you will need to know what operation each of these machines performs and how they can be used for cutting, turning or milling. Here are some of the machines used for metal cutting and the technicalities involved in their usage.
- EDM Equipment:
EDM or Electric Discharge Machining works like tiny bolts of lightning that cut the metal. EDM is rather slow in cutting metal but it can be used in cutting complex shapes from metal sheets. The process of cutting metal through EDM involves an electrode and a work-piece; both of which are covered in a dielectric fluid. When the current is applied, the dielectric fluid melts into hot plasma and that allows the EDM to cut through metal very precisely. The electrodes in EDM can be of different forms with which different types of the machine can be distinguished.
- Grinding Equipment:
Grinding is the process through which small cuts can be made in the metal using an abrasive grinding wheel. Grinding wheels come in various grit sizes and are used for different purposes such as grinding flat surfaces, round surfaces and contoured surfaces. Grinding is usually used for finishing or providing a smooth surface after the metal cutting process. This method is effective for cutting materials that are too hard for turning or milling.
- Five Axis Machining Centres:
The five axis machine is so-called because it can not only move in the three linear axes but can also move in two rotary axes. This can make cutting through the metal very easy. Using two extra rotary axes, the machine can not only be positioned to reach difficult places in the metal but it can also cut through it. With the combination of all five axes the metal can be cut in ways that are difficult to achieve by other machines.
- Vertical Machining Centres:
VMC is a machine centre that has a vertical spindle. High end VMCs are those metal cutting machines that can be used for milling and in mould work. VMC’s are a better fit for mould work compared to other machines. These are also available at a very low cost and that’s why they are among the most commonly used metal cutting machines, used even in small machine shops.
- Horizontal Machining Centres:
The horizontal machine centres come with a horizontal spindle as the name suggests. Horizontal spindles come in handy if the machine is required for milling process. With this technology and the rotary motion of the cutters, milling can be done very neatly and easily.
- Turning Machines:
Turning is the kind of work that is performed on lathe. Turning machines are sophisticated tools that have secondary spindles or rotating tools that can be used both for drilling and milling. Turning is a unique operation in which the tool remains stationary and the work piece is the one that spins. The cutting tool can be moved along the length or diameter of the metal while the work piece is used to cut through it. Tuning machines can have either vertical or horizontal spindles with the horizontal spindles being more common.
- Multitasking Machines:
The machines that can be used for both turning and milling are called the multitasking machines. These machines are capable of both rotating tool and work piece operations. These are based on either vertical or horizontal lathes and have spindles available for both kinds of operations. The recent models of these multitasking machines are a kind of hybrid with the lathe’s spindles and chucks and the milling power of a machine centre. The difficulty with using these machines is that it might be tough to figure out which parts to run on them.
Metal cutting can be a hard job to do but with the technology available now it has become very easy. Whether it is cutting contours through metals, turning or milling everything can be done easily with the help of the metal cutting machinery that’s now obtainable from almost any machine shop.