CNC Milling   by George Ure

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines perform functions of drilling, milling, turning, etc. CNC Mills are usually defined in terms of the number of axes they handle. Axes are generally labeled as x and y for horizontal movement and z for vertical movement. The number of axes of a milling machine is significant. A standard manual industrial mill typically has four axes: * Table x. * Table y. * Table z. * Milling Head z. A five-axis CNC milling machine has an extra axis. This axis is the basis of a horizontal pivot for the milling head. This allows a greater flexibility for machining with the end mill at an angle with respect to the table. A six-axis CNC milling machine has another horizontal pivot for the milling head, perpendicular to the fifth axis.

Material is usually removed by both the end and the side of the cutting tool. In CNC milling the cutting tool usually rotates about an axis that is perpendicular to the table, which holds the material to be cut. Cutting tools of various profile shapes include: square, rounded, and angled. A wide variety of part shapes and geometries are possible by a CNC machine. Interestingly, CNC machines come in various models, which range from small desk-top lathes and milling machines to larger full-sized machining centers.

CNC machines used by www.eMachineShop.com are traditionally programmed using a set of commands known as G-codes. G-codes represent specific CNC functions in alpha-numeric format. CNC milling machines carry out the cutting process in which materials are removed from a block by a rotating tool. In CNC milling, the cutting tool is moved in all three dimensions to achieve the desired cut shape.

Online CNC machining ensures optimal work-related selection of manufacturing systems and the configuration to satisfy the range of parts to be processed.

A key advantage of CNC machining is the wide variety of work piece features that it can produce. Part features such as walls, pockets of different depths, tapped holes, bolt-hole circle patterns and others commonly found on prototypes can be precisely produced on a CNC machine. One other advantage of CNC machines is their ability to produce metal molds which can then be used for injection molding operations.

About the Author

George is a well-known author who writes on topics related to cnc machine shop, waterjet cutting, for the site http://www.emachineshop.com/

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed