r!

J Machining 1
- Machining and CNC
Machining is the use of machines to cut pieces of material (called workpieces) and shape
them into components. The tools used in machining, to make holes, grooves, threads, etc.,
are called machine tools. Metal is often machined. As it is cut, waste is produced, called swarf
or chips. During machining, a liquid called cutting fluid may be pumped onto the workpiece
to act as a coolant, keeping the workpiece cool.
In manufacturing, machining is usually guided by computers called computer numerical
control (CNC) systems. Often, design information (on shapes and sizes of components) is
fed directly into CNC systems from computer aided design I computer aided manufacturing
(CAD/CAM) software.
Note: CAD/CAM is said as two words: /'kred ,krem/.

- Machining with cutting tools

Below are the most common machining techniques which use cutting tools.
Milling is cutting done by a milling machine, often using toothed cutting discs (wheels with
teeth that have sharp edges). When a workpiece is milled, it is held in a fixed position on
the machine, and is shaped by cutting tools which rotate (spin) while being moved over the
surface of the workpiece.
Turning is a technique for cutting
components that have a circular
cross-section. The workpiece is
turned by a machine called a lathe,
which rotates the workpiece.
A fixed machine tool is then moved
against the rotating workpiece to
cut material from it.

Turning using a lathe

Sawing is cutting using a blade (a thin, sharp piece of

metal), which usually has teeth, to remove a thickness
of material slightly wider than the blade. The gap left
by the blade, along the line of the cut, is called a kerf.
Machines that use toothed blades include circular saws,
which have rotating circular blades, band saws, and
power hacksaws. A hacksaw has a blade with very small
teeth, for cutting metal. Saws may also use abrasive
wheels - that is, thin, circular cutting wheels with rough,
hard surfaces - often made of industrial diamond.
A band saw

Drilling is a technique for cutting circular holes. A machine called a drill is fitted with a
tool called a drill bit (or bit). The bit rotates and drills into the material. Holes with large
diameters can be cut using holesaws- hollow cylinders with teeth, which saw circular cuts
and remove a core (a solid cylinder) of material. When used to drill into concrete, this
technique is also called core drilling, or diamond drilling, as the holesaws have industrial
diamond edges. Usually, drilling refers to making new holes. In machining, enlarging a hole
(making it wider) is called boring.
Grinding is removing material across a surface area, using abrasive wheels. The machines
used to grind materials with abrasive wheels are called grinders.

52 Professional English in Use Engineering

23.1 Match the two parts to make correct sentences. Look at A and B opposite to help you.
A drill bit is an example of
2 Material being machined is called
3 The waste metal produced during machining is called
4 Metal gets hot during cutting, so cutting fluid can be used as
5 A computer that guides a machining process is called
6 Drawings can be produced and transferred to the machining process using
a CAD/CAM software.
b a CNC system.
c a machine tool.
d a workpiece.
e swarf or chips.
f a coolant.

23.2 Complete the descriptions below the photos using the words in the box. Look at B opposite
to help you.

abrasive blade cores drill grinder holesaw toothed

bit circular diamond drilling hacksaw saw wheel

--
a ............................. 3 a ............................. for a 5 a thick ............................ .
for metal ........................... on a ...........................

2 a ............................ . 4 a ............................. blade for a 6 ............................. of concrete

being removed by

23.3 Complete the sentences using the words in the box. Look at B opposite to help you.

I drill grind mill turn saw I

1 Lathes are designed to ................................ workpieces.
2 Different bits are designed to ................................ into different types of material.
3 When you ................................ a workpiece, the cutting blade removes a thickness of material to
form a kerf.
4 Abrasive wheels ................................ material.
5 On some machines, toothed cutting wheels can be used to ................................ any part of a
workpiece, in order to form its final shape.

Ove.,r .f-o tjotc 'I'

Think about a specific metal component made by machining. What machine tools and
machining techniques do you think were used to make it?

Professional English in Use Engineering 53

 Machining 2
Guillotining and punching
Thin materials can be cut by applying pressure
in order to shear them - that is, cut them
with a scissoring force (in engineering, called
a shear force). Sheets of metal can be sheared
using a machine called a guillotine, which has
a long blade. Usually, sheets are guillotined
when long, straight cuts are required . sheet

A guillot ine

Small shapes, such as circles, can be sheared

from sheets using a machine called a punch,
which pushes a die (a shaped tool) through
the sheet. The shaped piece of metal that is
punched from the sheet is called a blank. If the
blank is the finished product, this process is
called blanking. If the sheet itself, with holes
made in it, is the finished product, the process
A punch is called piercing.

High-temperature metal cutting techniques

Flame-cutting generally uses oxygen (02) and acetylene (C2H2). The two gases are blown
through a torch - basically a tube - as a mixture called oxyacetylene. The acetylene burns in
the oxygen to produce a flame hot enough to melt steel.
Electrical discharge machining (EDM) - also called spark erosion - involves passing a tight
length of wire through a workpiece, similar to the way thin wire is used to cut cheese.
However, the wire does not actually touch the workpiece. Instead, a high-voltage current
produces an electric arc, which 'jumps' across a small gap between the wire and the
workpiece. As the current arcs, it generates heat, which melts the metal ahead of the wire.
Plasma cutting uses a plasma torch to blow out gas at high pressure. The gas argon (Ar)
is often used. At the same time a high-voltage current is passed through the plasma torch,
and arcs between the torch and the workpiece. This ionizes some of the atoms in the gas,
changing it to plasma. As the plasma is heated by the arc, it reaches an extremely high
temperature - much hotter than would be possible for a gas that had not been ionized.
Not e: When atoms are ionized, their electrons - tiny negatively charged particles that are normally
attached to the atom - break away and float freely within the gas.

Laser cutting and UHP waterjets

Laser beams (concentrated light) can cut materials accurately, in small quantities, by melting
them. Laser cutting is especially suitable for plastics.
Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) waterjets- jets of water fired at extremely high pressure- can
cut almost any material, including metal. An advantage of UHP waterjet cutting is that the
edge quality of workpieces is high- that is, the cut edges are smooth. This means that no
secondary operations- further processes to smooth rough edges- are required. Also, because
UHP waterjets are cold, they do not leave a heat-affected zone (HAZ) on the workpiece-
that is, an area near the cut edge whose properties have been changed by heat.

54 Professional English in Use Engineering

24.1 Match the cutting processes (1-4) to the descriptions (a-e). You wiU need to use some of the
descriptions more than once. Look at A opposite to help you.
1 blanking
2 guillotining
3 piercing
4 punching
a shearing material
b applying pressure to a blade to make long, straight cuts
c applying pressure to a die to make small, shaped (not straight) cuts
d applying pressure to a die to produce workpieces with holes in them
e applying pressure to a die to cut small, shaped workpieces from sheets

24.2 Complete the descriptions of the photos using words from B and C opposite.

This torch burns (1) ................................ (C 2 H 2 ) in This machine is used for (5) ................................-
a flow of (2) ................................ -a mixture called ................................-................................ waterjet cutting.
(3) ................................. The torch can be used for It produces workpieces with very smooth
(4) ................................-................................ . edges. Because of this high (6) ............................... .
.. .............................. , the workpiece does not
need to be put through (7) .............................. ..
................................ in order to smooth its edges.

24.3 Answer the questions below, about non-mechanical machining techniques. Look at B and C
opposite to help you.
1 In machining, what does EDM stand for?
2 What alternative term can be used instead of EDM?
3 What type of tool is used in both flame-cutting and plasma cutting?
4 What source of heat is used in both EDM and plasma cutting?
5 What needs to happen to a gas in order to turn it into plasma?
6 What term refers to concentrated light that can be hot enough to cut material?
7 What term refers to an area of material that has been changed by high temperature?

Ove,r ..f-o tjotc ~

Give examples of different components, made of different materials, that could be cut
using some of the techniques described opposite. Say why the cutting technique would be
especially suitable for the component and for the material.

Professional English in Use Engineering 55