Manufacturing – Machining Processes
Learning Objectives
Machining is a process of removing material to achieve the desired shape and surface quality of the part. After completing this chapter, reader will be able to:
- Describe the basic machining processes.
- Estimate the relative cost for machining a part.
- Describe and apply design for machining principles.
This chapter covers basic concepts and methods of machining, which is one of the most common manufacturing processes. Machining involves cutting, drilling, milling, turning and other operations that remove material from a workpiece to create a desired shape and surface finish. Machining can be done manually by skilled operators or automatically by machines controlled by computer programs. The main design for machining (DFM) principles are to minimize the machining time and cost by optimizing the part geometry, material selection, tolerance specification and machining strategy. By applying these principles, engineers can design parts that are easier and cheaper to manufacture, while meeting the required performance and quality standards.
