1.

Milling machine

Example of a CNC vertical milling center A milling machine is a machine tool used for the shaping of metal and other solid materials. Its basic form is that of a rotating cutter which rotates about the spindle axis (similar to a drill), and a table to which the workpiece is affixed. In contrast to drilling, where the drill is moved exclusively along its axis, the milling operation involves movement of the rotating cutter sideways as well as 'in and out'. The cutter and workpiece move relative to each other, generating a toolpath along which material is removed. The movement is precisely controlled, usually with slides and leadscrews or analogous technology. Often the movement is achieved by moving the table while the cutter rotates in one place, but regardless of how the parts of the machine slide, the result that matters is the relative motion between cutter and workpiece. Milling machines may be operated manually or by CNC (computer numerical control). Milling machines can perform a vast number of operations, some of them with quite complex toolpaths, such as slot cutting, planing, drilling, diesinking, rebating, routing, etc. Cutting fluid is often pumped to the cutting site to cool and lubricate the cut, and to sluice away the resulting swarf.

Types of milling machines

There are many ways to classify milling machines, depending on which criteria are the focus:
Criterion Example classification scheme Comments

Control

Manual; In the CNC era, a very basic distinction is manual versus Mechanically automated via CNC. cams; Among manual machines, a worthwhile distinction is nonDigitally automated via NC/CNC DRO-equipped versus DRO-equipped

Control Number of axes (e.g., 3-axis, 4(specifically among axis, or more); CNC Within this scheme, also:


machines)

Pallet-changing versus non-pallet-changing Full-auto tool-changing versus semi-auto or manual tool-changing Among vertical mills, "Bridgeport-style" is a whole class of mills inspired by the Bridgeport original

Spindle axis orientation Purpose Purpose Purpose

Vertical versus horizontal; Turret versus non-turret General-purpose versus specialpurpose or single-purpose Toolroom machine versus production machine "Plain" versus "universal" Micro, mini, benchtop, standing on floor, large, very large, gigantic Line-shaft-drive versus individual electric motor drive Hand-crank-power versus electric

Overlaps with above A distinction whose meaning evolved over decades as technology progressed, and overlaps with other purpose classifications above; more historical interest than current

Size

Power source

Most line-shaft-drive machines, ubiquitous circa 1880-1930, have been scrapped by now Hand-cranked not used in industry but suitable for hobbyist micromills

Comparing vertical with horizontal

In the vertical mill the spindle axis is vertically oriented. Milling cutters are held in the spindle and rotate on its axis. The spindle can generally be extended (or the table can be raised/lowered, giving the same effect), allowing plunge cuts and drilling. There are two subcategories of vertical mills: the bedmill and the turret mill. Turret mills, like the ubiquitous Bridgeport, are generally smaller than bedmills, and are considered by some to be more versatile. In a turret mill the spindle remains stationary during cutting operations and the table is moved both perpendicular to and parallel to the spindle axis to accomplish cutting. In the bedmill, however, the table moves only perpendicular to the spindle's axis, while the spindle itself moves parallel to its own axis. Also of note is a lighter machine, called a mill-drill. It is quite popular with hobbyists, due to its small size and lower price. These are frequently of lower quality than other types of machines, however. A horizontal mill has the same sort of xy table, but the cutters are mounted on a horizontal arbor across the table. A majority of horizontal mills also feature a +15/-15 degree rotary table that allows milling at shallow angles. While endmills and the other types of tools available to a vertical mill may be used in a horizontal mill, their real advantage lies in arbor-mounted cutters, called side and face mills, which have a cross section rather like a circular saw, but are generally wider and smaller in diameter. Because the cutters have good support from the arbor, quite heavy cuts can be taken, enabling rapid material removal rates. These are used to mill grooves and slots. Plain mills are used to shape flat surfaces. Several cutters may be ganged together on the arbor

to mill a complex shape of slots and planes. Special cutters can also cut grooves, bevels, radii, or indeed any section desired. These specialty cutters tend to be expensive. Simplex mills have one spindle, and duplex mills have two. It is also easier to cut gears on a horizontal mill.

A miniature hobbyist mill plainly showing the basic parts of a mill.

Other milling machine variants and terminology

Box or column mills are very basic hobbyist bench-mounted milling machines that feature a head riding up and down on a column or box way. Turret or vertical ram mills are more commonly referred to as Bridgeport-type milling machines. The spindle can be aligned in many different positions for a very versatile, if somewhat less rigid machine. Knee mill or knee-and-column mill refers to any milling machine whose x-y table rides up and down the column on a vertically adjustable knee. This includes Bridgeports. C-Frame mills are larger, industrial production mills. They feature a knee and fixed spindle head that is only mobile vertically. They are typically much more powerful than a turret mill, featuring a separate hydraulic motor for integral hydraulic power feeds in all directions, and a twenty to fifty horsepower motor. Backlash eliminators are almost always standard equipment. They use large NMTB 40 or 50 tooling. The tables on C-frame mills are usually 18" by 68" or larger, to allow multiple parts to be machined at the same time. Planer-style mills are large mills built in the same configuration as planers except with a milling spindle instead of a planing head. This term is growing dated as planers themselves are largely a thing of the past. Bed mill refers to any milling machine where the spindle is on a pendant that moves up and down to move the cutter into the work. These are generally more rigid than a knee mill.

Ram type mill refers to a mill that has a swiveling cutting head mounted on a sliding ram. The spindle can be oriented either vertically or horizontally, or anywhere in between. Van Norman specialized in ram type mills through most of the 20th century, but since the advent of CNC machines ram type mills are no longer made. Jig borers are vertical mills that are built to bore holes, and very light slot or face milling. They are typically bed mills with a long spindle throw. The beds are more accurate, and the handwheels are graduated down to .0001" for precise hole placement. Horizontal boring mills are large, accurate bed horizontal mills that incorporate many features from various machine tools. They are predominantly used to create large manufacturing jigs, or to modify large, high precision parts. They have a spindle stroke of several (usually between four and six) feet, and many are equipped with a tailstock to perform very long boring operations without losing accuracy as the bore increases in depth. A typical bed would have X and Y travel, and be between three and four feet square with a rotary table or a larger rectangle without said table. The pendant usually has between four and eight feet in vertical movement. Some mills have a large (30" or more) integral facing head. Right angle rotary tables and vertical milling attachments are available to further increase productivity. Floor mills have a row of rotary tables, and a horizontal pendant spindle mounted on a set of tracks that runs parallel to the table row. These mills have predominantly been converted to CNC, but some can still be found (if one can even find a used machine available) under manual control. The spindle carriage moves to each individual table, performs the machining operations, and moves to the next table while the previous table is being set up for the next operation. Unlike any other kind of mill, floor mills have floor units that are entirely movable. A crane will drop massive rotary tables , X-Y tables , and the like into position for machining, allowing the largest and most complex custom milling operations to take place. Portical mills It has the spindle mounted in a T structure

Computer numerical control

Thin wall milling of aluminum using a water based coolant on the milling cutter

Most CNC milling machines or machining centers are computer controlled vertical mills with the ability to move the spindle vertically along the Z-axis. This extra degree of freedom permits their use in diesinking, engraving applications, and 2.5D surfaces such as relief sculptures. When combined with the use of conical tools or a ball nose cutter, it also significantly improves milling precision without impacting speed, providing a costefficient alternative to most flat-surface hand-engraving work.

Five-axis machining center with rotating table and computer interface CNC machines can exist in virtually any of the forms of manual machinery, like horizontal mills. The most advanced CNC milling-machines, the 5-axis machines, add two more axes in addition to the three normal axes (XYZ). Horizontal milling machines also have a C or Q axis, allowing the horizontally mounted workpiece to be rotated, essentially allowing asymmetric and eccentric turning. The fifth axis (B axis) controls the tilt of the tool itself. When all of these axes are used in conjunction with each other, extremely complicated geometries, even organic geometries such as a human head can be made with relative ease with these machines. But the skill to program such geometries is beyond that of most humans. Therefore, 5-axis milling machines are practically always programmed with CAM. With the declining price of computers, free operating systems such as Linux, and open source CNC software, the entry price of CNC machines has plummeted. For example, Sherline, Prazi, and others make desktop CNC milling machines that are affordable by hobbyists.

High speed steel with cobalt endmills used for cutting operations in a milling machine.

Milling machine tooling

There is some degree of standardization of the tooling used with CNC Milling Machines and to a much lesser degree with manual milling machines.

CNC Milling machines will nearly always use SK (or ISO), CAT, BT or HSK tooling. SK tooling is the most common in Europe, while CAT tooling, sometimes called VFlange Tooling, is the oldest variation and is probably still the most common in the USA. CAT tooling was invented by Caterpillar Inc. of Peoria, Illinois in order to standardize the tooling used on their machinery. CAT tooling comes in a range of sizes designated as CAT-30, CAT-40, CAT-50, etc. The number refers to the Association for Manufacturing Technology (formerly the National Machine Tool Builders Association (NMTB)) Taper size of the tool.

CAT-40 Toolholder An improvement on CAT Tooling is BT Tooling, which looks very similar and can easily be confused with CAT tooling. Like CAT Tooling, BT Tooling comes in a range of sizes and uses the same NMTB body taper. However, BT tooling is symmetrical about the spindle axis, which CAT tooling is not. This gives BT tooling greater stability and balance at high speeds. One other subtle difference between these two toolholders is the thread used to hold the pull stud. CAT Tooling is all Imperial thread and BT Tooling is all Metric thread. Note that this affects the pull stud only, it does not affect the tool that they can hold, both types of tooling are sold to accept both Imperial and metric sized tools. SK and HSK tooling, sometimes called "Hollow Shank Tooling", is much more common in Europe where it was invented than it is in the United States. It is claimed that HSK tooling is even better than BT Tooling at high speeds. The holding mechanism for HSK tooling is placed within the (hollow) body of the tool and, as spindle speed increases, it expands, gripping the tool more tightly with increasing spindle speed. There is no pull stud with this type of tooling. The situation is quite different for manual milling machines there is little standardization. Newer and larger manual machines usually use NMTB tooling. This tooling is somewhat similar to CAT tooling but requires a drawbar within the milling machine. Furthermore, there are a number of variations with NMTB tooling that make interchangeability troublesome.

Boring head on Morse Taper Shank Two other tool holding systems for manual machines are worthy of note: They are the R8 collet and the Morse Taper #2 collet. Bridgeport Machines of Bridgeport, Connecticut so dominated the milling machine market for such a long time that their machine "The Bridgeport" is virtually synonymous with "Manual milling machine." The bulk of the machines that Bridgeport made from about 1965 onward used an R8 collet system. Prior to that, the bulk of the machines used a Morse Taper #2 collet system. As an historical footnote: Bridgeport is now owned by Hardinge Brothers of Elmira, New York.

History
1810s-1830s
Milling machines evolved from the practice of rotary filingthat is, running a circular cutter with file-like teeth in the headstock of a lathe. Both rotary filing and later true milling were developed in order to reduce the time and effort spent on hand-filing. The full, true story of the milling machine's development will probably never be known, because much of the early development took place in individual shops where generally no one was taking down records for posterity. However, the broad outlines are known. Rotary filing long predated milling. A rotary file by Jacques de Vaucanson, circa 1760, is well known. It is clear that milling machines as a distinct class of machine tool (separate from lathes running rotary files) first appeared between 1814 and 1818. Joseph W. Roe, a respected founding father of machine tool historians, felt certain that Eli Whitney produced the first true milling machine. However, subsequent scholars, including Robert S. Woodbury and others, suggest that just as much credit belongs to various other inventors, including Robert Johnson, Simeon North, Captain John H. Hall, and Thomas Blanchard. (Several of the men mentioned above are sometimes described on the internet as "the inventor of the first milling machine" or "the inventor of interchangeable parts". Such claims are perversely oversimplified, as these technologies evolved over time among many people.) The two federal armories of the U.S. (Springfield and Harpers Ferry) and the various private armories that shared turnover of skilled workmen with them were the centers of earliest development of true milling machines (as distinct from lathe headstocks tooled up for rotary filing).

James Nasmyth built a milling machine very advanced for its time between 1829 and 1831. It was tooled to mill the six sides of a hex nut that was mounted in a six-way indexing fixture. A milling machine built and used in the shop of Gay & Silver (aka Gay, Silver, & Co) in the 1830s was influential because it employed a better method of vertical positioning than earlier machines. For example, Whitney's machine (the one that Roe considered the very first) and others did not make provision for vertical travel of the knee. Evidently the workflow assumption behind this was that the machine would be set up with shims, vise, etc. for a certain part design and successive parts would not require vertical adjustment (or at most would need only shimming).

1840s-1860
Some of the key men in milling machine development during this era included Frederick W. Howe, Francis A. Pratt, Elisha K. Root, and others. (These same men during the same era were also busy developing the state of the art in turret lathes. Howe's experience at Gay & Silver in the 1840s acquainted him with early versions of both machine tools. His machine tool designs were later built at Robbins & Lawrence, the Providence Tool Company, and Brown & Sharpe.) The most successful milling machine design to emerge during this era was the Lincoln miller, which rather than being a specific make and model of machine tool is truly a family of related tools built by various companies over several decades. It took its name from the first company to put one on the market, George S. Lincoln & Company. During this era there was a continued blind spot in milling machine design, as various designers failed to develop a truly simple and effective means of providing slide travel in all three of the archetypal milling axes (X, Y, and Zor as they were known in the past, longitudinal, traverse, and vertical). Vertical positioning ideas were either absent or underdeveloped.

1860s

Brown & Sharpe's groundbreaking universal milling machine, 1861. In 1861, Frederick W. Howe, while working for the Providence Tool Company, asked Joseph R. Brown of Brown & Sharpe for a solution to the problem of milling spirals, such as the flutes of twist drills. These were filed by hand at the time. Brown designed a "universal milling machine" that, starting from its first sale in March 1862, was wildly successful. It solved the problem of 3-axis (XYZ) travel much more elegantly than had been done in the past, and it allowed for the milling of spirals using an indexing head fed in coordination with the table feed. The term "universal" was applied to it because it was ready for any kind of work and was not as limited in application as previous designs.

(Howe had designed a "universal miller" in 1852, but Brown's of 1861 is the one considered groundbreakingly successful.) Brown also developed and patented (1864) the design of formed milling cutters in which successive sharpenings of the teeth do not disturb the geometry of the form. The advances of the 1860s opened the floodgates and ushered in modern milling practice.

1870s-1940s
Two firms which most dominated the milling machine field during these decades were Brown & Sharpe and the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company. However, hundreds of other firms built milling machines during this time, and many were significant in one way or another. The archetypal workhorse milling machine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a heavy knee-and-column horizontal-spindle design with power table feeds, indexing head, and a stout overarm to support the arbor. A. L. De Leeuw of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company is credited with applying scientific study to the design of milling cutters, leading to modern practice with larger, more widely spaced teeth. Around the end of World War I, machine tool control advanced in various ways that laid the groundwork for later CNC technology. The jig borer popularized the ideas of coordinate dimensioning (dimensioning of all locations on the part from a single reference point); working routinely in "tenths" (ten-thousandths of an inch, 0.0001") as an everyday machine capability; and using the control to go straight from drawing to part, circumventing jig-making. In 1920 the new tracer design of J.C. Shaw was applied to Keller tracer milling machines for die-sinking via the three-dimensional copying of a template. This made diesinking faster and easier just as dies were in higher demand than ever before, and was very helpful for large steel dies such as those used to stamp sheets in automobile manufacturing. Such machines translated the tracer movements to input for servos that worked the machine leadscrews or hydraulics. They also spurred the development of antibacklash leadscrew nuts. All of the above concepts were new in the 1920s but would become routine in the NC/CNC era. By the 1930s, incredibly large and advanced milling machines existed, such as the Cincinnati Hydro-Tel, that presaged today's CNC mills in every respect except the CNC control itself.

1950s-1960s
The application of computers to machine tool control was a revolutionary shift in human material culture. The details have evolved immensely with every passing decade since World War II. The first numerically controlled (NC) milling machine was a Cincinnati Hydro-Tel modified in the servomechanism laboratory at MIT and completed in 1952. This development was funded by the U.S. Air Force, which was interested in reducing the

need for labor in aircraft manufacture, probably to limit the power of organized labor over U.S. military readiness. (The drama and consequences of the 1952 steel strike provide some insight into the contemporary concern over this issue.) However, two things make this original motive irrelevant: (1) The technology was on the horizon anyway, and (2) the technology turned out to be highly desirable for many other reasons besides increased labor productivity by itself. During the 1950s and 1960s, NC evolved into CNC, data storage and input media evolved, computer processing power and memory capacity steadily increased, and NC and CNC machine tools gradually disseminated from the level of university laboratories and huge corporations to the level of medium-sized corporations.

1970s-1980s
Computers and CNC machine tools continue to develop rapidly. The PC revolution has a great impact on this development. By the 1980s even mom-and-pop machine shops can have desktop computers and CNC machine tools. CAD/CAM disseminates throughout the economy.

2.Lathe
A lathe from 1911 showing component parts.
a = bed, b = toolrest, c = headstock, d = geartrain to drive automatic screw shaft, e = pullies for belt drive from an external power source, f = spindle, g = tailstock. h = automatic screw shaft.

A lathe (pronounced /le/) is a machine tool which spins a block of material to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or deformation with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object which has symmetry about an axis of rotation. Lathes are used in woodturning, metalworking, metal spinning, and glassworking. Lathes can be used to shape pottery, the best-known design being the potter's wheel. Most suitably equipped metalworking lathes can also be used to produce most solids of revolution, plane surfaces and screw threads or helices. Ornamental lathes can produce three-dimensional solids of incredible complexity. The material is held in place by either one or two centers, at least one of which can be moved horizontally to accommodate varying material lengths. Examples of objects that can be produced on a lathe include candlestick holders, cue sticks, table legs, bowls, baseball bats, crankshafts and camshafts.

History

The lathe is an ancient tool, dating at least to the Egyptians and, known and used in Assyria, Greece, the Roman and Byzantine Empires.

A turned wood bowl with natural edges The origin of turning dates to around 1300BC when the Egyptians first developed a twoperson lathe. One person would turn the wood work piece with a rope while the other used a sharp tool to cut shapes in the wood. The Romans improved the Egyptian design with the addition of a turning bow. Early bow lathes were also developed and used in Germany, France and Britain. In the Middle Ages a pedal replaced hand-operated turning, freeing both the craftsman's hands to hold the woodturning tools. The pedal was usually connected to a pole, often a straight-grained sapling. The system today is called the "spring pole" lathe (see Polelathe). Spring pole lathes were in common use into the early 20th Century. A two-person lathe, called a "great lathe", allowed a piece to turn continuously (like today's power lathes). A master would cut the wood while an apprentice turned the crank.[1] During the industrial revolution the lathe was motorized, allowing wooden turned items to be created in less time and allowing the working of metal on a lathe. The motor also produced a greater rotational speed, making it easier to quickly produce high quality work. Today most commercial lathes are computer-operated allowing for massproduction that can be created with accurate precision and without the cost of employing craftsmen.

Description
Parts of a lathe

Parts of a wood lathe A lathe may or may not have a stand (or legs), which sits on the floor and elevates the lathe bed to a working height. Some lathes are small and sit on a workbench or table, and do not have a stand. All lathes have a "bed", which is (almost always) a horizontal beam (although some CNC lathes have a vertical beam for a bed to ensure that swarf, or chips, falls free of the bed).

At one end of the bed (almost always the left, as the operator faces the lathe) is a "headstock". The headstock contains high-precision spinning bearings. Rotating within the bearings is a horizontal axle, with an axis parallel to the bed, called the "spindle". Spindles are often hollow, and have exterior threads and/or an interior Morse taper on the "inboard" (i.e., facing to the right / towards the bed) by which accessories which hold the workpiece may be mounted to the spindle. Spindles may also have exterior threads and/or an interior taper at their "outboard" (i.e., facing away from the bed) end, and/or may have a handwheel or other accessory mechanism on their outboard end. Spindles are powered, and impart motion to the workpiece. The spindle is driven, either by foot power from a treadle and flywheel or by a belt drive to a power source. In some modern lathes this power source is an integral electric motor, often either in the headstock, to the left of the headstock, or beneath the headstock, concealed in the stand. The counterpoint to the headstock is the tailstock, sometimes referred to as the loose head, as it can be positioned at any convenient point on the bed, by undoing a locking nut, sliding it to the required area, and then relocking it. The tailstock contains a barrel which does not rotate, but can slide in and out parallel to the axis of the bed, and directly in line with the headstock spindle. The barrel is hollow, and usually contains a taper to facilitate the gripping of various type of tooling. Its most common uses are to hold a hardened steel centre, which is used to support long thin shafts while turning, or to hold drill bits for drilling axial holes in the work piece. Many other uses are possible. Metalworking lathes have a "cross slide", which is a flat piece that sits crosswise on the bed, and can be cranked at right angles to the bed. Sitting atop the cross slide is a toolpost, which holds a cutting tool which removes material from the workpiece. There may or may not be a leadscrew, which moves the cross slide along the bed. Woodturning and metal spinning lathes do not have cross slides, but have "banjos", which are flat pieces that sit crosswise on the bed. The position of a banjo can be adjusted by hand; no gearing is involved. Ascending vertically from the banjo is a tool post, at the top of which is a horizontal "tool rest". In woodturning, hand tools are braced against the tool rest and levered into the workpiece. In metal spinning, the further pin ascends vertically from the tool rest, and serves as a fulcrum against which tools may be levered into the workpiece.

Accessories
Unless a workpiece has a taper machined onto it which perfectly matches the internal taper in the spindle, or has threads which perfectly match the external threads on the spindle (two things which almost never happen), an accessory must be used to mount a workpiece to the spindle.

A workpiece may be bolted or screwed to a faceplate, a large flat disk that mounts to the spindle. Alternatively faceplate dogs may be used to secure the work to the faceplate. A workpiece may be clamped in a three- or four-jaw chuck, which mounts directly to the spindle or mounted on a mandrel. In precision work (and in some classes of repetition work), cylindrical workpieces are invariably held in a collet inserted into the spindle and secured either by a drawbar, or by a collet closing cap on the spindle. Suitable collets may also be used to mount square or hexagonal workpieces. In precision toolmaking work such collets are usually of the draw in variety, where as collet is tightened the workpiece moves slightly back into the headstock, whereas for most repetition work the dead length variety is preferered as this ensures that the position of the workpiece does not move as the collet is tightened, so the workpiece can be set in the lathe to a fixed position and it will not move on tightening the collet. A soft workpiece (wooden) may be pinched between centers by using a spur drive at the headstock, which bites into the wood and imparts torque to it.

Live center (top) Dead center (bottom) A soft dead center is used in the headstock spindle as the work rotates with the centre. Because the centre is soft it can be trued in place before use. The included angle is 60 degrees. Traditionally a hard dead center is used together with suitable lubricant in the tailstock to support the workpiece. In modern practice the dead center is frequently replaced by a live center or (revolving center) as it turns freely with the workpiece usually on ball bearings, reducing the frictional heat, which is especially important at high RPM. A lathe carrier or lathe dog may also be employed when turning between two centers. In woodturning, one subtype of a live center is a cup center, which is a cone of metal surrounded by an annular ring of metal that decreases the chances of the workpiece splitting. A circular metal plate with even spaced holes around the periphery, mounted to the spindle, is called an "index plate". It can be used to rotate the spindle a precise number of degrees, then lock it in place, facilitating repeated auxiliary operations done to the workpiece.

Modes of use
When a workpiece is fixed between the headstock and the tailstock, it is said to be "between centers". When a workpiece is supported at both ends, it is more stable, and more force may be applied to the workpiece, via tools, at a right angle to the axis of rotation, without fear that the workpiece may break loose. When a workpiece is fixed only to the spindle at the headstock end, the work is said to be "face work". When a workpiece is supported in this manner, less force may be applied to the workpiece, via tools, at a right angle to the axis of rotation, lest the workpiece rip free. Thus, most work must be done axially, towards the headstock, or at right angles, but gently. When a workpiece is mounted with a certain axis of rotation, worked, then remounted with a new axis of rotation, this is referred to as "eccentric turning" or "multi axis turning". The result is that various cross sections of the workpiece are rotationally symmetric, but the workpiece as a whole is not rotationally symmetric. This technique is used for camshafts, various types of chair legs, etc.

Varieties
The smallest lathes are "jewelers lathes" or "watchmaker lathes", which are small enough that they may be held in one hand. Although the workpieces machined on a jeweler's lathes are metal, jeweler's lathes differ from all other metal working lathes in that the cutting tools (called "gravers") are hand held and supported by a T-rest, not fixed to a cross slide. The work is usually held in a collet. Two spindle bore sizes to receive the collets are common, namely 6 mm and 8 mm. Two patterns of bed are common: the WW (Webster Whitcomb) bed, a truncated triangular prism (found only on 8 mm watchmakers lathes); and the continental D-style bar bed (used on both 6 mm and 8 mm lathes by firms such as Lorch and Star). Other bed designs have been used, such a triangular prism on some Boley 6.5 mm lathes, and a V-edged bed on IME's 8 mm lathes. Lathes that sit on a bench or table are called "bench lathes". Lathes that do not have additional integral features for repetitive production, but rather are used for individual part production or modification as the primary role, are called "engine lathes". Lathes with a very large spindle bore and a chuck on both ends of the spindle are called "oil field lathes." Fully automatic mechanical lathes, employing cams and gear trains for controlled movement, are called screw machines. Lathes that are controlled by a computer are CNC lathes.

Lathes with the spindle mounted in a vertical configuration, instead of horizontal configuration, are called vertical lathes or vertical boring machines. They are used where very large diameters must be turned, and the workpiece (comparatively) is not very long. A lathe with a cylindrical tailstock that can rotate around a vertical axis, so as to present different facets towards the headstock (and the workpiece) are turret lathes. A lathe equipped with indexing plates, profile cutters, spiral or helical guides, etc., so as to enable ornamental turning is an ornamental lathe. Various combinations are possible: e.g. one could have a vertical CNC lathe (such as a CNC VTL), etc. Lathes can be combined with other machine tools, such as a drill press or vertical milling machine. These are usually referred to as combination lathes.

Major categories of lathes

Woodworking lathes

A modern woodworking lathe. Woodworking lathes are the oldest variety. All other varieties are descended from these simple lathes. An adjustable horizontal metal rail - the tool rest - between the material and the operator accommodates the positioning of shaping tools, which are usually handheld. With wood, it is common practice to press and slide sandpaper against the stillspinning object after shaping to smooth the surface made with the metal shaping tools. There are also woodworking lathes for making bowls and plates, which have no horizontal metal rail, as the bowl or plate needs only to be held by one side from a metal face plate. Without this rail, there is very little restriction to the width of the piece being turned. Further detail can be found on the woodturning page.

Metalworking lathes

A metalworking lathe Main article: Lathe (metal)

In a metalworking lathe, metal is removed from the workpiece using a hardened cutting tool, which is usually fixed to a solid moveable mounting called the "toolpost", which is then moved against the workpiece using handwheels and/or computer controlled motors. The toolpost is operated by leadscrews that can accurately position the tool in a variety of planes. The toolpost may be driven manually or automatically to produce the roughing and finishing cuts required to turn the workpiece to the desired shape and dimensions, or for cutting threads, worm gears, etc. Cutting fluid may also be pumped to the cutting site to provide cooling, lubrication and clearing of swarf from the workpiece. Some lathes may be operated under control of a computer for mass production of parts (see "Computer Numerical Control"). Metalworking lathes are commonly provided with a variable ratio gear train to drive the main leadscrew. This enables different pitches of threads to be cut. Some older gear trains are changed manually by using interchangeable gears with various numbers of teeth, while more modern or elaborate lathes have a quick change box to provide commonly used ratios by the operation of a lever. The threads that can be cut are, in some ways, determined by the pitch of the leadscrew: A lathe with a metric leadscrew will readily cut metric threads (including BA), while one with an imperial leadscrew will readily cut imperial unit based threads such as BSW or UTS (UNF,UNC). The workpiece may be supported between a pair of points called centres, or it may be bolted to a faceplate or held in a chuck. A chuck has movable jaws that can grip the workpiece securely.

Cue lathes
Cue lathes function similar to turning and spinning lathes allowing for a perfectly radially-symmetrical cut for billiard cues. They can also be used to refinish cues that have been worn over the years.

Glassworking lathes
Glassworking lathes are similar in design to other lathes, but differ markedly in how the workpiece is modified. Glassworking lathes slowly rotate a hollow glass vessel over a fixed or variable temperature flame. The source of the flame may be either hand-held, or mounted to a banjo/cross slide that can be moved along the lathe bed. The flame serves to soften the glass being worked, so that the glass in a specific area of the workpiece becomes malleable, and subject to forming either by inflation ("glassblowing"), or by deformation with a heat resistant tool. Such lathes usually have two headstocks with chucks holding the work, arranged so that they both rotate together in unison. Air can be introduced through the headstock chuck spindle for glassblowing. The tools to deform the glass and tubes to blow (inflate) the glass are usually handheld.

In diamond turning, a computer-controlled lathe with a diamond-tipped tool is used to make precision optical surfaces in glass or other optical materials. Unlike conventional optical grinding, complex aspheric surfaces can be machined easily. Instead of the dovetailed ways used on the tool slide of a metal turning lathe, the ways typically float on air bearings and the position of the tool is measured by optical interferometry to achieve the necessary standard of precision for optical work. The finished work piece usually requires a small amount subsequent polishing by conventional techniques to achieve a finished surface suitably smooth for use in a lens, but the rough grinding time is significantly reduced for complex lenses.

Metal spinning lathes

Main article: metal spinning In metal spinning, a disk of sheet metal is held perpendicularly to the main axis of the lathe, and tools with polished tips (spoons) are hand held, but levered by hand against fixed posts, to develop large amounts of torque/pressure that deform the spinning sheet of metal. Metal spinning lathes are almost as simple as woodturning lathes (and, at this point, lathes being used for metal spinning almost always are woodworking lathes). Typically, metal spinning lathes require a user-supplied rotationally symmetric mandrel, usually made of wood, which serves as a template onto which the workpiece is moulded (nonsymmetric shapes can be done, but it is a very advanced technique). For example, if you want to make a sheet metal bowl, you need a solid chunk of wood in the shape of the bowl; if you want to make a vase, you need a solid template of a vase, etc. Given the advent of high speed, high pressure, industrial die forming, metal spinning is less common now than it once was, but still a valuable technique for producing one-off prototypes or small batches where die forming would be uneconomical.

Ornamental turning lathes

The ornamental turning lathe was developed around the same time as the industrial screwcutting lathe in the nineteenth century. It was used not for making practical objects, but for decorative work - ornamental turning. By using accessories such as the horizontal and vertical cutting frames, eccentric chuck and elliptical chuck, solids of extraordinary complexity may be produced by various generative procedures. A special purpose lathe, the Rose engine lathe is also used for ornamental turning, in particular for engine turning, typically in precious metals, for example to decorate pocket watch cases. As well as a wide range of accessories, these lathes usually have complex dividing arrangements to allow the exact rotation of the mandrel. Cutting is usually carried out by rotating cutters, rather than directly by the rotation of the work itself. Because of the difficulty of polishing such work, the materials turned, such as wood or ivory, are usually quite soft, and the cutter has to be exceptionally sharp. The finest ornamental lathes are generally considered to be those made by Holtzapffel around the turn of the 19th century.

Reducing Lathe
Many types of lathes can be equipped with accessory components to allow them to reproduce an item: the original item is mounted on one spindle, the blank is mounted on another, and as both turn in synchronized manner, one end of an arm "reads" the original and the other end of the arm "carves" the duplicate. A reducing lathe is a specialized lathe that is designed with this feature, and which incorporates a mechanism similar to a pantograph, so that when the "reading" end of the arm reads a detail that measures one inch (for example), the cutting end of the arm creates an analogous detail that is (for example) one quarter of an inch (a 4:1 reduction, although given appropriate machinery and appropriate settings, any reduction ratio is possible). Reducing lathes are used in coin-making, where a plaster original (or an epoxy master made from the plaster original, or a copper shelled master made from the plaster original, etc.) is duplicated and reduced on the reducing lathe, generating a master die.

Rotary lathes
A lathe in which softwood logs are turned against a very sharp blade and peeled off in one continuous or semi-continuous roll. Invented by Immanuel Nobel (father of the more famous Alfred Nobel). The first such lathes were set up in the United States in the mid19th century

Watchmaker's lathes

Watchmaker's lathe Watchmakers lathes are delicate but precise metalworking lathes, usually without provision for screwcutting, and are still used by horologists for work such as the turning of balance shafts. A handheld tool called a graver is often used in preference to a slide mounted tool. The original watchmaker's turns was a simple dead-centre lathe with a moveable rest and two loose headstocks. The workpiece would be rotated by a bow, typically of horsehair, wrapped around it.

3.Drilling
Look up drilling in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. This article is about making holes in solid materials. For drilling in the earth, see Borehole. For data processing usage, see data drilling. For agricultural usage, see seed drill. For firearm type, see combination gun. Drilling is the process of using a drill bit in a drill to produce cylindrical holes in solid materials, such as wood or metal. Different tools and methods are used for drilling depending on the type of material, the size of the hole, the number of holes, and the time to complete the operation.

Drilling in metal
Under normal usage, swarf is carried up and away from the tip of the drill bit by the fluting of the drill bit. The continued production of chips from the cutting edges produces more chips which continue the movement of the chips outwards from the hole. This continues until the chips pack too tightly, either because of deeper than normal holes or insufficient backing off (removing the drill slightly or totally from the hole while drilling). Lubricants and coolants (i.e. cutting fluid) are sometimes used to ease this problem and to prolong the tools life by cooling and lubricating the tip and chip flow. Coolant is introduced via holes through the drill shank (see gun drill). Straight fluting is used for copper or brass, as this exhibits less tendency to "dig in" or grab the material. If a helical drill (twist drill) is used then the same effect can be achieved by stoning a small flat parallel with the axis of the drill bit. For heavy feeds and comparatively deep holes oil-hole drills can be used, with a lubricant pumped to the drill head through a small hole in the bit and flowing out along the fluting. A conventional drill press arrangement can be used in oil-hole drilling, but it is more commonly seen in automatic drilling machinery in which it is the workpiece that rotates rather than the drill bit.

Drilling in wood
Wood being softer than most metals, drilling in wood is considerably easier and faster than drilling in metal. Cutting fluids are not used or needed. The main issue in drilling wood is assuring clean entry and exit holes and preventing burning. Avoiding burning is a question of using sharp bits and the appropriate cutting speed. Drill bits can tear out chips of wood around the top and bottom of the hole and this is undesirable in fine woodworking applications.

The ubiquitous twist drill bits used in metalworking also work well in wood, but they tend to chip wood out at the entry and exit of the hole. In some cases, as in rough holes for carpentry, the quality of the hole does not matter, and a number of bits for fast cutting in wood exist, including spade bits and self-feeding auger bits. Many types of specialised drill bits for boring clean holes in wood have been developed, including brad-point bits, Forstner bits and hole saws. Chipping on exit can be minimized by using a piece of wood as backing behind the work piece, and the same technique is sometimes used to keep the hole entry neat. Holes are easier to start in wood as the drill bit can be accurately positioned by pushing it into the wood and creating a dimple. The bit will thus have little tendency to wander. In metal working, an accurate position needs to be marked with a punch to avoid the bit wandering from the desired position of the hole.

Microdrilling
Microdrilling refers to the drilling of holes less than 0.5 mm. Drilling of holes at this small diameter presents greater problems since coolant fed drills cannot be used and high spindle speeds are required.

Drilling as a Manufacturing Process

OPERATION DEFINITION Hole making is one of the most important machining operations in the manufacturing process. Holes serve a variety of functions including but not limited to: fasteners for assembly, weight reduction, ventilation, access to other parts, or simply for aesthetics. Hole making or drilling is used in the production of almost any part conceivable and those that aren't drilled are made with machines that have been drilled. HOLE MAKING OPERATIONS On most workpieces it is vitally important that the hole be drilled precisely in reference to the x, y, z-axes. When possible drilled holes should be located perpendicular to the workpiece surface. This is due to the large lengthto-diameter ratio which causes the drill bit to be easily deflected which can cause the hole to be misplaced, or the drill bit to break or fatigue. Because there are so many types of production operations that involve making a variety of holes in countless different materials, there are many methods for hole making. CONSIDERATION FOR DRILLING Because drilling can often be such a critical process there are a number of considerations that should be taken in order to ensure the most accurate drill hole possible. As mentioned before the hole and drill motion should be perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece to reduce the tendency to fatigue or break the drill bit. This also helps to reduce 'walking' of the drill bit over the workpiece surface.

 'Walk' is common when drilling small diameter holes. It is advantageous to create a centering mark or feature during the casting or forging process. Creating a centering dimple with a centering punch will also reduce the tendency to 'walk'. The bottoms of the hole should match the standard drill point angles. Avoid flat bottom hole or odd shapes. Create through holes instead of blind holes when possible. If a blind hole must be drilled and tapped, it should be drilled deeper than the tapped depth. Holes that need to be reamed must also be initially drilled deeper than the reamed hole depth. A part should be designed such that it won't need to be repositioned or manually moved during the drilling process. This also reduces production time and overall cost. Drill speed should be another consideration. Some materials like plastics as well as other non-metals and some metals have a tendency to heat up enough to expand making the hole smaller than desired. TWIST DRILL The most common type of drill is a standard-point twist drill. This type of drill is versatile and can be used on a variety of materials such as wood, plastic, masonry, ceramic, and metal. These drill bits have two spiral grooves running the length of the drill. These grooves aid in transporting cutting fluid to the drill tip and in removing the chips from the hole. These types of drill bits are held in chucks or collets on machines that are either hand-held or automated. This type of drilling can often cause burrs at both the entrance and the exit of the hole and parts will often need a subsequent deburring operation to smooth out the holes. GUN DRILLING Another type of drilling operation is called gun drilling. This method was originally developed to drill out gun barrels and is used commonly for drilling smaller diameter deep holes. This depth-to-diameter ratio can be even more than 300:1. The key feature of gun drilling is that the bits are self-centering; this is what allows for such deep accurate holes. The bits use a rotary motion similar to a twist drill however; the bits are designed with bearing pads that slide along the surface of the hole keeping the drill bit on center. Gun drilling is usually done at high speeds and low feed rates. PUNCHING AND TREPANNING These operations involve drilling but there are other methods such as punching and trepanning which don't necessarily use common drill bits. Punching essentially works just like a paper punch, it uses a punch that pushes the material through a die. The punch and die set can be in almost any shape. Punching can be cost effective because labor costs are low, however, the equipment costs can be high making punching most cost effective for high production parts that don't require high tolerances.

Trepanning is commonly used for creating larger diameter holes (up to 250mm or 10in) where a standard drill bit is not feasible or economical. Trepanning removes the desired diameter by cutting out a solid disk similar to the workings of a drafting compass. Trepanning is performed on flat products such as sheet metal, plates, or structural members like I-beams. Trepanning can also be useful to make grooves for inserting seals like O-rings. GENERAL RECOMMENDATION FOR SPEEDS AND FEEDS IN DRILLING [1] Feed, mm/rev (in/rev)

Workpiece Material

Surface Speed Feed, mm/rev (m/min, ft/min) (in/rev)

rpm

rpm

1.5 mm (0.060 12.5 mm (0.5 1.5 mm 12.5 mm in) in) (0.060 in) (0.5 in) Aluminum Alloys Magnesium Alloys 6,40025,000 9,60025,000 3,20012,000 4,3006,400 2,1004,300 1,3004,300 4,300-

30-120, 100-400 0.025 (0.001) 0.30 (0.012)

800-3,000

45-120, 150-400 0.025 (0.001) 0.30 (0.012)

1,1003,000

Copper Alloys

15-60, 50-200

0.025 (0.001) 0.25 (0.010)

400-1,500

Steels

20-30, 60-100

0.025 (0.001) 0.30 (0.012)

500-800

Stainless Steels

10-20, 60-100

0.025 (0.001) 0.18 (0.007)

250-500

Titanium Alloys 6-20, 20-60

0.010 (0.0004) 0.15 (0.006)

150-500

Cast Irons

20-60, 60-200

0.025 (0.001) 0.30 (0.012)

500-1,500

12,000 6,40012,000 43001,2000

Thermoplastics

30-60, 100-200

0.025 (0.001) 0.13 (0.005)

800-1,500

Thermosets

20-60, 60-200

0.025 (0.001) 0.10 (0.004)

500-1,500

-Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, Kalpakjian, Schmid, 2006 HOW THIS VALUE-ADDING OPERATION HELPS ACHIEVE WORKPIECE FUNCTION Drilling and hole making is an indispensable step in the manufacturing process. Many other steps in the process can be done using a variety of methods. For example forming a part can be done forging, casting, machining, it can be shaped in a die or by other methods. In order to determine the best and most profitable method some considerations need to be taken. Drilling however isnt something that is optional in most cases. Sometimes a hole may be built into a die or a casting mold but these features cant usually meet tight tolerances and cant be very complex. Anytime a fastener needs to be used a hole must be drilled and tapped. There are many instances when drilling is the only option for making hole and hollow features. These include gun barrels, fastener holes, and small precise venting holes.

4.Shaper

Shaper tool slide, clapper box and cutting tool A shaper is a machine tool used for shaping or surfacing metal and other materials.

Introduction
Shapers have been largely superseded by milling machines or grinding machines in modern industrial practice. The basic function of the machine is still sound and tooling for them is minimal and very cheap to reproduce. They can be invaluable for jobbing or repair shops where only one or a few pieces are required to be produced and the alternative methods are cost or tooling intensive. The mechanically operated machines are simple and robust in construction, making their repair and upkeep easily achievable.

Types
Shapers are mainly classified as standard, draw-cut, horizontal, universal, vertical, geared, crank, hydraulic, contour and travelling head. The horizontal arrangement is the most common. Vertical shapers are generally fitted with a rotary table to enable curved surfaces to be machined. The vertical shaper differs from a slotter (slotting machine), as the slide can be moved from the vertical. A slotter is fixed in the vertical plane. Very small machines have been successfully made to operate by hand power. Once size increases, up to a potential 36 inch stroke, the power needs increase and it becomes necessary to use an electric motor. This motor drives a mechanical arrangement (using a pinion gear, bull gear and crank) or a hydraulic motor which supplies the necessary movement via hydraulic cylinders.

Operation
Shaper linkage. Note the drive arm revolves less for the return stroke than for the cutting stroke, resulting in a quicker return stroke and more powerful cutting stroke.

A shaper operates by moving a hardened cutting tool backwards and forwards across the workpiece. On the return stroke of the ram the tool is lifted clear of the workpiece, reducing the cutting action to one direction only. The workpiece mounts on a rigid, box shaped table in front of the machine. The height of the table can be adjusted to suit this workpiece, and the table can traverse sideways underneath the reciprocating tool which is mounted on the ram, the table motion is usually under the control of an automatic feed mechanism which acts on the feedscrew. The ram slides back and forth above the work, at the front end of the ram is a vertical tool-slide that may be adjusted to either side of the vertical plane. This tool-slide holds the clapper box and toolpost from where the tool can be positioned to cut the straight, flat surface on the top of the workpiece. The tool-slide permits feeding the tool downwards to put on a cut it or may be set away from the vertical plane, as required. The ram is adjustable for stroke and, due to the geometry of the linkage, it moves faster on the return (non-cutting) stroke than on the forward, cutting stroke. This action is via a slotted link or whitworth link. Cutting fluid may be employed to improve the finish and prolong the tool's life.

Uses
The most common use is to machine straight, flat surfaces but with ingenuity and some accessories a wide range of work can be done. Other examples of its use are:

Keyways in the boss of a pulley or gear can be machined without resorting to a dedicated broaching setup. Dovetail slides Internal splines Keyway cutting in blind holes

5.Planer (metalworking)
A planer is a type of metalworking machine tool that is analogous to a shaper, but larger, and with the entire workpiece moving beneath the cutter, instead of the cutter moving above a stationary workpiece. The work table is moved back and forth on the bed beneath the cutting head either by mechanical means, such as a rack and pinion gear, or by a hydraulic cylinder. Planers and shapers were used generally for two types of work: generating accurate flat surfaces and cutting slots (such as keyways). Planers and shapers are now obsolescent, because milling machines have eclipsed them as the machine tools of choice for doing

such work. However, they have not yet entirely disappeared from the metalworking world. Modern planers are used by smaller tool and die shops within larger production facilities to maintain and repair large stamping dies and plastic injection molds. Additional uses include any other task where an abnormally large (usually in the range of 4'8' or more) block of metal must be squared when a (quite massive) horizontal grinder or floor mill is not available, too expensive, or unpractical for the situation. While not as precise as grinding, a planer can remove a tremendous amount of material in one pass and still maintain a high degree of accuracy. Metal planers come in two kinds: double-housing and open-side. The double-housing variety has vertical supports on both sides of its long bed; the open-side variety has a vertical support on only one side, allowing the workpiece to extend beyond the bed. Metal planers can vary in size from a table size of 30"72" to 20'62', and in weight from around 20,000 lbs to over 1,000,000 lbs.

6.Machining

A modern CNC machine can perform most machining operations with high precision. Conventional machining, one of the most important material removal methods, is a collection of material-working processes in which power-driven machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, and drill presses are used with a sharp cutting tool to mechanically cut the material to achieve the desired geometry. Machining is a part of the

manufacture of almost all metal products. It is not uncommon for other materials to be machined. A person who specializes in machining is called a machinist. Machining is also a hobby. A room, building, or company where machining is done is called a machine shop.

Machining operations
The three principal machining processes are classified as turning, drilling and milling. Other operations falling into miscellaneous categories include shaping, planing, broaching and sawing. Turning operations are operations that rotate the workpiece as the primary method of moving metal against the cutting tool. Lathes are the principal machine tool used in turning. Milling operations are operations in which the cutting tool rotates to bring cutting edges to bear against the workpiece. Milling machines are the principal machine tool used in milling. Drilling operations are operations in which holes are produced or refined by bringing a rotating cutter with cutting edges at the lower extremity into contact with the workpiece. Drilling operations are done primarily in drill presses but not uncommon on the lathes or mills. Miscellaneous operations are operations that strictly speaking may not be machining operations in that they may not be chip producing operations but these operations are performed at a typical machine tool. Burnishing is an example of a miscellaneous operation. Burnishing produces no chips but can be performed at a lathe, mill, or drill press. An unfinished workpiece requiring machining will need to have some material cut away to create a finished product. A finished product would be a workpiece that meets the specifications set out for that workpiece by engineering drawings or blueprints. For example, a workpiece may be required to have a specific outside diameter. A lathe is a machine tool that can be used to create that diameter by rotating a metal workpiece, so that a cutting tool can cut metal away, creating a smooth, round surface matching the required diameter and surface finish. A drill can be used to remove metal in the shape of a cylindrical hole. Other tools that may be used for various types of metal removal are milling machines, saws, and grinding tools. Many of these same techniques are used in woodworking. More recent, advanced machining techniques include electrical discharge machining (EDM), electro-chemical erosion, laser, or water jet cutting to shape metal workpieces. As a commercial venture, machining is generally performed in a machine shop, which consists of one or more workrooms containing major machine tools. Although a machine shop can be a stand alone operation, many businesses maintain internal machine shops which support specialized needs of the business. Machining requires attention to many details for a workpiece to meet the specifications set out in the engineering drawings or blueprints. Beside the obvious problems related to correct dimensions, there is the problem of achieving the correct finish or surface smoothness on the workpiece. The inferior finish found on the machined surface of a workpiece may be caused by incorrect clamping, dull tool, or inappropriate presentation

of a tool. Frequently, this poor surface finish, known as chatter, is evident by an undulating or irregular finish, and the appearance of waves on the machined surfaces of the workpiece.

Basic machining process.

Overview of machining technology

Machining is not just one process; it is a group of processes. The common feature is the use of a cutting tool to form a chip that is removed from the workpart. To perform the operation, relative motion is required between the tool and work. This relative motion is achieved in most machining operation by means of a primary motion, called cutting speed and a secondary motion called feed. The shape of the tool and its penetration into the work surface, combined with these motions, produce the desired shape of the resulting work surface.

Types of machining operation

There are many kinds of machining operations, each of which is capable of generating a certain part geometry and surface texture. In turning, a cutting tool with a single cutting edge is used to remove material from a rotating workpiece to generate a cylindrical shape. The speed motion in turning is provided by the rotating workpart, and the feed motion is achieved by the cutting tool moving slowly in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the workpiece. Drilling is used to create a round hole. It is accomplished by a rotating tool that is typically has two cutting edges. The tool is fed in a direction parallel to its axis of rotation into the workpart to form the round hole. In boring, the tool is used to enlarge an already available hole. It is a fine finishing operation used in the final stages of product manufacture. In milling, a rotating tool with multiple cutting edges is moved slowly relative to the material to generate a plane or straight surface. The direction of the feed motion is

perpendicular to the tool's axis of rotation. The speed motion is provided by the rotating milling cutter. The two basic forms of milling are Peripheral milling Face milling Other conventional machining operations include shaping, planing, broaching and sawing. Also, grinding and similar abrasive operations are often included within the category of machining.

The cutting tool

A cutting tool has one or more sharp cutting edges and is made of a material that harder than the work material. The cutting edge serves to separate chip from the parent work material. Connected to the cutting edge are the two surfaces of the tool The rake face; and The flank. The rake face which directs the flow of newly formed chip, is oriented at a certain angle is called the rake angle "". It is measured relative to the plane perpendicular to the work surface. The rake angle can be positive or negative. The flank of the tool provides a clearance between the tool and the newly formed work surface, thus protecting the surface from abrasion, which would degrade the finish. This angle between the work surface and the flank surface is called the relief angle. There are two basic types of cutting tools a. Single point tool; and b. Multiple-cutting-edge tool. A single point tool has one cutting edge and is used for turning. During mechining, the point of the penetrates below the original work surface of the workpart. The point is usily rounded to a certain radius, called the nose radius. Multiple-cutting-edge tools have more than one cutting edge and usually achieve their motion relative to the workpart by rotating. Drilling and milling uses rotating multiplecutting-edge tools. Although the shapes of these tools are different from a single-point tool, many elements of tool geometry are similar.

Cutting conditions
Relative motion is required between the tool and work to perform a machining operation. The primary motion is accomplished at a certain cutting speed. In addition, the tool must be moved laterally across the work. This is a much slower motion, called the feed. The remaining dimension of the cut is the penetration of the cutting tool below the original work surface, called the depth of cut. Collectively, speed, feed, and depth of cut are

called the cutting conditions. They form the three dimensions of the machining process, and for certain operations, their product can be used to obtain the material removal rate for the process where

the material removal rate in mm3/s, (in3/s), the cutting speed in m/s, (ft/min), the feed in mm, (in), the depth of cut in mm, (in).

Note: All units MUST be converted to the corresponding decimal (or USCU) units. Machining operations usually divide into two categories, distinguished by purpose and cutting conditions: Roughing cuts, and Finishing cuts. Roughing cuts are used to remove large amount of material from the starting workpart as rapidly as possible, in order to produce a shape close to the desired form, but leaving some material on the piece for a subsequent finishing operation. Finishing cuts are used to complete the part and achieve the final dimension, tolerances, and surface finish. In production machining jobs, one or more roughing cuts are usually performed on the work, followed by one or two finishing cuts. Roughing operations are done at high feeds and depths feeds of .04-1.25 mm/rev (0.015-0.050 in/rev) and depths of 2.5-20 mm (0.100-0.750 in) are typical. Finishing operations are carried out at low feeds and depths feeds of 0.0125-0.04 mm/rev (0.0005-0.0015 in/rev) and depths of 0.75-2.0 mm (0.0300.075 in) are typical. Cutting speeds are lower in roughing than in finishing. A cutting fluid is often applied to the machining operation to cool and lubricate the cutting tool. Determining whether a cutting fluid should be used, and, if so, choosing the proper cutting fluid, is usually included within the scope of cutting condition.

Stages in metal cutting

Roughing cuts are used to remove large amount of material from the starting workpart as quickly as possible, in order to produce a shape close to the desired form, but leaving some material on the piece for a subsequent finishing operation. Finishing cuts are used to complete the part and achieve the final dimension, tolerances, and surface finish. In production machining jobs, one or more roughing cuts are usually performed on the work, followed by one or two finishing cuts. Roughing operations are done at high feeds and depths feeds of .04-1.25 mm/rev (0.015-0.050 in/rev) and depths of 2.5-20 mm

(0.100-0.750 in) are typical. Finishing operations are carried out at low feeds and depths feeds of 0.125-0.4 mm/rev (0.005-0.015 in/rev) and depths of 0.75-2.0 mm (0.030-0.075 in) are typical. Cutting speeds are lower in roughing than in finishing. A cutting fluid is often applied to the machining operation to cool and lubricate the cutting tool. Determining whether a cutting fluid should be used, and, if so, choosing the proper cutting fluid, is usually included within the scope of cutting condition.

7.CNC

A CNC Turning Center

A CNC Milling Machine

CNC panel Siemens Sinumerik

Siemens CNC panel The abbreviation CNC stands for computer numerical control, and refers specifically to a computer "controller" that reads G-code instructions and drives a machine tool, a powered mechanical device typically used to fabricate components by the selective removal of material. CNC does numerically directed interpolation of a cutting tool in the work envelope of a machine. The operating parameters of the CNC can be altered via a software load program.

Historical overview
CNC was preceded by NC (Numerically Controlled) machines, which were hard wired and their operating parameters could not be changed. NC was developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s by John T. Parsons in collaboration with the MIT Servomechanisms Laboratory. The first CNC systems used NC style hardware, and the computer was used for the tool compensation calculations and sometimes for editing. Punched tape continued to be used as a medium for transferring G-codes into the controller for many decades after 1950, until it was eventually superseded by RS232 cables, floppy disks, and now is commonly tied directly into plant networks. The files containing the G-codes to be interpreted by the controller are usually saved under the .NC extension. Most shops have their own saving format that matches their ISO certification requirements. The introduction of CNC machines radically changed the manufacturing industry. Curves are as easy to cut as straight lines, complex 3-D structures are relatively easy to produce, and the number of machining steps that required human action have been dramatically reduced. With the increased automation of manufacturing processes with CNC machining, considerable improvements in consistency and quality have been achieved with no strain on the operator. CNC automation reduced the frequency of errors and provided CNC operators with time to perform additional tasks. CNC automation also allows for more flexibility in the way parts are held in the manufacturing process and the time required to change the machine to produce different components.

Production environment
A series of CNC machines may be combined into one station, commonly called a "cell", to progressively machine a part requiring several operations. CNC machines today are controlled directly from files created by CAM software packages, so that a part or assembly can go directly from design to manufacturing without the need of producing a drafted paper drawing of the manufactured component. In a sense, the CNC machines represent a special segment of industrial robot systems, as they are programmable to perform many kinds of machining operations (within their designed physical limits, like other robotic systems). CNC machines can run over night and over weekends without operator intervention. Error detection features have been developed, giving CNC machines the ability to call the operator's mobile phone if it detects that a tool has broken. While the machine is awaiting replacement on the tool, it would run other parts it is already loaded with up to that tool and wait for the operator. The ever changing intelligence of CNC controllers has dramatically increased job shop cell production. Some machines might even make 1000 parts on a weekend with no operator, checking each part with lasers and sensors.

Types of instruction
Main article: G-code A line in a G-code file can instruct the machine tool to do one of several things.

Movements
Lately, some controllers have implemented the ability to follow an arbitrary curve (NURBS), but these efforts have been met with skepticism since, unlike circular arcs, their definitions are not natural and are too complicated to set up by hand, and CAM software can already generate any motion using many short linear segments.

Drilling
A tool can be used to drill holes by pecking to let the swarf out. Using an internal thread cutting tool and the ability to control the exact rotational position of the tool with the depth of cut, it can be used to cut screw threads. A drilling cycle is used to repeat drilling or tapping operations on a workpiece. The drilling cycle accepts a list of parameters about the operation, such as depth and feed rate. To begin drilling any number of holes to the specifications configured in the cycle, the only input required is a set of coordinates for hole location. The cycle takes care of depth, feed rate, retraction, and other parameters that appear in more complex cycles. After the holes are completed, the machine is given another command to cancel the cycle, and resumes operation.

Parametric programming
A more recent advancement in CNC interpreters is support of logical commands, known as parametric programming. Parametric programs incorporate both G-code and these logical constructs to create a programming language and syntax similar to BASIC. Various manufacturers refer to parametric programming in brand-specific ways. For instance, Haas Automation refers to parametric programs as macros. GE Fanuc refers to it as Custom Macro A & B, while Okuma refers to it as User Task 2. The programmer can make if/then/else statements, loops, subprogram calls, perform various arithmetic, and manipulate variables to create a large degree of freedom within one program. An entire product line of different sizes can be programmed using logic and simple math to create and scale an entire range of parts, or create a stock part that can be scaled to any size a customer demands. Parametric programming also enables custom machining cycles, such as fixture creation and bolt circles. If a user wishes to create additional fixture locations on a work holding device, the machine can be manually guided to the new location and the fixture subroutine called. The machine will then drill and form the patterns required to mount additional vises or clamps at that location. Parametric programs are also used to shorten long programs with incremental or stepped passes. A loop can be created with variables for step values and other parameters, and in doing so remove a large amount of repetition in the program body. Because of these features, a parametric program is more efficient than using CAD/CAM software for large part runs. The brevity of the program allows the CNC programmer to rapidly make performance adjustments to looped commands, and tailor the program to the machine it is running on. Tool wear, breakage, and other system parameters can be accessed and changed directly in the program, allowing extensions and modifications to the functionality of a machine beyond what a manufacturer envisioned. There are three types of variables used in CNC systems: local variable, common variable, and system variable. Local variable is used to hold data after machine off preset value. Common variable is used to hold data if machine switch off does not erase form data. The System variable this variable used system parameter this cannot use direct to convert the common variable for example tool radius, tool length, and tool height to be measured in millimeters or inches. Typical logic to a parameter program is as follows;
First define variables to start your program. -bolt circle radius -how many holes -centerpoint of bolt circle Next build a subprogram that crunches the math. When you are ready to drill or tap your holes, run the drill cycle off of your math in subprogram. example: #100=3 (bolt circle radius)

#101=10 (how many holes) #102=0 (x position of ctr of bolthole) #103=0 (y position of ctr of bolthole) #104=0 (angle of first hole Tool call, spindle speed,and offset pickup,etc G43 in some cases (tool length pickup) G81(drill cycle) call sub program N50 G80 M30 Subprogram N100 #105=((COS#104)*#100) (x location) #106=((SIN#104)*#100) (y location) x#105 y#106 (remember your G81 code is modal) If #104 GT 360 goto N50 #104=(#104+(360/#101)) Goto 100 This is just a modal to show the logic of programming. As all languages have some differences, the logic is all similar.

Tools with CNC variants

Drills EDMs Lathes Milling machines Wood routers Sheet metal works(Turret Punch) Wire bending machines Hot-wire foam cutters Plasma cuttings Water jet cutters Laser cutting Oxy-fuel Surface Grinders Cylindrical Grinders

8.Measuring instrument

a)caliper

A vernier caliper A caliper (British spelling also calliper) is a device used to measure the distance between two symmetrically opposing sides. A caliper can be as simple as a compass with inward or outward-facing points. The tips of the caliper are adjusted to fit across the points to be measured, the caliper is then removed and the distance read by measuring between the tips with a measuring tool, such as a ruler. They are used in many fields such as metalworking, mechanical engineering, gunsmithing, handloading, woodworking and woodturning.

Types
Inside caliper

Two inside calipers The inside calipers are used to measure the internal size of an object.

The upper caliper in the image (at the right) requires manual adjustment prior to fitting, fine setting of this caliper type is performed by tapping the caliper legs lightly on a handy surface until they will almost pass over the object. A light push against the resistance of the central pivot screw then spreads the legs to the correct

dimension and provides the required, consistent feel that ensures a repeatable measurement. The lower caliper in the image has an adjusting screw that permits it to be carefully adjusted without removal of the tool from the workpiece.

Outside caliper

Three outside calipers. Outside calipers are used to measure the external size of an object. The same observations and technique apply to this type of caliper, as for the above Inside caliper. With some understanding of their limitations and usage these instruments can provide a high degree of accuracy and repeatability. They are especially useful when measuring over very large distances, consider if the calipers are used to measure a large diameter pipe. A vernier caliper does not have the depth capacity to straddle this large diameter while at the same time reach the outermost points of the pipes diameter.

Divider caliper

A pair of dividers In the metalworking field divider calipers are used in the process of marking out suitable workpieces. The points are sharpened so that they act as scribers, one leg can then be placed in the dimple created by a center or prick punch and the other leg pivoted so that it scribes a line on the workpiece's surface, thus forming an arc or circle.

A divider caliper is also used to measure a distance between two points on a map. The two caliper's ends are brought to the two points whose distance is being measured. The caliper's opening is then either measured on a separate ruler and then converted to the actual distance, or it is measured directly on a scale drawn on the map. On a nautical chart the distance is often measured on the latitude scale appearing on the sides of the map: one minute of arc of latitude is approximately one nautical mile or 1852 metres.

Oddleg caliper

Odd leg calipers Oddleg calipers, Hermaphrodite calipers or Oddleg jennys, or just plain Ol' Jennys, as pictured on the left, are generally used to scribe a line a set distance from the edge of workpiece. The bent leg is used to run along the workpiece edge while the scriber makes its mark at a predetermined distance, this ensures a line parallel to the edge. In the diagram at left, the uppermost caliper has a slight shoulder in the bent leg allowing it to sit on the edge more securely, the lower caliper lacks this feature but has a renewable scriber that can be adjusted for wear, as well as being replaced when excessively worn.

Vernier caliper

Parts of a vernier caliper: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Outside jaws: used to measure external lengths Inside jaws: used to measure internal lengths Depth probe: used to measure depths Main scale (cm) Main scale (inch) Vernier (cm) Vernier (inch) Retainer: used to block movable part to allow the easy transferring a measurement

A variation to the more traditional caliper is the inclusion of a vernier scale; this makes it possible to directly obtain a more precise measurement.

Vernier calipers can measure internal dimensions (using the uppermost jaws in the picture at right), external dimensions using the pictured lower jaws, and depending on the manufacturer, depth measurements by the use of a probe that is attached to the movable head and slides along the centre of the body. This probe is slender and can get into deep grooves that may prove difficult for other measuring tools. The vernier scales will often include both metric and Imperial measurements on the upper and lower part of the scale. Vernier calipers commonly used in industry provide a precision to a hundredth of a millimetre (10 micrometres), or one thousandth of an inch. A more accurate instrument used for the same purpose is the micrometer.

Dial caliper

Mitutoyo dial caliper A further refinement to the vernier caliper is the dial caliper. In this instrument, a small gear rack drives a pointer on a circular dial. Typically, the pointer rotates once every inch, tenth of an inch, or 1 millimetre, allowing for a direct reading without the need to read a vernier scale (although one still needs to add the basic inches or tens of millimeters value read from the slide of the caliper). The dial is usually arranged to be rotatable beneath the pointer, allowing for "differential" measurements (the measuring of the difference in size between two objects, or the setting of the dial using a master object and subsequently being able to read directly the plus-or-minus variance in size of subsequent objects relative to the master object). The slide of a dial caliper can usually be locked at a setting using a small lever or screw; this allows simple go/no-go checks of part sizes.

Digital caliper

Digital caliper A refinement now popular is the replacement of the analog dial with an electronic digital display. This version of the caliper allows reading the value directly from a single display. Many digital calipers can be switched between metric and imperial units. All provide for zeroing the display at any point along the slide, allowing the same sort of differential measurements as with the dial caliper but without the need to read numbers that may be upside down. Digital calipers may contain some sort of "reading hold" feature, allowing the reading of dimensions even in awkward locations where the display cannot be seen. With all of these benefits, digital calipers have by no means replaced the dial caliper. Digital calipers typically do not have the beam structure of a dial or vernier caliper and therefore do not have the repeatability or accuracy to an amateur user. Dial calipers have the potential to last much longer with their repairability.[citation needed] Increasingly, digital calipers offer a serial data output to allow them to be interfaced with a personal computer. This means measurements can be taken and instantly stored in a spreadsheet or similar piece of software, significantly decreasing the time taken to take and record a series of measurements. The output of non-name brand calipers is usually 24 bit 90 kHz synchronous. A suitable interface to convert the output to RS-232 levels and format can be built or purchased. Like dial calipers, the slide of a digital caliper can usually be locked using a lever or thumb-screw. Both dial and digital calipers can be used with accessories that extend their usefulness. Examples are a base that extends their usefulness as a depth gauge and a jaw attachment that allows measuring the center distance between holes. Digital calipers contain a linear encoder. A pattern of bars is etched directly on the Printed circuit board in the slider. Under the scale of the caliper another printed circuit board also contains an etched pattern of lines. The combination of these printed circuit boards forms two variable Capacitors. As the slider moves the capacitance changes in a linear fashion and in a repeating pattern. The two capacitances are out of phase. The circuitry built into the slider counts the bars as the slider moves and does a linear interpolation based on the magnitudes of the capacitors to find the precise position of the

slider.

Micrometer caliper
A caliper with a micrometer built in is called a micrometer caliper or, more often, simply a micrometer. (Sometimes the term caliper, referring to any other type in this article, is held in contradistinction to micrometer.)

Use

Using the vernier caliper A caliper must be properly applied against the part in order to take the desired measurement. For example, when measuring the thickness of a plate a vernier caliper must be held at right angles to the piece. Some practice may be needed to measure round or irregular objects correctly. Accuracy of measurement when using a caliper is highly dependent on the skill of the operator. Regardless of type, a caliper's jaws must be forced into contact with the part being measured. As both part and caliper are always to some extent elastic, the amount of force used affects the indication. A consistent, firm touch is correct. Too much force results in an underindication as part and tool distort; too little force gives insufficient contact and an overindication. This is a greater problem with a caliper incorporating a wheel, which lends mechanical advantage. This is especially the case with digital calipers, calipers out of adjustment, or calipers with a poor quality beam. Simple calipers are uncalibrated; the measurement taken must be compared against a scale. Whether the scale is part of the caliper or not, all analog calipers -- verniers and dials -- require good eyesight in order to achieve the highest precision. Digital calipers have the advantage in this area. Calibrated calipers may be mishandled, leading to loss of zero. When a calipers' jaws are fully closed, it should of course indicate zero. If it does not, it must be recalibrated or

repaired. It might seem that a vernier caliper cannot get out of calibration but a drop or knock can be enough. Digital calipers have zero set buttons. In later years (maybe since the 1990s) a clever modification of the moveable jaw on the back side of any caliper allows for "step"-measurements. For example: the distance from the side of a screw head to the edge of a surface.

b)Micrometer (device)

Outside, inside, and depth micrometers A micrometer (pronounced /mkrmtr/) (enPR: m-krm-tr), sometimes known as a micrometer screw gauge, is a device used widely in mechanical engineering and machining for precisely measuring, along with other metrological instruments such as dial calipers and vernier calipers. Micrometers are often, but not always, in the form of calipers. Colloquially the word micrometer is often shortened to mic (IPA: /mk/) (enPR: mk).

Types
Basic types
The image shows three common types of micrometers; the names are based on their application:

Outside micrometer (aka micrometer caliper) Inside micrometer

Depth micrometer Bore micrometer Tube micrometer

An outside micrometer is typically used to measure wires, spheres, shafts and blocks. An inside micrometer is commonly used to measure the diameter of holes, and a depth micrometer typically measures depths of slots and steps. The bore micrometer is typically a three anvil head on a micrometer base used to accurately measure inside diameters. Tube micrometers are used to measure the thickness of tubes.

Specialized types
Each type of micrometer caliper can be fitted with specialized anvils and spindle tips for particular measuring tasks. For example, the anvil may be shaped in the form of a segment of screw thread; in the form of a v-block; in the form of a large disc; etc. Universal micrometer sets come with interchangeable anvils: flat, spherical, spline, disk, blade, point, knife-edge, etc. The term universal micrometer may also refer to a type of micrometer whose frame has modular components, allowing one micrometer to function as outside mic, depth mic, step mic, etc. Blade mics have a matching set of narrow tips (blades). They allow, for example, the measuring of a narrow o-ring groove. Pitch-diameter mics have a matching set of thread-shaped tips for measuring the pitch diameter of screw threads. Limit mics have two anvils and two spindles, and are used like a snap gauge. The part being checked must pass through the first gap and must stop at the second gap in order to be within specification. Micrometer stops are essentially inside mics that are mounted on the table of a manual milling machine or other machine tool, in place of simple stops. They help the operator to position the table precisely.

Operating principles
The accuracy of a micrometer derives from the accuracy of the threadform of the screw that is at its heart. The basic operating principles of a micrometer are as follows: 1. The amount of rotation of an accurately made screw can be directly and precisely correlated to a certain amount of axial movement (and vice versa), through the constant known as the screw's lead (/li:d/). A screw's lead is the distance it

moves forward axially with one complete turn (360). (In most threads [that is, in all single-start threads], lead and pitch refer to essentially the same concept.) 2. With an appropriate lead and major diameter of the screw, a given amount of axial movement will be amplified in the resulting circumferential movement. For example, if the lead of a screw is 1 mm, but the major diameter (here, outer diameter) is 10 mm, then the circumference of the screw is 10, or about 31.4 mm. Therefore, an axial movement of 1 mm is amplified (magnified) to a circumferential movement of 31.4 mm. This amplification allows a small difference in the sizes of two similar measured objects to correlate to a larger difference in the position of a micrometer's thimble.

Parts
The parts of a micrometer caliper, labeled. (Notice also that there is a handy decimalfraction equivalents chart printed right on the frame of this inch-reading micrometer.)

anvil: The shiny part that the spindle moves toward, and that the thing to be measured rests against. barrel/sleeve: Also called the stock. The stationary round part with the linear scale on it. Sometimes vernier markings. frame: The C-shaped body that holds the anvil and barrel in constant relation to each other. It is thick because it needs to minimize flexion, expansion, and contraction, which would distort the measurement. lock-ring/lock nut/thimble lock: The knurled part (or lever) that one can tighten to hold the spindle stationary, such as when momentarily holding a measurement. screw (not seen): The heart of the micrometer, as explained under "Operating principles". It is inside the barrel. (No wonder that the usual name for the device in German is Messschraube, literally "measuring screw".) spindle: The shiny cylindrical part that the thimble causes to move toward the anvil. thimble: The part that one's thumb turns. Graduated markings. ratchet stop: (not shown in illustration) Device on end of handle that limits applied pressure by slipping at a calibrated torque.

References: Starrett Parts of an Outside micrometer wikiHow

Reading
Inch system

Micrometer thimble showing 0.276 inch The spindle of an inch-system micrometer has 40 threads per inch, so that one turn moves the spindle axially 0.025 inch (1 40 = 0.025), equal to the distance between two graduations on the frame. The 25 graduations on the thimble allow the 0.025 inch to be further divided, so that turning the thimble through one division moves the spindle axially 0.001 inch (0.025 25 = 0.001). Thus, the reading is given by the number of whole divisions that are visible on the scale of the frame, multiplied by 25 (the number of thousandths of an inch that each division represents), plus the number of that division on the thimble which coincides with the axial zero line on the frame. The result will be the diameter expressed in thousandths of an inch. As the numbers 1, 2, 3, etc., appear below every fourth sub-division on the frame, indicating hundreds of thousandths, the reading can easily be taken mentally. Suppose the thimble were screwed out so that graduation 2, and three additional subdivisions, were visible (as shown in the image), and that graduation 1 on the thimble coincided with the axial line on the frame. The reading then would be 0.2000 + 0.075 + 0.001, or .276 inch.

Metric system

Micrometer thimble reading 5.78mm The spindle of an ordinary metric micrometer has 2 threads per millimetre, and thus one complete revolution moves the spindle through a distance of 0.5 millimetre. The longitudinal line on the frame is graduated with 1 millimetre divisions and 0.5 millimetre subdivisions. The thimble has 50 graduations, each being 0.01 millimetre (one-hundredth of a millimetre). Thus, the reading is given by the number of millimetre divisions visible on the scale of the sleeve plus the particular division on the thimble which coincides with the axial line on the sleeve.

Suppose that the thimble were screwed out so that graduation 5, and one additional 0.5 subdivision were visible (as shown in the image), and that graduation 28 on the thimble coincided with the axial line on the sleeve. The reading then would be 5.00 + 0.5 + 0.28 = 5.78 mm.

Vernier

Micrometer sleeve (with vernier) reading 5.783mm Some micrometers are provided with a vernier scale on the sleeve in addition to the regular graduations. These permit measurements within 0.001 millimetre to be made on metric micrometers, or 0.0001 inches on inch-system micrometers. The additional digit of these micrometers is obtained by finding the line on the sleeve vernier scale which exactly coincides with one on the thimble. The number of this coinciding vernier line represents the additional digit. Thus, the reading for metric micrometers of this type is the number of whole millimetres (if any) and the number of hundredths of a millimetre, as with an ordinary micrometer, and the number of thousandths of a millimetre given by the coinciding vernier line on the sleeve vernier scale. For example, a measurement of 5.783 millimetres would be obtained by reading 5.5 millimetres on the sleeve, and then adding 0.28 millimetre as determined by the thimble. The vernier would then be used to read the 0.003 (as shown in the image). Inch micrometers are read in a similar fashion. Note: 0.01 millimetre = 0.000393 inch, and 0.002 millimetre = 0.000078 inch (78 millionths) or alternately, 0.0001 inch = 0.00254 millimetres. Therefore, metric micrometers provide smaller measuring increments than comparable inch unit micrometersthe smallest graduation of an ordinary inch reading micrometer is 0.001 inch; the vernier type has graduations down to 0.0001 inch (0.00254 mm). When using either a metric or inch micrometer, without a vernier, smaller readings than those graduated may of course be obtained by visual interpolation between graduations.

Torque repeatability via torque-limiting ratchets or sleeves

An additional feature of many micrometers is the inclusion of a torque-limiting device on the thimbleeither a spring-loaded ratchet or a friction sleeve. Normally, one could use the mechanical advantage of the screw to force the micrometer to squeeze the material or tighten the screw threads, giving an inaccurate measurement. However, by attaching a thimble that will ratchet or friction slip at a certain torque, the micrometer will not continue to advance once sufficient resistance is encountered. This results in greater accuracy and repeatability of measurementsmost especially for low-skilled or semiskilled workers, who may not have developed the light, consistent touch of a skilled user. The accuracy of micrometers is checked by using them to measure gauge blocks, rods, or similar standards whose lengths are precisely and accurately known. If the gauge block is known to be 0.7500" ( .00005"), then the micrometer should measure it as 0.7500". If the micrometer measures 0.7516", then it is out of calibration. The accuracy of the gauge blocks themselves is traceable through a chain of comparisons back to a master standard, such as are maintained in Paris, Washington, D.C., etc.

History of the device and its name

Gascoigne's Micrometer as drawn by Robert Hooke The word micrometer is a neoclassical coinage from Greek micros, "small", and metron, "measure". Merriam-Webster Collegiate[1] says that English got it from French and that its first known appearance in English writing was in 1670. Neither the metre nor the micrometre nor the micrometer (device) as we know them today existed at that time. However, humans of that time did have much need for, and interest in, the ability to measure small things, and small differences; the word no doubt was coined in reference to this endeavor, even if it did not refer specifically to its present-day senses. The first ever micrometric screw was invented by William Gascoigne in the 17th century, as an enhancement of the vernier; it was used in a telescope to measure angular distances between stars. Its adaptation for the precise measurement of handheld objects was made by Jean Laurent Palmer of Paris in 1848[2]; the device is therefore often called palmer in French, and tornillo de Palmer ("Palmer screw") in Spanish. (Those languages also use

the micrometer cognates: micromtre, micrmetro.) The micrometer caliper was introduced to the mass market in anglophone countries by Brown & Sharpe in 1867,[3] allowing the penetration of the instrument's use into the average machine shop. Brown & Sharpe were inspired by several earlier devices, one of them being Palmer's design. In 1888 Edward Williams Morley added to the precision of micrometric measurements and proved their accuracy in a complex series of experiments.