Milling is one of the oldest and most common manufacturing practices, and its most recent iteration is more precise than ever before.
The different types of CNC Milling machines
At its most basic, computer numerical controlled milling, or CNC milling, is a manufacturing process in which a cylindrical cutting tool rotates against a workpiece in multiple directions, guided by a computer program. They can machine parts with tight tolerance, even if the parts have intricate designs.
The most common type of CNC milling machine is the vertical CNC machine. A vertically-oriented spindle holds the workpiece in place while the cutting tool or tools rotate against. These types of machines are ideal for parts that are angled, have slots, holes, or curves, or similar characteristics.
The other, less common type of CNC milling machine is horizontal. These contain horizontally-oriented spindles to hold the workpiece, as well as shorter, more robust cutting tools than their vertically-oriented counterparts. Like other milling machines, CNC horizontal machines are ideal for cutting grooves or slots, but are more suited to working with heavier materials. Because of the orientation, horizontal milling machines can also machine multiple sides of the workpiece as well.
The Advantages of CNC Milling
There are many advantages to CNC Milling. This list is just some of the few.
- They produce less, sometimes no waste in the process of tooling than other manufacturing processes.
- Because this is a computer-guided process, there is far less human error, and even intricate and more complex parts have great accuracy.
- CNC Milling machines can produce models efficiently, swiftly and at a high volume, at low production cost,
- Because of their set-up, they allow for much greater part complexity, as well as easier prototyping and modification
- CNC Milling also has complex drafting and modeling capability compared to other manufacturing processes.
Applications and Industries
CNC Milling has the capability to serve a wide variety of industries, such as metal fabrication, petroleum, and automotive. At Small Parts Machining, we’ve also served partners in even more diverse industries, such as creating NFC components for our partners in Aerospace, graph tools and hearing aid parts for medical companies, and many more. We have also recreated sample parts for some of our clients that are no longer manufactured anywhere in the world.
If you’d like to learn more about the applications of CNC Milling, or if you think CNC Milling is the service you need for your parts, then you can learn more about our capabilities here: (link to website)
CNC Milling is just one of the processes we perform at Small Parts Machining. If you have a design for a prototype or part then contact us today for more information.