What is a milling machine?

A milling machine is a machine tool in which a cutting tool called a "milling

cutter" rotates on a horizontal or vertical axis and a workpiece is placed or fixed
on a horizontal table to be shaped (machined) with the milling cutter. By
bringing the cutter to the workpiece on the table, the cutter cuts and shapes it.

A milling machine is a tool designed to machine metal, wood and other solid
materials. It is also known as a multitasking machine because they are multi-
purpose machines capable of milling and turning materials. In the following
image you can see a typical milling machine. Later we will see all its parts.

Milling is a process carried out with a milling machine. In this process the blades
rotate to remove the material from the workpiece present in the direction of the
angle with the tool axis. With the help of the milling machines you can perform
many operations and functions with small or very large objects.

Milling machining is one of the most common manufacturing processes used in

workshops and machinery industries to manufacture high precision products
and parts in different shapes and sizes.

Depending on the type of metal that a router needs to cut, they can adapt their
cutting speed. Generally, softer materials are cut at higher speeds and hard
materials are typically cut at a slower rate. The hardness of a material also
influences the amount of material that can be milled at the same time, so that
harder metals usually take much longer to mill than soft metals.

The cutting tool of the milling machine is called a milling cutter. There are many
different strawberries depending on the shape of the cut that we want to give to
the piece of work.
 Milling machines have existed for a long time, and they have always been able
to make very precise and precise cuts, but with the start of numerical control of
computers, they have become even more versatile. Today, milling machines are
used in a variety of industries for a wide range of purposes.

Often, automated milling machines can be placed in vertical or horizontal

orientation to carve materials based on a pre-existing design. These designs
are often driven by CAD (computer aided design), and many milling machines
are CNC-operated, although manual and traditionally automated milling devices
are also common. The milling machines are capable of dynamic movement,
both of the tool and the work piece, and many milling machines can perform the
machining of multiple axes.

Parts of a milling machine

Most milling machines have stand-alone electric drive motors, cooling systems,
variable spindle speeds and electric powered table feeders.

Let's see with an image the main parts of any milling machine:

Here we leave you a video where you can see all the parts and how a milling
machine works for the machining of a piece.

Types of Milling machines

The milling machines are classified by their orientation to their piece of work
and their degree of movement. According to your orientation we have Vertical,
Horizontal and Universal.

Vertical milling machine

The milling machine in which the axis of the spindle is perpendicular to the
work table is called a vertical milling machine.
Horizontal milling machine

In the horizontal milling machine, the axis of rotation of the spindle is horizontal
to the table.

Universal Horizontal Milling Machine

A universal horizontal milling machine differs from the simple horizontal type
because it has a rotating work table, which allows the table to move 45 degrees
from the standard horizontal position. This movement of the workpiece allows
simpler angular or helical milling operations.

CNC milling machines

The numerical control can be defined as a form of programmable automation in

which the process is controlled by numbers, letters and symbols. In the case of
machine tools, such as the milling machine, this programmable automation is
used for the operation of the machines.

The milling machines by CNC (CNC) are those in which the process of
machining the parts by the machine is done by the interpretation of an
alphanumeric code or program.

CNC = Computerized Numerical Control

The first milling machines were automated manually or mechanically, but
technological advances have led to the development of Computational
Numerical Control to automate the processes of machines. A program is
required to operate the milling machine, a program that can be generated
manually or using the software of Computer Aided Design / Computer Aided
Manufacturing (CAD / CAM).

Milling operations with the milling machine

Let's see the 15 operations that are most worked with a milling machine:

1. Front milling

This operation makes flat surfaces on the face of the work piece. This
machining operation is performed on the surfaces that are perpendicular to the
axis of the blade. The operation is carried out with the front mill mounted on the
machine shaft.

2. Side milling

It is the machining process that produces a flat vertical surface on the sides of
a workpiece. This operation is carried out using a side cutter.
3. Flat milling

It is a process of milling flat surfaces keeping the axis of the cutter parallel to
the surface being milled. It is also called surface milling or slab milling. A flat
milling machine is used for simple milling.

4. Straddle milling

It is a process in which two lateral cutters are used to machine two opposite
sides of a work piece simultaneously. The operation of fork milling is shown in
the figure that is provided below.

5. Angled milling
 It is a process of milling flat surfaces that are not parallel or perpendicular to
the axis of the milling cutter. It is also called angle milling. A single-angle bur is
used to perform this operation.

6. Milling of gangs

It is the machining process in which two or more milling cutters are used
together to perform different milling operations simultaneously. In gang milling,
the cutters are mounted on the tree.

7. Milling of the form

It is the process of machining a special contour (contour) composed of curves,

straight lines, or completely curves, in a single cut. To carry out this operation,
burs formed to the contour to be cut are used. This operation is carried out
using convex, concave and corner rounding mills.

8. Profiling grinding

This milling operation is used to cut a profile on the workpiece.

9. End of milling

It is the process of producing flat surfaces that can be horizontal, vertical and at
any angle with reference to the work table. The end mills are used to perform
this operation.

10. Milling saw

It is a machining process that is used to produce narrow grooves or grooves in

the work piece. It is also used to divide the work piece into two equal or unequal
parts. This milling operation is carried out using a saw mill. The width of this
cutter is much lower compared to the width of the work piece.

11. Grinding of the main shapes, grooves and grooves

This milling operation is used to produce key shapes, grooves and grooves in
the workpiece.

12. Gear milling

It is the milling process that is used to cut gears in the work piece. This
operation is done through the use of formed cutters called involute gear cutters.

13. Helical milling

This milling operation is performed to produce objects with helical design, such
as helical gears, twisted drills, etc., which is performed on the periphery of the
cylindrical workpiece.

14. Milling of cams

 It is a machining process that is used to make cams. The cams are used to
open and close valves in internal combustion engines.

15. Thread milling

It is the milling process used to cut threads in the cylindrical workpiece.

Milling machine
A milling machine is a machine tool whose function is to create pieces of certain
shapes, through a process of machining them, with the use of a rotating tool
called a milling machine. Machining is a manufacturing mode by removal of
material both by abrasion and chip removal.

A milling machine can be used in a wide variety of materials: it is usually applied

to metals, such as steel and bronze, and also to wood and plastic.
It is recognized as the first of these machines invented by Eli Whitney in 1818,
to be able to fulfill the task of the government of the United States of America to
produce 10,000 rifles in a massive way at a low price. For the time, the
production of weapons was done by hand with a lot of manual labor. However,
with the use of the milling machine, the constituent parts of the arms could be
manufactured following a pattern and thus speed up production.

Subsequently, this type of machine tool evolved allowing different kinds of

machining, and consequently different milling machines were born to meet the
growing needs.
Within the families of milling machines you can distinguish the following:
• By orientation of the strawberry
• By the number of axes
• Specials
Milling machines for Strawberry Orientation
The horizontal milling machines consist of a column where a cylindrical milling
cutter is supported on one end and on the other by a bearing. The main function
of this device is the production of slots of different thickness, as well as several
of those at the same time with special parallel milling cutters, which are known
as "milling train", thus improving the productivity of the work. Watch horizontal
milling video
The vertical milling machines, on the other hand, have the tool spindle, so that
the milling cutter rotates on its horizontal axis and perpendicular to the
workpiece. A feature of this tool is the ability to move vertically, because the
table rises with the piece or the head descends towards it. Watch video of a
homemade vertical milling machine!

Two subtypes of this machine are known. On the one hand there is the vertical
milling machine with fixed bench, whose particularity is that its head is without
any movement other than that of the milling cutter, so the movements that
create the machining only come from the table.

On the other hand, there is the vertical turret milling machine, which differs from
the previous one because its head can make a horizontal movement of 180 °
with respect to the horizontal axis of the piece.
Finally, we find the universal milling machines, whose particularity is that it has
two tool holders: the first one is in the head, where the spindle for the milling
cutter is, with a wide range of movements in different directions, both horizontal
and vertical. The second is on your table with the similarity of a lathe, where the
piece to be machined is placed. With both tool holders together working, you
can create pieces of amazing complexity. This milling machine of the previous
ones stands out for its versatility at work time. See video universal milling
machine

Milling machines by axis

Shafts of a milling machine

Depending on their ability to move the strawberry through the piece, the milling
machines are divided into the following families:
Three axis milling machines: these machines are characterized because their
machining capacity is oriented through the three planes of the Cartesian axis. In
the photograph that appears above, the five axes are evident by which a milling
machine can be machined, one of three axes can do it sideways (X), in depth
(Y) and in vertical movement (Z), be it produced by the head that descends like
the table that goes up towards that one.
The four axes: in this case the device can mill through the three previous axes,
plus a circular axis from the center of the head with the mill working in vertical
that can go to the right (W) as to the left (V ).
The five axes: those of this type have the same axes of movement as the
previous ones, but includes a horizontal rotary movement of the piece to be
combined with the others to create more complex machining.

Special milling machines

It should be noted that the universe of milling machines is not limited to the
aforementioned families, but there is a variety of them to achieve specific
machining objectives.
A particular model is the wood milling machine, used in bricolage and carpentry
especially to make grooves on flat surfaces or dovetails. Use strawberries for
wood with the particularity that their teeth are larger and spaced with respect to
those of metal, because they have to evacuate chips.

Copier milling machine

Another model is the copier. Here there are two tables, in one a model is
positioned and there is a "probe", in the other table the workpiece and the cutter
are positioned. The stylus contours the model and the shape of it is replicated in
the piece thanks to the action of the bur.
The circular milling machines have the particularity that their rotary table allows
machining operations with a head with one or more tool holders.
To work with large parts in size, mobile bridge milling machines were designed,
whose head moves as if it were a crane to reach different points to be
machined.
Finally, there are CNC milling machines whose characteristic is that the
computer has a digitally designed model and then copies it to the piece. They
are machines designed to produce a high quantity of pieces with a high level of
precision because the movements are guided by the model in the memory of
the machine.

What is a Lathe?

Turning is to remove part of a piece by a blade or other cutting tool to shape

(mold).

The lathe is a machine tool that realizes the fast turning of pieces of revolution
of metal, wood and plastic. It is also used on many occasions to polish pieces.

Revolution pieces: cylinders, cones and propellers.

Polish: Smooth a piece to leave it soft and shiny.

Turning is, possibly, the first machining operation (shaping a part) that gave
rise to a machine tool.

Apart from turning the lathe can be used for grooving (making grooves in
pieces), for cutting, sanding and polishing. Then we will see the most common
jobs with the winch.

How Shape a Lathe? Turning

Starting from a piece called "base", parts with the blade to the base piece are
eliminated until leaving it with the shape that we want.
The main movement in the turning is the rotation and is carried by the piece to
which we are going to give shape. The movements of advance of the blade and
of penetration (put the blade on the piece to cut it) are generally rectilinear and
are the movements that the cutting tool carries.

In summary we have 3 basic movements:

Movement of rotation: The piece is placed on an axis that turns it on itself.

Advance Movement: The blade advances parallel to the piece in a straight

movement.

Penetration Movement: The blade penetrates the piece cutting part of it forming
shavings.

The control of these 3 movements is basic to shape the piece without errors.

You can turn parts in many ways, with threads, gears, concave, convex, etc .:
Turning is usually done in metal, wood or plastic parts

Parts of the Lathe

The basic parts of a lathe are:

- Bench: is its structure and is usually a large body of cast iron. It serves as a
support and guide for the other parts of the lathe.
 - Main shaft and plate: on this axis the piece is placed so that it turns. At one
end it has a shaft with a pointed end that is mobile, called a counterpoint, to
hold the piece by a point, at the other end the piece is held with a plate. The
plate can be changed using the spindle. The lathe has several plates for
securing the piece to be machined and that will rotate it around an axis. The
piece is held at one end by the plate and the other by the tip of the counterpoint.
The piece is placed on the plate and the counterpoint moves until the piece is
tightened.

The movement of cutting and the linear piece are made by the carts.

- Carriage Tool holders: are the carts that allow to move the cutting tool. There
are 3 different cars:

Longitudinal or Main Carriage: this moves along the bank, either to the left or to
the right. Produces the advance movement of the piece, moving manually or
automatically parallel to the axis of the lathe. It moves along the bench, on
which it rests. The transverse carriage is mounted on this car.

Cross Carriage: moves forward or backward perpendicular to the main carriage.

It is used to give depth. It moves perpendicularly to the axis of the lathe in a
manual way, turning the crank of transversal advance or clipping the lever of
automatic transversal advance. The adjustable carriage or auxiliary carriage is
mounted on this car.

Auxiliary Carrier or Tool Holder: it is a 360 ° rotating base and is mainly used to
make tapers or penetrate the tool at a certain angle. The auxiliary carriage can
only be moved manually by turning the screw handle for its advance. The chisel
or cutting tool is held in the tool turret that is located on the auxiliary carriage.
The Tool Holder Turret, located on the auxiliary carriage, allows several tools to
be mounted in the same turning operation and rotated to determine the angle of
incidence in the material.

- The entire set of cars is supported by a cast iron box called Apron or Tool
Carriage, which has the purpose of containing in its interior the devices that
transmit the movements to the cars.

- Norton box: used to adjust the speeds of the speeds by means of levers that
activate a set of gears that are inside the box.
Operation of the Lathe
A base material is fixed to the mandrel of the lathe (between the main shaft and
the plate).

The lathe is turned on and the mandrel is turned.

It moves the cars where the blade is to the base material.

With the auxiliary carriage the blade moves to make the desired shape on the
base part. Then we will see the forms or operations that can be done with the
lathe.

To see better the operation of a lathe look at the video below.

 The speed at which the workpiece rotates in the lathe is an important factor
and can influence the production volume and the duration of the cutting tool.

A very low speed in the lathe will cause losses of time; a very high speed will
make the tool dull very soon and you will lose time to sharpen it again.
Therefore, the correct speed and feed are important depending on the material
of the piece and the type of cutting tool used.

Nowadays the most modern lathes are called CNC Lathes or by numerical
control. These lathes use a software or computer program with alphanumeric
data according to the XYZ axis and that is able to control all the movements of
the lathe to create the defined piece
through the program. The built-in computer controls the speeds and positions.

Lathe operations

There are several operations that can be performed with a lathe. In the
following image you can see the most important ones:

Displacement: Make a smaller cylinder starting from a larger cylinder (base

cylinder).

Conical turning: Shape cone or cone trunks.

Contours: Shape a part of the base cylinder.

Forms: Make different shapes on the base cylinder.

Chamfering: making a chamfer, or what is the same, a cut or recess in an edge

of a solid body.

Cutting: Cut the piece once finished.

Threading :. Make threads for nuts and screws

Boring: Enlarge a hole.
Drilling: Making holes.

Knurling: Make an engraving on the piece. The piece with which it is made is
called "moleta" that carries on its surface the shape of the engraving that we
want to make on the piece.

Facing: Decrease the length of the piece.

Safety Standards in Work with Lathe

All operators that use the winch must be constantly aware of the safety risks
associated with its use and must know all safety precautions to avoid accidents
and injuries.

Neglect and ignorance are two great threats to personal security. Other
hazards can be mechanically related to work with the winch, such as
maintenance and proper configuration of the machine. Some important safety
precautions to follow when using lathes are:

- The correct clothing is important, remove the rings and watches and roll the
sleeves above the elbows.

- Always stop the lathe before making adjustments.

- Do not change the speed of the shaft until the lathe stops completely.

- Keep the blades sharp and handle them carefully.

- Remove the keys from the chuck before operating.

- Always wear eye protection (glasses).

- Handle the heavy chucks carefully and protect the rails with a block of wood if
necessary.

- Learn where the emergency stop button is before operating with the winch.

- Use pliers or a brush to remove chips, never your hands.

- Never lean on the winch.

- Never place the tools directly on the lathe.

- Never try to measure the work while turning the lathe.

- Protects lane roads when grinding or cleaning.

- Use two hands when sanding the work piece. Do not wrap sandpaper or cloth
around the work piece.
mechanical filer

The mechanical filing machine is a tool and machine (both) with which parts are
machined by chip removal. We will see in detail what it is, how it works, what it
is for, parts and more.

What is a mechanical filer?

The mechanical filing machine is a machine and tool that is used for the
purpose of machining parts, where the cutting tool will move with a rectilinear
movement making a chip removal of the workpiece.
This machine performs functions very similar to a lathe or a milling machine. It
has as a disadvantage that it is more difficult to use than the previous ones and
its range of displacement is very limited. The great advantage it presents is its
low cost and low energy consumption.
Parts of a mechanical filer

• Steering wheel to lower or raise the Charriot (tool carrier).

• Tool trolley.

• Clamp for securing the parts.

• Table
• Support to support the table.
• The bench
• Horizontal slide guides for the table.
• Steering wheel to operate the table manually.
• Clutch lever.
• The clutch pulley to activate the mechanisms.
• Screw to adjust the travel of the ram and fixing brake.
• Screw to select travel of the automatic advance and corresponding brake.
• Steering wheel to locate the route of the ram or torpedo.
• Lever to fix the ram according to the chosen situation.
• Spindle for the vertical movement of the carriage and table assembly.
• Axis to place the action lever to raise and lower the car-table.
• Handwheel for manual movement of the ram, only if the machine is stopped.

Components of the mechanical filing machine

Bench - Is the element responsible for giving stability and support to the
machine. It has two horizontal bars on which the ram slides and two vertical
ones on which the table slides.
• Table - On the vertical guides, a car is supported that has horizontal guides,
where the table moves, making it move vertically by the movement of the car.
• Ram or cart - It is the moving part of the machine. It slides on horizontal bars
that are in the upper part of the bench. This has a turret, whose function is to fix
the cutting tool.
• Drive mechanism of the ram - It can be by different methods. Zipper,
oscillating lever, plate-crank or hydraulic.

Applications of a mechanical filer

• Perform slots.
• Prismatic profiles.
• Milano guides
• Planing and roughing operation.
• Final planning and finishing operation of flat surfaces.
• Cutting and operation of dividing into pieces.
• Grooving and slot for roughing operation in grooves.
• Profiling and roughing operation or finishing on profiled surfaces.