Machining - Stages in Metal Cutting

Stages in Metal Cutting

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 0.4-1.25 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 (0.030-0.075 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.

Today other forms of metal cutting are becoming increasingly popular. An example of this is water jet cutting. Water jet cutting involves pressurized water in excess of 620 MPa (90 000 psi) and is able to cut metal and have a finished product. This process is called cold cutting, and it increases efficiency as opposed to laser and plasma cutting.