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Machining and Metal Parts
Cutting, finishing, tooling, casting and measuring metal parts accurately and economically.
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Chapters
- 01Designing parts that are economical to machine: set-ups, features, tolerances and cutting economicsMachining cost is set by set-ups, cutting time, tooling and tolerances, most of which the designer controls. Practical design rules and the cutting economics behind a fair price.
- 02Cutting tool materials and coatings: choosing carbide grades, inserts and coatings that payHow high-speed steel, carbide, cermet, ceramic, CBN and PCD tools differ, how ISO material groups and insert codes work, what coatings do, how tools wear and how to choose tools on cost per part.
- 03Workholding and toolholding: vices, chucks, zero-point systems, tapers and holdersHow standard workholding and toolholding choices affect accuracy, tool life, set-up time and safety, from vices and chucks to zero-point pallets, spindle tapers, collets and shrink-fit holders.
- 04Drilling, reaming and tapping: making holes that are the right size, in the right placeA practical guide to holemaking for designers, buyers and workshop leaders: drill types and points, deep holes, reaming allowances, boring, countersinks, tap selection and tapped-hole design.
- 05Milling cutters and milling strategies: speeds, feeds, chip thickness and parts that are easy to millHow milling works, the main cutter types, climb versus conventional milling, calculating speed and feed, chip thinning, adaptive toolpaths, chatter and design rules that make milled parts cheaper.
- 06Specialised machining operations: broaching, keyways, splines, knurling and indexingHow keyways, splines, hexagon holes, knurls and evenly spaced features are made, when broaching pays, the CNC alternatives and the design details that keep these features economical.
- 07Grinding, honing and lapping: finishing hard parts to tight tolerancesHow abrasive processes work, how to read a grinding wheel specification, the main grinding methods, honing and lapping, avoiding grinding burn and the design details that make finishing easier.
- 08EDM, micromachining and other non-traditional processes: when cutting tools are not the answerHow wire and sinker EDM work, what they can and cannot do, the recast layer, other non-traditional processes such as ECM, etching and ultrasonic machining, and the challenges of very small features.
- 09CNC programming and CAM: from CAD model to proven program without crashes or scrapHow CNC programs work, the coordinate systems and offsets behind them, the CAM workflow from model to post-processor, safe prove-out and the controls that keep programs, tools and drawings in step.
- 10Choosing a cutting process for plate and sheet: laser, plasma, oxy-fuel, waterjet, sawing and punchingThe cutting process decides edge quality, accuracy, heat effects, downstream work and cost. How laser, plasma, oxy-fuel, waterjet, EDM, sawing and punching compare, and how to choose.
- 11Press tools and dies: how sheet metal parts are blanked, pierced and formed in volumeHow press tools work, punch and die clearance, estimating press force, single, compound, progressive and transfer dies, strip layout, forming and springback, press safety and when tooling pays.
- 12Choosing tool steels for dies, punches, moulds and fixturesHow tool steel families differ, the trade-off between wear resistance and toughness, matching grades to dies, moulds and fixtures, and the heat treatment decisions that make or break tooling.
- 13Designing parts for casting: walls, draft, cores, shrinkage and working with your foundryHow solidification shapes casting design, the rules for wall thickness, fillets, draft, cores and machining allowances, how to choose between sand and die casting on volume, and how to avoid porosity.
- 14Choosing and using measuring instruments: callipers, micrometers, indicators, gauges and CMMsHow to match measuring instruments to tolerances, why technique, temperature and calibration matter as much as resolution, and how to plan inspection so that measurements can be trusted.
These topic-based reading collections are organised alphabetically; chapters may be read in any order.
Apply This in Practice
Use these BIZOMAT tools to try the method from this reading with your own numbers.
Explained in this book
Taper Shank Holding Check (Drilling Torque, Thrust, Taper Friction Torque, Self-Holding)
Calculates whether a self-holding taper shank carries the drilling torque by friction from the thrust, or needs its tang or a drawbar.
Used in Workholding and toolholding: vices, chucks, zero-point systems, tapers and holders
Applies this method
Casting Pattern Plan (Machining Allowance, Shrinkage, Casting and Pour Weight)
Plans a casting pattern with machining allowance and shrinkage, and estimates casting and pour weight.
Used in Designing parts for casting: walls, draft, cores, shrinkage and working with your foundry
Applies this method
EDM Sinker Plan (Current for the Electrode, Duty Cycle, Roughing and Finishing Time, Electrode Wear and Sizes)
Plans a sinker EDM cavity: roughing current, roughing and finishing time, how many roughing electrodes wear out, electrode undersize and cost.
Used in EDM, micromachining and other non-traditional processes: when cutting tools are not the answer
Applies this method
Face Milling Power Plan (Teeth, Chip Thickness, kc, Spindle Power)
Plans a face milling cut: teeth in the cut, chip thickness, specific cutting force and spindle power.
Applies this method
Grinding Wheel Cost Plan (Wear from G-Ratio, Dressing, Parts per Wheel, Cost per Part)
Puts numbers on wheel use: wear from the grinding ratio, wheel lost to dressing, parts per wheel and grinding cost per part.
Used in Grinding, honing and lapping: finishing hard parts to tight tolerances
Applies this method
Milling Cut Planner (Speed, Thinned Feed, Power and Torque)
Plans a milling cut: spindle speed, chip-thinned feed per tooth, power and torque.
Applies this method
Pattern Size for Shrinkage and Casting Weight from Pattern
Gives a pattern dimension from the finished size, machining allowance and the metal’s shrinkage.
Used in Designing parts for casting: walls, draft, cores, shrinkage and working with your foundry
Applies this method
Press Tonnage for a Compound or Progressive Die
Adds up the press load for a compound or progressive die stage from its blanking, piercing and notching forces.
Used in Press tools and dies: how sheet metal parts are blanked, pierced and formed in volume
Applies this method
Punching Operation Plan (Force, Stripping, Punch Stress, Clearance)
Plans a piercing or blanking operation: cutting force, stripping force, punch stress and clearance.
Used in Press tools and dies: how sheet metal parts are blanked, pierced and formed in volume
Applies this method
Reaming Plan (Drilled Size, Stock, Speeds, Cycle Time, Holes per Reamer)
Turns the reaming allowance advice into numbers: pilot drill size, stock per side against a range, speeds, cycle time and holes per reamer.
Used in Drilling, reaming and tapping: making holes that are the right size, in the right place
Applies this method
Tapped Hole Design (Drill, Engagement and Depth)
Designs a blind tapped hole: tap drill for the thread percentage, engagement length and depth.
Used in Drilling, reaming and tapping: making holes that are the right size, in the right place
Applies this method
Wire EDM Cut Plan (Kerf, Wire Offset and Corner Radius, Cutting and Skim Time, Wire Use, Tension, Cost)
Works out the kerf, the smallest inside corner the wire can leave, cutting and skim time, wire use and cost for a wire EDM profile.
Used in EDM, micromachining and other non-traditional processes: when cutting tools are not the answer
Related Tools and Examples
Useful alongside
Casting Solidification Time and Riser Check
Puts numbers on solidification with Chvorinov’s rule and checks a riser, alongside this chapter’s design rules for how castings solidify.
Related to Designing parts for casting: walls, draft, cores, shrinkage and working with your foundry
Useful alongside
Compound Indexing on a Dividing Head (Exact and Approximate Movements, Error at the Work)
Takes this chapter’s simple indexing on a 40:1 head on to the compound movements it says reach numbers simple indexing cannot, with the error an approximate movement leaves at the work.
Related to Specialised machining operations: broaching, keyways, splines, knurling and indexing
Useful alongside
Cutting Insert Consumption and Reorder Plan (Tool Life, Parts per Edge, Monthly Use, Reorder Point)
Shows how the chapter’s point that tool life falls steeply with speed changes insert use, cost per part and stock.
Related to Cutting tool materials and coatings: choosing carbide grades, inserts and coatings that pay
Useful alongside
Dowel Pin Joint Check (Pin Shear, Bearing, Fit Interference, Engagement)
Checks the dowel pins that reamed H7 holes are made for: shear, bearing, the fit from the limits and the engagement in each part.
Related to Drilling, reaming and tapping: making holes that are the right size, in the right place
Useful alongside
Ductile-Regime Critical Depth of Cut for Brittle Materials
Adds the depth of cut below which brittle materials such as silicon and glass machine without fracture, for the micromachining this chapter covers.
Related to EDM, micromachining and other non-traditional processes: when cutting tools are not the answer
Useful alongside
Grinding Wheel Life and Removal Rate Plan (Taylor Line at an Equivalent Chip Thickness, Shop Calibration)
Sets the wheel speed for a wanted wheel life between dressings and calibrates it with one shop result, as this chapter’s dressing-interval trial does.
Related to Grinding, honing and lapping: finishing hard parts to tight tolerances
Useful alongside
Helical Gear Hobbing Change Gears (Machine Without Differential, Feed Correction, Lead Error)
Works out the index and feed change gears for the fixed hob-to-blank ratio this chapter describes, for helical gears on a machine without a differential.
Related to Specialised machining operations: broaching, keyways, splines, knurling and indexing
Useful alongside
Laser Cutting Plan (Focused Spot, Power Density, Depth of Focus, Cutting Speed by Power and Thickness, Time and Cost)
Puts numbers on a laser cut once laser is chosen: focused spot, power density, depth of focus, speed by thickness and cost per part.
Useful alongside
Micro-Droplet Adhesion on a Rotating Micro Tool (MQL)
Checks whether mist lubricant will stay on the small, fast-spinning micro mills and drills this chapter describes.
Related to EDM, micromachining and other non-traditional processes: when cutting tools are not the answer
Useful alongside
Milling Mean Chip Thickness and Equivalent Chip Thickness (Feed per Tooth for Light Radial Cuts)
Works out how far the chip thins at a light radial cut and the feed per tooth that restores it, the chip thinning this chapter explains for adaptive and high-speed toolpaths.
Useful alongside
Slender Work Turning Check (Work Deflection, Diameter Error, Steady Rest Spacing)
Finds how many steady rests a long, slender part needs to hold its diameter tolerance while it is turned.
Related to Workholding and toolholding: vices, chucks, zero-point systems, tapers and holders
Useful alongside
Slot Milling against High-Speed End Milling (Feed Rate, Equivalent Tooling Time, Cost per Part)
Puts a cost per part on the choice this chapter describes between full-width slotting and adaptive or trochoidal toolpaths at light radial engagement.
Useful alongside
Spline Shaft Milling Cutter (Cutter Angle and Chordal Width at the Root)
Gives the cutter angle and chordal width of the form cutter for milling straight-sided splines, the small-quantity method this chapter lists beside hobbing, shaping and broaching.
Related to Specialised machining operations: broaching, keyways, splines, knurling and indexing
Useful alongside
Unified Inch Thread Gauge Sizes (GO and NOT GO Plugs, Rings and Setting Gauges)
Gives the sizes of the GO and NOT GO thread gauges this chapter describes for checking threads against their limits, and how much of the product tolerance the gauge tolerances take.
Related to Choosing and using measuring instruments: callipers, micrometers, indicators, gauges and CMMs
Useful alongside
Vacuum Table Workholding Check (Holding Force, Milling Force, Sliding Safety Factor)
Checks whether a vacuum fixture, which the chapter lists for thin flat parts, holds against the milling force with your safety factor.
Related to Workholding and toolholding: vices, chucks, zero-point systems, tapers and holders
Useful alongside
Woodruff Key Check (Key Shear, Hub and Shaft Bearing, Weakened Shaft Torsion)
Checks the Woodruff key a keyseat cutter makes the seat for: key shear, hub and shaft bearing and the weakened shaft in torsion.
Related to Specialised machining operations: broaching, keyways, splines, knurling and indexing