Machinists use various tools to make or repair metal parts, including milling machines, lathes, grinders, and gauges. CNC machines are used for mass production. Different materials require different cutting tools and skills.
A machinist uses a variety of tools to make or repair metal parts. Some machinist’s tools are quite large and are used for cutting, drilling or tapping. These include milling machines, drill presses, lathes, saws and grinders. Numerous table and hand tools are also found in machine shops, such as calipers, calipers, belt sanders, and noni. Job shops and some precision shops often use hand-controlled tools, while manufacturing shops use computer numerical control (CNC) machines.
Mills are some of the most versatile machinist’s tools. The mill feeds the material in front of a rotating tooth cutter which can cut both flat and uneven surfaces. It can also be used for gear and thread cutting, drilling, reaming, slotting and key cutting. Milling machines can be vertical or horizontal, depending on the positioning of the spindle to which the milling cutter is attached.
Lathes are the most widely used machinist’s tools. Unlike milling cutters, which hold material in place as the cutter moves, lathes rotate a piece of material around a stationary cutting tool. These tools are used with metal, wood and glass. They can cut, plane surfaces and screw threads. Pool cues, candle holders, decorated chair and table legs, baseball bats, wooden plates, and musical instruments are also shaped on lathes.
Grinders are hand-held power tools that use abrasive discs to remove excess material from a finished piece. Angle grinders can be motor, gas or pneumatic (compressed air). Grinders are usually pneumatic tools and use a cutter or stone instead of a disc. Table saws, jigsaws, and band saws can also be found in most machine shops.
Machinist’s tools also include a variety of gauges. These are used to obtain precise measurements of both internal and external dimensions. The vernier caliper, invented in the 19th century and still one of the most widely used today, measures to the thousandth of an inch. Dial gauges, plane gauges, ring gauges and telescopic gauges also measure the tolerances of machined parts.
The need to mass produce large quantities of identical parts led to computerized machinist tools. These are mills, lathes, etc. traditional, designed to be controlled by computers rather than handwheels and dials. Creating a part often involves a series of steps using multiple machines. In some shops, single CNC lathes and mills are used, with a human or robotic operator moving the part between machines. Other shops use a CNC machining center that combines multiple machines into one cell.
The type of machinist tools and cutting accessories available vary according to the type of material being machined. Cutting tools for ornamental work are very different from those used for machining automobiles or glass blowing. Hand-operated machines require dexterity and mechanical aptitude. Computer training is required to operate CNC machines. All machine work requires knowledge of the type of material being processed.
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