Fundamentals
Fundamentals — Wiki
Core concepts every machinist needs first — how CNC works, how machines move, and the working vocabulary of the trade.
19 entries in this group.
- Accuracy vs Repeatability vs ResolutionAccuracy is closeness to true position; repeatability is how consistently the machine returns to the same spot; resolution is the smallest step it can command.Sep 7, 2026
- Chip Control & BreakingChip control is making the swarf leave the cut safely — breaking long ribbons into manageable chips before they tangle, clog or cut the operator.Sep 7, 2026
- Chip FormationChip formation is the process by which a cutting tool removes material: the tool edge forces a thin layer of the workpiece to shear away and slide up the tool face as a chip. It is the physical event behind every machining operation.Sep 7, 2026
- Chip ThinningChip thinning is the milling effect where a light radial cut takes a thinner chip than the feed suggests — and why the tool can often be fed faster.Sep 7, 2026
- Chip TypesChip types — continuous, discontinuous and the built-up edge — are the metal's answer to the cut; reading the swarf tells the machinist what the tool is doing.Sep 7, 2026
- Climb vs Conventional MillingClimb vs conventional milling are the two ways a milling cutter is fed — with or against its rotation — and the choice sets chip shape, forces and finish.Sep 7, 2026
- CNC MachiningCNC machining is the automated, subtractive process in which a computer-controlled machine tool cuts a part from a solid block of material.Sep 7, 2026
- Conventional Machining vs CNCConventional machining is a machinist steering the cut by hand; CNC machining is a program steering it — same chips, a different hand on the wheel.Sep 7, 2026
- Cutting ForcesCutting forces are the loads a cut puts on the tool, the work and the machine — the invisible pressures behind deflection, power, wear and vibration.Sep 7, 2026
- Cutting Heat & TemperatureCutting heat is the energy of the cut made visible — the fierce, localised temperature at the edge that drives tool wear, thermal growth and the chip's colour.Sep 7, 2026
- Feeds and SpeedsFeeds and speeds are the cutting parameters that set how a CNC machine removes material: cutting speed decides how fast the cutting edge moves through the work, and feed rate decides how fast the tool advances.Sep 7, 2026
- Material Removal RateMaterial removal rate is the volume of metal a cut removes per minute — the productivity number that connects depth, width, feed and speed.Sep 7, 2026
- Metric vs Imperial MachiningMetric vs imperial machining units, millimetre or inch, set how a CNC program is read; 25.4 mm to the inch, and which system to use.Sep 7, 2026
- Rigidity, Stiffness & DampingRigidity, stiffness and damping are the three properties that decide how a cut holds size and stays quiet — how much it flexes and how fast it stops shaking.Sep 7, 2026
- Shop MathShop math is the everyday arithmetic and trigonometry of the machine shop — the fractions, decimals and angles behind every dimension a machinist sets.Sep 7, 2026
- Subtractive vs Additive ManufacturingSubtractive manufacturing cuts from solid stock; additive manufacturing builds it layer by layer. Each wins on different geometry, tolerances and material use.Sep 7, 2026
- Surface GenerationSurface generation is how a cut makes a surface: the tool path and edge leave feed marks, scallops and lay — the texture that Ra and Rz then measure.Sep 7, 2026
- ToleranceTolerance is the allowed variation on a dimension — the band a part may sit in and still work. Tightness is bought with time and scrap, so set it for function.Sep 7, 2026
- Work HardeningWork hardening is metal growing harder as it is deformed — the effect that makes stainless tough to cut and punishes a rubbing, light cut.Sep 7, 2026