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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Manufacturing Processes

Machining

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

/məˈʃiːnɪŋ/nounCore term

In mechanical engineering, machining means: Shaping a part by cutting away material with tools, for example by turning, milling, drilling or grinding, usually on a lathe or a CNC machine.

In Turkish: talaşlı imalat, talaşlı işleme, işleme

How it is used

Used in manufacturing, quoting and design reviews. Parts are machined from bar stock, castings or forgings; engineers talk about machining time, machining cost and machining allowance. A workshop that does this work is a machine shop.

Example sentences

  1. Machining this housing from solid aluminum takes about 40 minutes per part.

  2. Leave a 2 mm machining allowance on the casting.

Common collocations

  • CNC machining
  • machining time
  • machining allowance
  • precision machining
  • machine shop
  • CNCShort for computer numerical control: machine tools such as lathes, mills and routers whose movements are controlled by a program instead of by hand.
  • millingA machining process in which a rotating cutting tool with several teeth removes material from a workpiece to make flat surfaces, slots, pockets and complex shapes.
  • drillingMaking round holes in a workpiece with a rotating cutting tool called a drill or drill bit, on a drill press, on a CNC machine or by hand.
  • surface finishHow smooth or rough a surface is after it has been made, usually given as a roughness value such as Ra 1.6 µm.
  • castingMaking a part by pouring molten metal into a mold and letting it harden. The word also means a part made in this way.

More terms: Manufacturing Processes

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