Understanding CNC machine terminology is the foundation for effective communication, programming and an accurate machining process. Whether you are a machinist or a production manager, knowing these terms helps to interpret machine specifications, make troubleshooting faster and optimize the machining process.
If you are looking for a complete glossary that explains critical terms on CNC machines for daily interpretations, all the information is right here.
Core CNC Concepts
- Automation: This is the use of advanced systems integrated into machines, minimizing human labor by having the machine conduct more operations on its own.
- Computer control: With various codes and programs, the computer can generate a precise set of instructions that allow the machine to not only move its tools but also conduct various operations.
- Lathe: This is a variation of CNC machines that functions by rotating the material to be machined while cutting the unwanted pieces away.
- Milling machine: In this variation, the machine holds the material being worked on in place while the tools are rotated, allowing them to chip away unwanted materials.
- Machining center: This is a center in the machine that allows for various operations to be carried out by the different machine systems, enabling automation.
- Drilling machine: This type of machine is fitted with a drill that rotates, allowing you to shape holes into your workpiece.
CNC Machine Parts Terminologies
- Bed: This part can be described as the foundation of the structure, as it functions by supporting the whole machine
- Column: This part is typically vertically oriented in these machines, and its primary role is to support main machine components by holding them in place
- Spindle: This is a primary component that CNC machines’ operations greatly rely on and functions by holding the cutting tools and features a rotating mechanism allowing cutting tools to move.
- Chuck: If you are operating on materials that are round in shape, then this type of component is best for you, as it is specifically designed to
- Turret: This is a component incorporated into these machines that holds the tools, and it typically rotates, allowing the machine to use various tools.
- Tool holder: A tool holder is used to securely hold a cutting tool in place in the machine.
- Worktable: This is the work area designed for the machine; it is a flat surface that functions by holding the workpiece.
- Axis drive systems: These are the various systems incorporated in the machine with the sole purpose of allowing the various machine axes to move.
- Ball screws: To convert the rotational motion generated by the machine into linear motion that allows for various operations, these precision ball screws are designed for this function.
- Linear guides: This component is used for accurately enable the efficient movement of the various axes through rails that are designed for smooth movement.
- Servomotors: These are motors that are controlled to allow the machine to execute precise movements that are essential to the production process of various components
- Control panel: This is an integral component of the machine that dictates the operations of the machine. It functions as an interface that not only runs the machine but also monitors operations.
- Enclosure: This is the protective part of the machine, and it functions by encompassing components such as coolant, chips, and various parts that move.
- Coolant system: This is a specialized component that is designed specifically to help the various parts of the machine cool down during operations by channeling coolant where it is required.
- Chip conveyor: Chips are the small bits of material produced by the cutting tools, and they can act as contaminants; therefore, this component is tasked with removing them.
- Tool magazine: This component is designed to store various types of tools, making them available for automated tool use by the machine.
- Automatic tool changer: This is an automated component that functions by enabling quick tool changes as the machine continues to operate, basically eliminating manual change time.
Axes and Motion
- X, Y, and Z axes: These are the primary axes you will get in any type of standard CNC machine, covering the main horizontal, secondary horizontal, and vertical plane of movement.
- A, B, and C rotary axes: These are the secondary axes, which are typically rotational and give the cutting tools more access to a wider plane of movement, allowing for parts with complex shapes.
- Home position: This can be defined as the starting position for the machine. This reference point is typically standard, as per the type of machine you have, using two zero parameters
- Machine zero: Machine zero is a reference point that is typically set by the manufacturer; it therefore functions as the point zero and cannot be altered by the operators
- Work zero: This point of reference, unlike machine zero it is set on the workpiece and therefore varies from workpiece to another and is determined by the operator.
- Reference points: Points like these are typically set positions for the machine, typically as a method of establishing accuracy parameters, such as positional accuracy, as well as repeatability.
Programming Language Terms
- G-code: This is a programming language that contains code that is responsible for enabling the movement of various operations, such as toolpaths, feed rates, router coordinates, mills, and lathes
- M-code: This particular code is a set of commands that is responsible for telling the machine what operation to handle, including setting the coolant or operating the spindle.
- Coordinate systems: This system is a set of programs that functions as a reference point dictating the machine’s position as well as the position of the components.
- Program structure: This structure dictates the way all programs of the CNC machine are to be arranged, and it is typically a set structure that is not usually altered.
Machining Operations
- Milling: This machine operation relies on a rotating cutter to produce components by cutting away at the unwanted materials, resulting in precise parts
- Turning: Suitable for producing cylindrical, curved, or rounded shapes, this operation is executed by rotating the material to be machined while the cutting tools remove the unwanted portions
- Drilling: In this operation, the machine’s cutting tool rotates and bores straight into the material to be machined, allowing you to create holes of various types into the material.
- Boring: This type of operation requires a workpiece that already has a hole; its function is to enhance the hole’s properties by either straightening, enlarging, or giving it precise dimensions.
- Tapping: With this operation, you also need a pre-drilled hole on the workpiece. Using this process, you can generate internal threads, making it suitable for screws or bolts.
- Facing: Used as a method of generating a clean reference surface, this type is typically used for end surfaces. This process allows you to make this area flat as well as square.
- Reaming: This process is another operation that requires an already drilled hole in the workpiece. It typically enlarges holes as well as make the more accurate and smoother.
- Contouring: For designing complex geometrical shapes with curved and irregular cutting, this process is used and it is used to make these shapes with smooth surfaces.
- Pocketing: For components such as slots, recesses, or internal cutouts, this operation involves cutting away materials typically with closed ends, creating an empty place.
- Slotting: This operation is used to create functional openings such as keyways, guides of features for alignment, and it functions by cutting narrow groves or pathways.
- Threading: This type of operation involves the formation of three-dimensional curves either on the exterior or interior surface of your workpiece, allowing for screws.
- Chamfering: Using this method, you can generate smooth finishes of the edges by cutting away at the sharp edges of corners or even the entrance of holes.
Tooling Vocabulary
- End mill: This is a component that is typically used in milling machines and functions by severing the unwanted material from the piece being machined in milling operations.
- Drill bit: Using this tool allows you to cut holes into the piece you are machining, and it functions by feeding into the material through its rotation.
- Tap: This is a specialized tool designed to generate threads in holes that had previously been drilled and allows the screws and bolts allowing you to tighten them.
- Reamer: This is a tool that is mainly used for finishing holes after a hole has already been drilled, ensuring that it’s not only smooth but has accurate dimensions.
- Insert: To prolong your tool service life, you can incorporate an insert, typically made from durable materials like carbide, at the tips of tools as a safety guard.
- Face mill: For you to cut flat surfaces in a fast and efficient way, to separate the unwanted materials, you can use this tool.
- Boring bar: A boring bar is the tool responsible for boring, allowing the machine to create a smooth finish in holes as well as generating precise dimensions for enhanced accuracy.
- Tool geometry: This can be defined as the way your various tools are shaped, factoring dimensions like accuracy, shape, and design, and this factor determines tool functionality.
- Tool life: It can also be referred to as the tool’s service life, and to put it simply, this is the time it takes for a tool to remain in full use before it wears down and cannot be used.
- Tool offset: This is a value used to correct the parameters, such as tool length, position, and diameter, by adjusting them for a more accurate cut.
- Tool holders: These components function by either clamping or supporting the various tools and ensuring that they remain stable and are well aligned for enhanced functionality.
Cutting Parameters
- Feed rate: This is classified as the rate at which the various cutting tools work through the piece you are machining and factors into timing, surface finish, and tool wear.
- Spindle speed: Measured in terms of how many rotations it can make per minute, this is the rotational speed and determines how fast the workpiece or cutting tool rotates during operations.
- Cutting speed: This is quantified as the speed at which the edge of your cutting tools passes over the workpiece, and its efficiency determines factors like tool wear or heat generated.
- Chip load: Measured per revolution, this is the total amount of material that is removed by the workpiece by the edge of the cutting tool you are using.
- Chip formation: This is the generation of chips separated from the piece being machined through cutting, and the type of pieces produced depends on the type of cutting tool used.
- Chip evacuation: Evacuation of chips is a process involving the removal of the chips generated through the cutting process from the cutting area during the operations.
- Depth and width of cut: These are the key dimensions of the cuts made into the workpieces. It involves how deep the tools cut and how wide the cut is on the material, which factors into the accuracy of the dimensions produced.
Workholding
- Fixturing: This operation involves safely holding a workpiece in its designated position as the machine operates, and in turn, it enhances factors like stability, repeatability, and accuracy.
- Clamping: This process involves using a proportional amount of force to keep a workpiece in its place, making sure that it remains in its place during the machining process.
- Vices: Composed of jaws, this is a CNC machine component that is utilized for holding the part being machined in its place for machines like milling machines or drill presses.
- Jigs: This part of machines not only aids with holding and keeping workpieces or tools in place, but it also functions by properly positioning either the workpiece being held or the tools.
- Fixtures: This part is exclusively for the workpiece. It functions by keeping it in place as well as guiding it accurately to its intended position.
- Chucks: If you are aiming to keep cylindrical workpieces or round ones in place, then you need this component that is specifically designed to keep them in place by clamping onto them.
CNC Machining Materials
- Stock: This is the block that is to be machined and is typically a rough shape of material, featuring bigger dimensions to allow for the shaping during cutting.
- Blank: A blank is a step closer to the intended shape, but for you to get accurate dimensions, shaping is required using the machine’s cutting tools.
- Raw material: This is the original material that is to be used for forming parts and has not undergone any processing by the CNC machines. It varies and can be plastic, metal, or wood, among others.
- Workpiece: This is the material that is on the machine at the time and is being operated on at the time.
CNC Machine Setup
- Alignment: This process often involves using a set point of reference, either built in or calculated, to make sure that the various positions of various components of the machine.
- Squaring: Essential for accuracy, this process refers to the process of making a surface perpendicular or parallel to another surface that is used for reference.
- Trimming: For you to produce flat cuts, you need to use this process, which involves accurately adjusting the spindle or machine head for proper alignment.
- Part location: This is the exact location that the part is being machined in the fixture and is essential in ensuring that the parts are accurately cut.
- Datum: This is a standard line that is typically utilized for measurement during setup, therefore providing a starting point for inspection as well as machining.
- Repeatable positioning: This refers to the ability of a workpiece or a tool to revert to its initial position over several runs as a way of ensuring consistency.
CAM and CAD Terms in CNC Machining
- CAD: Also referred to as Computer Aided Design, this is software created to generate 3D models and digital drawings and is the first step in the development of a CNC part.
- CAM: Fully referred to as Computer Aided Manufacturing, it is used to convert the generated CAD into machine instructions by generating programs and toolpaths for the CNC machine.
- CNC workflow: This is the structured steps involved in the production of a machine part, starting from the initial generation of the design to the production of the finished product.
- Toolpath: This is the pathway that the cutting tools take that also defines how fast a tool operates and the order in which it is to be cut.
- Simulation: Before initiating actual operations, you need to run a test drive virtually to make sure that all the systems in your CNC machine are running efficiently
- Post-processor: This is a component that translates CAM into a language that can be understood by the machine’s controller, allowing the machine to execute the various functions
- Nesting: As a method of minimizing the waste reduced this method is used to properly arrange the blocks or sheets.
- File types: This refers to the digital formats that the codes are used to run the various functions, and they come in different types and are categorized into different files for different programs.
CNC Control and Interface Terms
- Controller: This is the computer system in the machine that drives the machine through interpreting CNC commands.
- HMI: This is an interface that bridges the gap between the machine and the human operator, typically using displays and controls.
- PLC: This section allows for automation through handling the machine’s logic and is referred to as a programmable Logic Controller.
- Display panel: This is the screen that reflects the alarms, machine status, and data.
- Manual mode: This is a mode that gives full control to the operator, allowing them to direct the machine’s motions
- Auto mode: This is the automated mode that gives the machine full access
- MDI: Standing for Manual Data input that allows you, as the operator, to give direct short commands
- Emergency stop: This is a safety button designed to stop all operations
Need Help in Choosing the Right CNC Machine?
TSINFA CNC machine experts will help you compare all the available equipment – from CNC lathe and CNC milling to CNC turning machines. We have developed a range of custom CNC machining solutions to improve productivity, precision, repeatability and reduce long-term operational costs.
Contact TSINFA CNC specialists now for guidance on how to choose the right machine.
