Precision or CNC machining has become a common yet well-known form of product machining for a variety of industries. What sets these are apart from other machining forms is its versatility. It can be used to create small prototype components as well as equipment in varied sizes and shapes. Precision machines are reliable, agile, and accurate. Thus, they are the first choice for industries to machine their products.
Using the computer, the these machine tool can sand, cut, shape, drill, and polish the required product within a short amount of time. CNC machines require little human intervention, and minimum maintenance.
Benefits of CNC Machines
There are a number of benefits that can be gained by using these machines.
Reducing Manufacturing Time on Large Jobs: As these machine is programmed to work via computer, it has the capability to finish large jobs within a shorter period of time. The advantage is that any product manufacturing process can be performed with precision and speed.
Long Working Hours: Except for an occasional shutdown, machines can be used for long hours continuously. They have the strength and durability to be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This gives machine shops the freedom to complete machining orders in a short time.
Repeatability: Once a design has been fed into the computer, the same can be used repeatedly to create a number of prototypes or final products. As the design has been entered into the computer with exact specifications, each product manufactured using these machine will be of the same size, shape, and measurement.
Reduction of Costs: CNC machines manufacture products with exacting specifications. This allows machine shops to order the right amount of materials and tools for the process. Thus, there is little wastage of materials, shorter production costs, and minimum downtime. The automated process also leads to less labor costs.
Ease of Software Usage: CNC are usually run using specialized CAD/CAM software. AutoCAD and TurboCAD are two of the most well-known software. The software allows the engineer to create a drawing of the finished product on the computer using a set template already sent by the client. This allows the machine shop to quickly design and manufacture the desired product. Software manufacturers release new versions every year, allowing CNC engineers to upgrade their machines and provide better services to clients. CNC machine software is user friendly, and therefore, can also be operated by first time users.
Minimizes Need for Prototyping: While CNC machines can create prototypes for clients if required, engineers can also create a complete design from scratch. Once approved by the client, this finished design can directly be sent for manufacturing without any need to create a prototype.
Reduction of Labor: As CNC machines are completely automated, they do not require human intervention. One engineer can operate various machines at one time. The engineer only needs to supervise the feeding of the design into the software, and the occasional changing of the cutting tools within the machine.
Meeting the Needs of Various Industries: The speed, versatility, and durability of CNC machines allow machine shops to cater to the production needs of various industries. Machine shops have created a variety of products using CNC for large machining industries ranging from automotive, textile, medical, plastic, to military, power generation, defense, aerospace, and oil and gas.
Using CNC machines can provide a number of benefits to machine shop as well as industrial customers.
