CNC Milling vs CNC Turning

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology has dominated the metal forming industry in recent years, as it offers advanced precision and repeatability that can be impossible to achieve with manual processes alone. The most common metal material is CNC Turning Aluminum and CNC Milling Aluminum. 

What is the CNC turning?

With computer numerical control (CNC) turning, material is removed from a rotating workpiece by placing a cutting tool against it. The material, including wood, metal, and plastic, is often cut using a CNC lathe or turning center. This article will discuss the many CNC lathe kinds, their parts, and which type you might employ for your upcoming project.

What is CNC milling?

By gradually removing material from the workpiece with rotating, multi-point cutting tools and computerized controls, CNC milling is a mechanical method that creates parts or components that are specifically created for each customer. Three linear degrees of freedom are typical for these systems. They are unrestricted in their movement around the X, Y, and Z axes while the workpiece is kept still. Due to the slower processing speed caused by this limited dimensional operation, milling is better suited for prototyping and smaller production runs.

CNC Milling and Turning: Applications and Types of Materials

Production Capabilities

The production capabilities of CNC milling include a range of processes, such as:

Chemical

Electrical

Mechanical

Thermal

CNC mills provide superior material conservation efficiency, which leads to a reduction in material costs over the machine’s lifespan. CNC mills fabricate products such as complex short-run production parts, precision components and parts, and prototype parts.

CNC turning lathes, on the other hand, are used to conduct operations such as:

Boring

Drilling

Facing

Grooving

Knurling

Parting

CNC milling and turning are used in a number of industries, including:

Woodworking

Electrical industry

Electrical discharge machining (EDM)

Metal removing (in automotive or manufacturing)

Material fabrication

How do CNC machines work?

As we just mentioned, a digitalized computer controls, monitors, and automates the movement of an industrial machine in CNC machines. The computer is typically built within the equipment in large industrial operations, but it is typically attached externally to hobbyist units.

The type of CNC machine being utilized determines the precise movements that this code regulates. Let's look at some of the most popular CNC machines currently in use and how they operate.