MANUFACTURING PROCESS

LAB REPORT
CNC MILLING

MARCH 26, 2019

ZEESHAN ASLAM
BSME# 16-20
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 6
THEORY ..................................................................................................................... 7
Machining: ................................................................................................................... 7
MILLING: ................................................................................................................... 8
Cutting tool: ................................................................................................................ 8
Cutting conditions: ...................................................................................................... 9
CNC Milling:............................................................................................................... 9
Machine tool ............................................................................................................. 10
Axis Orientation: ....................................................................................................... 10
Machine Coordinate System: ..................................................................................... 11
Work Part Coordinate System: ................................................................................. 11
ABSOLUTE AND INCREMENTAL CO-ORDINATES:............................................ 11
Codes 12
G-Code:..................................................................................................................... 12
Miscellaneous Codes ................................................................................................ 13
Basic Programming Methods in CNC: ...................................................................... 14
Conversational Programming ................................................................................... 14
CAM Programming ................................................................................................... 14
Advantages of CNC machine tools: ........................................................ 15
CNC Manufacturing Process .................................................................. 15
Task performed in Lab ............................................................................ 17
Part Pictures ................................................................................................................... 18
Results ........................................................................................................ 19
Discussion .................................................................................................. 20
PRECAUTIONS: ....................................................................................................... 20
Conclusion ................................................................................................. 20
References.................................................................................................. 21

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

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List of Figures
Figure 1 Machining ...................................................................................................... 7
Figure 2 Milling ............................................................................................................ 8
Figure 3 Cutting tools ................................................................................................... 9
Figure 4 Milling Machines ......................................................................................... 10
Figure 5 Axis orientation ............................................................................................ 10
Figure 6 Cocrdinate Axis............................................................................................ 12
Figure 7 : CNC manufacturing process ..................................................................... 16
Figure 9 Dimensions of Work piece ........................................................................... 18
Figure 8 Part Manufactured ....................................................................................... 18
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List of Tables
Table 1 ....................................................................................... 12

Table 2 ....................................................................................... 13
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ABSTRACT
In this experiment, the aim was to develop a better and clear understanding of machining on CNC
(computerized Numeric Control). The basic mechanics of non-traditional machining and the factors
that must be controlled to ensure the part quality were discussed and observed. The fundamentals
of NC programming which is required to complete a successful task on CNC with ease were
studied and implemented to manufactured a assigned task consisting of both linear and radial cut.
G and M code were developed and performed on the CNC machine during the experiment. The
major factors were the tool selection, material selection, WCS, MCS, speeds and feeds. Moreover,
clearance and other safety precaution were also explained and demonstrated by the instructor for
safe handling of machine.
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Introduction
In the process of milling, we use a milling cutter to remove material from the
surface of a work piece. Milling cutter is a rotary cutting tool, often with multiple
cutting points.

Unlike drilling, where the tool is advanced along its rotation axis, the cutter in
milling is usually moved perpendicular to its axis so that cutting occurs on the
circumference of the cutter. As the milling cutter enters the work piece, the cutting
edges of the tool repeatedly cut into and exit from the material, shaving off chips from
the work piece with each pass. The cutting action is shear deformation; material is
pushed off the work piece in tiny clumps that hang together to a greater or lesser
extent (depending on the material) to form chips. This makes metal cutting somewhat
different (in its mechanics) from slicing softer materials with a blade.

The milling process removes material by performing many separate, small cuts.
This is accomplished by using a cutter with many teeth, spinning the cutter at high
speed, or advancing the material through the cutter slowly; most often it is some
combination of these three approaches. The speeds and feeds used are varied to suit a
combination of variables.

Feed rate: The speed at which the piece advances through the cutter; it is most often
measured in length of material per full revolution of the cutter.

There are two major classes of milling process:

 Face milling, the cutting action occurs primarily at the end corners of
the milling cutter. Face milling is used to cut flat surfaces (faces) into
the work piece, or to cut flat-bottomed cavities.
 Peripheral milling, the cutting action occurs primarily along the
circumference of the cutter, so that the cross section of the milled surface
ends up receiving the shape of the cutter. In this case the blades of the
cutter can be seen as scooping out material from the work piece.
Peripheral milling is well suited to the cutting of deep slots, threads, and
gear teeth.

CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) is the general term used for a system
which controls the functions of a machine tool using coded instructions processed by a
computer. It refers to any machine tool (i.e. mill, lathe, drill press, etc.) which uses a
computer to electronically control the motion of one or more axes on the machine [2].
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The development of NC machine tools started from a task supported by the US Air
Force in the early 1950’s, involving MIT and several machine-tool manufacturing
companies. The need was recognized for machines to be able to manufacture complex jet
aircraft parts.
As computer technology evolved, computers replaced the more inflexible controllers
found on the NC machines; hence the dawn of the CNC era.

THEORY
Machining:
Machining is any of various processes in which a piece of raw material is cut into a desired final shape and
size by a controlled material-removal process.
The three principal machining processes are classified as turning, drilling and milling.

 Turning operations are operations that rotate the work piece as the primary method of moving metal
against the cutting tool. Lathes are the principal machine tool used in turning.
 Milling operations are operations in which the cutting tool rotates to bring cutting edges to bear against
the work piece. Milling machines are the principal machine tool used in milling.
 Drilling operations are operations in which holes are produced or refined by bringing a rotating cutter
with cutting edges at the lower extremity into contact with the work piece. Drilling operations are done
primarily in drill presses but sometimes on lathes or mills.

Other operations falling into miscellaneous categories include shaping, planning, boring, broaching and
sawing. A cutting tool is used to remove material by shear force.

Figure 1 Machining
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MILLING:
Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material[1] by advancing a cutter into a
work piece. This may be done varying direction[2] on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure

Figure 2 Milling

Cutting tool:
Cutting tool or cutter is any tool that is used to remove material from the work piece by means of
shear deformation. In milling, a milling cutter is used to remove the material from the work piece.
The milling cutter is a rotary cutting tool, often with multiple cutting points. As opposed
to drilling, where the tool is advanced along its rotation axis, the cutter in milling is usually moved
perpendicular to its axis so that cutting occurs on the circumference of the cutter. As the milling
cutter enters the work piece, the cutting edges of the tool repeatedly cut into and exit from the
material, shaving off chips from the work piece with each pass. The cutting action is shear
deformation; material is pushed off the work piece in tiny clumps that hang together to a greater or
lesser extent to form chips. This makes metal cutting somewhat different from slicing softer
materials with a blade.
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Figure 3 Cutting tools

Cutting conditions:
Cutting speed
Cutting speed may be defined as the rate at the work piece surface, irrespective of the machining
operation used
Feed rate
Feed rate is the velocity at which the cutter is fed, that is, advanced against the work piece.
Depth of cut
Cutting speed and feed rate come together with depth of cut to determine the material removal rate,
which is the volume of work piece material (metal, wood, plastic, etc.) that can be removed per
time unit
Spindle speed
The spindle speed is the rotational frequency of the spindle of the machine, measured in
revolutions per minute (RPM)

CNC Milling:
CNC milling, or computer numerical control milling, is a machining process which employs
computerized controls and rotating multi-point cutting tools to progressively remove material from
the work piece and produce a custom-designed part or product. This process is suitable for
machining a wide range of materials, such as metal, plastic, glass, and wood, and producing a
variety of custom-designed parts and products.
Several capabilities are offered under the umbrella of precision CNC machining services, including
mechanical, chemical, electrical, and thermal processes. CNC milling is a mechanical machining
process along with drilling, turning, and a variety of other machining processes, meaning that
material is removed from the work piece via mechanical means, such as the actions of the mill
machine’s cutting tools.
MAJOR COMPONENTS:
Machine interface
Column
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Knee
Saddle
Worktable
Spindle
Arbor
Ram

Machine tool

Figure 4 Milling Machines

Axis Orientation:
X-Axis The mill axis that moves right and left (as the
operator is facing the front of the mill) is the X-axis for both
vertical and horizontal spindle mills.
The Y-axis on mills is either the in-and-out motion--toward
and away from the operator (vertical spindle) or up-and-down
motion (horizontal spindle). Positive Y-axis is in direction
away from operator.
The axis of motion that is parallel to the spindle axis is always
the Z-axis. Z-axis is positive in the direction away from the
work piece [2].
The axis orientation is shown in figure

Figure 5 Axis orientation

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Machine Coordinate System:

CNC machine uses its internal coordinate system as defined by the manufacturer. Every CNC
machine has its own internal origin point called Machine Home. When your CNC first boots up, it
has no idea where it is in physical space and requires a calibration to get its bearings.
When this process occurs, all three axes of your CNC move towards their maximum mechanical
limit. Once a limit is reached, a signal gets sent to a controller which records the home position for
that particular axis. When this occurs for all three axes, the machine is now “homed.”

 The machine coordinate system of CNC machine tools is defined by the manufacturer and
cannot be changed.

 The point of origin for this machine coordinate system also called machine zero point, M
cannot be shifted in its location.

Work Part Coordinate System:

But the internal coordinate system of CNC is not easy for the operator and changes are required
depending upon the work piece. To make writing CNC programs easier, we use a different
coordinate system designed for human manipulation called a Work Coordinate System, or WCS.
 The work part coordinate system is defined by the programmer and can be changed.
 The location of the point of origin for the work part coordinate system, also called work
part zero-point W, can be specified as desired. The design of CNC machine specifies the
definition of the respective coordinate system.

ABSOLUTE AND INCREMENTAL CO-ORDINATES:

Absolute Co-ordinates:
The addresses X, Y and Z within a program, when G90 (Absolute co-ordinates) is active,
relate to a coordinate position from the work piece datum (the zero position).

Relative co-ordinates:
The addresses X, Y and Z within a program, when G91 (Incremental co-ordinates) is active,
relate to the individual axis movements required to reach the new position, from the last
position reached by the tool.
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Figure 6 Coordinate Axis

Codes
G-Code:
G-code(geometric code) is the common name for the most widely used numerical
control (NC) programming language. It is used mainly in computer-aided manufacturing to control
automated machine tools.
G-code is a language in which people tell computerized machine tools how to make something.
The "how" is defined by g-code instructions provided to a machine controller (industrial computer)
that tells the motors where to move, how fast to move, and what path to follow [3].
Some G-code that are used in this experiment are given in Table

Code Category Function Notes

XYZ of
G00 Motion Move in a straight line at rapids speed.
endpoint

Move in a straight line at last speed XYZ of

G01 Motion
commanded by a (F)federate endpoint

XYZ of
endpoint IJK
G02 Motion Clockwise circular arc at (F)federate relative to
center R for
radius

XYZ of
G03 Motion Counter-clockwise circular arc at (F)federate
endpoint IJK
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relative to
center R for
radius

P for
G04 Motion Dwell: Stop for a specified time. milliseconds X
for seconds

Miscellaneous Codes
The line of a program might also include m-codes, which are generally codes that tell a machine
how to perform an action. While not guaranteed to be the same across machines, some common,
standard m-codes are:
Some common M- codes used in machining are shown in Table:

Code Category Function Notes

M00 M-Code Program Stop (non-optional)

M01 M-Code Optional Stop: Operator Selected to Enable

M02 M-Code End of Program

M03 M-Code Spindle ON (CW Rotation)

M04 M-Code Spindle ON (CCW Rotation)

M05 M-Code Spindle Stop

M06 M-Code Tool Change

M07 M-Code Mist Coolant ON

M08 M-Code Flood Coolant ON

M09 M-Code Coolant OFF

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Basic Programming Methods in CNC:

There are two ways to program modern CNC machine tools.

Conversational Programming
This is the simpler of the two methods. In effect, this is a macro programming
language used to instruct the machine to perform pre-programmed cycles (i.e. facing,
drilling holes in arrays, etc.).
When writing a conversational program, you simply enter the appropriate parameters
associated with each machining cycle.

CAM Programming
This is the more powerful of the two methods. Using this method, one can import
part model into a CAM (computer aided manufacturing) or CAD (computer aided
designing) program and define the parameters associated with each and every machined
feature on the part. These parameters include tool diameter and length, depth of cut,
tool path geometry, etc.
Conversational CNC programming
The following cycles are typical of the machining operations available when programming
a 3-axis CNC milling machine.
 Position. Used to move the XYZ coordinates at rapid federate.

 Drill one. Used to position the tool at a specific XYZ coordinate position in order
to automatically drill a hole. The automatic drill cycles allow for simple drilling,
peck drilling, spot-facing and bore cycles.
 Drill pattern. Used to define polar or rectangular hole arrays for automatic
drilling.
 Line. Used to cut straight lines along an axis or a diagonal at the desired
federate.
 Arc. Used to cut a circle or partial circle that is part of a series of cuts that
usually includes lines as well.
 Face. Used to define a rectangular zig-zag pattern used to clean off a part
surface.
 Pocket. Used to clear the material out of a rectangle, circle or polygon.

 Frame. Used to cut the inside or outside outline of a rectangle, circle or

polygon.

 Tool. Used to enter tool parameters, machine function parameters and

program pause/stop codes.
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 Scale/mirror. Used to scale and/or mirror other part features.

 Rotate. Used to repeat other part features around a specific center of rotation.

Advantages of CNC machine tools:

I. CNC machine tools use software programs to provide the instructions
necessary to control the axis motions, spindle speeds, tool changes and so on.
II. CNC machine tools allow multiple axes of motion simultaneously, resulting in 2D
and 3D contouring ability.
III. CNC technology also increases productivity and quality control by allowing
multiple parts to be produced using the same program and tooling.

CNC Manufacturing Process

The figure (2.1) shows the main stages involved in producing a component on a
CNC system.

1) A part program is written, using G and M codes. This describes the sequence of
operations that the machine must perform in order to manufacture the component. This
program can be produced off-line, i.e., away from the machine, either manually or
with the aid of a CAD/ CAM system.

2) The part program is loaded into the machines computer, called the controller. At
this stage, the program can still be edited or simulated using the machine controller
keypad/input device.

3) The machine controller processes the part program and sends signals
to the machine components directing the machine through the required sequence of
operations necessary to manufacture the component.
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Figure 7 : CNC manufacturing process

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Task performed in Lab

In this experiment, the assigned task is to manufacture a part of the geometry as
defined in the figure. The past included both linear and radial cut along with a through hole.
All these functions could be performed easily on the CNC Milling by developing a G and
M code. First, the G and M code were formed in writing after which it was implemented in
the CNC machine.
1. Correctly mount the work part according to the origin defined in the G-Code
2. Upload the G-Code from USB to the CNC control panel
3. Mount the tool on CNC Indexing wheel
4. Enter the tool details in control panel
5. Enter the work part origin to CNC control panel.
6. Alter the CNC Code according the machine used

The complete code that we entered and operated on CNC milling machine line by line is as
follow.
1. S1500M3
2. G54G0X0Y0
3. G01Z-3F5
4. G01X40F30
5. G02R10X50Y-10F30
6. G01Y-50F30
7. G02R10X40Y-60F30
8. G01Y-10F30
9. G02R10X0Y0F30
10. G0X20Y-30
11. G01Z-16F5
12. M5
13. M30
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Part Pictures

Figure 9 Part Manufactured

Figure 8 Dimensions of Work piece

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Results
We made our desired shape on the work piece using CNC with great ease and
in less time. We only had to enter the code and wait for the machine to finish its job.
The shape was engraved with close tolerances of .001mm which was the least count
of the machine tool. A hole was also made at the center of the work piece.

Different feed rates were used to operate the machine depending upon the nature
of the operation to be performed on the work piece. The feed rates used for the task
were as feed rate of 30 for linear cut, 10 for circular arc and 5 for drilling the through
hole
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Discussion
The properties of work part produced from milling depends upon many cutting parameters such as
spindle speed, feed and depth of cut. The surface finish of the part produced from milling is not
very good as it depends upon the work part material and the cutting conditions. Changing these
cutting condition will have significant effect on the work part. For example, if we increase the
spindle sped we will have good surface finish and the same occur if we reduce the feed. The tool
life the most crucial part of milling operation. Temperature rises during the cutting operation and
decrease the life of tool.

PRECAUTIONS:
Proper precautions must be taken during the experiment:
 Wear safety shoes, gloves and googles to avoid any mishap.
 Always keep the feed speed low when moving in the Z- axis.
 Keep the coolant on to avoid overheating.
 Keep distance while the tool is performing operation.
 Understand the use of emergency switch before starting the experiment

Conclusion
From the experiment, the principle of CNC machine was learnt. A better
understanding in the modes of operation of CNC machine was achieved. There is
various type of modern CNC machines use in industrial. Different preparatory (G
codes) and miscellaneous function (M codes) is used in CNC part programming for
completing a successful CNC program. The required work piece was manufactured
using milling operation with the help of the appropriate G and M codes. NC machine
can be used to cut complex shapes of metal and other solid materials with higher ease
and at higher production rate. Milling machines are very versatile. They are usually
used to machine flat surfaces, but can also produce irregular surfaces. They can also
be used to drill, bore, cut gears, and produce slots. The type of milling machine most
commonly found in student shops is a vertical spindle machine with a swiveling head.
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References

[1] N. Seaforth, "Eagle Group," Eagle Group, 6 April 2018. [Online].

Available: https://blog.eaglegroupmanufacturers.com/introduction-to-cnc-
machining.

[2] D. Limited, "M and G programming for CNC Milling Machines".

[3] "Milling (machining)," [Online]. Available:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milling_(machining).
[4] "G-Code and M-Code Reference List for Milling," [Online]. Available:
https://www.cnccookbook.com/g-code-m-code-reference-list-cnc-mills/.