After 10 years of deep cultivation in CNC machining, I will show you the secrets of this industry

After 10 years of deep cultivation in CNC machining, I will show you the secrets of this industry
To be honest, every day in the background, friends ask ‘What is CNC machining?’ Today, let’s explain it in plain language. Simply put, CNC machining is a technology that relies on computer programs to control machine tools and automatically turn raw materials into parts. In the article, I will first talk about the core principles, then discuss its strengths, and finally talk about practical applications. In the middle, I will also show you the true skills of our Weimaite CNC machining.

First, let’s understand: how does CNC machining work?

Many young people who have just entered the industry are dumbfounded when they first see CNC machine tools turning – no one manually pushes the tool, the tool itself precisely cuts and drills holes. Wow, this is its core principle at work.

The first step is to have design drawings, for example, to make a metal frame for a mobile phone, engineers need to draw a detailed 3D drawing first. The next crucial step is to ‘translate’ the drawings into a ‘password’ that the machine tool can understand, which is the numerical control program, commonly using G code and M code. Just like writing an operation manual for a machine tool, such as “Move the X-axis by 5 millimeters” and “Adjust the speed to 3000 revolutions per minute”, these instructions must be written accurately.

After the program is input into the CNC machine, the computer starts giving orders. I still remember last year in the Weimaite CNC machining workshop, milling a batch of aviation parts. After the program was started, the spindle smoothly rotated with the tool, and the feed mechanism slowly advanced. The whole process was only occasionally checked, and no one had to keep an eye on it. From raw materials to molded parts, it’s done in one go, and the efficiency is really impressive.

These three characteristics have made CNC machining a hot commodity in the industry

Having been in this industry for 10 years, I know best why CNC machining is so popular. These three characteristics are indispensable.

Firstly, it has high precision, so high that it can be controlled at the micrometer level. What concept? A hair thread has a diameter of about 70 microns. The precision bearing sleeve made by our Weimaite CNC machining has an error of up to 2 microns, which is less than 1/30 of a hair thread. I previously supplied to an aviation company, and after testing, they gave a thumbs up and said that the accuracy was even more stable than imported ones. I felt a sense of pride in my heart at that time.

Then there is high efficiency and the ability to rotate continuously. Previously, when manually processing a gear, skilled workers could only make up to 5 in a day and were prone to making mistakes. Now our Weimaite CNC lathe can change tools in less than 10 seconds, and can produce over 200 in 8 hours a day, with a pass rate of over 99.5%. To be honest, there was a rush to meet the deadline, and the machine was running continuously for 3 days and 3 nights. Apart from changing the materials, it never stopped and managed to deliver the goods on time.

Flexibility also needs to be mentioned. The customer needs to make gears today and shaft parts tomorrow, so there’s no need to change the entire set of fixtures. Just modify the program. Last month, an old customer placed a last-minute order to make a batch of new specifications of motor end caps. Our technician spent 2 hours modifying the program, and the machine tool could start immediately. The customer was surprised and asked, “Can we change the sample so quickly

These industries cannot function without CNC machining

Don’t think that CNC machining is far away from us, in fact, many things in life are made with it.

The mechanical manufacturing industry is definitely the main force. For example, the gearbox body in the factory has more than ten holes and planes that need to be machined, and the positional accuracy requirements are extremely high, which cannot be achieved manually. We, Weimaite, supply many mechanical factories with five axis CNC machine tools for machining. All processes can be completed in one clamping, and the hole position error is controlled within 5 microns.

The aerospace industry cannot do without it. The turbine blades of aircraft engines have complex shapes and must withstand high temperatures and pressures. They are made of special alloys, and only CNC machining can ensure accuracy. Previously, clients in the aviation industry mentioned that even a 0.1 millimeter error in the blades could affect engine performance, highlighting the advantages of CNC machining.

It is also commonly used in the electronics industry. The precise openings and smooth lines on the phone frame and computer case in your hand are mostly CNC milled. We have also provided support to several electronics factories, and the flatness error of the processed phone frames is less than 1 micron. When installing the screen, it fits perfectly, and the customer feedback is particularly good.