Due to the fact that there are different mechanical processes out there. Various types of CNC have been featured in most of these machines to improve their effectiveness when performing the operation. In a previous article, I explained a lot about CNC machines. It is said to be a machine tool that is automatically controlled by means of a computer. These machines can process a piece of material like metal, plastic, wood, ceramic, or composite to meet the spec of a coded programmed instruction without a manual operator.
Today we’ll be looking at the different types of machine tools that feature CNC (Computer Numerical Control) systems.
Contents
Types of CNC machines:
the followings represent the CNC machines types:
CNC Laser Cutting Machines:
Laser cutting is a cutting tool that carries out its operations with the aid laser. The modern ones designed with CNC allow the operation to be atomically done by the program fed to the computer and It allows the operation to be perfectly cut. The issue with CNC laser cutting machines is that the cost is high and it takes time to fix any damage because it is not widely available in the market.
Read more: Parts and elements of CNC machine systems
CNC Lathe Machine:
A lathe is a popular machine tool among engineers due to the fact that almost all operations can be performed on it. The CNC lathe machine version allows perfect, fast, and accurate working as the computer controls the machine tool and other parts of the machine. Once the program is loaded to the computer, the operation starts making it suitable for mass production.
CNC Milling Machine:
The CNC milling machine can perform operations that manual milling can perform with ease and perfection. Milling is known as the process of removing metal by feeding the workpiece to pass through a rotating multipoint cutter. It is ideal for gear making, boring and slots making.
A semi-skilled worker can perform the operation on CNC milling as it is done by inserting the program CAD into the system. The CNC milling machine is used for mass production like capstan and turret offering them dimensional tolerances and accuracy.
CNC Router Machine:
This machine is mostly used by woodworkers, but all carpentry work such as door carvings, interior and exterior decorations, wood panels, signboards, wooden frames, moldings, etc. The CNC aspect works as other machine tools and allows the program to design and execute it. CNC router machine offers a better surface finish to the workpiece.
Read more: Working principles of CNC machines
CNC Plasma Cutting Machine:
Plasma cutting is used for cutting electrically conductive material using an accelerated jet of hot plasma. CNC version of the machines performs the operation in a computerized way. The only difference between the CNC plasma and laser is that laser is very expensive whereas hot plasma is less costly and portable.
5-axis machine:
The 5-axis means the direction of cutting. Literally, the direction cutting was three-axis X, Y, and Z but two additional axes were added which are A, B which makes it 5 axes making works to be cut from five different directions. It is mostly used for making sculptures. The CNC type also offers the same advantages as the others.
3-D printer:
A 3-D printer is a CNC machine that is used to print metals layer by layer, making it suitable for printing buildings and complexes. The work is done by CAD and CAM and the 3D printer visualized the design.
Pick and place machine:
The pick and place machine is used in a warehouse that stores a lot of items, the machine is automatically controlled to pick and place-specific amounts of items with ease.
Read more: Various types of CNC machines
That’s it for this article “Different Types of CNC Machine”. I hope you enjoyed the reading, if so, kindly comment and share with other students. Thanks!
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