Turning vs Milling: What's the Difference? | Blog Posts | OneMonroe (2024)

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Turning vs Milling: What's the Difference? | Blog Posts | OneMonroe? ›

Turning forces the workpiece to rotate, whereas milling forces the cutting tool to rotate. With different mechanism, they each offer unique advantages when used in the manufacturing industry.

The simple way to distinguish between the two is that turning forces the workpiece to rotate while milling forces the cutting too to rotate. Despite the different mechanics, they both offer advantages when used in the manufacturing industry.

Turning rotates the workpiece against a cutting tool. It uses primarily round bar stock for machining components. Milling spins the cutting tool against a stationary workpiece. It uses primarily square or rectangular bar stock to produce components.

Turning will remove more material faster than milling, but with tough, ductile materials (like 718) milling might have the advantage of chip control.

Mill-turn techniques combine the best of a mill and a lathe. A mill-turn center is essentially a hybrid machine that uses the tool rotation of milling and the workpiece rotation of turning. Mill-turn allows users to machine more complex parts without switching machining centers and in much less time.

Turn milling is defined as the milling of a curved surface while rotating the workpiece around its center point. Eccentric forms or shapes that differ considerably from those produced by conventional milling or turning operations can often be turn milled.

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.

CNC turning is well suited for creating small to medium-sized parts with a smooth surface finish. In contrast, CNC milling can be used to create larger and more complex parts with a variety of surface finishes.

CNC milling processes involve the material being held in place while the cutting tools rotate around it. CNC turning, on the other hand, requires the tools to maintain in the same place while the material is rotated at speed to create the exact shape.

In the realm of milling cutters, three types emerge as foundational: the Roughing End Mill, the Slab Mill, and the End Mill Cutter. These three cutter types have distinct applications and offer unique advantages.

What is the best rpm for milling? ›

Mill is harder to get proficient at running; lathe is harder to get very good at understanding the physics, in order to understand how to develop a process to make a very challenging part.

The machining accuracy of milling is generally up to IT8-IT7, and the surface roughness is 6.3-1.6μm. It is mainly used for the shape processing of parts. The machining accuracy of planing can generally reach IT9-IT7, and the surface roughness is Ra6. 3-1.6μm.

Most machinists only consider using a mill as a lathe because they can't afford to get both tools. But if that's the case, it's far easier to use a lathe as a mill. Most lathes can quite easily do at least some milling – and you can use a lathe to create most of the parts you need to build your own mill, also.

CNC turning centers and lathes may seem identical, but they generally refer to slightly different machines. Lathes generally only turn while turning centers can be more advanced. These machines can be capable of facing, threading, knurling, drilling, boring, reaming, and taper turning.

Turning creates cylindrical shapes and capabilities on a workpiece's external and internal surfaces, while milling can create diverse shapes and functions. In turning, the workpiece rotates around the cutting tool while machining. The cutting tool moves and rotates while the workpiece remains fixed in milling.

Machining is a broader term that encompasses various processes for shaping and removing material from a workpiece, and milling is one of those specific processes.

Turning and milling are two common machining processes that remove material from a workpiece with the assistance of a cutting tool. While similar, though, they use different methods to achieve this goal. Turning forces the workpiece to rotate, whereas milling forces the cutting tool to rotate.

Turning:Process: Turning is a machining process that involves the rotation of a workpiece while a cutting tool removes material to create cylindrical shapes. This is typically done on a lathe. Tool Movement: The cutting tool moves parallel to the axis of rotation of the workpiece.