Milling and grinding are two machining processes that are common in manufacturing. They both involve removing material from a workpiece, and they both support a wide variety of materials. Whether the workpiece is made of iron, aluminum, steel, copper or any other metal or alloy, it can be manipulated by milling or grinding. However, milling and grinding are not the same. They each work in different ways to remove material from workpieces.
What is milling?
Milling is a machining process that involves removing material from a workpiece using a milling machine. Milling machines have cutting blades that rotate as they press against the workpiece. The workpiece is held in place so that it cannot rotate or otherwise rotate. However, during operation, milling machines press rotating cutting tools against a stationary workpiece. As the cutting tool moves across the workpiece, it scrapes away material, reducing size.
Milling can be classified as face or periphery, depending on the position of the cutting tool. Face milling involves cutting motions at the corners of the cutting tool, while peripheral milling involves cutting motions that run around the circumference of the cutting tool. Perimeter milling is often used to cut deep slots and gear teeth.
What is grinding?
Grinding, on the other hand, is a machining process that involves the removal of material from a workpiece using a disc-shaped grinding wheel. There are several types of grinding wheels, some of which include grinding stones, angle Grinders, die Grinders, and specialty Grinders. Regardless of the grinding wheel, however, all grinding processes use abrasive grains to "grind" material away from the workpiece surface.
When the workpiece is exposed to the grinding wheel, some of its material rubs off. Having said that, grinding is commonly used to remove material from workpieces as well as to polish them. If the surface of the workpiece is rough, grinding can make it smoother. The abrasive particles on the grinding wheel will be smooth, thereby polishing the surface of the workpiece.
epilogue
While they both involve the physical removal of material from a workpiece, milling and grinding are not the same. The former process is characterized by the use of milling machines, while the latter process is characterized by the use of grinding wheels.
