Types of Cutting Tools

When machining metals for various industries and applications, cutting tools serve as one of the most crucial aspects of the process. While metal cutting tools have existed for ages, improvements to such equipment pieces have allowed us to achieve high-grade production like never before. Whether one is cutting, welding, drilling, profiling, bending, or milling a metal piece, some type of metal cutting tool will be required for machining. In this blog, we will discuss some of the common types of cutting tools and how they are used, allowing you to best determine what you need for your operations.

Generally speaking, metal cutting technologies encompass tools that remove materials from a working piece. By using such equipment, a piece can be shaped and formed as needed to accommodate a particular application or assembly. Generally, industrial tools will come in the form of single point or multipoint tools, each providing their own use. With single point tools, shaping, planing, turning, and other such machining procedures can be carried out to rid the working piece of excess materials. With multipoint tools, milling, drilling, and grinding may be carried out.

By taking advantage of the various single point tools available on the market, a number of procedures can be carried out to finish a product. With a shaping machine and its related tools, materials can be removed from a workpiece with the use of an oscillating single-point cutting tool. With planer tools and their machining equipment, the procedure of cutting is similar to shaper tools through such machines can handle much longer workpieces that are up to 50 feet in length. Lastly, turning tools are often used to shape workpieces into something that is round, tubular, or another cylindrical shape. To achieve this, turning machines will rotate a workpiece rapidly and place a single-point cutting tool against it.

For multipoint tools, milling, drilling, and grinding machines are most common. Through milling, the workpiece is secured to a fixture and fed through a milling cutter. With such equipment, materials are stripped away from the surface of the metal. With drilling tools and machines, a twist drill featuring a pointed end is forced into a material to produce holes. Beyond drill pieces, holes may also be produced in a metal with the use of reaming, counterboring, boring, tapping, and countersinking. As the last major type of multipoint tool, grinding machines are used to place a workpiece against a rotating abrasive wheel for the means of grinding away undesired materials. As tolerances are extremely small in size, grinding can be one of the most accurate options for machining components.

When procuring tools, there are some notable aspects to be aware of before making a decision. For one, industrial supplies that are used for machining should always have high persistence or resilience. Depending on the working piece and its characteristics, the industrial tool should never be weaker than the metal it is cutting. With high toughness, the tool may also withstand the heat caused by operations while machining. Beyond the strength of the tool, the dimensions, geometry, and other aspects of the equipment piece should all be precise as to ensure efficient and correct usage. Lastly, tools should feature long-service lives to minimize cost, as tools can be expensive depending on their type. Generally, reliable suppliers are best for finding robust industrial OEM equipment and other industrial supplies.

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