A machine shop is both an engineer's laboratory and an artist's studio. Some operations require a lot of precision and planning and three dimensions, while others are more free form. Each material and each operation require different machines, but they all follow the same basic principles. By knowing the possibilities and limitations of the tools, you can better design the objects you create.

If you ever visit an industrial manufacturing plant, you might find that many of the machines are unfamiliar. They might look like something you've seen before, but with a different set-up or different tooling. The secret to a machine shop is that all of the tools operate on the same principles. A machine may have straight or rotating blades, a flat-edged or angled cutting tool, a moving tool or a moving workpiece. By understanding first the basic concepts of the machine shop, you can figure out how to use a machine that might not be as familiar, or even create your own tools to solve a special machining problem.

This on-line machine shop course is developed for beginning shop users. Five tools are presented: the bandsaw, drill press, belt sander, grinder, and buffer. These represent some of the simplest operations in the shop: make rough cuts, drill holes, and smooth down edges. Conceptually, they are similar to hand tools such as a hand saw, hand drill, and sand paper. The advantage of these large, stationary machines, however, is that they provide more rigidity and precision in removing material.

Out of the five machines in this course, when would you choose to use each one?

Bandsaw
Used to make rough cuts that don't have sharp turns. To make narrower or more precise cuts, you would use a milling machine.

Drill Press
Used to make holes. These can go all the way through the piece (through holes) or only part-way through (blind holes). Solid drill bits come in sizes up to 0.5 inch, and hollow circular hole drills come in sizes up to 3.0 inches.

Belt sander
Used for smoothing rough surfaces, but does not produce a very fine finish. A belt sander is a moving sheet of sandpaper against which you hold the workpiece. Two common configurations include a circular sanding pad which is rotated along its center axis, or a loop of sandpaper which spins around two pulleys.

Grinder
Used for smoothing rough surfaces or for use on very hard materials such as tool steel. (Do NOT use a grinding wheel for aluminum or plastics.) The grinder has a stone wheel which rotates about its center axis. Its function is similar to that of the belt sander, except that it has a much narrower contact surface.

Buffer/Deburring Wheels
Used for fine finishes. Both the buffer and deburring wheels (operated on the same motor) have a much softer surface than the grinding stone. By using fine wire or cotton wheel, this machine will leave finer scratch marks on the surface, making it look smooth. Deburring and buffing are usually done as a final surface finish for your part or to smooth off the end of the workpiece before trying to make a measurement.

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