Machining basics: turning and milling – primary motion and feed motion

Design & TechnologyMechanical EngineeringAges 16–17

Choose a lathe or a milling machine, then press Run to watch the primary motion (the workpiece spins on a lathe, the cutter spins on a mill) and the feed motion that carries the cutting edge along the workpiece length while chips fly off and a layer of thickness t is removed. Sliders change spindle speed n, depth of cut t and feed rate s; the display shows cutting speed v = πDn/1000 and the time for one feed pass.