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RapidDirect As Machined Services
Our quality-focused As Machined services produce parts with surface finish having a surface roughness of Ra 3.2μm and Ra 1.6μm without additional finishing.
As Machined Overview
Parts with as-machined surface finish are characterized by visible tool markings with a surface roughness depending on the machine tool, cutting parameters, tool paths, and the operator’s expertise.
This surface finish is what you get after freshly machining a part without subjecting it to additional processing like honing, grinding, and other surface finishing treatments.
As machined services deliver a machined surface finish, the most convenient option for parts needing tight tolerance and reduced manufacturing cost.
| Surface Roughness | Applicable Materials | Cosmetic Availability | Visual Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ra 3.2μm | Metals, Plastics | No | Cleaning, deburring, and breaking sharp edges only after machining presents a surface without further refinement. |
| Ra 1.6μm | Metals, Plastics | No | Cleaning, deburring, and breaking sharp edges only after machining smoother than Ra3.2 through better machining controls. |
Advantages of As Machined Surface Finish
- Faster production time because it does not require extra finishing steps
- It preserves the workpiece’s integrity and retains its natural look
- Extensive machining material supports
- Suitability for parts with strict dimensional tolerances.
- Cost-effectiveness because the surface finish does not require additional processing
Notes
- A finishing cutting pass can be applied to reduce the roughness of a surface down to 0.8 or 0.4 μm.
As Machined Design Considerations
- Simplify the Part Geometry: Avoid complex part design and reduce tight tolerance when feasible to facilitate a smoother machining operation and reduce surface imperfections.
- Optimize Tooling and Toolpaths: Use sharp and high-quality tools and carefully planned tool paths to minimize vibrations and enhance cutting efficiency, which can affect the surface finish.
- Select Machinable Materials: Use CNC machining materials with excellent machinability and favorable surface finish properties.
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FAQs
The constitution of typical surface finish in machining are roughness, waviness, and lay. Roughness is the irregularities of a part’s surface measured by parameters like roughness average and affected by the machining tool, material, cutting speed, and feed rate.
Waviness is more prolonged irregularities on a part’s surface caused by machine or workpiece deflections, vibrations, or other external factors during machining. Lastly, Lay is the direction of the surface pattern, and it depends on the machining process.
You can improve the quality of an as machined surface by using a high-quality and sharp cutting tool, optimizing the feed rates and cutting speeds, using coolants and lubricants, having a rigid setup to reduce vibration, optimizing the tool paths, and using surface finishing techniques like grinding, polishing, and honing.
You can enhance the quality of an as machined surface by using additional surface finishing techniques like grinding, polishing, and honing. The methods can improve the part functionality and aesthetics. However, they can affect the final part’s dimensional tolerance. Hence, they are not reliable for parts that require tight tolerance.
The quality of an as machined part surface finish depends on the machine tool’s quality, the setup’s rigidity, cutting parameters such as feed rates and cutting speeds, and the operator’s skills. Also, the sourcing procedure for the material plays a huge role in its surface quality. You can contact your sales engineer or us at [email protected] for personalized assistance choosing the suitable material.
Turned parts appear smoother than milled parts because turning involves continuous contact between the cutting tool and the workpiece, ensuring a more consistent cutting action. Furthermore, turning involves using single-point cutting tools that produce a uniform surface finish. In contrast, milling employs a multi-point cutting tool with multiple cutting edges, which can create surface interruptions and variations due to intermittent contact.
Additionally, there is precise control over the feed rate and depth of cut during the turning process. As a result, this leads to a finer finish than the potentially rougher surface produced by the milling process.
Specifying a surface finish as “as machined” in CNC machining is important because it determines the quality and texture of the CNC machined parts. This makes it easy for part manufacturers to get the desired specs as it determines the manufacturing time and cost, part tolerance adherence, and the machining parameters needed to achieve the surface finish.
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