Machining

Machining is part of manufacturing of almost all metal products. Using raw materials and power driven tools, machining is the process of mechanically cutting material to the desired geometry. Machining technology began in the late 19th century and continued to thrive through the 1980s. At its peak machining was at the heart of a prosperous American economy.

Machining was responsible for the development of motor vehicles, elevators, air travel, space travel, industrialized technological development and complicated development of technology for the medical field.  During the growth of this country, machining was the backbone of the industrial revolution and machine shops were set up and machinist trained and hired to perform the specialized labor. There are several different machining operations which include:  turning, drilling, milling, shaping, planning, broaching, and sawing. All applications are very distinctive in their respective application.

Before the development of the machining process, mass production literally did not exist. However, the increased understanding and development of machining technology afforded the United States and other countries the opportunity to turn out mass produced products by the 1940s. The industrial revolution had gone global in a sense, and countries such as France, Britain, Germany, Australia, Japan, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and even the Soviet Union, joined the United States in opening workshops and mass producing products by the thousand.

Today, manufacturing shops are not as prevalent in the United States as they were during the industrial revolution.  Unfortunately, many of the manufacturing/machining jobs are now outsourced to other countries in an effort to avoid increased manufacturing costs. However, machining continues to exist in the background and remains essential for our economy to function.