The CNC machining process has transformed manufacturing the world over. Whether it’s tiny parts the size of a grain of sand or six-foot diameter cylinders, CNC machining applications provide an unprecedented degree of accuracy. Obviously, with this level of precision, CNC machining processes have been adopted by a wide range of industries in a variety of ways.
Industries
It’s impossible to say one industry is most reliant on CNC machining processes or that CNC machining applications are most closely tied to a given industry. Where critical tolerances and complex designs are required, you’ll find CNC machining.
Aerospace
Aerospace must be the most demanding industry for CNC machining processes. From the discovery of cold welding in a vacuum in the 1940s, engineers realized that getting into the upper atmosphere or space was just the beginning. Doing anything up there in those extremes required truly monumental developments in material sciences. CNC machining was the answer to those problems, and everything from tiny little CubeSats to the James Webb Space Telescope are the result.
Defense
Almost as demanding has been the defense industry. Precision armaments have given us astonishing defensive abilities, allowing us to make our soldiers in the field safer and far more effective. Component miniaturization has made troops more mobile while providing greater capabilities.
Medical
If Aerospace is the most demanding industry for CNC machining applications, Medical is the most critical. Whether it’s medical devices in the operating theatre or implantable devices, CNC machining processes are saving lives. Medical devices have to work every time. Pacemakers don’t get downtime. That’s why the finest CNC work is coupled with 100% inspection regimens when medical devices are being made.
Automotive
Gone are the days when a car was an engine, four wheels, and some seats. CNC machining processes are at the heart of producing vehicles that run smoother, longer, and far more efficiently than old cars. Motor balance, timing, and control all rely on CNC machining. That’s not even addressing all of the safety features which couldn’t exist without the CNC machining applications that bring modern engineering to life.
Oil, Gas, and Mineral Extraction
Drilling and mining may not seem like natural fits for CNC precision. It summons images of giant oil platforms or dump trucks with tolerances the width of your thumb. The rarity of many of these natural resources, however, requires mining companies to focus on almost microscopic particles, which relies on extreme engineering and CNC machining processes. Oil and gas are being pushed to extract from tougher and deeper formations, which also increases their reliance on CNC machining.
Manufacturing
As developments migrate from the specialized to the general, CNC machining applications find more and more use in producing home goods, commercial equipment of all kinds, and a huge variety of consumer electronics. These design and manufacturing practices allow for the reduction of materials and cost savings for both manufacturers and consumers.
Applications
The applications for CNC machining processes are only growing in number. The general trend toward smaller, faster, and more useful things in our lives plays to the strengths of CNC machining.
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R&D
Development of new products or features is fertile ground for CNC machining applications. It’s generally the most cost-effective way to test individual ideas while developing a new device.
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Prototyping
Prototyping is fertile ground for CNC machining. It can produce measurement-perfect models in the target material. There can be no better situation for prototype testing.
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Tooling and Mold-Making
Using CNC machining processes to create machine tooling for moulds for injection moulding and investment casting has become the industry standard, and there’s no better way to get a spot-on profile for a cutting tool.
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Production
Once considered too slow for actual production, CNC machining processes have sped up with advancements in tooling and materials research. Couple that with the need for the high precision afforded by CNC machining, and production has taken to the new technology across the board. Today it’s used in all kinds of production.
Ben Machine has watched the growth and expansion of CNC machining applications. In fact, we’ve led quite a few of those expansions. We’re proud of the investment we’ve made in our people and our equipment to produce some of the highest quality manufacturing systems in the world. Few shops have the level of experience we do, and most of that experience has been with the hypercritical aerospace and defense industries. Let us show you what true professionalism can bring to your production needs.
