Making It Second Edition

Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design

Chris Lefteri

• Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781780673882
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Industrial Design

There are many ways in which a product can be manufactured but most designers know only a handful of techniques. Both informative and incredibly easy to use, this bestselling book explains over 100 production methods in detail. With specially commissioned diagrams, case studies and step-by-step photographs of the manufacturing process, Making It uses contemporary design as a vehicle to describe production processes. It lists their pros and cons, suitable production volumes, costs involved, speed of production, relevant materials and typical applications. The new edition of this inspirational book also evaluates each process in terms of sustainability and its effects on the environment.Making It appeals not only to product designers but also to interior designers, furniture and graphic designers who need access to a range of production methods, as well as to all students of design. The expanded edition includes nine new processes and an all-new section of 40 finishing techniques.

1:
Cut from Solid

Machining

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Cutting

Electron-Beam Machining (EBM)

Turning

Jiggering and Jollying

Plasma-Arc Cutting

The use of cutting tools to sculpt materials

This chapter encompasses some of the oldest processes used in the manufacture of objects, and these processes can be quite simply categorized by the fact that they use tools that cut away, shape, and remove material. Increasingly, the “brutal” part of these processes is being performed by automated CAD-driven machines, which carve effortlessly through most materials, providing yet another avenue for the exploitation of rapid prototyping technology and the replacement of the craftsman who gave life to many products throughout history.

Machining

including turning, boring, facing, drilling, reaming, milling, and broaching

Product	Mini Maglite^® torch
Designer	Anthony Maglica
Materials	aluminum
Manufacturer	Maglite Instruments Inc.
Country	USA
Date	1979

The Maglite^® torch, with its highly distinctive engineered aesthetic, has been produced using a number of metal chip-forming techniques, notably turning. The textured pattern for the grip, however, is produced post forming using a process known as knurling.

Machining belongs to a branch of production that falls under the commonly used umbrella term “chip-forming” (meaning any cutting technique that produces “chips” of material as a result of the cut). All machining processes have in common the fact that they involve cutting in one form or another. Machining is also used as a post-forming method, as a finishing method, and for adding secondary details such as threads.

The term “machining” itself embraces many different processes. These include several forms of lathe operation for cutting metals, such as turning, boring, facing, and threading, all of which involve a cutter being brought to the surface of the rotating material. Turning (see also p.20) generally refers to cutting the outside surface, while boring refers to cutting an internal cavity. Facing uses the cutter to cut into the flat end of the rotating work piece. It is used to clean up the end face, but the same tool can be used to remove excess material.

Threading is a process that uses a sharp, serrated tool to create screw threads in a predrilled hole.

Drilling and reaming are generally also lathe operations (though they can also be done on a milling machine, or by hand), but they require different cutters. As with all lathe operations, the work piece is clamped in the center of a rotating chuck. Whereas drilling is a straightforward operation to create a hole, reaming involves enlarging an existing hole to a smooth finish, which is done with a special reaming tool that has several cutting edges.

Other machining processes include milling and broaching. Milling involves a rotating cutter, similar to a drill, which is often used to cut into a metal surface (though it can be applied to just about any other solid material). Broaching is a process used to create holes, slots, and other complex internal features (such as the internal shape of a spanner head, after it has been forged, see p.187).

1 A very simple setup for milling a chunk of metal. The cutting tool, which resembles a flat drill bit, can be seen fitted above the clamped work piece.

2 A straightforward setup for a lathe operation in which the tube of metal to be cut is clamped into a chuck. The cutter is poised ready to make a cut.

– Very versatile in terms of producing different shapes.

– Can be applied to virtually any solid material.

– High degree of accuracy.

– Can be slow.

– Parts can be restricted to the stock sizes of material used.

– Low material utilization due to wastage when cutting.

Volumes of production

These vary according to type, but computer numerical control (CNC)-automated milling and turning production involves several cutters working on several parts at the same time, which can result in reasonably high volumes of production. This large collection of techniques also includes hand machining of individual components.

Unit price vs. capital investment

In general, there are no tooling costs involved, but the mounting and unmounting of work from the machine reduces production rates. However, the process can still be economical for short runs. CNC-automated milling and turning use CAD files to automate the process and produce complex shapes, which can be batched or mass-produced. Although standard cutters can be used for most jobs, specific cutters may need to be produced, which would drive up o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Comparing Processes
• 1. Cut from Solid
• 2. Sheet
• 3. Continuous
• 4. Thin & Hollow
• 5. Into Solid
• 6. Complex
• 7. Advanced
• 8. Finishing Techniques
• Glossary
• Index
• Acknowledgments
• Picture Credits