Turning vs Milling

Illustration of Turning vs Milling

Turning and milling are the two most common types of machining processes where material is removed by a cutting tool.

Cutting by turning and milling is based on the same principle, a cutting edge removing material from a workpiece. For milling, it is the tool's rotational speed that controls the cutting speed while for turning it is the workpiece's rotation.

An advantage of milling is that the chips can never be longer than the engagement distance compared to turning where continuous chips can interfere with the cutting process.

One disadvantage of milling is the strongly varying cutting forces that affect the cutting edge, which results in a shorter life of the cutting tool.

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