Cutting and Punching Tools Key Terms

Familiarize yourself with the key terms relating to cutting and punching tools

By Howard Robertson

Cutting and punching tools are useful in various industries, including woodworking, metal and plastic. With a wide variety of cutting and punching tools available in the market, it is important to understand which tool best suits your application requirement.

If you want to use cutting and punching tools for your applications, you will need to understand various technical terms that specify the types of tools. This guide intends to familiarize you with the key terms for cutting and punching tools, such as broaches, punching dies, punch press, cutting tool inserts, table saws and hot wire cutters.

Broaches

A broach is a piece of steel or metal with a series of increasingly taller chisel points. The teeth of the broach can cut steel, brass or any other metal very easily. The basic purpose of using a broach is to expand a circular or rectangular slot in an industrial product.
Try: You can read through the basics of broach at Mechanicalindetail.info, an informative website for mechanical engineering concepts.

Lathe machines

A lathe spins a block of material on its axis against a fixed tool to perform various operations, such as cutting or drilling.
Try: You can read through detailed information about lathes at MechE, a website created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Punching dies

A punching die is used for punching holes in a flat stock material.
Try: You can learn more about punching dies at All Kinds Of Dies, an informative website about dies.

Endmills

An endmill is a machine tool used for shaping metal and other solid materials. It exists in two basic forms - horizontal and vertical. The form of endmill indicates the orientation of the cutting tool spindle.
Try: NMRI (National Maritime Research Institute) offers detailed information about endmills.

Punch press

A punch press is useful for carrying out various forming operations, such as stamping, punching, blanking, bending and shearing.
Try: To learn more about punch presses, you can read through an informative article at wiseGEEK.

Cutting tool inserts

A cutting tool insert is small part attached to a cutting tool that can be replaced after a pre-defined operation time.
Try: GlobalSpec, an informative website, offers detailed information about cutting tool inserts.

Table saws

A table saw is a popular woodworking tool for cutting wood. The saw mechanism is located within a table base, with the blade sticking above the surface of the table. The saw cuts the wood with a round blade.
Try: Inside Woodworking offers more information about table saws.

Hot wire cutters

A hot wire cutter is a tool for cutting styrofoam. This cutter consists of a thin wire, which is heated with a low voltage power supply to slice (or cut) the foam.
Try: TerraGenesis, an online information resource, provides explanation about hot wire cutters.

Abrasive cutting tools

Abrasive cutting tools remove the component material by rubbing an abrasive over the component to be machined. A grinding wheel is the most basic type of abrasive cutting tool.
Try: Grindwell Norton (PDF), an abrasives manufacturer, offers detailed information on abrasive cutting.