Machining
manufacturing process of material removal by cutting the workpiece
Machining is a manufacturing process where a desired shape or part is created using the controlled removal of material, most often metal, from a larger piece of raw material by cutting. Machining is a form of subtractive manufacturing, which utilizes machine tools, in contrast to additive manufacturing (e.g. 3D printing), which uses controlled addition of material.
Machining is a major process of the manufacture of many metal products, but it can also be used on other materials such as wood, plastic, ceramic, and composites. A person who specializes in machining is called a machinist. As a commercial venture, machining is generally performed in a machine shop, which consists of one or more workrooms containing primary machine tools. Although a machine shop can be a standalone operation, many businesses maintain internal machine shops or tool rooms that support their specialized needs. Much modern-day machining uses computer numerical control (CNC), in which computers control the movement and operation of mills, lathes, and other cutting machines.
History and terminology
The precise meaning of the term machining has changed over the past one and a half centuries as technology has advanced in a number of ways. In the 18th century, the word machinist meant a person who built or repaired machines.
The public source identifies “Machining” as manufacturing process of material removal by cutting the workpiece. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Machining, manufacturing and process.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q192047. The Library of Congress control number is sh85079399. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Machining” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.