Glossary Terms

Way of displaying real-world objects on a flat surface, showing only height and width. This system uses only the X and Y axes.

Way of displaying real-world objects in a natural way by showing depth, height and width. This system uses the X, Y and Z axes.

Substance used for grinding, honing, lapping, superfinishing and polishing. Examples include garnet, emery, corundum, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride and diamond in various grit sizes.

Endless band coated with diamond or other abrasive that is fitted to a special band machine for machining difficult-to-cut materials.

Abrasive-coated belt used for production finishing, deburring and similar functions. See coated abrasive.

Blade-like disc with abrasive particles that cuts/parts stock in a slicing motion.

Machine that uses blade-like discs impregnated with abrasive particles to cut/part stock. See saw, sawing machine.

Finishing and deburring operation for holes, inaccessible areas or restricted passages. Done by clamping the workpiece in a fixture, then extruding semisolid abrasive media through the passage. Often, multiple parts are loaded into a single fixture and finished simultaneously.

Various grinding, honing, lapping and polishing operations that utilize abrasive particles to impart new shapes, improve finishes and part stock by removing metal or other material.

System that uses high-pressure waterjets in combination with a slurry of fine abrasive grains to machine materials. See waterjet cutting.

Variation of bandsawing that uses a small-diameter wire with diamond, cubic boron nitride or aluminum-oxide abrasives bonded to the surface as the cutting blade. Alternative to electrical-discharge machining for producing dies, stripper plates, electrodes and cams from difficult-to-machine conductive and nonconductive materials. See bandsawing.

Sulfur, chlorine and other materials added to cutting fluids to improve lubricity, stabilize oil emulsions and prevent chipwelding under high heat and pressure. See cutting fluid.