What is CNC Reaming? Reaming is similar to drilling, with the difference being that it only takes a little bit of materials around the holes. The purpose is to perfect the drilled holes around the material workpiece for a more polished surface finish.
Benefits of Reaming
As a preferred surface finishing process in CNC machining, reaming gives you many advantages for the prototypes or parts you are working on. Reaming can deal with drilled holes in your CNC-machined parts or rapid prototyping parts and improve them in a seamless surface finishing operation. Here are the benefits of reaming:
● Minimize Surface Finishing Costs
The reaming CNC operation is an affordable surface-finishing process that can help improve the overall quality of your manufactured parts or components. The reaming process goes after drilling the material workpiece to perfect the drilled holes around your rapid prototypes or parts. Reaming is also a surefire way to increase the value of the machined parts or components you sell to your clients.
● Reaming: Increase the Accuracy of the Component’s Holes
The holes you have drilled into the material workpiece will not be as accurate as when you apply CNC reaming in them. CNC reaming also has the function to help make the drilled holes in your machined components or parts more accurate with a higher level of tolerance. In turn, reaming can also help ease the further assembly process of your CNC-machined parts and components.
● Create a Better Look for the Surface Finish
Drilled holes in your machined parts or components often have irregular shapes that can affect their overall look. With CNC reaming, you can fix this problem fast and efficiently. Reaming can help make the drilled holes look neater and much better. It will add more aesthetics to your CNC-machined prototypes, parts, or components.
● Lengthen the Lifecycle of the CNC Tools
Reaming doesn’t use extensive power when you apply the reaming tools to the CNC-machined parts or components. You will only use 50% RPM for the reaming CNC operation. With this lower power use, you can lengthen the lifecycle of the CNC reamer tools you use compared to drilling or boring.
Potential Problems in Reaming
Despite its advantages, CNC reaming is not without its issues. Some problems or errors might happen during your CNC reaming operations, which you must resolve immediately before continuing. Here are some potential problems in reaming:
● Hole Size
The drilled holes might be too small or too large for the CNC reaming process. This problem can hinder you from achieving the best CNC-reaming result for your material workpiece. It’s best to inspect the drilled holes and use the reaming tools with the same diameter as the drilled holes.
● Bent CNC Reamer Tools
Sometimes, bending can happen to the CNC reamer tools because of wrong usage or technical issues. You can’t use the bent CNC reamer tools to proceed with the reaming operation. The bent CNC reamer tools can damage the material workpiece and the area around the drilled holes. Replace the bent CNC reamer tools as soon as possible with the new ones.
● Misalignment of Reaming Axis During Operation
During the reaming operations, your CNC reamer tools might get out of alignment with the drilled holes. This misalignment can cause the reamer tools to penetrate the wrong area around the drilled holes. It can also cause the reamer tools to break if you keep on pushing it. Stop the reaming operation right away when this happens and proceed with realigning the reamer axis to fix this issue.
● Unstable Reamer Movements
Just like drilling, CNC reaming requires constant movements with a stable RPM. The instability in the reamer movements can happen because of various factors, such as the loosening of the reamer tools. This problem might damage the initial drilled holes and jeopardize your reaming efforts. Adjust the speed of the reaming tools, and don’t forget to adjust the tightness of the reaming axis when this happens.
Tips for a Successful Reaming Operation
● Prepare the Drilled Holes for Reaming
You need to prepare some area for the reaming operation around the drilled holes in your material workpiece. Typically, it will be around 0.015 inches surrounding the drilled holes. This area will be enough to apply CNC reaming with the appropriate hole diameter sizes. Your reamed holes might become inaccurate if you don’t prepare additional space for them.
● Take Care of the Reamer Tools’ Angle
The wrong reamer tools’ angle can damage the drilled hole in your material workpiece. The reamer tools’ angle must align perfectly with the drilled hole. It is to ensure the CNC reamer tools can go through the drilled hole to apply the reams with minimum miscalculations. Always take some time to align your CNC reamer tools’ angle with the drilled hole in the machined parts or components.
● Use Durable and Suitable Reamer Tools
Reamer tools can easily break when used for extensive CNC reaming operations. The less durable CNC reamer tools you use against the strong workpiece material might also break easily. So, use only CNC reamer tools that are durable and suitable for the reaming operations you will apply. The robust, high-quality, and durable reamer tools will perform much easier and faster during the CNC reaming operations.
● Adjust the Reaming Tool Speed from Time to Time
The speed of your CNC reaming tools can make or break the reaming operations because it will affect the result you will get. Reamers will often work at half the RPM of drilling tools. However, you might need to adjust the speed faster or slower based on various factors. Slower reaming tools speed can give you an easier entry into the parts’ drilled holes. It is useful when you get stuck when reaming certain areas around the machined parts.
Conclusion
As an essential surface finishing process in CNC machining services, reaming can offer various improvements for the machined parts and components you work on. Applying the correct CNC reaming procedures can give you the best result in this surface-finishing process. Also, be sure to avoid any issues or errors during the reaming operations, as it can damage your material workpiece and bring your production process to a halt. Contact TEAM MFG for CNC machining and low volume manufacturing services now!
