Machine Tools
Metal undergoes a number of processes before it is formed into the required shape: casting (1),
rolling (2), welding (3), piercing (4), trimming (5), spinning (6), bending (7), drawing (8), etc. The
machines which perform all these kinds of work are called machine-tools. Machine-tools are stationary
power-driven machines used to shape or form solid materials, especially metals. Machine tools form
the basis of modern industry.
Machine tools may be classified under three main categories: conventional (обычный
металлорежущий станок) chip-making machine-tools, presses, and unconventional (нетиповой)
machine-tools. Conventional chip-making tools shape the workpiece by cutting away the unwanted
portion in the form of chips. Presses employ a number of different shaping processes, including
shearing (9), pressing, or drawing (elongating).
Unconventional machine-tools employ light, electrical, chemical, and sonic (ультразвук)
energy; superheated gases; and high-energy particle beams (лучи с высокоэнергетическими
частицами) to shape the exotic (редкими) materials and alloys that have been developed to meet the
needs of modern technology.
Cutting is one of the oldest arts practised in the stone age (каменный век), but the cutting of
metals was not found possible until the 18th century, and its detailed study started about a hundred
years ago. Modern machine-tools date from about 1775, when the English inventor John Wilkinson
constructed a horizontal boring machine (сверлильный станок) for producing internal cylindrical
surfaces. About 1794 Henry Maudslay developed the first engine lathe. Later, Joseph Whitworth
developed measuring instruments accurate to a millionth of an inch. His work was of great value
because precise methods of measurement were necessary for the subsequent (последующего) mass
production of articles (изделия) having interchangeable (10) parts.
During the 19th century, such standard machine-tools as lathes, shapers (11), planers (12),
grinders, and saws, as well as milling, drilling, and boring machines reached a high degree of
precision(точность), and their use became widespread in the industrializing nations.
Nowadays all machining operations are done more accurately and faster owing to the
automation of all the production processes. Numerically controlled machine tools (13) (NC) and
flexible manufacturing systems (14) (FMS) have made it possible to do the work automatically. The
operator only watches them and corrects them whenever they go wrong.
Most machining operations generate large amounts of heat and use cooling fluids (usually a
mixture of water and oils) for cooling and lubrication. Cooling increases tool life and helps to stabilize
the size of the finished part. Lubrication reduces friction.
Most materials and their alloys can be machined – some with ease, others with difficulty.
Machinability (15) involves three factors: 1. Ease of chip removal.(легко (простота в) удаление
стружки) 2. Ease of obtaining a good surface finish. 3. Ease of obtaining good tool life(срок службы
инструмента).
Пояснения к тексту:
casting – отливка
rolling – прокат
welding – сварка
piercing – прохождение отверстия
trimming – обрезка
spinning – выдавливание
bending – сгибание
drawing – вытягивание
shearing – срезание
interchangeable – взаимозаменяемый
a shaper – поперечно-строгальный станок
a planer – продольно-строгальный станок
NC machine-tools – станки с ЧПУ
Flexible manufacturing systems – гибкие автоматизированные производственные системы
machinability – способность подвергаться механической обработке
1. Письменно ответьте на следующие вопросы к тексту:
What are the main metal-processing operations?
What are the three main categories of machine-tools?
When was the first machine-tool constructed?
What are unconventional machine-tools?
