What is the difference between a milling machine, an engraving machine and a machining center?

What are the differences between machining centers, engraving and milling machines, and engraving machines? I believe many people have had such doubts before. Today Lunyee will take you to understand the differences between them.

Engraving and Milling Machine

This type of equipment refers to a device that can simultaneously achieve both carving and milling processing methods. This machine increases the spindle, servo motor power, and bed load capacity based on the engraving machine, while also maintaining high spindle speeds. Carving and milling machines equipped with higher speed motors have stronger cutting capabilities, higher processing accuracy, and can directly process materials with a hardness above HRC60. They are widely used in industries such as precision mold processing, batch processing of aluminum products, shoe mold manufacturing, and fixture processing.

CNC Machining Center

One characteristic of CNC machining center equipment is that after the workpiece is clamped once, the CNC system can control the machine tool to automatically select and change tools for different processes, automatically change the spindle speed, feed rate, tool relative to the workpiece's motion trajectory, and other auxiliary functions, continuously automatically drill, ream, tap, bore, thread, mill, and perform multiple processes on the workpiece. This machining method can concentrate and automatically complete multiple processes, avoiding human operational errors, reducing workpiece clamping, measurement, and machine tool adjustment time, as well as workpiece turnover, handling, and storage time, greatly improving processing efficiency and accuracy, thus having good economic benefits.

Engraving Machine

The torque is relatively small, and the spindle speed is high, which is suitable for processing small cutting tools, focusing on the "carving" function, and not very suitable for heavy cutting of large workpieces. It is more commonly used in personal hobbies or small and medium-sized processing crafts.

Comparison of Three Index Data

• Highest spindle speed (r/min):
  • Machining center: 8000
  • Engraving and milling machines (most common): 240000
  • High-speed machines (lowest): 30000
  • Engraving machines (similar to engraving and milling machines): generally the same, with high-gloss processing engraving machines reaching up to 80000 using an air-floating spindle instead of a general electric spindle.
• Main shaft power:
  • Machining centers: the largest, ranging from a few kilowatts to tens of kilowatts
  • Engraving and milling machines: generally within ten kilowatts
  • Engraving machines: the smallest
• Cutting amount:
  • Machining center: the largest, especially suitable for heavy cutting
  • Engraving and milling machines: suitable for finishing
  • Engraving machines: the smallest
• Speed:
  • Engraving and milling machines and engraving machines have faster moving speed and feed speed compared to machining centers, especially high-speed machines equipped with linear motors can reach speeds up to 120m/min.

Comparison of Three Application Objects

Machining centers are used for processing workpieces with larger milling volumes, large molds, and harder materials. Engraving machines are used for finishing smaller milling volumes, precision machining of small molds, and are suitable for copper work, graphite, etc. Engraving machines are more inclined to wood, double-color boards, acrylic boards, and other low hardness sheet processing, or polishing and grinding of chips, metal shells.