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Swarf, also known as chips or by other process-specific names (such as turnings, filings, or shavings), are pieces of metal, wood, or plastic that are the debris or waste resulting from machining, woodworking, or similar subtractive (material-removing) manufacturing processes. Swarf can be small particles (such as the gritty swarf from grinding metal or the sawdust from sawing or sanding wood); long, stringy tendrils (such as the springy chips from turning tough metals, or long shavings from whittling); slag-like waste (such as is produced within pipe during pipefitting work); or stone fragments and dust (as in masonry). [1]
Some of these terms are mass nouns (such as swarf and sawdust) and some of them are count nouns (such as chips, filings , or shavings ).
Wood swarf is discussed at sawdust .
Chips can be extremely sharp and they can cause serious injuries if not handled correctly. It is not uncommon for chips flying off the cutter to be ejected with great force and to fly several yards.
Due to its high surface area, swarf composed of some reactive metals can be highly flammable. Swarf may also spontaneously combust, especially if the swarf is coated with cutting oil. [2] To extinguish swarf fires, a special fire extinguisher is needed, designed for fighting Class D (metal) fires.
When machining without coolant, swarf is usually very hot and can easily burn the machine operator. Machinists typically wear long pants, eye protection and other personal protective equipment for this reason.
Some common engineering materials such as beryllium are hazardous when finely divided and appropriate measures should be taken to prevent exposure.
For ease of transport and handling, swarf may be compressed into bricks. Metal swarf can usually be recycled.
The router is a power tool with a flat base and a rotating blade extending past the base. The spindle may be driven by an electric motor or by a pneumatic motor. It routs an area in hard material, such as wood or plastic. Routers are used most often in woodworking, especially cabinetry. They may be handheld or affixed to router tables. Some woodworkers consider the router one of the most versatile power tools.
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale: from huge ships, buildings, and bridges, down to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry.
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, which uses controlled addition of material.
A drill bit is a cutting tool used in a drill to remove material to create holes, almost always of circular cross-section. Drill bits come in many sizes and shapes and can create different kinds of holes in many different materials. In order to create holes drill bits are usually attached to a drill, which powers them to cut through the workpiece, typically by rotation. The drill will grasp the upper end of a bit called the shank in the chuck.
Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder is used to ignite kindling, which in turn is used to ignite the bulk material, to produce a fire.
Pulpwood can be defined as timber that is ground and processed into a fibrous pulp. It is a versatile natural resource commonly used for paper-making but also made into low-grade wood and used for chips, energy, pellets, and engineered products.
Swarfega is a brand of heavy-duty hand cleaner made by Deb Limited, a British company based in Denby, Derbyshire. It is used in engineering, construction and other manual trades, such as printing.
A briquette is a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material used for fuel and kindling to start a fire. The term derives from the French word brique, meaning brick.
Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is pressed against the work-piece and rotated at rates from hundreds to thousands of revolutions per minute. This forces the cutting edge against the work-piece, cutting off chips (swarf) from the hole as it is drilled.
Particle board, also known as particleboard or chipboard, is an engineered wood product, belonging to the wood-based panels, manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic, mostly formaldehyde based resin or other suitable binder, which is pressed under a hot press, batch- or continuous- type, and produced. Particle board is often confused with oriented strand board, a different type of fiberboard that uses machined wood flakes and offers more strength.
A drawknife is a traditional woodworking hand tool used to shape wood by removing shavings. It consists of a blade with a handle at each end. The blade is much longer than it is deep. It is pulled or "drawn" toward the user.
Bulk material handling is an engineering field that is centered on the design of equipment used for the handling of dry materials. Bulk materials are those dry materials which are powdery, granular or lumpy in nature, and are stored in heaps. Examples of bulk materials are minerals, ores, coal, cereals, woodchips, sand, gravel, clay, cement, ash, salt, chemicals, grain, sugar, flour and stone in loose bulk form. It can also relate to the handling of mixed wastes. Bulk material handling is an essential part of all industries that process bulk ingredients, including: food, beverage, confectionery, pet food, animal feed, tobacco, chemical, agricultural, polymer, plastic, rubber, ceramic, electronics, metals, minerals, paint, paper, textiles and more.
Sawdust is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling and routing. It is composed of very small chips of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, portable power tools or by use of hand tools. In some manufacturing industries it can be a significant fire hazard and source of occupational dust exposure.
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
This article is a list of terms commonly used in the practice of metalworking – the science, art, industry, and craft of shaping metal.
A screw conveyor or auger conveyor is a mechanism that uses a rotating helical screw blade, called a "flighting", usually within a tube, to move liquid or granular materials. They are used in many bulk handling industries. Screw conveyors in modern industry are often used horizontally or at a slight incline as an efficient way to move semi-solid materials, including food waste, wood chips, aggregates, cereal grains, animal feed, boiler ash, meat, bone meal, municipal solid waste, and many others. The first type of screw conveyor was the Archimedes' screw, used since ancient times to pump irrigation water.
Bedding, in ethology and animal husbandry, is material, usually organic, used by animals to support their bodies when resting or otherwise stationary. It reduces pressure on skin, heat loss, and contamination by waste produced by an animal or those it shares living space with.
Chip formation is part of the process of cutting materials by mechanical means, using tools such as saws, lathes and milling cutters.
Metal swarf, also known as chips or by other process-specific names, are pieces of metal that are the debris or waste resulting from machining or similar subtractive (material-removing) manufacturing processes. Metal swarf can be small particles or long, stringy tendrils.
Any type of woodworking that involves cutting, either by hand or machine, releases sawdust. Because fine sawdust can float through the air, it can be easily inhaled without proper protection, leading to damaging injuries to a woodworker's skin and lungs. Sawdust is also an IARC group 1 Carcinogen.