When working with a machine shop, you may at first feel a bit in over your head. This is of course in part because  metalworking is quite complex, and must be approached with care. You may know the technical ins and outs of your own industry, but that doesn't mean that you'll be able to easily slide into working with a machinist and understanding everything that they refer to. However, in general, there is a certain amount of jargon that you'll hear when discussing machining and metalworking in general that can be difficult to grasp at first.

Yet, it's important to understand this language because you will likely need to work with machinists at one point or another. A Future Market Insights report published in 2017 revealed that over $4 billion of metalworking fluids were expected to be used for lubricating transportation equipment across the globe. Certainly, this can impact you as you sell equipment for large fleet trucks. With that being said, let's look into some of the machine shop jargon you need to know ahead of time.

1. Adapter

Adapters in machine shops and metalworking settings are different than they would be when you're working with electronic equipment. In machine shops, adapters are used to adapt tools to fit certain machines. Accordingly, you won't need the same tool in several different sizes.

2. Burr

In a machine shop context, a burr is the sharp edge that's left over when you're finished cutting a piece of metal.

3. Center Punch

A center punch may look likely a pencil, but it's made of hardened steel and is meant for machining. The tool is pointed and must, of course, be handled with extreme care.

4. Honing

This is the process of finishing ground surface. It's done with a great delay of accuracy and ultimately produces an extremely smooth finish.

5. Idler

An idler refers to one or multiple gears being placed between two other gears. They'll transfer motion from one gear to another, and will never change speed or ratio during the process.

6. Sandblasting

The sandblasting process involves using a hose to blast sand onto an object using compressed air. This will ultimately shorten the time sanding takes.

Keep in mind, there is much more to learn. This is simply a good starting point. Call us today for further information!