Micromachining refers to a material removal process in which the machined feature or parts have at least one of the dimensions in micro meter (10^-6 of a meter). This demands unprecedented accuracy and precision in machining operations. The very small micro parts are used in a myriad of applications ranging from precise and sharp surgical tools used in healthcare to highly polished optical mirrors and reflectors used in aerospace industry.

Machines to fabricate parts with micron scale dimensions are manufactured by few of foreign manufacturers. In India, such machines are imported by industries and educational institutions to perform their desired job. The cost to productivity ratio becomes higher which leads to lower returns. In addition, a large number of industries are forced to outsource the jobs due to financial crunch and very high price of such systems.

CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute located at Durgapur, West Bengal India has developed a micro machining facility which is totally indigenous in terms of its controller and graphical user interfaces and can conduct operations such as micro turning, micro milling, micro drilling and micro patterning with a maximum machining resolution of 10 microns.

The developed system is expected to open up new vistas for Indian manufacturing sector and would make the backbone of the manufacturing sector stronger. As the cost of the system is low, the educational institutions would be benefitted as they could procure such systems for proper skill development. The machine has two different variants: (i) With in-built computer (ii) With RS232 port (DB-9 connector) which can be attached to any computer bearing DB-9 port.

Potential applications:

Potential applications of the system include the following though the applications are not limited to the ones stated as under.

1. Engravings of surgical tools: In surgical tool making industries miniature features are required on them. As the system is capable of generating shapes and features down to 10 microns, it is apt for surgical tool making industries.
2. Jewelry making industries (engravings on gold and silver): The system can be used to generate various engraved designs on gold, silver and other jewelry metals.
3. Punch making industries: As the system can be used for micron scale patterning, it could be used for development of miniature punches.
4. Skill development: The developed system can conduct four different processes with standardized G-codes in its software interface. The G-codes used in the developed system is similar as other machines available in market. As the cost of the system is low, it can be used for CNC machine training and can contribute to skill development.