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Top: Business: Industrial_Goods_and_Services: Machinery_and_Tools: Cutting_and_Machining: Tooling,_Tools,_Consumables

Although metalworking terms are often used imprecisely by manufacturers and users alike, they are given some special meanings in this Tooling,_Tools,_Consumables segment of the Cutting_and_Machining section of the Directory. Moreover, many companies serving the machining and fabrication industries offer a diverse range of products and often name them in a variety of different ways. However, if only for the sake of some consistency, the following assumptions form the basis of allocating sites in the numerous pages that make up this major category.

1. Tooling is considered to be items such as toolholders and workholders that add to the capabilities and capacity of cutting machines and machine tools. It also refers to add-on equipment that doesn't normally come with an original machine. Quite often it is described as a capital addition as opposed to a product that will wear out and eventually need replacing. (In what may be a useful analogy, a Tooling product can be seen as a computer peripheral.)

2. Tools are adjustable and reusable items that produce a desired result when fitted into a cutting or fabricating machine. The range covers saws, knives, and blades, as well a host of drill bits and inserts, grinding tools, cutting dies, and end mills. (Extending the computer analogy, Tools can be seen as printer ribbons and ink cartridges.)

3. Consumables are items such as lubricants that facilitate cutting, drilling, and machine operations in general, as well as media used with grinding, buffing, and polishing equipment. As the term implies, there's an ongoing use of the product during a machine operation. (A computer analogy isn't readily available, but printing paper and floppy discs are somewhat comparable examples.)

Note: A number of sites are indexed in this main Tooling,_Tools,_Consumables category itself. The rationale for this allocation lies in the fact that the companies involved supply the full range -- or at least a diversified selection -- of these ancillary products.

Additional note: This same "catch-all" principle applies to the three main subcategories (Accessories; Parts_and_Consumables; and Tools) -- i.e. the companies involved have a product or activity range that is varied rather than narrow in focus.

Accessories

This category and its four subcategories are concerned with add-on products that facilitate the use of cutting and machining equipment.

Note: The fluid power component category lists pneumatic and hydraulic products for moving tools and workpieces.

Parts and Consumables

This category -- as well as each of its subcategories -- is concerned with supplementary products and supplies used to facilitate and/or enhance various cutting and machining operations.

Tools

This category contains sites put together by manufacturers and distributors of blades, knives, saws, drills, taps, broaches, end mills, and other cutting and machining tools. The focus is on more than one classification (e.g. Carbide AND Diamond tools) or, in the case of the subcategories, deals with just one specific type (e.g. Carbide OR Diamond tools).

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