The difference between CNC machining and 3D printing

The surface quality of CNC machined parts is often required by the use of the parts. For example, many parts require high surface hardness, such as the molding parts of the mold. The surface quality is to meet the functional requirements of the parts.
When roughing, consider leaving enough and reasonable allowance for finishing;

During finishing, the correct datum plane positioning should be selected, and the reasonable processing sequence, tool material and cutting parameters should be selected to ensure the final quality of the product. CNC machining is a process method for machining parts on CNC machine tools. The process rules of CNC machine tool processing and traditional machine tool processing are generally consistent, but there have also been significant changes. A machining method that uses digital information to control the displacement of parts and tools. It is an effective way to solve the problems of changeable parts variety, small batch, complex shape and high precision and realize efficient and automatic processing.

The surface quality of CNC machined parts affects the use of parts, and parts with defective surfaces affect the performance of parts. CNC machining is performed by the control system to issue instructions to make the tool perform various movements that meet the requirements, and to express the shape and size of the workpiece and other technical requirements and processing technology requirements in the form of numbers and letters. It generally refers to the process of machining parts on CNC machine tools. In order to improve the degree of production automation, shorten the programming time and reduce the cost of CNC machining, a series of advanced CNC machining technologies have also been developed and used in the aerospace industry. For example, a small crack on the surface of a part is likely to expand after use and eventually cause the part to break.
CNC machining will have certain limitations. Some more complex prototypes cannot be processed, while the limitations of 3D printing are very low, no matter how complex the prototypes can be processed.
CNC-processed prototypes are more expensive than 3D printing.
In fact, 3D printing is not as good as CNC processing in terms of printing the whole piece, especially for large pieces, it is generally difficult to achieve with 3D printing, but CNC processing does not have this problem.
3D printing allows your imaginative works or products to be smoothly processed and displayed in front of you, while CNC processing has more advantages in economy and large-scale prototype production.