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Science, Maths & Technology
Water jet cutting (Hydrodynamic cutting)
High velocity, high pressure water jets (or a mixture of water and an abrasive) are used to cut into the surface of the workpiece. Used mainly on non-metallic thin sheet material.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Creep feed grinding
Effectively a milling process, as high volumes of material can be removed, producing deeper cuts, in a single pass of the grinding wheel. Final surface finishing of the workpiece is provided during a second pass of the grinding wheel, which has by then been dressed by a small diamond roller. Chips of workpiece material are washed away by a jet ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Centreless grinding
Differs from the conventional grinding process in that the workpiece is held between two grinding wheels, rotating in the same direction at different speeds, and a work rest platform. The speed of the grinding wheels rotation relative to each other determines the rate at which material is removed.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Grinding
A mechanical process using a rotating grinding wheel made from abrasive material containing small particles of grit ranging from fine to coarse. The wheel revolves around a central axis, making contact with the surface of the workpiece, while the particles act as cutting tools that cut chips from the material.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Multipoint cutting (rotational)
A mechanical machining process, where a tool with more than one sharp cutting edge rotates on a horizontal or vertical axis, to remove material from the workpiece.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Multipoint cutting (translational)
A mechanical machining process, where a tool with more than one sharp cutting edge (‘teeth’) moves horizontally or vertically to remove material from the workpiece.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Gene testing
This free course, Gene testing, looks at three different uses of genetic testing: pre-natal diagnosis, childhood testing and adult testing. Such tests provide genetic information in the form of a predictive diagnosis, and as such are described as predictive tests. Pre-natal diagnosis uses techniques such as amniocentesis to test fetuses in the ...
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Money & Business
Should we tax robots who replace humans in the workplace?
Could the taxation system provide a solution to the rise of automation?
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Science, Maths & Technology
What connects knitting to helicopter design?
The skills you learn knitting could come in handy putting a helicopter together. The OU's Claudia Eckert explains why.
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Nature & Environment
How are tiny air pollutants causing massive storms in the Amazon?
The smallest specks of air pollution can create enormous storms in the rainforest - and we don't yet understand enough about this, reports Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Could Brexit allow the UK to drop the ban on cloning?
Human cloning is currently banned under EU law. Brexit should allow the UK to dump this rule, believes Hugh McLachlan.
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Digital & Computing
China and the internet
John Perry Barlow's experiences suggest some in China are wary of the rapid change promised by the internet - but that doesn't mean it's a nation closed to innovation.