Trimming is a process involving the removal of material to finish off the edges of workpieces using sharp tools with a defined geometry, so-called milling cutters, mounted on machine tools such as milling machines or machining centres.
Trimming a workpiece actually involves milling it, but this term is technically and specifically used to indicate the process to finish off the edges of workpieces that are moulded or roughly cut with other processes.
Unlike other, simpler types of processes, trimming requires the rotation of the tool mounted on a spindle moved simultaneously by the motorised axes of a 5-axis machine tool that move the spindle on the workpiece being machined: as they rotate, the sharp edges of the milling cutter remove material from the workpiece when it touches the milling cutter.
Trimming is mainly used to finish off plastic thermoformed materials, composite laminated materials, melted and extruded plastic or aluminium materials, structural sandwiches.
Trimming is used to follow the dimensional tolerances of the initial project by removing excess material and residual stub ends from moulding processes of the piece. It also improves the finish of the edges or eliminates burrs on the corners of the edges due to previous roughing or cutting cycles.
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