The frames and spools undergo multiple machining operations on several different precision CNC lathes and machining centers. This operation is the face profile of a frame. The blank is held in jaws, and is turned up to 4000 rpm. A specialized cutter moves across the aluminum, first as a roughing pass, and later as a finishing pass. Frames in process.
Most operations require coolant to flood the work station.
The coolant often fills the workstation, and is pumped through a filter cycle. By the time a reel is complete, most of the aluminum has been machined away. All the scrap is collected by conveyors and is recycled. Here the holes for the foot screws on a frame are being drilled and tapped. Once the machining is complete, the reels are hand polished and buffed to a mirror finish.