Parting off is the operation of separating the part from the raw material on a lathe machine. Most small parts machined on a lathe include a paring process, thus making it one of the most popular operations. The operation can be performed on a “full rod” and called “Parting to Center”, and will be relatively long depending on the diameter. It can also be performed on a tube (Paring into a bore) and is relatively short depending on the wall thickness.
Parting off is mostly done in bar feed machines, which are commonly used in mass production. The parting off operation is typically only a small portion of the total machining time for the component and is thus not viewed as a target area for time savings. However, some components require additional features to be machined while in the sub spindle after the parting sequence. If chips wrap around the component, they can prevent the next component in the sub spindle from clamping. If this happens, the machine will either scrap or stop. Chips wrapping around the finished component can cause issues in subsequent operations (heat treatments, deburring, assembly, and so on) and ruin the surface finish. Because parting off is typically one of the last operations performed