Horizontal Machining, also known as milling, relies on rotary cutters to remove metal from a work piece. Horizontal machining occurs on a horizontal machining center, which utilizes a spindle that is parallel to the ground floor. With a horizontally oriented spindle, tools stick out of the side of the tool holder and cut across the side of a work piece, heartening chips to fall away from the table. Horizontal machining centers also permit for two-pallet changer integration to facilitate unattended operation and reduce part cycle times. Horizontal machining centers possess a spindle in horizontal position unlike Vertical machining centers where the spindle position is Vertical.
Horizontal machining centers have a rotary table mounted on a moving axis. This enables machining of four faces of a part in a single setup .Table mounted fixtures can also be used for special setups of the same part.
Productions such as milling, drilling, tapping, boring, profiling etc. can be carried out by indexing the rotary table to the preferred angle. The customary rotary tables available as can have constant indexing or one degree or five degree or 90 deg indexing as desired by the customer. Added rotary axis can also be mounted on the table to enhance machining capability.