--- title: CNC Machining Blog | Hurco CNC Machine Tools | Automation description: Automation | Welcome to the Hurco CNC machine tool blog. Subscribe for weekly posts on high-speed and 5-axis machining, workholding, the latest control technologies, plus Hurco tips-and-tricks…just to name a few. --- # CNC Machining Blog - Tips and Tricks for Machinists Welcome to the Hurco CNC machine tool blog. Subscribe for weekly posts on high-speed and 5-axis machining, workholding, the latest control technologies, plus Hurco tips-and-tricks…just to name a few. Browse by All Manufacturing Industry Insights CNC Control & Software Milling WinMax Conversational Programming 5-Axis Machining NC / G-Code Programming CAD/CAM / Post Processor Hurco Turning Lathe Tooling Mill Tooling control technology High Speed Machining Mold Making Tool & Die Prototype Machining Workholding Automation Aerospace & Defense Hurco History cnc lathe turning center cnc machining entrepreneur history of machining 3d dxf Automotive Gerald Roch Hurco50 Indiana business Mr. Roch US Navy USS Indiana Vintage Hurco conversational cnc control conversational programming customer dxf dxf transfer hurco cnc indy inventions inventor manufacturing history 2-axis shearing machine 2d dxf 3D Import AI Artificial Intelligence COVID-19 Circle Segment Cutters Compu-cut Coronavirus Ed Humston Energy Hurco 50th Anniversary Hurco US Navy IRS Make48 Medical NHRA PRI Show Purdue Polytechnic Anderson Youth in Manufacturing autobend cnc mill depreciation federal income tax future history of Hurco how its made indycar racing rigid robust section 179 smart machining tax deduction vmx y-axis ## Posts about Automation: ![Automation and Machining: It's Not Just for High Production](https://blog.hurco.com/hs-fs/hub/209468/file-2054332027.jpg) [Milling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/milling) [Manufacturing Industry Insights](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/manufacturing-industry-insights) [control technology](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/control-technology) [Automation](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/automation) PUBLISHED: NOV. 7, 2014  UPDATED: AUG. 3, 2023 When people hear the term “automation,” it usually conjures visions of high-production processes, where shops are running hundreds of thousands of the same part. But in today’s ever-changing and increasingly competitive industry, that is not always the case. Just like many small job shops have begun to migrate toward [5-axis machines](https://info.hurco.com/en-us/5-axis-cnc-machining-5-sided-full-5-axis-with-hurco?utm_source=Catch-All-Vanity&utm_medium=URL&utm_campaign=5-Axis&utm_content=Unleash-Your-True-Potential) to increase multi-sided part efficiency, those same shops are also beginning to move toward automation to help them increase profits. To understand and begin this migration toward automation, you first must understand and buy in to the ideas of standardization and palletization. Winning in the game of high-mix, low-volume part manufacturing means reducing spindle downtime. The first step towards winning that battle is standardizing your setup process. At the end of the day, you can only invoice for the parts that you have completed. So, reducing idle time between jobs is a crucial step to getting more done in a typical eight-hour shift. ![Part & Tool Probing for High-Mix, Low Volume CNC Machining Environment](https://blog.hurco.com/hs-fs/file-361353097-jpg/images/probing_1.jpg) [WinMax Conversational Programming](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/winmax-conversational-programming) [Milling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/milling) [CNC Control & Software](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/cnc-control-software) [Manufacturing Industry Insights](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/manufacturing-industry-insights) [Prototype Machining](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/prototype-machining) [Automation](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/automation) In today’s CNC machining industry, it’s all about quick setup and changeover between parts, especially in an environment where you run a high mix of low volumes. In this article, I want to discuss how part and tool probing can offer a real advantage for the shops that find themselves in this type of environment. ![3D Printing: will it replace traditional manufacturing?](https://blog.hurco.com/hs-fs/file-315091712-jpg/images/3d-printing_1.jpg) [Manufacturing Industry Insights](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/manufacturing-industry-insights) [Prototype Machining](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/prototype-machining) [Automation](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/automation) For the past ten years or so, we have seen 3D printing technology – also called Additive Manufacturing – really gain momentum in the industry. In fact, it has become so common-place that there has been speculation by some that it might actually replace traditional manufacturing in the not so distant future. Although I can see many benefits of this amazing new technology, and although I do agree that it will someday impact our lives – such as how we, as consumers, acquire many common household items - I have my reservations about how much it will ultimately change the need for traditional manufacturing processes as we know them. Because of the limitations on mixing printing materials, and the fact that the materials available for use in printing are not always the best for a particular application - not everything that can be printed, should be printed. ![Helpful Job Shop Products for Machinists](https://blog.hurco.com/hs-fs/file-61732003-jpg/images/shop_resources_1.jpg) [5-Axis Machining](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/5-axis-machining) [Milling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/milling) [CNC Control & Software](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/cnc-control-software) [Manufacturing Industry Insights](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/manufacturing-industry-insights) [Mill Tooling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/mill-tooling) [Workholding](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/workholding) [Turning](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/turning) [Lathe Tooling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/lathe-tooling) [Prototype Machining](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/prototype-machining) [Automation](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/automation) As machinists, we are all aware of the standard tools of our trade. However, there are other non-standard tools available that not everyone is aware of and could be very helpful in our day-to-day life in the job shop. Just like any other industry, if there is a time consuming and mundane procedure that must be completed, you can bet that somewhere there is someone who has already invented a tool or device that would make that task easier. Here is a list of helpful products for machinists that addresses workholding, fixture building, part and tool setup, coolant nozzles and more: ![The Hurco blog - an introduction](https://blog.hurco.com/hs-fs/file-29195441-jpg/images/mike.jpg) [Energy](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/energy) [Aerospace & Defense](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/aerospace-defense) [Medical](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/medical) [Automotive](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/automotive) [5-Axis Machining](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/5-axis-machining) [WinMax Conversational Programming](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/winmax-conversational-programming) [NC / G-Code Programming](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/nc-g-code-programming) [Milling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/milling) [CNC Control & Software](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/cnc-control-software) [Manufacturing Industry Insights](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/manufacturing-industry-insights) [Mill Tooling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/mill-tooling) [Workholding](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/workholding) [Turning](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/turning) [Lathe Tooling](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/lathe-tooling) [CAD/CAM / Post Processor](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/cadcam-post-processor) [Tool & Die](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/tool-die) [Mold Making](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/mold-making) [Prototype Machining](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/prototype-machining) [High Speed Machining](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/high-speed-machining) [Automation](https://blog.hurco.com/topic/automation) ​Hello, and welcome to the Hurco blog. I will be updating and posting something new each week on a variety of different subject matter: high-speed and 5-axis machining, workholding, the latest control technologies, and Hurco tips-and-tricks…just to name a few. ### Subscribe to the Machinists Blog Copyright © 2026, Hurco Companies, Inc. ![](https://secure.pass8heal.com/222100.png)