swarf
/swɑːf
/noun [mass noun]
Fine chips or filings of stone, metal, or other material produced by a machining operation: a curl of metal swarf...
- When we first arrived at one of the designated factories and saw wing struts being milled out of solid slabs of Aluminium on a milling machine 80 metres long, I was gobsmacked - swarf and shiny metal everywhere.
- There is a perception is that engineering is still cloth caps, oily rags, swarf and metal bashing - however, it isn't like that.
- Grinding, for a variety of reasons (e.g., speed of operation; coolant and swarf handling; wheel cost), can be an expensive operation.
Origin
Mid 16th century: either from Old English geswearf 'filings' or from Old Norse svarf 'file dust'.