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((Short description|Filing debris or waste resulting from metal manufacturing processes))
((More citations needed|date=July 2018))
[[Image:SwarfSamples.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Various examples of metal swarf, including a block of compressed swarf. Broken up chips are preferred over stringy drill chips.<ref>*Roberts, Arthur D. & Lapidge, Samuel C.: ''Manufacturing Processes'' p. 146 McGraw-Hill (1977) ((ISBN|0-07-053151-X))</ref>]]

'''Metal swarf''', also known as '''chips''' or by other process-specific names (such as '''turnings''', '''filings''', or '''shavings'''), are pieces of metal that are the debris or waste resulting from [[machining]] or similar subtractive (material-removing) manufacturing processes. Metal swarf can be small particles (such as the gritty swarf from [[grinding (abrasive cutting)|grinding]] metal) or long, stringy tendrils (such as the springy chips from [[turning]] [[toughness|tough]] metals).

==Cutting hazards and safety precautions==
[[File:A song of fire and metal.jpg|alt=Bright sparks fly as a man grinds a piece of metal|thumb|Metal grinding produces ''grinding swarf''.]]

===Cuts, splinters, punctures, airborne chips===
Chips can be extremely sharp, and this creates a safety problem, as they can cause serious [[Laceration|injuries]] if not handled correctly. Depending on the composition of the material, it can persist in the environment for a long time before degrading. This, combined with the small size of some chips (e.g. those of [[brass]] or [[bronze]]), allows them to disperse widely by piggy-backing on soft materials and also to penetrate the skin as deep [[wikt:splinter|splinter]]s.

It is standard training for [[machinist]]s, and usually a standing workplace rule, to avoid handling swarf with bare hands. Similarly, it is also standard training for machinists, and usually a standing workplace rule, to minimize or entirely avoid handling swarf by blowing chips away with compressed air, but this practice can potentially damage the machine by causing chips to get jammed in and then embedded into the moving surfaces leading to degradation of the machine's precision. Alternatives to blowing chips away include vacuuming them away with an industrial vacuum (shop vacuum); gently washing them away with a [[cutting fluid|coolant]] hose discharging at typical garden-hose pressures; or preventing their generation in the first place (for example, [[Threading (manufacturing)#Thread forming and rolling|forming]] threads instead of [[Threading (manufacturing)#Thread cutting|cutting]] them). Some machine tool manuals proscribe these practices both for safety and for the preservation of way wipers and bearing seals.

It is not uncommon for chips flying off the [[cutting tool (machining)|cutter]] to be ejected with great force and to fly several metres. These flying chips present a hazard that is deflected with [[safety glasses]], [[face shield]]s, and other [[personal protective equipment]], as well as the sheet-metal enclosures (and polycarbonate windows) that surround most commercial [[Numerical control|computer numerical control]] (CNC) machine tools.

===Flammability===
Due to its high surface area, swarf composed of some reactive metals can be highly flammable.  Caution should be exercised to avoid ignition sources when handling or storing swarf in loose form, especially swarf of pure [[magnesium]], [[magnesium alloy]], pure [[titanium]], [[titanium alloy]], [[iron]], and non-stainless steel.

Swarf stored in piles or bins may also [[Spontaneous combustion|spontaneously combust]], especially if the swarf is coated with cutting oil.<ref>((cite web
| url        = https://www.ukpandi.com/fileadmin/uploads/uk-pi/LP%20Documents/Carefully_to_Carry/C2C_Articles_2018/Scrap_Metal.pdf
| title      = Scrap metal (borings, shavings, turnings, cuttings, dross)
| access-date = 10 January 2019
))</ref>

To extinguish swarf fires, a special [[Fire extinguisher#Class D dry powder and other agents for metal fires|fire extinguisher]] is needed, designed for fighting  [[Fire classes#Class D: Metal|Class D]] (metal) fires.

===Toxicity===
Some common engineering materials such as [[Beryllium#Occupational safety and health|beryllium]] are hazardous when finely divided and appropriate measures should be taken to prevent exposure.

==Chip breaking==
Optimum cutting efficiencies often generate long spring-like swarf. This is hard to deal with as it is bulky and can clog the nozzle of a [[Vacuum cleaner#Wet/dry|shop vac]]. Clean-up and disposal of this continuous-cutting swarf is made simpler by using a cutting tool with a chip-breaker. This results in denser, more manageable waste. Chip breaking tool geometry is generally designed to break the chip by having it curl back onto itself. This action produces many small spiral shaped rings instead of one long helical chip. "Number Nine" shaped chips or short swarf in general are preferred also because it helps prevent entangling the rotating machine.

==Machine cleaning and chip handling==
Disposing of swarf is a tedious but necessary task. For ease of transport and handling, swarf may be compressed into ''bricks'', which greatly reduces associated problems with storing and cost; it also improves material handling for all concerned with its reclamation and recycling.

==Recycling==
Metal swarf can usually be [[recycling|recycled]], and this is the preferred method of disposal due to the [[environmentalism|environmental concerns]] regarding potential contamination with [[cutting fluid]] or [[tramp oil]]. The ideal way to remove these liquids is by the use of a [[centrifuge]] which will separate the fluids from the metal, allowing both to be reclaimed and prepared for further treatment. Small bundles of stainless steel or bronze swarf are sold as excellent scourers for dishwashing or cleaning encrustations of dirt. [[Recycling]] chips rather than putting them in the garbage stream (heading to [[landfill]]ing or [[incineration]]) has various advantages:

* Environmental
** As mentioned above, keep cutting fluid out of the waste stream
** Reduce the amount of ore mining and metal refining that must be done to meet the annual global demand for metal stocks. For example, it takes at least 4 times the energy per unit of production to produce aluminum billet from mined ore—plus the environmental impact of the mining itself—as it does to produce it from recycled scrap metal stocks (such as chips and bar drops).
* Financial
** There is almost always some money to be made from the stream of recycled chips, whether by the scrap processor, the machine shop, or often both. The scrap value (melt value) of the metal is a net gain beyond any costs of handling and transporting the chips.

===Requirements===
Machine shops are typically required by the scrap collector to:

* segregate metal types (e.g., aluminum chips in separate barrels from steel chips)
** it is usually ''not'' required to segregate particular alloys (e.g., to keep [[2024 aluminium alloy|2024]] aluminum separate from [[6061 aluminium alloy|6061]])
* segregate solid chunks (such as bar end drops and scrapped-out parts) from chips (which are finer and are processed on different [[material handling equipment]]).
* drain and/or centrifuge all cutting fluid and way oil out of the chips. (within reason)

==References==
((Reflist))

[[Category:Machining]]
[[Category:Metalworking]]
[[Category:Recycling by material]]

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