Chipless machining refers to forming operations where material is displaced rather than cut away. Processes like flow drilling, thread rolling, and rotary swaging force the metal into a new shape under high pressure. These methods create stronger parts because they compress the grain structure instead of severing it, and they leave no swarf to clean up.
Heard on the job
We switched to a chipless thread forming tap so we wouldn't have to deal with bird nests in the blind holes.