What causes shavings in an oil pan ?

There should never be any shavings in an oil pan for any reason. Something is binding and getting ready to go out. Sooner or later you will find ou twhen it breaks.What causes shavings in an oil pan ?
There are a lot of reasons why you could find shavings, but if this is a new car it's normal for some of the metal shavings to appear until after the ';break in'; period. What causes shavings in an oil pan ?
Not good. Sounds like a piston or something that is rubbing.
What kind of car? It could be a bad oil pump, bad main bearings, broken or bad cylinder rings. There will always be a few shavings, but if the oil looks like metalic paint, you have a serious problem.