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Machining 02: What is a lathe?

A lathe is a machine tool that processes metal by pressing a cutting tool, called a tool bit, onto the rotating material to cut it into a cylindrical shape. Lathes produce various cylindrical parts, including shafts and pins. Turning is the machining of a rotating workpiece using a tool bit attached to a tool rest. Lathes are the machine tool for turning.To get more news about lathe structure, you can visit runsom.com official website.

When a cylindrical workpiece with short length is machined on a lathe, a holding tool called a chuck is often used. On the other hand, when a long and thin workpiece is machined on a lathe, the center of the tail stock which is not gripped by the chuck must be supported by a tool called “center”. This is to prevent the workpiece from flexing.

In the past, many general-purpose lathes were used at manufacturing sites, where the handles were moved manually by operators to control the movement of the tool bits. Currently, NC lathes equipped with NC devices are the most common type of lathe. NC stands for “Numerical Control”. NC lathes can control the movement of tool bits and other operations numerically. NC lathes can machine according to a programmed procedure, so it does not rely on operator’s intuition and skill, and maintains machining quality.

The headstock incorporates the main spindle for mounting the workpiece. The main spindle is the key component of a lathe.
3. Size of Lathes
Lathes come in a variety of sizes. There are two indicators of lathe size: swing and distance between centers.

Swing refers to the maximum diameter of a workpiece that can be mounted on the lathe in terms of lathe structure.

Distance between centers represents the distance between the center of the spindle and the center of the tailstock when the tailstock is separated from the headstock to the maximum extent possible. In other words, it is the maximum length of a workpiece that can be mounted on the lathe.

Swing or distance between centers represents the maximum workpiece size that can theoretically be machined. However, if a workpiece of the maximum size is mounted on the lathe, the tool rest will not secure sufficient range of movement, and workability will be deteriorated. Therefore, the diameter and length of the workpiece to be mounted on the lathe should be kept so that it is not inconvenient for machining.
4. Types of Lathes
turning
Basic image of the turning

Gang tooling lathes are equipped with a comb-blade-type turret, in which tool bits are arranged in parallel, like a hair comb. The turret moves on a plane parallel to the main spindle.

Turret lathes are equipped with the polygonal tool rest called turret. The tool bits are attached radially, and the turret rotates to index the bites to be used. Turret-type lathes are widely used among NC lathes.

Vertical lathes are the lathe whose spindle is oriented perpendicular to the ground. You may better understand it if you imagine a potter’s wheel for making ceramics.

The workpiece is set on a circular table mounted on the spindle for machining. Vertical lathes are used for machining workpieces that are difficult to mount in the chuck with a horizontal lathe whose spindle is horizontal to the ground. Target workpieces include large diameters and heavy workpieces, and workpieces with huge diameters relative to their length.