A machine shop is both an engineer's laboratory and an artist's studio. Some operations require a lot of precision and planning and three dimensions, while others are more free form. Each material and each operation require different machines, but they all follow the same basic principles. By knowing the possibilities and limitations of the tools, you can better design the objects you create.
LATHE: INTRODUCTION
A lathe is probably the oldest machine tool, stemming from the early tree lathe, which was turned by a rope passed around the work a few times and attached to a sparingly branch overhead. The work was supported by two dowels struck in adjacent trees. The operators foot supplied t he motion, which was intermittent and fluctuating. The tool was held in the operators hand. Later a strip of wood called a lath was used to support the rope and hence named as Lathe. From this crude beginning and over period of more than two centuries, the modern engine lathe has evolved. Until about 1770, lathes were useless for metal cutting because they lacked power and a holding device strong enough and accurate enough to guide the tool. For its development to the form in which we know it now, we owe much to Henry Mauldsley, who developed the sliding carriage and in 1800 built a screw cutting lathe. Nowadays, it has become a general purpose machine tool, employed in production and repair work, because it permits a large variety of operations to be performed on it.
SHAPER
The shaper (also called shaping machine) is a reciprocating type of machine tool used for producingsmall flat surfaces with the help of a single point tool reciprocating over the stationary work piece.The flat surface may be horizontal, inclined or vertical. The reciprocating motion of the tool is obtained either by the crank and slotted lever quick return motion mechanism or Whitworth quick return motion mechanism.
Specifications of a Shaper
The shaper is specified as follows : 1. Maximum length of stroke is millimeters, 2. Size of the table, i.e., length, width and depth of the table, 3. Maximum vertical and horizontal travel of the table, 4. Maximum number of strokes per minute, 5. Power of the drive motor, 6. Type of quick return mechanism. 7. Floor space required, and 8. Weight.
DRILLING MACHINE
The basic purpose of a drilling machine is to drill cylindrical holes in work pieces (metallic and non-metallic materials). The holes are cut out of the material with a cutting tool, which is known as drill. The drill is fixed in a rotating spindle and can be fed towards the work piece which may be fixed to the table or to the base of the machine. The speed of the spindle and the feed can be adjusted according to the work piece. Some examples of drilling work are
1. Rotary motion: The rotary motion is called as main motion or cutting motion. In some cases, this motion is given to work pieces also (e.g., while drilling on the lathe). The cutting motion is generally measured in m/min. The highest cutting speed is on the periphery of the drill and it decreases towards the centre of the drill. 2. Liner motion towards the fixed work piece: The motion is called as feed and it controls the thickness of the chip. In small bench type drilling machines, instead of giving feed to the drill, the work piece is moved towards the rotating drill by raising the table. The feed is generally measured in mm/rev. As the drill is provided with two cutting edges, the thickness of the chip is half the feed. By the simultaneous double action of cutting (or main motion) and the feed, each cutting edge of the drill describes a spiral and thereby produces a constant flow of chips.
Drilling Operations
The most common operations which can be carried on a drilling machine are drilling, boring, reaming, tapping, counter boring, spot facing, and countersinking.
MILLING
Milling is the machine operation in which the removal of metal from the work piece takes place due to a rotating cutting tool(cutter) when the work is fed past it. The cutter has multiple cutting edges and rotates at a very fast rate. The rotating cutting tool known as the Milling Cutter is a multiple point tool having the shape of a solid revolution with cutting teeth arranged either on the periphery or on end or on both. The revolving cutter is held on a spindle or arbor and the work piece is clamped or bolted on the machine table or may be in a vise or a three jaw chuck or an index head held or a rotary table etc. The milling process is employed for producing flat contoured or helical surfaces, for making helical grooves, to cut teeth and toothed gears.
(a) Horizontal Milling Machines: These machines can be further classified as plain or universal milling machines. In a plain milling machine, the table cannot be swiveled in a horizontal plane. The table may be fed in a longitudinal, cross or vertical directions on a plain milling, machine. In case of universal milling machine, the table can be swiveled up to 45 in a horizontal plane to the right or left. This arrangement makes the angular and helical milling operations by using the universal milling machine. In addition to the three principal movements as incorporated in a plain milling machine, the table can be fed at an angle to the milling cutter. (b) Vertical Milling Machines: In vertical knee type milling machines, the position of the cutter spindle is vertical. Though it has the same table movements as in plain milling cutter, the spindle head swivel or it may be a combination of the sliding and swivel head type. These machines are suitable for end milling and face milling operations.