All about Lathe

Lathe

Components of a Lathe
Fig : Components of Lathe

Lathes and Lathe Operations
Lathes are the oldest machine tools
Lathe Components
Bed: supports all major components
Carriage: slides along the ways and consists of the cross-
slide, tool post, apron
Headstock Holds the jaws for the work piece, supplies
power to the jaws and has various drive speeds
Tailstock supports the other end of the workpiece
Feed Rod and Lead Screw Feed rod is powered by a set of
gears from the headstock

Lathe Specifications
A lathe is specified by its
Swing maximum diameter of the workpiece
Distance from headstock and tailstock centers
Length of the bed
Lathes are available in a variety of styles and types of construction power
Types of lathes
Bench lathe:
Placed on a bench
Low power
Hand feed operated
Toolroom lathes: High precision
Engine lathes
Available in a wide variety of sizes
Used for a variety of turning operations

Right Hand Cutting Tool
Fig : (a) Designations and symbols for a right-hand cutting tool; solid high-speed-steel tools have a similar designation.
Right-hand means that the tool travels from right to left.

Tool
Signature
Dimensions Abbreviation
8 Back Rake Angle BR
14 Side Rake Angle SR
6 End Relief Angle ER
12 End Clearance Angle .
6 Side Relief Angle SRF
12 Side Clearance Angle
20 End Cutting-Edge Angle ECEA
15 Side Cutting-edge angle SCEA
3/4 Nose radius NR

Workholding Devices
Chucks
usually equipped with 3 or
4 jaws
3 jaw chucks generally are
self centering. Used
for round work pieces.
Can be centered within
.025mm
independently.
4 jaw chucks are for
square, rectangular, or
odd-shaped
workpieces
Can be power
actuated
Fig : (a) and (b) Schematic illustrations of a draw-in-type collets. The workpiece is placed in the collet hole, and the
conical surfaces of the collet are forced inward by pulling it with a draw bar into the sleeve. (c) A push-out
type collet. (d) Workholding of a part on a face plate.
Mandrels
Fig : Various types of mandrels to hold workpieces for turning. These mandrels are usually mounted between centers
on a lathe. Note that in (a) both the cylindrical and the end faces of the workpiece can be machined, whereas in
(b) and (c) only the cylindrical surfaces can be machined.
Tracer Lathes
- Machine tools with attachments
- Capable of turning parts with various contours
- A tracer finger follows the template and guides the cutting tool

Automatic Lathes
- Increasingly being automated
- Automatic Lathes are suitable for medium to high volume
production

Automatic Bar Machines
- Formerly called automatic screw machines
- Designed for high-production-rate machining of screws and
other threaded parts
- All operations are preformed automatically
- Equipped with single or multiple spindles

Parts of a lathe
Machine Tool Column
Parts of a lathe
Turret Lathes
Capable of performing multiple
cutting operations on the
same workpiece
Turning
Boring
Drilling
Thread cutting
Facing
Turret lathes are very versatile
Types of turret lathes
Ram-type: ram slides in
a separate base on the
saddle
Saddle type:
more heavily
constructed
Used to machine
large
workpeiceces

Computer Numerically Controlled Lathes
Computer Numerical Controls (CNC)
Equipped with one or more turrets
Each turret is equipped with a variety of tools
Performs several operations on different surfaces of the workpiece
Fig : A computer numerical control lathe. Note the
two turrets on this machine.
Tail stock of a lathe
Tool post of a lathe
Tool post of a lathe
Taper turning
methods in a lathe
Cutting Screw Threads
Fig : (a) Cutting screw threads on a lathe with a single-point cutting tool. (b)
Cutting screw threads with a single-point tool in several passes, normally utilized
for large threads. The small arrows in the figures show the direction of feed, and
the broken lines show the position of the cutting tool as time progresses. (c) A
typical carbide insert and toolholder for cutting screw threads. (d) Cutting internal
screw threads with a carbide insert.
Typical Carbide Insert & Holder
Cutting Operations
Fig : Various cutting
operations that
can be performed
on a late. Not that
all parts have
circular symmetry