Machine Shop

What's a Machine Shop?

"A machine shop is a room, building, or company where machining is done"
In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or
plastic but sometimes of other materials such as glass or wood.
Use of Machine Shops
Machine shops are used in the creation of new parts, as well as repairs of existing equipment and parts.

What are Machine Tools?

A Machine tool is defined as:
"A tool that uses power to cut and shape metal or other strong materials to get the desired
results"
In other words, a machine tool is used to manufacture metal components of machines.
We call Machine Tools the mother machines since they are the machines enabling the production of all
the other machines including themselves.

Types of Machine Tools

There are mainly five types of machine tools:
a) Lathe Machine
b) Milling Machine
c) Drill Machine
d) Shaper
e) Tool Grinder

Lathe Machine: A lathe is a machine tool which rotates the workpiece on its axis to perform various
operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or deformation, facing, turning, with tools that are
applied to the workpiece to create an object which has symmetry about an axis of rotation.
Principle of Lathe Machine: The Principle of Lathe Machine is that workpiece rotates and the tool
remains stationery i.e A lathe is anything that turns the work while you apply a tool to it.

Milling Machine: A Milling machine is defined as,

"A milling machine is a power driven machine that cuts by means of a multitooth
rotating cutter"
A milling machine is a tool found primarily in the metal working industry. In general, these machines are
used to shape solid products by eliminating excess material in order to form a finished product.
Principle of Milling Machine: The principle of Milling machine is that workpiece remains stationary while
the tool rotates.

Drill Machine: A drill machine is used for boring holes in various materials or fastening various materials
together with the use of fasteners.
Principle of Drill Machine: The priciple of drill machine is that workpiece remains stationary while the
tool rotates.

Shaper: A machine tool for forming flat surfaces, consisting of a frame, usually horizontal, on which the
work is held while a cutting tool moves along it with a reciprocating motion. Sometimes, grooving is also
done with the help of shaper.
Principle of Shaper: The principle of shaper is that workpiece remains stationary while the tool rotates.

Tool Grinder: A tool grinder is a machine that grindes the objects to get sharp edges. It is used to
sharpen milling cutters and tool bits along with a host of other cutting tools.
Principle of Tool Grinder: The principle of tool grinder is that tool rotates while the workpiece remains
stationary.

Description on Lathe Machine

Definition: Lathe machines are capable of cutting or grinding symmetrical shapes into materials such as
wood and metal. There are countless practical applications associated with lathe machines. The
definition of a lathe is that a machine that shapes objects by rotating them while a shaping tool is
applied to its surface.

Working Principle of Lathe machine: The working Principle of Lathe Machine is that workpiece rotates
and the tool remains stationery i.e A lathe is anything that turns the work while you apply a tool to it.

Function: A lathe machine can be used to create symmetrical shapes into a piece of wood, metal or
other material. Lathe machines offer cutting, grinding and even milling options. Lathes grip a work piece
and spin it along an axis. Shapes are created after running a cutting tool or grinding tool against the
rotating work piece. Cutting tools can be held in place and moved by the operator or by the machine
itself depending on the type of lathe machine in use.

Components of Lathe Machine: All lathes require several basic components to function properly.
Explanation of the standard components of most lathes:

Bed: Usually made of cast iron. Provides a heavy rigid frame on which all the main components are
mounted.

Ways: Inner and outer guide rails that are precision machined parallel to assure accuracy of movement.

Headstock: Mounted in a fixed position on the inner ways, usually at the left end. Using a chuck, it
rotates the work. Its function is that it gives instructions to the whole machine.

Gearbox: Inside the headstock, providing multiple speeds with a geometric ratio by moving levers.

Tailstock: The tailstock is used to support the right end of the work. The tailstock is also used for tool-
holding for machining operations, such as drilling, reaming, and tapping. It plays a supportive role to
workpiece.

Carriage: Moves on the outer ways. Used for mounting and moving most the cutting tools.

Cross Slide: Mounted on the traverse slide of the carriage, and uses a handwheel to feed tools into the
workpiece. Its function is to decrease the length of workpiece.

Tool Post: To mount tool holders in which the cutting bits are clamped.

Chuck: Allows the mounting of difficult workpieces that are not round, square or triangular. It acts as a
holder.

Compound Slide: The part of the lathe on the carriage that allows for angular adjustment of the cutting
tool. Its function is to decrease the diameter of workpiece.

Diagram of Lathe Machine:

Lathe machine and related operations:

A lathe machine can perform the following operations,
1. Boring
2. Turning Operation
3. Drilling
4. Threading
5. Knurling
Boring: Boring is the enlarging and truing of a hole by removing material from internal surfaces with a
single-point cutter bit. On the lathe, boring is accomplished in either of these two methods:
-Mounting the holder and boring tool bar with cutter bit on the tool post and revolving the workpiece.
-Mounting the workpiece in a fixed position to the carriage and revolving the boring tool bar and cutter
bit in a chuck attached to the headstock spindle. (This is a special process and not used in most machine
shops).

Turning Operation: Turning is a form of machining, a material removal process, which is used to create
rotational parts by cutting away unwanted material. The turning process requires a turning machine or
lathe, workpiece, and cutting tool. There are two types of turning,
1. Step Turning
2. Plane Turning

Step turning is basically an operation performed on lathe machine to reduce diameter of a cylindrical
workpiece.
Plane turning is basically an operation on lathe machine to reduce the length of a cylindrical workpiece.

Drilling: Producing a hole by feeding the drill into the rotating work along its axis. Drilling can be
followed by reaming or boring to improve accuracy and surface finish. So, we can say that, drilling is an
operation of making a hole in a work piece with the help of a drill.

Threading: Threading is the process of creating a screw thread. There are many methods of generating
threads, including subtractive methods (many kinds of thread cutting and grinding); deformative or
transformative methods (rolling and forming; molding and casting).

Knurling: Knurling is a process of impressing a diamond shaped or straight line pattern into the surface
of a workpiece by using specially shaped hardened metal wheels to improve its appearance and to
provide a better gripping surface.