Lesson 10 Lathes

Lathes are widely used in industry to

produce all kind of machined parts. Some

are

general-purpose

machines,

and

others are used to perform highly

specialized operations.

Engine Lathes
Engine lathes, of course are general-

purpose machines used in production and

maintenance shops all over the world.

Sizes range from small bench models to

huge heavy-duty piece of equipment.

Many of the larger lathes come equipped

with attachments not commonly found in

the ordinary shop, such as automatic

stops for the carriage.

lathe

general-purpose
engine lathe bench model heavy-duty attachment automatic stop

Tracer or Duplicating Lathes The tracer or duplicating lathe is designed to produce irregularly shaped parts

automatically. The basic operation of this lathe is as follows: A template of either a flat or three-dimensional shape is placed in a holder.

A guider or pointer then moves along this

shape and its movement controls that of

the cutting tool. The duplication may

include a square or tapered shoulder,

grooves, tapers, and contours.

Works such as motor shafts, spindles,

pistons, rods, car axles, turbine shafts,

and a variety of other objects can be

turned using this type of lathe.

tracer or duplicating lathe

template
guider or pointer tapered shoulder taper piston

Turret Lathes
A Turret lathe is basically similar to an engine lathe except that the conventional tool post is replaced with a hexagonal turret, which can be rotated around a vertical axis as required. Appropriate tools are mounted on the six sides of the turret.

The length of each tool is so adjusted that

by simply indexing the turret, any tool can

be brought in exactly the desired

operating condition. Those cutting tools

can, therefore be employed successively

without the need for dismounting the tool

and mounting a new one each time, as the

case with conventional engine lathe. This

result in an appreciate saving in the time

required for setting up the tools. Also, on

a turret lathe a skilled machinist is

required only initially to set up the tools.

A laborer with limited training can operate the turret lathe thereafter and produce parts identical to those that can be manufactured when a highly skilled machinist operates the lathe.

turret lathe hexagonal indexing successively set up

Automatic Screw Machine

Screw machine are similar in construction to

turret lathe, except that their heads are designed to hold and feed long bars of stock. Otherwise, there is little difference between them. Both are designed for multiple tooling, and both have adaptations for identical work.

Originally, the turret lathe was designed

as a chucking lathe for machining small

castings, forgings, and irregularly shaped

work piece. The first screw machines were designed to feed bar stock and wire used in making small screw parts.

Today, however, the turret lathe is frequently used with a collet attachment, and the automatic screw machine can be equipped with a chuck to hold castings.

The

single-spindle

automatic

screw

machine, as its name implies, machines

work on only one bar of stock at a time.

A bar 16 to 20 feet long is fed through the headstock spindle and is held firmly by a collet.

The machining operations are done by

cutting tools mounted on the turret and on

the cross slide. When the machine is in

operation, the spindle and the stock are

rotated at selected speeds for different

operations. If required, rapid reversal of

the spindle is also possible.

In

the

single-spindle

automatic

screw

machine, a specific length of stock is

automatically fed through the spindle to a

machining area. At this point, the turret and

the cross slide move into position and

automatically perform whatever operation

are required. After the machined piece is

cut off, stock is again fed into the

machining area and the entire cycle is

repeated.

Multiple-spindle

automatic

screw

machines have four to eight spindles

located around a spindle carrier. Long bar

of stock, supported on the rear of the

machine, pass through these hollow

spindles and are gripped by collets. With

the single-spindle machine,

the turret indexes around the spindle.

When one tool on the turret is working,

the others are not. With a multiple-

spindle machine, however, the spindle

itself indexes.

Thus the bars of stock are carried to the

various end-working and side-working

tools. Each tool operates in only position,

but all tools operate simultaneously.

Therefore, four to eight work pieces can

be machined at the same time.

automatic screw machine

chucking lathe
forging collet cross slide carrier grip

Vertical Turret Lathes

A vertical turret lathe is basically a turret lathe that has been stood on its headstock end. It is designed to perform a variety of turning operations. It consists of a turret, a revolving table, and a slide head with a square turret

for holding additional tools.

Operations performed by any of the tools mounted on the turret or side head can be controlled through the use of stops.

Machining Center
Many of todays more sophisticated lathes are called machining centers since they are capable of performing, in addition to the normal turning operations, certain milling and drilling operations.

Basically, a machining center can be

thought of as being a combination turret

lathe and milling machine.

Additional features are sometimes included

by

manufacturers

to

increase

the

versatility of their machines.

vertical turret lathe Machining Center drilling

MC

FMS=Flexible Manufacturing System

HSC=High Speed Cutting