Production Machinery & Processes
Lathing
Chapter 23

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This Chapter is titled Machining Processes: Turning and Hole Making, but I will be focusing on the lathing processes, some of the many different types of tools used in the lathing process, and its importance to the manufacturing world. In the lathing world there aren’t that many different types of lathes because they are so simplistic on how they work, however with the wide range of tools available it makes the lathe very dynamic in the case of what they are capable of doing. Because lathes are very similar they can be divided into three groups to make for easy identification. There are engine lathes, turret lathes, and special purpose lathes. There are some small easily moved bench mounted lathes and there are much larger lathes. Lathes come in all shapes and sizes depending on the size of the job they are going to have to be doing. Also, the type of lathe is selected by how fast the lathe needs to make machined parts. For instants a trained operator can accomplish more machines parts on an engine lathe than any other machining tool. Turret lathes are usually used in production or job shops for mass production. Precision tool lathes are also known as standard manufacturing lathes and are used for many different operations such as s turning, boring, drilling, reaming, producing screw threads, taper turning, knurling, and radius forming, and can be adapted for special milling operations with the appropriate work pieces. As you can see with the various capabilities that a lathe is capable of producing it is easy to tell how vital this tool is to mass producing parts. Some lathes are operated by a person with different controls to be able to make the piece desired. However with an operator it takes time to train them and the error percentage is high with an operator that is still learning. However, there are some lathes that have a CNC (computer numeric control) in which a computer operates the lathe and in which case the operator only has to place the part that is being lathed into the lathe correctly and set the PRZ (the starting point).

CNC lathe (left) Traditional lathe (right)
There is a wide variety of tools that are able to be used with a lathe as well. It is very important that the tool is made out of the right type of material so that the desired finished product is capable of being made. The most common type of material used in lathing tool is steel because it is very predictable and inexpensive. All tools for lathes wear which means that every lathing tool has a certain life time. It is the operator’s job to make that life span as long as possible to keep expenses to a minimum. This is why the steel is such a popular choice because it’s easily replaced. Some other special tools are made from tungsten carbide, tantalum carbide, titanium carbide. Ceramic, oxide, diamond-tipped tool bits and cutting tool inserts are commonly used in high-speed production work when heavy cuts are necessary and where exceptionally hard and tough materials are encountered. Standard shapes for tipped tool bits are similar to high speed steel cutting tool shapes. The cutting speed of a tool bit is defined as the number of feet of workpiece surface, measured at the circumference that passes the tool bit in one minute. The cutting speed, expressed in FPM (feet per minute), which is different than the spindle speed of the lathe which is expressed in RPM (revolutions per minute). To obtain uniform cutting speed, the lathe spindle must be revolved faster for workplaces of small