What Is a Lathe Machine? A Brief Reading!

A lathe is one of the oldest machine tools primarily used for shaping metal or wood. It functions by rotating the workpiece on an axis of rotation of the stationary cutting tool. The lathe machine performs operations like sanding, knurling, cutting,  drilling, turning, deformation, and facing.

It removes the unwanted parts of an article leaving behind the desired shape of the workpiece. The lathe is often used to create cylindrical and plane surfaces at a right angle on the axis.

Items like bowls, musical instruments, screws, candlesticks, gun barrels and table legs are made using the mechanism of holding and rotating.

• Woodturning
• Metalworking
• Metal spinning
• thermal spraying
• glass working and
• pottery shaping

These are some of the best-known functions of the lathe machine.

Parts of a Lathe

The Bed- It is a solid structure; the base of the machine and guiding member. The bed should be able to resist stresses of the cutting force of the tool and twisting. It is usually made of cast iron.

The Headstock- It is secured inner ways on the left-hand end of the lathe bed. It comprises of hollow spindle and mechanism for driving the spindle speed.

The Tailstock- The tailstock is located on the right side of the bed. It supports the other end of the workpiece when it is moving between two centers.

Carriage- It is made of various parts to support, move and control the cutting tool.

Feed mechanism- Present at the headstock it is used to determine the direction of the feed; longitudinal, cross or angular.

Different Types of Lathes

A lathe machine tool can be classified into different types depending upon the construction and design.

Bench Lathe

This is a small machine that is used for precision work that requires high accuracy. It is mostly employed by   manufacturers. The bench lathe is mounted separately on a prepared bench. It accommodates all the attachments of a larger lathe and is capable of performing the same functions. The only difference is the size.

Speed Lathe

Speed Lathe is wielded for woodturning, polishing, centering and metal spinning. It is a high-speed spindle used to create bowls, baseball bats and furniture parts. The speed lathe has supporting legs cast and fitted to the bed.

The lathe consists of headstock, tailstock and tool turret. It has no gearbox, carriage, the lead screw and provision for power feed. The tool is mounted on a tool post on the adjustable slide. Hence, actuated by hand.

Engine Lathe

It is the most used type of machine. The names have been derived from the 19th,20th historical value. It was powered by the steam engine, though the modern-day engine lathe is driven by motor drives.

The engine lathe is ideal for metal manufactures for operating metalworking such as drilling, boring and reaming. It looks similar to a speed lathe but is bigger and studier. The large mechanism provides multiple speeds to the spindle.

The feed mechanism can operate the cutting tool in both longitudinal and lateral directions. It is available in 3 types.

Belt drives

This engine lathe is belt driven and receives power from an over-line shaft. It is equipped with cone pulley with back gears. It aids to adjust to the desired speed.

Motor-Driven

It obtains its energy from the individual integral motor.

Geared-head

It gets its force from a constant speed motor and range of speed is obtained by shifting gears.

Capstan and Turret lathe

This lathe is utilized for mass production. Instead of the tailstock, the turret lathe has a hexagonal turret mounted on the saddle. Numerous tools can be inserted on the hexagonal turret.

Therefore, multiple operations can be carried out in sequence. The several operations enable high voluminous production. The capstan turret lathe is semi-automatic and little skill is required to operate the machine. Various operations carried on the same machine, reduce error and save time.

Tool Room Lathe

In matters of extreme precision toolroom lathe is an exemplary choice. It has relatively more angle of speed and feed. The gearbox enables a wide range of speed from very low to high speed up to 2500rpm.

The exclusive features include chuck, taper turning attachment, steady and follower rest, pump for coolant draw in the collect attachment. It is functional for drilling, turning, reaming and boring.

Automatic Lathe

This machine is extremely advanced to manufacture products automatically. Once the tool is set, it executes all the operations automatically. The change in feed and tools is automated. A single operator can guide 5-6 automatic lathes simultaneously. It is a high speed and heavy-duty machine yielded to boost the quality and quantity of production.