conventional Lathe machine
Types of Lathe
Types of Lathe
A lathe is a machine tool that revolves a block of material to cut it into shapes and sizes.lathe machine type These machines are commonly used in woodworking and metalworking applications to create round workpieces such as screws, candlesticks, gun barrels, cue sticks and bowls as well as musical instruments and crankshafts. Various types of lathe machines are available that can produce complex shapes from raw materials with a high level of precision. They are generally operated manually but can also be controlled by computer for production of mass parts.
The basic type of lathe consists of a headstock, bed, carriage and tailstock.lathe machine type A good quality machine will be solidly constructed with broad bearing surfaces (slide-ways) for stability and manufactured to a very high degree of accuracy.
Located at one end of the bed is the headstock which contains high-precision spinning bearings.lathe machine type Mounted to the headstock is a vertical axle with an axis parallel to the bed and called the spindle. The spindle may be hollow or have a Morse taper on the end to accept work-holding accessories.
Some lathes have a variable speed spindle.lathe machine type This is achieved by using a flat belt with different steps in a cone pulley at the headstock. Early engine lathes generally had this feature but later models had a countershaft with a set of back gears that could be engaged to provide a lower set of speeds than were directly accessible by the flat belt.
At the other end of the bed is the tailstock which can be moved to any position in the bed that is parallel to the axis of rotation of the headstock.lathe machine type It is used to support either a live centre in a chuck or a dead centre in a tailstock. This is used when turning between centres to allow the longest possible length of work to be held on the lathe.
A tailstock can also be used to grip a variety of other tools including taps, reamers and drills which are usually mounted in a chuck. It can also be used to perform a process called knurling which involves embossing a diamond-shaped pattern on the surface of the workpiece.
In addition to cutting a workpiece into the desired shape and dimensions it is also possible to grind threads, cut worm gears and even produce a surface veneer on some grades of chipboard. During these operations it is common to spray the workpiece with coolant, which provides lubrication, cooling and cleaning of swarf.
The largest workpiece that can be turned on a lathe is determined by the distance between the center of the headstock and the tailstock, this value is called the'swing'. Alternatively, the maximum diameter for a lathe is calculated by multiplying the headstock's swing by two, this figure being more accurate than the value of the 'centre height above the bed' which can be misleading in practice since it only measures a small area near the headstock. A chuck or other drive is required for holding the workpiece at both ends and the number of centres that can be inserted in the tailstock to form a'set-up' will also affect its capacity.
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