Lathe Machine Center – An Effective Equipment for Parts Fabrication

I am sure you have come across a perfectly rounded table leg or a doorknob. But have you ever wondered how these marveling workpieces came to be?

Lathe machine centers are your answer. This article will dissect these workpieces to paint you a picture of how they produce polished masterpieces.

What is a Lathe Machine Center

A lathe machine center is a simple machine that spins your raw workpiece while shaving off unwanted parts to generate polished masterpieces that are cylindrical.

You can operate this machine by hand or procure a CNC center lathe, which cuts off unwanted portions using a computer-controlled cutting tool.

Advantages of Using Center Lathe Machines

Center lathe machines offer effective solutions to multiple machining problems and they accomplish this while promising a manifold of advantages. They include;

• High Precision: Most components used in the aerospace and automotive industries must demonstrate a high level of tolerance and dimensional accuracy. Lathe centers are perfect for this since they deliver accurately sized and shaped parts.
• Polished Surfaces: They deliver components with high-quality finishes characterized by smoothness and uniformity.
• Increased Productivity: Replacing manual operations with automated lathe centers means you will process more workpieces in significantly less time.
• Lower Labor Costs: This applies to CNC and automatic lathe machine centers, which hardly require human intervention. This reduces your salary and wages budget.
• Creation of Complex Parts: With the right cutting tools, lathe centers can produce high-quality parts featuring intricate patterns and designs.
• Simple Operation: You can easily learn how to use a lathe machine center, be it manual or automatic.

Purpose of a Lathe Machine Center

Lathe centers are primarily designed to perform workpiece shaping operations. However, they are versatile and can perform numerous machining functions including:

• Straight Turning: Lathe machine centers create straight cylindrical workpieces carefully shrinking the diameter of your workpiece. This is achieved by turning the entire length of your workpiece through the lathe machine.
• Facing: You can also exploit a lathe center to create a flat surface on one or both ends of your workpiece. The machine will cut off parts of one end to generate a uniformly and smoothly finished face.
• Drilling: Certain center lathes are fitted with drill bits, which they exploit to drill cylindrical holes into your workpieces. These drill bits may be of varying lengths or made from varying materials.
• Boring: You can also utilize your lathe machine center to broaden the diameter of cylindrical holes dug or drilled into your workpiece. This will however necessitate a specialized boring tool.
• Cutting Grooves: By equipping your lathe machine center with a specialized grooving cutter, you can create helical ridges on your pieces. These ridges or channels can enhance the gripping profile of your workpiece.
• Cutting Threads: If you are looking to instill threads on certain parts of your workpiece, all you need to do is install a threading tool. As your lathe center turns your piece, the threading tool will cut out threads of your desired dimensions and pattern.

Types of Lathe Machine Centers

To facilitate the delicate processing of wooden workpieces or even heavy-duty metal pieces, manufacturers have come up with varying types of lathe centers. Here are these different options and their respective strengths.

· Horizontal Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe machines position your workpiece horizontally. Its rotating table is also horizontally oriented thus the machining operations are undertaken horizontally.

This layout makes horizontal lathe centers perfect for handling heavy-duty workpieces since the weight is uniformly spread across the rotating table.

· Vertical Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe machine centers are differentiated by their unique orientation, which sees them hold your workpiece on a working table that spins vertically.

This layout makes it easier for you to access your workpiece, inspect, or even change certain tools. It also makes vertical lathe centers quite space-efficient and more suitable for machining broad workpieces.

· Horizontal Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe machines position your workpiece horizontally. Its rotating table is also horizontally oriented thus the machining operations are undertaken horizontally.

This layout makes horizontal lathe centers perfect for handling heavy-duty workpieces since the weight is uniformly spread across the rotating table.

· Vertical Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe machine centers are differentiated by their unique orientation, which sees them hold your workpiece on a working table that spins vertically.

This layout makes it easier for you to access your workpiece, inspect, or even change certain tools. It also makes vertical lathe centers quite space-efficient and more suitable for machining broad workpieces.

· Speed Lathe Machine Centers

As their name suggests, these lathe centers are built for high speed and can achieve up to 7000 RPM. Speed lathe machine centers primarily favor light machining operations since they run at extremely high speeds. They are highly computerized and hardly necessitate your manual input.

· Engine Lathe Machine Centers

These are the typical lathe centers you come across every day and they are characterized by a headstock and a tailstock separated by a worktable, which holds your workpiece. Engine lathe centers are a common feature in prototyping, machine shops, and die-making thanks to their simple orientation. You can also adjust their rotation speed or even change their feeding mechanism.

· Turret Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe centers are characterized by a revolving tool holder, which makes it possible for them to perform multiple machining operations simultaneously.

These revolving tool holders can carry a myriad of cutting tools and you can change the cutting tool depending on the operation you intend to undertake. Turret lathe centers are primarily semi-automatic or fully automatic.

· Toolroom Lathe Machine Centers

Toolroom lathe machine centers are specialized to attain unrivaled levels of precision during machining. They are quite similar to conventional engine lathes except for their high precision. They thrive best when it comes to manufacturing or maintaining delicate tools and fixtures.

· Bench Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe machine centers are designed for relatively small-scale operations such as workshops. They are quite compact and light in weight hence the name bench lathe centers. Despite their comparatively smaller footprint, they can fulfill most of the functions fulfilled by larger lathe machine centers.

· CNC Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe centers are aided by computer numerically controlled programs, making them highly precise and reliable. They can also perform sophisticated cutting operations, most of which their manual or semi-automatic counterparts cannot. You can program a CNC lathe center to run at extremely high speeds while achieving the utmost cutting accuracy.

Parts of a Center Lathe Machine

Speed Lathe Machine Centers

As their name suggests, these lathe centers are built for high speed and can achieve up to 7000 RPM. Speed lathe machine centers primarily favor light machining operations since they run at extremely high speeds. They are highly computerized and hardly necessitate your manual input.

· Engine Lathe Machine Centers

These are the typical lathe centers you come across every day and they are characterized by a headstock and a tailstock separated by a worktable, which holds your workpiece. Engine lathe centers are a common feature in prototyping, machine shops, and die-making thanks to their simple orientation. You can also adjust their rotation speed or even change their feeding mechanism.

· Turret Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe centers are characterized by a revolving tool holder, which makes it possible for them to perform multiple machining operations simultaneously.

These revolving tool holders can carry a myriad of cutting tools and you can change the cutting tool depending on the operation you intend to undertake. Turret lathe centers are primarily semi-automatic or fully automatic.

· Toolroom Lathe Machine Centers

Toolroom lathe machine centers are specialized to attain unrivaled levels of precision during machining. They are quite similar to conventional engine lathes except for their high precision. They thrive best when it comes to manufacturing or maintaining delicate tools and fixtures.

· Bench Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe machine centers are designed for relatively small-scale operations such as workshops. They are quite compact and light in weight hence the name bench lathe centers. Despite their comparatively smaller footprint, they can fulfill most of the functions fulfilled by larger lathe machine centers.

· CNC Lathe Machine Centers

These lathe centers are aided by computer numerically controlled programs, making them highly precise and reliable. They can also perform sophisticated cutting operations, most of which their manual or semi-automatic counterparts cannot. You can program a CNC lathe center to run at extremely high speeds while achieving the utmost cutting accuracy.

Parts of a Center Lathe Machine

The cornerstone of a center lathe machine features a plethora of distinct components intricately linked to facilitate the optimum functioning of the lathe. These components include:

• Bed: This is simply the base of your lathe center and it is essentially a platform that holds together the other parts of your machine. This component is typically fitted with V-ways although other types of ways can also be featured. These ways allow for the movement of your lathe’s carriage.
• Headstock: This essential component is typically installed on one end of your lathe center’s bed. It is tasked with supporting the spindle as well as the pulley and gear, which are responsible for the spindle’s movement.
• Tailstock: The tailstock is held on the opposite end of the tailstock by your center lathe’s bed. It is responsible for supporting your workpiece’s one end while the other end is held by the headstock. It also supports your machining tools.
• Spindle: This is a revolving shaft tasked with turning your workpiece to allow for distinct cutting operations. It is typically powered by a motor and it holds a chuck, which is in turn tasked with securing your workpiece.
• Carriage: This part is responsible for ferrying your cutting tool along the bed’s length. It is supported by the ways and controls the longitudinal turning of your center. Typical lathe center carriages also feature a cross and compound slide.
• Chuck: The chuck is typically supported by the spindle and it is tasked with securing your workpiece on the headstock. Your lathe machine center may utilize either of the following chucks:
  • Collet chuck
  • 3-jaw chuck
  • 4-jaw chuck

Lathe Machine Center Processes

Lathe centers simply tailor the shape of varying materials and tools into cylindrical form and this has made them indispensable in multiple industries. They can undertake numerous operations, key amongst them being:

• Turning: This is the principal role of a lathe machine center and it involves revolving your workpiece with the help of a spindle. As the spindle rotates your piece, a cutting tool extracts chips from your piece consequently shrinking its diameter and generating a cylindrical object.
• Facing: This operation is primarily designed to leave your workpiece with a flat-surfaced end. It involves subjecting your rotating workpiece to a cutting tool, which shaves off unwanted portions on one end of your workpiece.
• Drilling: Although this is not a turning operation, it is still a machining operation that a lathe center can execute. It however requires the installation of a drilling bit, which digs out holes on the surface of your workpiece.
• Taper Turning: This operation involves subjecting your workpiece to a machining tool whose angle is adjusted to create conically shaped pieces. Workpieces subjected to taper turning have diameters fluctuating progressively along their length.
• Knurling: This process is renowned for elevating the grip of your workpiece or even some of its functional features. It leaves your workpiece with a raised surface, often resembling a diamond.

Lathe Machine Center Maintenance Practices

• Regularly lubricate the joints of your lathe center to shrink or prevent friction between moving parts. Also, make certain you use a lubricant prescribed by your machine’s manufacturer.
• Always clean your lathe center to dislodge chips and debris that may build up during machining.
• Regularly inspect your lathe’s seals and way wipers to guarantee optimal performance at all times.
• Periodically inspect the alignment of your headstock and tailstock to avert inaccurate cutting.
• If you are not using your lathe machine center, cover it with a dry blanket to keep it safe from dust and moisture which can cause rusting.

Applications of Lathe Machine Centers

 

Lathe centers play a role in a myriad of applications ranging from car parts manufacturing to spaceship production. Other applications include:

• Protyping
• Shaping jewelry
• Manufacturing medical devices
• Manufacturing aerospace parts
• Manufacturing musical instruments
• Creating plumbing fixtures
• Mold and die-making
• Machining car components

Conclusion

A lather machine center plays an integral role in modern machining operations. At TSINFA, we offer a wide range of lathe machine centers with varying capacities.

For all your lathe machine centers designs, contact TSINFA now.

More resources:

CNC Machine Tools – Source: TSINFA

Introduction to Lathe Machine – Source: TSINFA

How to use Lathe Machine – Source: TSINFA