What is Lathe Machine?

The Lathe Machine is a type of Machine Tool that holds the workpiece in the chuck (that rotates) and tool in the tool post (tool post can be adjustable according to the cutting angle and operation). The main purpose of this machine tool is to remove or machine the workpiece according to our requirement

Being a Mechanical student, it is an academic knowledge and necessary topic to know Lathe Machine and Types of Lathe Machine operations. We frequently found lathe machines and different types of lathe machine in manufacturing and repairing centers, but all the machines are not similar in size and nature; it depends upon the necessity of the particular operator and company.

So, let us try to learn about the types of lathe machine and its operations in this post.

What you can learn in this post?

• Types of lathe machine
• Different parts of lathe machine
• What is the use of lathe machine?
• Different types of lathe machine operations
• Types of lathe machine Tools used.
• Why lathe is the king of the workshop?

Now, let us start to learn about each point precisely. In this post, I am going to clarify one more query that every professor or faculty stresses every time, why lathe is the king of the workshop?

Types of Lathe Machine:

The whole sole purpose is to machine or removing the material; we can find different types of lathe machine according to the flexibility, performing several operations, and fastness. So the types of lathe machine are as follows;

1. Engine Lathe
2. Wood Lathe
3. Bench Lathe.
4. Tools room or Normal Lathe
5. Capston & Turret Lathe
6. Special Purpose Lathe
7. CNC Lathe.

Different parts of Lathe Machine:

As there are different types of lathe machine so, there will be different parts in each types of lathe machines.              

The lathe is the king of the workshop so we expect it may be gigantic in size and occupies a large and most of the space in the workshop but, the lathe size depends upon the type of job we machine, and the place where we install it. 

When it comes to the small tool rooms or repairing places we can expect a lathe machine that occupies a 3/4^th of a small room but at the same time when it comes to a company or industry that produces mass production, we can expect a lathe machine of a bigger size.

Yes, we can find large lathe machines for mass production in the manufacturing companies and small size in the Workshops, Labs, etc, but the components, fixtures, etc are similar in every machine.

Here I am mentioning the basic and most important parts of a lathe that most of the different types of lathe machine can be used. It mainly consists of

1. Head Stock
2.  Tail-stock
3. Carriage
4. Legs
5. Motor and its mechanism.

Let us read about each of them.

Chuck is the job or workpiece holding device that is connected to the motor with the help of a belt. The chuck is made to rotate with the help of the motor and the transmission from the motor to the chuck is done with the help of the belt. There are different types of chucks according to their jaws; they are

• Two Jaw Chuck: There will be only two jaws that can hold the workpiece. Each jaw can be tightened separately with the help of a chuck-key.
• Three Jaw Chuck or Self Centering Chuck: There will be three jaws that hold the workpiece and it is self-centered that means the jaws can be tightened at the same time using the chuck-key.
• Four Jaw Chuck: There will be four jaws to hold the workpiece, these type of chuck is used to hold the large size workpieces or jobs.

3. Tail-stock: 

• The Tailstock is used for reference or testing the component is exactly at center position that avoids the run-out of job and maintains good machining.
• It helps to perform the boring operation where we fix the boring tool in the Tail-stock and with the help of its movement; we can machine the job perfectly.

4. Carriage:

It is the part that carries the whole operating devices while machining, the devices that carry are Tool Post, Cross sliding, and Compound Rest.

5. Bed: 

It is the base where the whole mechanisms for machining purposes like Saddle, Carriage, Cross Slide Mechanism, Tail-stock, etc. will be rest on.

What is the use of Lathe Machine?

The uses of the lathe machine compared to the other machine tools are

• We can perform several operations in one machine by using different cutting tools and procedures.
• No need of using different machine tools like shaper, planer, drilling machines separately.
• Time-saving and cost-effective.
• The machining can be done at different speeds that can increase the tool’s life.
• We can fix a number of cutting tools and perform many operations at the same time.

So, the use of the lathe machine is wide and cost-effective.

Different types of lathe machine operations:

As we know that a lathe is a Machine tool, used to machining or cut the material to the required shapes. There are many machine tools Planar, Shaper, Driller, Miller, Grinder, etc but each machine tool is restricted to only one operation. 

For example, driller machine is used for purpose of drills or holes, and coming to the grinder, it is used to grind the material and increase the face property but when it comes to the Lathe Machine we can perform several operations; they are as follow.

Let us read, what these operations are 

1. Facing process in lathe machine:

        Facing process in the lathe machine is the basic and easy operation that can be performed, it is the process of decreasing the length of the workpiece (wood or iron) by feeding it through the face as shown in the figure. The single point cutting (mostly High-Speed Steel or HSS) can be used to perform the operation.

The workpiece is fixed in the chuck and the tool is fixed in the tool post according to the position and angle that required cutting the face of the material.

2. Turning Process in Lathe Machine

        Turning process in lathe machine is another the basic and easy operations that can be performed, it is the process of decreasing the diameter of the workpiece (wood or iron) by feeding it side-ways. The single point cutting (mostly High-Speed Steel or HSS) can be used to perform the operation.

The workpiece is fixed in the chuck and the tool is fixed in the tool post according to the position and angle that required cutting the diameter or sides of the material.

3. Taper Turning in Lathe Machine

       The Taper Turning process in a lathe machine is the process of the gradual decrease in the diameter of the workpiece for a particular length. The single point cutting (mostly High-Speed Steel or HSS) can be used to perform the operation.

        The workpiece is fixed in the chuck and the tool is fixed in the tool post with some angle to perform the operation; the angle depends upon the length of the material (L) that exposed for tapering and diameters of the two sides (D1, D2) that we need to cut. The alpha is the angle that we fix the tool post.

4. Knurling Process in Lathe Machine:

           Knurling Process is the process of creating horizontal and vertical lines. It is also called the finishing process. It is used for creating the nature of grip to hold the workpieces in real-time usage. It can be performed using the knurling tool.

The knurling tool is fixed in the tool post and the workpiece is held by the chuck, as the chuck rotates the knurling tool is feed against the workpiece to create the lines over it.

5. Forming Process in Lathe Machine:

        Forming is the process of shaping the materials to our required shapes by using the tools, so the forming process in a lathe machine can be done by fixing the forming tool perpendicular to the workpiece in the tool post and the tool is feed against the workpiece slowly to create deformation in the workpiece (we can observe the process in the image).

6. Drilling Process in Lathe Machine:

       As we know that the word drilling is the process of making or creating the holes, so the drilling process in the lathe machine can be done by using the Tailstock, whereas the tool is fixed in the tailstock that is parallel to the workpiece or chuck.

While the chuck is rotating the tailstock with drilling bit is feed against the workpiece to drill the holes.

7. Boring Process in Lathe Machine:

        Just now, we read about drilling, now it is the time for reading about boring as soon as we read about drilling because boring is the process of enlarging or creating the cylindrical shape in the drilled holes. It can be done by the boring tool that is fixed in the tailstock.

8. Reaming Process in Lathe Machine

         Reaming is another process that can be done after boring, it is the process that is used to give a finishing touch to the drilling and bored holes. It is done by using a reaming tool.

9. Parting Process in Lathe Machine:

         Parting is the process of separating the workpiece into two, it can be done by using the single point cutting tool or parting tool. The tool is fixed in the tool post perpendicular to the workpiece then feed slowly and deeply against it.

10. Chamfering Process in Lathe Machine

          Chamfering is the finishing process at the ends of the workpiece, a 45-degree taper is given at the ends using a chamfering tool.

11. Threading Process in Lathe Machine:

        As it is well-known that threading is the process of creating helical cuts on the workpiece so, the threading process can be done by using the threading tool. The tool is fixed perpendicular to the workpiece and feeds against it; as a result, the helical cuts can be achieved.

Types of Lathe Machine cutting tools used:

          As the lathe machine can perform a number of operations by changing the tools so, according to the performing operations, the types of lathe machine cutting tools are as follows

• Turning Tool for Turning Operation.
• Knurling tool for Knurling Operation.
• Forming tool for Forming Operation.
• Drilling tool or drilling bit for Drilling Operation.
• Boring tool for Boring Operation.
• Reaming tool for Reaming Operation.
• Threading tool for Threading Operation.
• Tapering tool for Tapering Operation.
• Parting tool for Parting Operation.

These are the types of lathe machine cutting tools that are used.

Why Lathe is called as KING of WORKSHOP?

 As mentioned before, there are different types of lathe machines, and it can perform number of operations like Facing, Turning, Taper Turning, Drilling, Boring, Reaming, Knurling, Threading, and Chamfering by changing the tools itself but when it comes to other machine tools, they can perform only one or hardly two operations on it so, according to this point of view, the lathe can be said supreme to others.

So, this is the reason “why the Lathe is called the king of Workshop”.