2.

5 COMPARISON AND EVALUATION

• Production with less experience

• Consistency and accuracy
• Production cost

2.6 PRESENTATION

NC turning, in the operation of a machine shop, is a method of machining a part in

which a pointed cutting tool is fed parallel onto the surface of a material being
rotated. This rotation is performed by a lathe, considered to be the oldest
machining tool dating far back to ancient Egypt. The lathe secures and spins the
part being machined, allowing for a simple single-point cutting tool to remove and
shape the material, creating the desired part. This is accomplished along a dual
axis of movement that may be a straight line, or along a prescribed set of curves
or angles. Turning allows for the creation of varying complex shapes including
plain, tapered, contoured, filleted, threaded, and radius profiles. Turning in its
purest form involves the spinning of a lathe and the steady hand of the operator
applying the cutting tool to the material being machined. Advances in technology
have led to the creation of CNC, or Computer Numerical Control, lathes and
turning processes. Beyond programming commands into the CNC lathe, the
operator is taken out of the equation. An automated system now holds the
cutting tool firmly in the lathe and follows a pre-programmed design, allowing for
a precise turn, exact tolerances, and an abundance of shapes; straight, conical,
curved, or grooved.