MACHINING PROCESS –I

Lecture 4
Lathe Machine

Engr. Muhammad Mahboob

Lathe is one of the oldest important machine tools in the metal
working industry. A lathe operates on the principle of a rotating
work piece and a fixed cutting tool.

 A rope wound round the work with its own end attached to a
flexible branch of tree and other end being pulled by man caused job
to rotate intermittently. With its further development a strip of wood
called “lath” was used to support the rope and that is how the
machine came to be known as “lathe”.

The cutting tool is feed into the work piece, which rotates about its
own axis, causing the work piece to be formed to the desired shape.

 Lathe machine is also known as “the mother/father of the entire

tool family”.
 The Lathe Machine is one of the oldest and most
important machine tools. As early as 1569, wood lathes
were in use in France. The lathe machine was adapted to
metal cutting in England during the Industrial Revolution.

Lathe machine also called “Engine Lathe” because the

first type of lathe was driven by a steam engine.
 Henry Maudsley was born on an
isolated farm near Gigghleswick in
North Yorkshire and educated at
University Collage London. He was
an outstandingly brilliant medical
student, collecting ten Gold Medals
and graduating with an M.D. degree
in 1857.
• This term ‘engine’ is associated with the lathe owing to the fact
that early lathes were driven by steam engine. It is also called
centre lathe. The most common form of lathe, motor driven and
comes in large variety of sizes and shapes.
 Engine lathes are classified according to the various designs of headstock and
methods of transmitting power to the machine.
1. Belt Driven Lathe
2. Motor Driven Lathe
3. Gear Head Lathe
 The power to the engine lathe spindle may be given with the help of a belt
drive from an overhead line shaft but most modern machines have a captive
motor with either a cone pulley driven or an geared headstock arrangement.
• A bench top model usually of low power used to make
precision machine small work pieces.
• It is used for small w/p having a maximum swing of 250 mm at
the face plate. Practically it consists of all the parts of engine
lathe or speed lathe.
• A lathe that has the ability to follow a template
to copy a shape or contour.
 A tool room lathe having
features similar to an engine lathe
is much more accurately built and
has a wide range of spindle speeds
ranging from a very low to a quite
high speed up to 2500 rpm.
 This lathe is mainly used for
precision work on a tools, dies,
gauges, and in machining work
where accuracy is needed.
 This lathe machine is costlier
than an engine lathe of the same
size.
• A lathe in which the work piece is automatically
fed and removed without use of an operator. It
requires very less attention after the setup has
been made and the machine loaded.
 Once tools are set and the machine is started it performs automatically
all the operations to finish the job.
 After the job is complete, the machine will continue to repeat the cycles
producing identical parts.
 An operator can maintain five or six such a types of lathes at a time simply look
after the general maintenance of the machine and cutting tools.
• Turret lathe is the adaptation of the engine lathe where the
tail stock is replaced by a turret slide(cylindrical or
hexagonal). Tool post of the engine lathe is replaced by a
square cross slide which can hold four tools.
 It has heavier construction and provides wider range of speeds.
 The saddle carrying the turret head moves along the whole length
of the bed. Much longer jobs can be machined.
 Turret head directly mounted on the saddle. The front tool post
can carry 4 tools and rear tool post may have 1 or 2 tools. Turret
may have4 to 6 tools.
 More than one tool may be set to operate simultaneously. There
is no lead screw.
 A highly automated lathe, where both cutting, loading,
tool changing, and part unloading are automatically
controlled by computer coding.
 E.g. CNC Lathe M/C.(Computer Numerical Control
Machine)
• This is heavy rugged casting made to support
the working parts of lathe and also guide and
align major parts of lathe.
• Made to support working parts of lathe.
• On top section are machined ways.
• Guide and align major parts of lathe.
• The headstock houses the main spindle,
speed change mechanism, and change gears.
• The headstock is required to be made as
robust as possible due to the cutting forces
involved, which can distort a lightly built
housing.
• Induce harmonic vibrations
that will transfer through the
work piece, reducing the
quality of the finished work
piece.
• Contains number of different-size gears.
• Provides feed rod and lead-screw with various
speeds for turning and thread-cutting operations

TOP VIEW
 The arrangement which are employed in feed gear boxes
to obtain multispindle speeds and different rates of feeds
are:
I. Sliding Gear Mechanism
II. Sliding Clutch Mechanism
III. Gear Cone And Tumbler Gear Mechanism
IV. Sliding Key Mechanism
V. Combination of any two or more of the above
• Usually two or three levers must be moved to obtain the
desired combination within a given range.
• Used to move cutting tool along lathe bed.
• Consists of three main parts-
i. Saddle
ii. Cross-slide
iii. Apron
 Movement of entire carriage assembly along the bed
provides feed for the tool parallel to the lathe axis.
 The compound rest can be swivelled on the cross slide
in the horizontal plane about vertical axis.
 To the front of the carriage is attached the apron. It is
fastened to the saddle and hangs over the front of the
bed.
 The apron houses the automatic feed mechanism for
longitudinal and cross feeds and the split nut for thread
cutting.
• Mounted on top of saddle.
• Provides manual or automatic cross movement for
cutting tool.
 • Fastened to saddle.
• Houses gears and
mechanism required to
move carriage or cross-
slide automatically.
• Locking-off lever inside
apron prevents engaging
split-nut lever and
automatic feed lever at
same time.
• Apron hand wheel
turned manually to move
carriage along lathe bed
• Upper and lower tailstock castings.
• Adjusted for taper or parallel turning by two screws set in base.
• Tailstock clamp locks tailstock in any position along bed of lathe.
• Tailstock spindle has internal taper to receive dead center.
• Provides support for right-hand end of work.
 In tail stock jobs of different lengths are provided
with quill which can be moved in and out by means
of a screw and then locked in position.
 The movement of the quill is parallel to the lathe axis.
 The quill has a tapered bore into which is fitted a
hardened centre which locates and holds the w/p
when turning between centre.
 This bore may also be used for supporting tools for
operations like drilling and reaming.
•Engages clutch that provides automatic feed to
carriage.
• Feed-change lever can be set for longitudinal
feed or for cross-feed.
• In neutral position, permits split-nut lever to
be engaged for thread cutting.
• Carriage moved automatically when split-nut
lever engaged
•Distance carriage will travel in one revolution of
spindle.
• Depends on speed of feed rod or lead screw.
• Controlled by change gears in quick-change
gearbox.
• Obtains drive from headstock spindle through end
gear train.
• Chart mounted on front of quick-change gearbox
indicates various feeds.
• Prevents damage to feed mechanism from
overload or sudden torque
• Shear pins-
i. Made of brass
ii. Found on feed rod, lead screw, and end
gear train.
• Spring-loaded slip clutches-
i. Found only on feed rods
ii. When feed mechanism. overloaded,
shear pin will break or slip clutch will slip
causing feed to stop.
 Methods of Holding the Work in a Lathe

There are four common methods used to hold work parts in turning.
These work holding methods consist of various mechanisms to grasp the
work, center and support it in position along the spindle axis, and rotate it.
The four methods are as follows
(a) Mounting the work between centers
(b) Chuck
 (c) Collet
(d) Face plate.
(a) and (b) Schematic illustrations of a draw-in-type collets. (c)
A push-out type collet. (d) Workholding of a part on a face plate.
 Holding the work between centers
Holding the work between centers refers to the use of two
centers, one in the headstock and the other in the tailstock,
as in Figure.
This method is appropriate for parts with large length-to-
diameter ratios.
At the headstock center, a device called a dog is attached to
the outside of the work and is used to drive the rotation
from the spindle.
 Holding the work between centers
The tailstock center has a cone-shaped point which is
inserted into a tapered hole in the end of the work.
The tailstock center is either a ‘‘live’’ center or a ‘‘dead’’
center.
 Chucks
The chuck, Figure, is available in several designs, with three
or four jaws to grasp the cylindrical work part on its outside
diameter.
The jaws are often designed so they can also grasp the
inside diameter of a tubular part.
 A self-centering chuck has a mechanism to move the jaws in
or out simultaneously, thus centering the work at the spindle
axis.
 Other chucks allow independent operation of each jaw.
 Chucks
Chucks can be used with or without a tailstock center.
 For parts with low length-to-diameter ratios, holding the part in the
chuck in a cantilever fashion is usually sufficient to withstand the
cutting forces.
For long work bars, the tailstock center is needed for support.
 - Forholding cylindrical
stock centered.
- For facing/center
drilling etc.

- This is independent
chuck generally has
four jaws , which are
adjusted individually
on the chuck face by
means of adjusting
screws.
 -Collet chuck is
used to hold
small work
pieces.

-Thin jobs can

be held by
means of
magnetic
chucks.
 Collet
A collet consists of a tubular bushing with longitudinal slits
running over half its length and equally spaced around its
circumference, as in Figure.
The inside diameter of the collet is used to hold cylindrical
work such as bar stock.
Owing to the slits, one end of the collet can be squeezed to
reduce its diameter and provide a secure grasping pressure
against the work.
 Collet
Because there is a limit to the reduction obtainable in a
collet of any given diameter, these work holding devices
must be made in various sizes to match the particular work
part size in the operation.
 Face Plate
A face plate, Figure, is a work holding device that fastens to
the lathe spindle and is used to grasp parts with irregular
shapes.
 Because of their irregular shape, these parts cannot be held
by other work holding methods.
 The faceplate is therefore equipped with the
custom-designed clamps for the particular geometry of the
part.
 Don’t touch cutter or chips while
machine is running.

 Make sure work is clamped tightly in

chuck or collet.

 Be careful to stay clear of chuck jaws.

All lathe operators must be constantly aware of the safety.
Handle sharp cutters, centres, and drills with care.
Remove chuck keys and wrenches before operating.
Always wear protective eye protection.
Always stop the lathe before making adjustments.
Know where the emergency stop is before operating the
lathe.
Correct dress is important, remove rings and watches.
Do not change spindle speeds until the lathe comes to a
complete stop.
 Lathes are highly accurate machine tools
designed to operate around the clock if
properly operated and maintained. Lathes must
be lubricated and checked for adjustment
before operation. Improper lubrication or loose
nuts and bolts can cause excessive wear and
dangerous operating conditions.