WAH ENGINEERING COLLEGE MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY (ME-1O2L)

LAB REPORT NO.7

Objective:-
Introduction of lathe machine, its parts and work holding devices.

Theory:-

Introduction:-

Lathe Machine:

In a machine shop, metals are cut to shape on different machine tools. Lathe is considered as
one of the oldest machine tools and is widely used in industries. It is called as mother of
machine tools.
The primary task of a lathe is to generate cylindrical workpieces. This machine tool is useful
in performing plain turning, taper turning, thread cutting, chamfering, knurling and some
additional operations.

Working Principle of Lathe Machine:

A Lathe is primarily used to manufacture cylindrical shapes from a range of materials by

revolving the work against a single point cutting tool.
The work is clamped either in a chuck, fitted on to the lathe spindle or in‐between the centers.
The cutting tool is fixed in a tool post, mounted on a movable carriage that is positioned on the
lathe bed. The cutting tool can be fed on to the work, either lengthwise or cross‐wise.
While turning, the chuck rotates either clockwise or counter‐clockwise.

Figure 7.1: Working Principle of Lathe

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Parts of Lathe Machine:

Figure 7.2: Principle components of a Lathe

1. Bed:

It is an essential part of a lathe, which must be strong and rigid. It carries all parts of the
machine and resists the cutting forces. Headstock of the lathe is located at the extreme left of
the bed and the tailstock at the right extreme. The top of the bed has flat or „V‟ shaped
guideways called lathe bedways. The tail stock and the carriage slides on these guideways.
Carriage is positioned in between the headstock and tailstock and slides on the bed
guideways.
It is made of cast iron and its top surface is machined accurately and precisely.

2. Head Stock:

Headstock of the lathe is located at the extreme left of the bed. It is mounted permanently on
the inner guideways. It contains the main spindle, to which the work is held and rotated.
It contains either a cone pulley or gearings to provide the necessary range of speeds and
feeds.
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3. Tail Stock:

Tailstock of the lathe is located at the extreme right of the bed on the bed guide ways and is
opposite to the headstock. It can slide over the bed ways and may be clamped in any position
along the lathe bed. The tail stock spindle has an internal morse taper. Drills, reamers, taps
may be fitted into the spindle, for performing operations such as drilling, reaming and
tapping. Dead center is fitted into the taper hole of tailstock spindle that supports the right
hand end of the long workpiece.

4. Carriage:

Carriage is located between the headstock and tailstock on the lathe bed guideways.
It can be moved along the bed either towards or away from the headstock and can be fixed at
any position. It is the part responsible for the movement of cutting tool. It has several parts to
support, move and control the cutting tool. Different parts of carriage are listed below:
a) Saddle b) Apron c) Cross slide
d) Compound slide e) Compound Rest f) Tool Post

Figure 7.3: Parts of Lathe carriage

a) Saddle:

It is an “H” shaped casting. It connects the pair of bed guideways like a bridge. It fits over the
bed and slides along the bed between headstock and tailstock. The apron and cross slide are
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bolted to the saddle. The saddle or the entire carriage can be moved by providing hand feed
or automatic feed.

b) Apron:

Apron is attached to the carriage and hangs over the front side of the lathe bed.
It is useful in providing power and hand feed to both carriage and cross-slide. It is also used
to provide power feed to the carriage during thread cutting through two half nuts.

c) Cross Slide:

Cross-slide is situated on the saddle and slides on the dovetail guideways at right angles to
the bed guide ways. It carries compound rest, compound slide and tool post.
Cross slide hand wheel is rotated to move it at right angles to the lathe axis. The cross slide
hand wheel is graduated on its rim to enable to give known amount of feed as accurate as
0.05mm. It can also be power driven.

d) Compound Slide:

A top slide known as compound slide is attached to the compound rest by dove tail joint.
The tool post is situated on the compound slide.

e) Compound Rest:

Compound rest is a part which connects cross slide and compound slide. It is mounted on the
cross-slide by tongue and groove joint.
The compound rest of the lathe is attached to a circular base graduated in degrees.
The compound rest can be swiveled and clamped to the required angle for turning tapers.

f) Tool Post:

This is located on top of the compound slide. It is used to hold the tools rigidly.
Tools are selected according to the type of operation and mounted on the tool post and
adjusted to a convenient working position.
There are different types of tool posts and they are:
i. Single screw tool post ii. Four bolt tool post iii. Four way tool post
iv. Open side tool post v. Hexagonal tool post vi. Turret head tool post
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5. Lead Screw:

It is a long threaded shaft, located in front of the carriage, running from the head‐stock to the
tail stock. It is geared to the spindle and controls the movement of the tool, either for
automatic feeding or for cutting threads.

6. Feed and Thread-Cutting Mechanism:

There are several mechanisms to make the carriage and crose-slide move automatically and
to change the direction of their movement. The same gears that move the carriage are
involved in the feed and thread-cutting mechanisms. These gears are used to transmit motion
from the headstock spindle to the carriage.

7. Chipping Pan:

It is a large tray that is provided underneath the bed of lathe. It is made of sheet steel.
Purpose of a chipping pan is to collect the metal chips that are produced while machining of
different materials.

 Operations of Lathe Machine:

Number of operations can be performed on a centre lathe, such as:

1. Turning 2. Taper turning 3. Step Turning 4. Threading
5. Facing 6. Knurling 7. Boring 8. Reaming

Figure 7.4: Lathe operation

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1. Turning:

Turning is the removal of the material from the outer diameter of a rotating cylindrical
workpiece. The workpiece is machined to the required diameter by moving the cutting tool
either parallel or perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the workpiece.

2. Facing:

Facing is the process of removing metal from the end of a workpiece to produce a flat surface
which is perpendicular to the lathe axis. Facing is used to cut work to the desired length and
to produce a surface from which accurate measurements may be taken.

3. Step Turning:

Step turning is an operation performed on lathe machine where the excess material is
removed from the work piece to obtain various steps of different diameters. For such a
operation deep cuts with coarse feed are used.

4. Taper Turning:

A taper may be defined as a uniform increase or decrease in diameter of a work measured

along its length. Taper turning is an operation performed on a lathe that feeds a tool at an
angle to the length of the work piece in order to create a conical shape.
Tapers can be either external or internal. If a work piece is tapered on the outside, it has an
external taper. If it is tapered on the inside, it has an internal taper.

5. Knurling:

It is the operation of engraving diamond-shaped or straight-line patterns on the surface of the

workpiece. It is done for the purpose of providing a surface which will not readily slip when
gripped by the finger or hand, such as the thimble of a micrometre for handle of plug gauges.
Knurling is done with underlying roller held in a special holder.

6. Drilling:

This is the process of making holes in workpiece with the help of drills.
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The drill is held in the tailstock and the drilling operation is carried out by advancing the drill
in the workpiece by rotating the handle of the tailstock.

7. Boring:

The process of removal of stock from hole in the workpiece is called boring. Holes are bored
by single point cutting tools. The cutting tool shaves off a thin layer of material to an accurate
size.

8. Reaming:

It is the process of enlarging holes to accurate sizes. Reaming is always carried out after
drilling. Similar to drilling process - that is held in the tailstock to carry out reaming
operation.

9. Threading:

The process of cutting threads on a workpiece is known as threading. External threading is

the process of cutting Threads on the outer surface of the workpiece. Internal threading is the
process of cutting Threads on the inside surface or part of a hole.

Figure 7.5: Various lathe operations

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Work Holding Devices on Lathe Machine:

Following work holding devices are used in different lathe operations:

1. Chucks 2. Face Plate 3. Rests
4. Follower Rest 5. Lathe Dogs 6. Mandrel

1. Chucks:

Chuck is one of the most important devices for holding and rotating a job in a lathe. It is
basically attached to the headstock spindle of the lathe. The internal threads in the chuck fit
on to the external threads on the spindle nose. Short, cylindrical, hol1ow objects or those of
irregular shapes, which cannot be conveniently mounted between centers, are easily and
rigidly held in a chuck. Jobs of short length and large diameter or of irregular shape, which
cannot be conveniently mounted between centers, are held quickly and rigidly in a chuck.
There are a number of types of lathe chucks, e.g.
a) Three jaws or universal
b) Four jaw independent chuck
c) Magnetic chuck
d) Collet chuck
e) Air or hydraulic chuck operated chuck
f) Combination chuck
g) Drill chuck

2. Face Plate:

The faceplate is used for irregularly shaped work pieces that cannot be successfully held by
centers or chucks. A face plate possesses the radial, plain and T slots for holding jobs or work-
pieces by bolts and clamps. Face plates consist of a circular disc bored out and threaded to fit
the nose of the lathe spindle.
3. Rests:

A rest is a lathe device, which supports a long slender job, when it is turned between
centers or by a chuck, at some intermediate point to prevent bending of the job due to its
own weight and vibration set up due to the cutting force that acts on it. The two types of rests
commonly used for supporting a long job in an engine lathe are the steady or centre rest and
the follower rest.
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4. Lathe Dogs:

Lathe dogs are cast metal devices used to provide a firm connection between the headstock
spindle and the workpiece mounted between centers.

5. Mandrel:

A mandrel is a device used for holding and rotating a hollow job that has been previously
drilled or bored. The job revolves with the mandrel, which is mounted between two centers.
It is rotated by the lathe dog and the catch plate and it drives the work by friction. Different
types of mandrels are employed according to specific requirements. It is hardened and
tempered steel shaft or bar with 60° centers, so that it can be mounted between centers.

6. Angle Plates:

Angle plate is a cast iron plate having two faces machined to make them absolutely at
right angles to each other. Holes and slots are provided on both faces so that it may be
clamped on a faceplate and can hold the job or workpiece on the other face by bolts and
clamps. The plates are used in conjunction with a face plate when the holding surface of
the job should be kept horizontal.

Conclusion:

Yourself.
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