J. Inst. Eng. India Ser.
C (April–June 2013) 94(2):187–195
DOI 10.1007/s40032-013-0064-2
CASE STUDY
Development of Lathe Attachment for a CNC Machine
V. Roy • S. Kumar
Received: 30 June 2012 / Accepted: 15 March 2013 / Published online: 1 June 2013
 The Institution of Engineers (India) 2013
Abstract A lathe attachment has been developed for an
existing CNC machine (installed with rapid prototyping
attachment) using conceptual design. The CNC machine
operates on mechatronic controls and a computer interface
called CAMSOFT, and is used as a CNC Lathe after
installing the respective attachment to it. The conceptual
design phase, starts from an idea and different components
of the lathe are designed as attachment using CAD mod-
elling and is followed by fabrication phase. The lathe
attachment is successfully developed and is installed to the
CNC machine. The working of the CNC Lathe attachment
is checked by making some machining operation like
turning and thread cutting. The machining operations are
successfully done. The CNC machine becomes multi-
functional with the presently developed lathe attachment
and the existing RP (rapid prototyping) attachment, and can
be used accordingly by installing the respective attachment
to it. The CNC machine is useful for carrying research
work in both the fields, when installed with the appropriate
attachment.
Keywords Conceptual design
CAD & modelling

CNC
Machining
Introduction
The concept of a new product includes product require-
ments, functions, possible behaviors, form/structure (lay-
out), and associated properties. Properties include material,
V. Roy (&)
S. Kumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India
e-mail: vivekroy.iit@gmail.com
assembly-level tolerance, critical surface roughness and
hardness parameters, and critical dimension.
Conceptual design and development process accelerates
the process of product design and development. It is sup-
ported by creativity, which leads to the generation of new
and valued/innovative ideas. It is a very crucial aspect in
the early stage of product development. It determines the
function, form and the basic structure of the product.
The process of conceptual design consists of (i) Fact
gathering: The designer must have a good idea of what the
customer wants in order to begin designing. The more
information a designer can gather, the more easily he will
be able to satisfy the customer with a pleasing design. (ii)
Processing: Once the designer gathers the facts and looks
over examples of similar products, creative side is kick in.
This phase of the design process is characterized by note
taking, sketching and organizing the work. (iii) Design:
A misconception of the design process by customers not
familiar with it is that designers start at design. Customers
need to be educated on the first two steps. If the first two
steps are done well, the design process is streamlined and
the results are more accurate. The design phase of the
process may be repeated several times. (iv) Refinement:
Once the designer receives input from the customer, the
refining process takes place. One design is decided upon,
and the designer brings it up to industry standards so that
the design can be printed, manufactured or implemented
depending on the type of design being developed.
(v) Implementation: The finished design is sent to the
appropriate vendor.
Creativity has a great role in the process of conceptual
design. The proper strategy and the design objectives must
be very clear to guide the creative phase. CAD has a great
role in this design process [1–3]; it helps in getting the
various possible designs, when the problem definition is
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laid on the basis of the need. Each design is then evaluated

and analyzed for optimization, and if required; the changes
are made to the design. When the best design is achieved, it
gets finalized. During the design procedure, certain factors
like proper functioning, cost, feasibility in manufacturing,
feasibility in assembly, use of standard components, wear
and replacements of parts etc. must be kept in mind.
Conceptual design issues are interdisciplinary in nature,
and often involve collaboration from customers, designers
and engineers. Preliminary design is widely supported at
this stage. The concept generated at this stage directly
affects the generation and the material selection for the
product concerned [4]. Conceptual design begins with a
description of requirements and continues with a detailed
Fig. 1 CNC machine installed with RP attachment
solution [5]. Here a solution path is laid down through the
elaboration of a solution principle and involves formulation
of abstract ideas with approximate concrete representations A CNC program is written through the menu (Fig. 2) and
[6]. The early stage of conceptual design is dominated by the same is used to run the machine.
generation of ideas, which is then evaluated according to The aim of the work is to develop a Lathe attachment for
the requirements. If required, additional ideas are incor- the CNC machine. The components of the RP attachment
porated to get the decision [7]. Conceptual design is cru- can be uninstalled from the CNC machine after taking out
cial, particularly, when designing new and innovative the attachment from the bed in the horizontal axis and from
products, or when generating a completely new design for the mounting provision in the vertical axis. Thus vacating
an existing product [8]. An effective conceptual designed is all the three axes and making way for the lathe attachment
accompanied by the technical knowhow [9]. If the con- to get installed on the CNC machine. The entire idea of the
ceptual design activity is team based, then mapping of the work is based on the thought that, the same CNC machine
activity of the team and full capacity utilization is very can act as an RP or a lathe, when installed with an
important [10, 11]. appropriate attachment on it.
In the process of conceptual design, the detailed design After uninstalling the RP attachment, three axes are
(geometry, topology, tolerance, dimensions, surface con- available (controlled by three stepper motors). Also one
dition, materials etc.) is arrived at after the consideration of separate servo motor is available. So the work aims at the
requirement, function, behavior and structure. development of the lathe attachment with the help of
In this work, CNC lathe attachment has been designed conceptual design, with respect to the resources available.
and developed for a CNC machine. After the fabrication, it
is installed on the CNC Machine. The CNC machine was
designed and developed earlier at M.E, I.I.T-B.H.U along
with an attachment of RP (Rapid Prototyping). The CNC
machine uses mechatronic controls and a computer inter-
face called CAMSOFT for operation. Figure 1 shows the
CNC machine installed with RP attachment.
All the three axes (vertical, horizontal and cross) are
controlled by stepper motors (one each for the respective
axis). The RP attachment consists of two servo motors (see
Fig. 1) and installed on the bed of the horizontal axis and
the mounting provision in the vertical axis. The RP
machine is FDM based.

Control and Programming

An eight axis Galil Card is used to accommodate the servo

controller and the motor and three stepper motors and two
servo motors with its own controllers. The control system
interface is accomplished with a CAMSOFT package. Fig. 2 Screenshot of the CAMSOFT interface

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Mild Steel is the material selected for fabrication of the

components of the lathe attachment.

Design A: Providing Headstock on the Z axis and Tailstock

on the Y axis

As shown in Fig. 4, the design will eliminate the require-

ment for a guide way to the tailstock, as the work piece of
any size will be accommodated by varying the position of
headstock on Z axis. The major drawback of this design is
the rigid connection between Y axis and Z axis. Also the
positioning of the tool post will be problematic. The
deflection of the vertical column (containing Z axis) will
also be possible due to a relative larger weight on it.

Design B: Providing Headstock and Tailstock on the Z axis

and Tool post on the Y axis
Fig. 3 Procedure followed for the development of the Lathe
attachment
As shown in Fig. 5, the design will eliminate the rigid
connection between the Z and Y axis. Provision of the

The development procedure followed and the relevance

of conceptual design is shown in Fig. 3. The procedure
begins with problem identification and the aim is to develop
the lathe attachment which can be mounted to the CNC
machine. On thorough analysis the requirements for the
attachment are identified, like positioning of different
components of the lathe attachment on different axes. Now
design of different assemblies and subassemblies (head-
stock, tailstock, tool post) is done with the help of con-
ceptual design. Conceptual design generates design
concepts and uses solid modeling and yields the preliminary
design, based on which further possibilities of different
designs are explored to refine the preliminary design. The
crucial aspects of different designs are considered and are Fig. 4 Design A, Headstock on Z axis (Vertical) and Tailstock on Y
used to get the detailed design. On fulfillment of all the axis (Horizontal)
desired requirements, the particular design is finalized for
the desired components. Now production planning is done
accordingly to realize the finalized design and the compo-
nents are manufactured. The assembly of different com-
ponents accordingly leads to the desired lathe attachment.

Conceptual Design for the Lathe Attachment

Of the three axes in the CNC machine, the cross axis is

designated as X axis, the horizontal axis is designated as Y
axis and the vertical axis is designated as Z axis. These
Axes can be seen in Fig. 1.
The major components in any lathe machine is head-
stock, tailstock and tool post. Three basic designs (A, B and
C) are developed with respect to the available axes of the
CNC machine. CATIA V5 and AUTOCAD 2007 have Fig. 5 Design B, Headstock and Tailstock on the Z axis (Vertical)
been used for solid modeling. and Tool post on the Y axis (Horizontal)

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Fig. 6 Design C, Headstock and Tailstock on the Y axis (Horizon-
tal), Tool post on the Z axis (Vertical)
headstock and the tailstock on the Z axis will require a
slide way. Tool post is will be provided on Y axis. But the
height of the tool post will be limited, thus restricting the
reach of the tool on the work piece.
Also supporting a large mass on a vertical plane in a
cantilever condition is not considered as a good design; to
eliminate this defect, heavy stiffener will have to be pro-
vided at the back of the vertical column.
Design C: Providing Headstock and Tailstock on the Y axis
and Tool post on the Z axis
As shown in Fig. 6, in this design both the headstock and
the tailstock will be on Y axis. The design provides the
maximum extent of freedom for movement of all the axes
of the machine tool. The design will require a slide way. As
the work piece will have a very little weight as compared to
combined weight of headstock and tailstock, so proper
balancing could be achieved. It is quite evident from the
model that rigidity of Y axis is quite high as compared to Z
axis. Tool post will to be mounted on the Z axis, thus it will
enable the machining of the entire length of the work piece.
After evaluation of designs A, B and C, design C arrived
as the most suitable design. So basic positioning of head-
stock, tailstock and the tool post are finalized. Now mod-
elling for different components inside the headstock, tail
stock and tool post assembly is required.
Design for Lathe Subassemblies
Design for Headstock Subassembly
Headstock has been an important part of the lathe machine
as it provides primary rotary motion to the work. A servo
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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. C (April–June 2013) 94(2):187–195
Fig. 7 Design for headstock subassembly
motor is used for this purpose. Drill chuck is also used.
Bearing is connected to the drill chuck, thus making it
rotary.
Servo motor and drill chuck is connected with the help
of timing belt. Entire unit is connected with the help of
supporting brackets. So the drill chuck will accommodate
the workpiece and will rotate along with the servo motor at
desired RPM. Thus the primary rotary motion for the
workpiece is achieved. The concept can be seen in Fig. 7.
Design for Tailstock Subassembly
The tailstock is used to apply support to the longitudinal
rotary axis of a work piece being machined. A tailstock is
particularly useful when the work piece is relatively long
and slender. Failing to use a tailstock can cause ‘‘chatter’’,
where the work piece bends excessively while being cut.
Two designs (I and II) are possible for the tailstock. A hole
visible in both the designs is meant for accommodating the
quill, which will support the rotating workpiece from the
other end. In design I (Fig. 8), there is no provision for
height adjustment and the entire tailstock will be fixed and
in design II (Fig. 9), there are 4 blocks to facilitate the
adjustment of height, as it will help in the alignment
between the centres. All the blocks will be fastened with
the help of two bolts (Fig. 9). Design II appears to be most
suitable design and is selected.
Design for Headstock and Tailstock Assembly
The headstock and tailstock assemblies are assembled on
the base plate (Fig. 10), thus forming the bed. This bed will
be installed on the horizontal Y axis.
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. C (April–June 2013) 94(2):187–195
Fig. 8 Design I, Tailstock without height adjustment
Fig. 9 Design II, Tailstock with height adjustment
Design for Tool Post Subassembly
Tool post is responsible to holding the cutting tool, during
the machining operation. The tool post design must ensure
certain features like, the adjustment of the height of the tool
tip for true facing operation, Freedom of rotation of tool
such that it can accommodate various tool geometries and
facilitate easy switch between orthogonal and oblige mode
of machining and Rigid holding of tool.
The plan is to mount the tool post on the vertical Z axis of
the machine. The tool will be capable of moving vertically,
so easy height adjustment is achieved. The design is inspired
from the conventional tool post, shown in Fig. 11.
In this design, the tool holder can be seen with a vertical
bolt for holding the tool. The angle section is drilled to
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Fig. 10 Assembly of headstock and tailstock on the base plate
Fig. 11 Design for tool post subassembly
accommodate the tool holder. On placing the tool in the
holder and upon complete fastening of the bolt, the tool gets
rigidly connected. Further a bottom packing is given to the
tool holder to prevent it falling downwards during the tool
change. This packing also allows the rotation of the tool
holder prior to the fastening of the tool, thus facilitating the
orientation of the tool at any desired angle for machining.
Fabrication of Subassemblies
Fabrication of different components of the lathe attach-
ment, designed earlier is done. Mild steel is the material
selected. Strict adherence to the design was ensured when
working with appropriate production processes.
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Fig. 13 Fabricated tailstock subassembly
Fig. 12 Fabricated headstock subassembly
Fabrication is done for the following components of the
lathe attachment.
• Headstock subassembly
• Tailstock subassembly
• Base plate
• Tool post
Figure 12 shows the headstock assembly. Here a drill
chuck (mounted on a bearing-timing pulley arrangement)
and the servomotor (connected to another timing pulley)
gives the final assembly of the headstock. Both the timing
pulleys are connected by timing belt. Thus chuck rotates
with the motion of the servomotor.
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Fig. 14 Fabricated tool post subassembly
Figure 13 shows the tailstock assembly, a provision is
made for the adjustment of height for the tail stock. The
end of the tailstock quill is made rotary with the help of
bearings. So the tapered portion of the tailstock also rotates
with the workpeice. A nut is provided to fix the position of
the quill according to the length of the workpiece.
Base plate contains the headstock assembly and the
tailstock assembly. The base plate with complete assembly
forms the bed and is mounted on the horizontal Y axis. The
base plate is shown in Figs. 12 and 13, on which the
headstock assembly and the tailstock assembly are
mounted.
Figure 14 shows the tool post, a packing is provided to
the tool holder from bottom of the tool post, to prevent it
slipping downwards while changing the tool.
Final Assembly and Experiments
The base plate (assembled with the headstock and tail-
stock) is mounted to the horizontal Y axis. The tool post is
mounted to the vertical Z axis of the machine. The cross X
axis contains the Y axis, so this axis controls the movement
of the bed in the direction of tool, thus the bed is to be
moved towards the tool for obtaining desired depth of cut.
Longitudinal feed is achieved by the movement of the Y
axis. The complete installation of the lathe attachment on
the CNC machine can be seen in Figs. 15 and 16.
Following is the specification of the proposed CNC
Lathe fabricated.
• Swing over Bed: 15 mm
• Swing over Gap: 30 mm
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. C (April–June 2013) 94(2):187–195 193

• Spindle speed test

• Tailstock to spindle alignment
• Machine tool backlash adjustment and compensation
parameters
• Rigidity test
The results obtained are given below.
For tailstock and spindle alignment, a workpiece is
placed on the chuck and its matching with the quill of the
tailstock is visually examined. A perfect alignment is
observed between the two ends.
A digital tachometer is used to check the available
spindle speed (rpm) with the input speed. Figure 17 shows,
almost exact speed is achieved with the respective inputs.
Fig. 15 CNC machine installed with lathe attachment
The final results of the calibration are given below.
• (Actual/programmed) Average% backlash error = 0.98
• (Actual/programmed) conversion factor in x-axis = 0.94
• (Actual/programmed) conversion factor in y-axis = 0.96
• (Actual/programmed) conversion factor in x-axis = 0.93
• (Actual/programmed) conversion factor in feed rate =
0.99
• (Actual/programmed) conversion factor in spindle
speed = 0.95
With these corrections, the CNC lathe becomes ready
for operation.

Experiments on the CNC Lathe

Work Material-Perspex.
Tool Material- High speed steel.
Fig. 16 Close view of the lathe attachment The cylindrical specimens were prepared, from the
Perspex rod (length 120 mm, diameter 15 mm) to get
mounted on the fixtures of the lathe.
• Swing over the Cross-Slide: 15 mm Operations carried out.
• Range of Centre Distance: 0–120 mm
• Basic CNC lathe operations (plain turning, step turning,
• Cross-Slide travel: 10 mm
taper turning, arc turning, threading)
• Tailstock Spindle Travel: 70 mm
• Manufacturing of a bolt (16 TPI threads)
• Tailstock Taper: Morse taper
• Spindle Nose Mounting: 3 jaw adjustable chuck (Drill
chuck)
• Spindle Bore Diameter: 13 mm
• Spindle Taper: Morse taper
• Spindle Speeds (Number) Range: 0–2,200 RPM
• Motor & Electrics: 750 W
• Machine Dimensions W/O: 600 mm 9 900 mm X
2100 mm
• Floor Space Required - Max.: 600 mm 9 900 mm

Alignment and Calibration Tests

Following tests are carried out on the proposed CNC Lathe

machine. Fig. 17 Actual speed versus preset spindle speed for servomotor

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Prior to the operations, some tests were carried out to all the basic operations are satisfactory. Figure 19 shows the
find out the optimum parameters for the machining of the operations involved in the bolt manufacturing. Labelling 1,
Perspex. The optimum values found are: 2, 3 shows the threading, parting and the finished bolt
respectively. Standard dimensions were selected for the bolt,
• Spindle Speed = 600 RPM
and threads of 16 TPI were made. The workpiece was then
• Depth of Cut = 0.6 mm per pass
parted accordingly and was finished in a sanding machine.
• Longitudinal feed of workpiece to the tool = 12 mm/
To confirm the accuracy of manufacturing, the finished bolt
min
(Fig. 19(3)) was checked with a nut. Perfect movement of
Machining with these parameters gave a very fine sur- the nut was achieved on the bolt.
face finish during the machining of Perspex rod. So the All the operations are performed successfully, thus it
above machining operations were carried out. establishes the success of the conceptual design and
One of the CNC program used for the operation is given development of the lathe attachment for the CNC machine.
below (unit: mm with multiplication factor of 10). The CNC machine can behave both as an RP as well as a
Program (Plain Turning). Lathe with the respective attachment. Both the attachments
Work Material: Perspex, H.S.S Tool. operates on the same CNC machine, which in turn is
Work Dimension: Cylindrical Perspex Rod (length = operated by the same mechatronic controls and the same
150 mm, Diameter = 15 mm). computer interface CAMSOFT. The design for the lathe
attachment was challenging, when not to disturb the con-
• N1 S500 M4
figuration of the CNC machine with respect to the RP
• N2 G00 X00 Y00 Z00
attachment was the major constraint. To speak of the lathe
• N3 G00 X00 Y400 Z00
attachment, the CNC lathe machine has four axes (X, Y, Z
• N4 G01 X-6 Y400 Z00 F80
and a spindle). Here the tool is stationary and capable of
• N5 G01 X-6 Y00 Z00 F120
moving vertically (due to Z axis movement), for the
• N6 M05
machining operation, longitudinal feed is achieved by the
• N7 M02
horizontal Y axis and with cross X axis, the bed (work-
piece) comes to the tool in accordance with the depth of cut
desired. The major advantage of the CNC lathe is with the
Results and Discussion tool post, for the parting operation, where a relatively small
sized parting tool can be used to part a relative larger
Figure 18 shows the basic CNC lathe operations, in the diameter workpiece (Fig. 19(3)), when the tool is given
figure the labelling 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 shows the plain turning, step vertical motion from the Z axis. Thus the machine can be
turning, taper turning, arc turning and threading operations used to carry research work in the field of both CNC RP
respectively. Based on the dimensional accuracy achieved, and CNC Lathe. So the present work shows the relevance

Fig. 18 Basic lathe operations Note: 1. Plain Turning (Machined
Surface: Length = 40 mm, Depth of Cut = 0.6 mm). 2. Step Turning
(Machined Surface: Length = 40 mm, Reduction in Diame-
ter = 7 mm). 3. Taper Turning (Machined Surface: Length = 1.6
inch, Tapered up to 1.35 inch, Taper per inch = 0.094). 4. Arc
Turning [Machined Surface: Length = 1.6 inch, Centre of curvature
(right) = 0.2 inch]. 5. Threading (Machined Surface: Length = 1.7
inch, TPI = 16). (Last three operations has been done in inch mode
for convenience)

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Fig. 19 Manufacturing of the
bolt
of conceptual design in the development of a multifunction
machine.
Conclusion
Conceptual design is successfully implemented in the
proposed work for the development of the lathe attachment
including headstock, tailstock and toolpost. The work
shows the process of the conceptual design and use of
appropriate process planning for the development of the
different components of the lathe attachment. The previ-
ously existing RP attachment and the so developed lathe
attachment make the CNC machine multifunctional. Thus
further research can be carried out in both the fields
respectively. The CNC machine is based on the macha-
tronic controls and the computer interface CAMSOFT.
Various lathe operations viz. Plain turning, step turning,
taper turning, arc turning, threading operations and manu-
facturing of a bolt are successfully performed on the CNC
machine, when installed with lathe attachment. The suc-
cessful development of the lathe attachment for the CNC
machine is done.
Acknowledgments The financial support from University Grants
Commission (UGC), India Grant No. F. 31-50/2005 (SR) dated
31.03.2006 is gratefully acknowledged.
195
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