LATHE

INTRODUNCTION

Lathe is one of the most versatile and widely used machine tools all over the world. It is
commonly known as the mother of all other machine tool. The main function of a lathe is to
remove metal from a job to give it the required shape and size. The job is securely and rigidly
held in the chuck or in between centers on the lathe machine and then turn it against a single
point cutting tool which will remove metal from the job in the form of chips. Fig. below shows
the working principle of lathe. An engine lathe is the most basic and simplest form of the lathe. It
derives its name from the early lathes, which obtained their power from engines. Besides the
simple turning operation as described above, lathe can be used to carry out other operations also,
such as drilling, reaming, boring, taper turning, knurling, screw- thread cutting, grinding etc.

TYPES OF LATHE

Lathes are manufactured in a variety of types and sizes, from very small bench lathes used for
precision work to huge lathes used for turning large steel shafts. But the principle of operation
and function of all types of lathes are same. The different types of lathes are:

1. Speed lathe

2. Centre or Engine lathe

3. Bench lathe

4. Tool Room Lathe

5. Capstan and Turret lathe

6. Special purpose lathe

7. Automatic lathe

Speed Lathe

Speed lathe is simplest of all types of lathes in construction and operation. It consists of a Bed,
Headstock, Tailstock and Tool post mounted on an adjustable slide. There is no feed box,
leadscrew or conventional type of carriage. The tool is mounted on the adjustable slide and is fed
into the work by hand control. The speed lathe finds applications where cutting force is least
such as in wood working, spinning, centering, polishing, winding etc.

Centre or Engine Lathe

The term “engine” is associated with this lathe due to the fact that in the very early days of its
development it was driven by steam engine. This lathe is the important member of the lathe
family and is the most widely used. Similar to the speed lathe, the engine lathe has all the basic
parts, e.g., bed, headstock, and tailstock. Unlike the speed lathe, the engine lathe can feed the
cutting tool both in cross and longitudinal direction with reference to the lathe axis with the help
of a carriage, feed rod and lead screw. The power may be transmitted by means of belt, electric
motor or through gears.

Bench Lathe

This is a small lathe usually mounted on a bench. It has practically all the parts of an engine lathe
or speed lathe and it performs almost all the operations. This is used for small and precision
work.

Tool Room Lathe

This lathe has features similar to an engine lathe but it is much more accurately built. It 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 tools, dies, gauges and in machining work where
accuracy is needed.

Capstan and Turret Lathe

The distinguishing feature of this type of lathe is that the tailstock of an engine lathe is replaced
by a hexagonal turret, on the face of which multiple tools may be fitted and fed into the work in
proper sequence. Due to this arrangement, several different types of operations can be done on a
job without re-setting of work or tools, and a number of identical parts can be produced in the
minimum time.

Special Purpose Lathes

These lathes are constructed for special purposes and for jobs, which cannot be accommodated
or conveniently machined on a standard lathe. The wheel lathe is made for finishing the journals
and turning the thread on railroad car and locomotive wheels. The gap bed lathe, in which a
section of the bed adjacent to the headstock is removable, is used to swing extra-large- diameter
pieces.

Automatic Lathes

These lathes are so designed that all the working and job handling movements of the complete
manufacturing process for a job are done automatically. These are high speed, heavy duty, mass
production lathes with complete automatic control.

PRINCIPLE PARTS OF LATHE

A simple lathe comprises of a bed made of grey cast iron on which headstock, tailstock, carriage and
other components of lathe are mounted. Figure l shows the different parts of engine lathe or central
lathe.

The major parts of lathe machine are given as under:

1. Bed

2. Head stock

3. Tailstock

4. Carriage

5. Feed mechanism
Bed

The bed of a lathe machine is the base on which all other parts of lathe are mounted. It is massive
and rigid single piece casting made to support other active parts of lathe. On left end of the bed,
headstock of lathe machine is located while on right side tailstock is located. The carriage of the
machine rests over the bed and slides on it. On the top of the bed there are two sets of guideways
- innerways and outerways. The innerways provide sliding surfaces for the tailstock and the
outerways for the carriage. The guideways of the lathe bed may be flat and inverted V shape.
Generally cast iron alloyed with nickel and chromium material is used for manufacturing of the
lathe bed.

Head Stock

The main function of headstock is to transmit power to the different parts of a lathe. It comprises
of the headstock casting to accommodate all the parts within it including gear train arrangement.
The main spindle is adjusted in it, which possesses live centre to which the work can be attached.
It supports the work and revolves with the work, fitted into the main spindle of the headstock.
The cone pulley is also attached with this arrangement, which is used to get various spindle
speed through electric motor. The back gear arrangement is used for obtaining a wide range of
slower speeds. Some gears called change wheels are used to produce different velocity ratio
required for thread cutting.
Tail Stock

Figure above shows the tail stock of central lathe, which is commonly used for the objective of
primarily giving an outer bearing and support the circular job being turned on centers. Tail stock
can be easily set or adjusted for alignment or non-alignment with respect to the spindle centre
and carries a centre called dead centre for supporting one end of the work. Both live and dead centers
have 60° conical points to fit centre holes in the circular job, the other end tapering to allow for good
fitting into the spindles. The dead centre can be mounted in ball bearing so that it rotates with the job
avoiding friction of the job with dead centre as it important to hold heavy jobs.

Carriage

Carriage is mounted on the outer guide ways of lathe bed and it can move in a direction parallel
to the spindle axis. It comprises of important parts such as apron, cross-slide, saddle, compound
rest, and tool post. The lower part of the carriage is termed the apron in which there are gears to
constitute apron mechanism for adjusting the direction of the feed using clutch mechanism and
the split half nut for automatic feed. The cross-slide is basically mounted on the carriage, which
generally travels at right angles to the spindle axis. On the cross-slide, a saddle is mounted in
which the compound rest is adjusted which can rotate and fix to any desired angle. The
compound rest slide is actuated by a screw, which rotates in a nut fixed to the saddle. The tool
post is an important part of carriage, which fits in a tee-slot in the compound rest and holds the
tool holder in place by the tool post screw.

Lathe accessories

Lathe accessories include centres, catch plates and carriers, chucks, face plates, angle
plates,mandrels, and rests. They are used either for holding and supporting the work or for
holding the tool.
Lathe centres: The most common method of holding the work in a lathe is between the two
centres –live centre and dead centre. They are made of very hard materials to resist deflection
and wear.

Carriers and catch plates: Carriers and catch plates are used to drive a work piece when it is
held between two centres.

Chucks: A chuck is one of the most important devices for holding and rotating a piece of work
in a lathe. Work pieces of short length, and large diameter or of irregular shape which cannot be
conveniently mounted between centres are held quickly and rigidly in a chuck.

The different types of chucks are :

(1) Four jaw independent chuck 4. Magnetic chuck

(2) Three jaw universal chuck 5 Drill chuck

(3) Combination chuck

Feed Mechanism

Feed mechanism is the combination of different units through which motion of headstock spindle
is transmitted to the carriage of lathe machine. Following units play role in feed mechanism of a
lathe machine.

1. End of bed gearing

2. Feed gear box

3. Lead screw and feed rod

4. Apron mechanism

The gearing at the end of bed transmits the rotary motion of headstock spindle to the feed gear
box. Through the feed gear box the motion is further transmitted either to the feed shaft or lead
screw, depending on whether the lathe machine is being used for plain turning or screw cutting.

The feed gear box contains a number of different sizes of gears. The feed gear box provides a
means to alter the rate of feed, and the ration between revolutions of the headstock spindle and
the movement of carriage for thread cutting by changing the speed of rotation of the feed rod or
lead screw.
The apron is fitted to the saddle. It contains gears and clutches to transmit motion from the feed rod
to the carriage, and the half nut which engages with the lead screw during cutting threads.

CUTTING PARAMETERS

Cutting speed

Cutting speed is the speed at which metal is removed by the tool from the work. Cutting speed for
lathe work may be defined as the rate in meters per minute at which the surface of the job moves
past the cutting tool. Machining at a correct cutting speed is highly important for good tool life
and efficient cutting. Too slow cutting speeds reduce productivity and increase manufacturing
costs whereas too high cutting speeds result in overheating of the tool and premature failure of
the cutting edge of the tool. The following factors affect the cutting speed:

i. Kind of material being cut

ii. Cutting tool material
iii. Shape of cutting tool
iv. Rigidity of machine tool and the job piece and
v. Type of cutting fluid being used.

Where, D is diameter of job in mm N is speed in RPM

Feed
It is the distance the tool advances for every revolution of the workpiece. It is expressed in mm/rev.

Depth of Cut

It is perpendicular distance measured from the machined surface to the uncut surface of work. It is
expressed in mm

Where, D1 is diameter of work before machining, D2 is diameter of work after machining.

Machining Time
VARIOUS LATHE OPERATIONS

1. Turning

Cylindrical shapes, both external and internal, are produced by turning operation. Turning is the
process in which the material is removed by a traversing cutting tool, from the surface of a
rotating work piece. The operation used for machining internal surfaces is often called the boring
operation in which a hole previously drilled is enlarged. For turning long work, first it should be
faced and center drilled at one end and then supported by means of the tail‐stock centre.

2. Boring

Boring is enlarging a hole and is used when correct size drill is not available. However, it should
be noted that boring cannot make a hole.

3. Facing

Facing is a machining operation, performed to make the end surface of the work piece, flat and
perpendicular to the axis of rotation. For this, the work piece may be held in a chuck and rotated
about the lathe axis. A facing tool is fed perpendicular to the axis of the lathe. The tool is slightly
inclined towards the end of the work piece.

4. Taper Turning

A taper is defined as the uniform change in the diameter of a work piece, measured along its
length. It is expressed as a ratio of the difference in diameters to the length. It is also expressed in
degrees of half the included (taper) angle. Taper turning refers to the production of a conical
surface, on the work piece on a lathe. Short steep tapers may be cut on a lathe by swiveling the
compound rest to the required angle. Here, the cutting tool is fed by means of the compound
slide feed handle. The work piece is rotated in a chuck or face plate or between centers.

5. Drilling

Holes that are axially located in cylindrical parts are produced by drilling operation, using a twist
drill. For this, the work piece is rotated in a chuck or face plate. The tail stock spindle has a
standard taper. The drill bit is fitted into the tail stock spindle directly or through drill chuck. The
tail stock is then moved over the bed and clamped on it near the work. When the job rotates, the
drill bit is fed into the work by turning the tail stock hand wheel.

6. Knurling

It is the process of embossing a diamond shaped regular pattern on the surface of a work piece
using a special knurling tool. This tool consists of a set of hardened steel rollers in a holder with
the teeth cut on their surface in a definite pattern. The tool is held rigidly on the tool post and the
rollers are pressed against the revolving work piece to squeeze the metal against the multiple
cutting edges. The purpose of knurling is to provide an effective gripping surface on a work
piece to prevent it from slipping when operated by hand.

7. Chamfering

It is the operation of beveling the extreme end of a work piece. Chamfer is provided for better
look, to enable nut to pass freely on threaded work piece, to remove burrs and protect the end of
the work piece from being damaged.

8. Threading

Threading is nothing but cutting helical groove on a work piece. Threads may be cut either on
the internal or external cylindrical surfaces. A specially shaped cutting tool, known as thread
cutting tool is used for this purpose. Thread cutting in a lathe is performed by traversing the
cutting tool at a definite rate, in proportion to the rate at which the work revolves.
9. Polishing

It is basically a surface finishing operation to improve the surface quality of the work piece.
Polishing with successively finer grades of emery cloth after filling results in very smooth, bright
surface.

10. Forming

It is the process of turning a convex, concave or of any irregular shape.

Types of Lathe Cutting Tools

1. Thread Cutting Tools These are of two types –

External threading tool – External threading tools are also called as screw thread tools. They
are defined as the tools which are used for external threading of the work piece.

Internal threading tool – Internal threading tools are defined as those tools which are used for
internal threading in a work piece.

2. Chamfering Tool

Chamfering tool may be defined as the tool which is used to design bevel or furrow on the bolt.
These tools are used for bevelling the corner of the work piece. When a large number of chamfer
works are to be performed, then a specific chamfering tool is used with side cutting angle edge.

3. Turning Tool

Turning tool may be defined as a tool which is used in lathe machine for finishing or cutting the
external diameter of an object. This is basically used to generate cylindrical parts.

4. Grooving Tool

Grooving tool is basically defined as the tool used for making a narrow cavity of a certain depth,
on a cone, cylinder, or a face of the part. In this the groove to be cut according to the edges is
square, rounded etc.

5. Facing Tool

Facing tools may be defined as the tools which are used to cut the plane surface which is
perpendicular to rotational axis of the work piece. This facing tool is carried by a tool holder that
is fixed on the carriage of the machine. It is used for reducing the length of the work piece by
providing perpendicular to the axis of lathe. The cutting edge of the tool should set to the same
height to the centre of the work piece.

6. Forming Tool

In this a special type of cover or holder is used for holding the forming tool. From this we do
many types of operations like making internal radius, outer radius etc.

7. Boring Tool

Enlarging the diameter of the hole is known as boring. Boring tool is just like a bit which is
inserted in a boring cover. The bar is made up of mild steel with holes in it to carry the tool bit
which is fixed with the help of Allen screw.

8. Reaming Tool

Reaming tool is defined as the tool which is used for finishing and sizing of the hole which is
already drilled or bored.

9. Drilling Tool

Drilling tool is also very important tool in the lathe machine. Drilling tool is basically used for
making cylindrical holes in the given work piece. In this the work piece is fixed in faceplate and
drill is held in tailstock drill holder and hole should be done by movement of tailstock spindle.
This is used for regular shaped work piece.

10. Knurling Tool

Knurling tools are used to impart a regular surface pattern on the outside of a part for gripping or
aesthetic purposes. Often, the imparted pattern is diamond shaped or parallel. A knurling tool is a
manufacturing and repairing tool used on lathe machines.

SHAPING MACHINE

The shaper is a machine tool used primarily for:

1. Producing a flat or plane surface which may be in a horizontal, a vertical or an angular plane.

2. Making slots, grooves and keyways

3. Producing contour of concave/convex or a combination of these

WORKING PRINCIPLE

The job is rigidly fixed on the machine table. The single point cutting tool held properly in the
tool post is mounted on a reciprocating ram. The reciprocating motion of the ram is obtained by
a quick return motion mechanism. As the ram reciprocates, the tool cuts the material during its
forward stroke. During return, there is no cutting action and this stroke is called the idle stroke.
The forward and return strokes constitute one operating cycle of the shaper.

Construction: The main parts of the Shaper machine is Base, Body (Pillar, Frame, Column),
Cross rail, Ram and tool head (Tool Post, Tool Slide, Clamper Box Block).

Base

The base of the shaper holds all of the weight of the machine tool, and it is bolted to the shop
floor. It is generally made of cast iron. It absorbs vibrations and other forces imparted during
shaping operation.

Column

The column is also made of cast iron in a box shape. It is set on the base of the shaper. It has
precisely machined guideways on top that allow the ram to move back and forth. For the cross
rail to move, there are guideways on the front vertical face. The ram-driving mechanism is inside
the column. The base holds the column in place.

Table

The table is one of the crucial components of the device which is mounted on the saddle. The
elevating screw and crossfeed rod can be turned to move the table both horizontally and
vertically. It is a casting that resembles a box with precisely machined top and side surfaces. The
table has T-Slots to clamp the work and is secured with support to increase rigidity.

Vice

Clamp or vice is mounted on the table to hold the workpiece firmly while the shaping process is
in progress.

Crossrail

This part is fixed to the vertical guideways of the column. By turning an elevating screw, which
enables the cross rail to glide on the vertical face of the column, the table can be elevated or
lowered to meet the varying sizes of the task.

Saddle

It is fixed to the Crossrail securely on the top of the table. The rotation of the crossfeed screw
causes the crosswise movement of the saddle which moves the table in the same direction.

Ram

It is a component in the shaping machine that reciprocates using a quick return motion
mechanism on the guideways at the top of the column while holding the tool in place. It contains
a screwed shaft to adjust the working position.

Tool Head

With the down-feed screw handle, the tool head secures the cutting tool and allows for both
vertical and rotational movement. A tool head of shaping machine assembly has a vertical slide
is made up of a swivel base with graduated degrees.

A micrometre dial is located on top of the feed screw which can be used to change the feed rate
or depth of cut. The components of a tool head are an Apron, a Clapper box, and a clapper block.

The screw secures an apron made up of a tool post and clapper box to the vertical slide. The
apron swivel pin allows the apron to be turned to the left or right. Using a hinge pin, the clapper
block is housed inside the clapper box. The clapper block is where the tool post is mounted.

PLANER MACHINE

The planer or planing machine is a machine tool, which like the shaper produces flat surfaces
inhorizontal,vertical or inclined plane. The fundamental difference is that the planer operates
with an action opposite to that of the shapers, i.e.,the work piece reciprocates past one or more
stationary single point cutting tools. Planers are meant for machining large sized work pieces,
which cannot be machined by the shaping machines.The work table is moved back and forth on
the bed beneath the cutting head either by mechanical means, such as a rack and pinion gear or
by a hydraulic cylinder.

WORKING PRINCIPAL OF PLANER

Fig. below depicts the working principle of a planer. In a planer, the work which is supported on
the table reciprocates past the stationary cutting tool and the feed is imparted by the lateral
movement of the tool. The tool is clamped in the tool holder and work on the table. Like shaper,
the planner is equipped with clapper box to raise the tool in idle stroke. The different
mechanisms used to give reciprocating motion to the table are following-

1. Reversible motor drive

2. Open and cross belt drive

3. Hydraulic drive

PARTS OF PLANNER

1) BED

Bed of a planer is large in size and heavy in weight. It supports the column and all other
movingparts of machine. It is made slightly longer than twice the length of the table may
bemoved on it. There is a v shaped ways on the bed which help to reciprocate or back and
forthmotionto the table.

2) TABLE

Table supports the work and reciprocates along the bed. Table is made fromcast iron. Thetop
face of the table is accurately finished in order to locate the work correctly. T- slotsareprovided
on the entire length of the table so that the work and work holding devices may be bolteduponit.
3) COLUMN

These are rigid box like vertical structure placed on each side of the bed and table.
Theyareheavily ribbed to trace up severe force due to cutting. It also facilitate tool head
mechanism.The cross rail may be made to slide up and down for accommodating different
heightsofwork.

4) CROSS RAIL

It is rigid box like casting connecting the two columns. It may be raised or lowered ontheface of
housing and can be clamped at a desired position by manual or electrical
clampingdevices.Itshould remain absolutely parallel to the top surface of the table.

5) TOOL HEAD

Tool heads are mounted on the crossrail by saddle. The saddle may be made to move
transverselyon the cross rail to give cross feed. The clapper block is hinged at hinge pins to the
clapper blockanditholds the tool post in which the tool is clamped by straps.

MILLING

A milling machine is a machine tool that removes metal as the work is fed against a
rotating multipoint cutter. The milling cutter rotates at high speed and it removes metal at a
very fast rate with the help of multiple cutting edges. One or more number of cutters can be
mounted simultaneously on the arbor of milling machine. This is the reason that a milling
machine finds wide application in production work. Milling machine is used for machining flat
surfaces, contoured surfaces, surfaces of revolution, external and internal threads, and helical
surfaces of various cross-sections. Typical components produced by a milling are given in Fig.
below. In many applications, due to its higher production rate and accuracy, milling
machine has even replaced shapers and slotters.

PRINCIPLE OF MILLING

In milling machine, the metal is cut by means of a rotating cutter having multiple
cutting edges. For cutting operation, the workpiece is fed against the rotary cutter. As the
workpiece moves against the cutting edges of milling cutter, metal is removed in form chips
of trochoid shape. Machined surface is formed in one or more passes of the work. The work
to be machined is held in a vice, a rotary table, a three jaw chuck, an index head, between
centers, in a special fixture or bolted to machine table. The rotatory speed of the cutting tool and
the feed rate of the workpiece depend upon the type of material being machined.

MILLING METHODS

There are two distinct methods of milling classified as follows:

1. Up-milling or conventional milling, and

2. Down milling or climb milling.

UP-Milling or Conventional Milling Procedure

In the up-milling or conventional milling, the metal is removed in form of small chips by a
cutter rotating against the direction of travel of the workpiece. In this type of milling, the
chip thickness is minimum at the start of the cut and maximum at the end of cut. As a result
the cutting force also varies from zero to the maximum value per tooth movement of the
milling cutter. The major disadvantages of up-milling process are the tendency of cutting force
to lift the work from the fixtures and poor surface finish obtained. But being a safer
process, it is commonly used method of milling.
Down-Milling or Climb Milling

In this method, the metal is removed by a cutter rotating in the same direction of feed of the
workpiece. The effect of this is that the teeth cut downward instead of upwards. Chip thickness is
maximum at the start of the cut and minimum in the end. In this method, it is claimed
that there is less friction involved and consequently less heat is generated on the contact
surface of the cutter and workpiece. Climb milling can be used advantageously on many
kinds of work to increase the number of pieces per sharpening and to produce a better
finish. With climb milling, saws cut long thin slots more satisfactorily than with standard
milling. Another advantage is that slightly lower power consumption is obtainable by climb
milling, since there is no need to drive the table against the cutter.

TYPES OF MILLING CUTTERS

Milling cutters are made in various forms to perform certain classes of work, and they may be
classified as:

(1) Plain milling cutters

(2) Side milling cutters

(3) Face milling cutter

(4) Angle milling cutters

(5) End milling cutter

(6) Fly cutter

(7) T-slot milling cutter

(8) Formed cutters

(9) Metal slitting saw

Milling cutters may have teeth on the periphery or ends only, or on both the periphery and
ends. Peripheral teeth may be straight or parallel to the cutter axis, or they may be
helical, sometimes referred as spiral teeth.

MILLING MACHINES

Milling machines must provide a rotating spindle for the cutter and a table for fastening,
positioning, and feeding the workpart. Various machine tool designs satisfy these requirements.
To begin with, milling machines can be classified as horizontal or vertical. A horizontal milling
machine has a horizontal spindle, and this design is well suited for performing peripheral milling
(e.g., slab milling, slotting, side and straddle milling) on workparts that are roughly cube
shaped.Averticalmilling machine has a vertical spindle, and this orientation is appropriate for
face milling, end milling, surface contouring, and diesinking on relatively flat workparts.

Other than spindle orientation, milling machines can be classified into the following types:
(1) Knee-and-column

(2) Bed type

(3) Planer type

(4) Tracer mills

(5) CNC milling machines.

The knee-and-column milling machine is the basic machine tool for milling. It derives its
name from the fact that its two main components are a column that supports the spindle, and a
knee (roughly resembling a human knee) that supports the worktable.

It is available as either a horizontal or a vertical machine. In the horizontal version, an arbor

usually supports the cutter. The arbor is basically a shaft that holds the milling cutter and is
driven by the spindle. An overarm is provided on horizontal machines to support the arbor. On
vertical knee-and-column machines, milling cutters can be mounted directly in the spindle
without an arbor.

One of the features of the knee-and-column milling machine that makes it so versatile is its
capability for worktable feed movement in any of the x–y–z axes. The worktable can be moved
in the x-direction, the saddle can be moved in the y-direction, and the knee can be moved
vertically to achieve the z-movement.

Two special knee-and-column machines should be identified. One is the universal milling
machine, Figure (a), which has a table that can be swiveled in a horizontal plane (about a vertical
axis) to any specified angle. This facilitates the cutting of angular shapes and helixes on
workparts. Another special machine is the ram mill, Figure (b), in which the toolhead containing
the spindle is located on the end of a horizontal ram; the ram can be adjusted in and out over the
worktable to locate the cutter relative to thework. The toolhead can also be swiveled to achieve
an angular orientation of the cutter with respect to the work. These features provide considerable
versatility in machining a variety of work shapes.

Bed-type milling machines are designed for high production. They are constructed with greater
rigidity than knee-and-column machines, thus permitting them to achieve heavier feed rates and
depths of cut needed for highmaterial removal rates.The characteristic construction of the bed-
type milling machine is shown in Figure below.

The worktable is mounted directly to the bed of the machine tool, rather than using the less rigid
knee-type design. This construction limits the possible motion of the table to longitudinal
feeding of the work past the milling cutter. The cutter is mounted in a spindle head that can be
adjusted vertically along the machine column. Single spindle bed machines are called simplex
mills and are available in either horizontal or verticalmodels. Duplex mills use two spindle
heads. The heads are usually positioned horizontally on opposite sides of the bed to perform
simultaneous operations during one feeding pass of the work. Triplex mills add a third spindle
mounted vertically over the bed to further increase machining capability.
Planer type mills are the largest milling machines. Their general appearance and construction
are those of a large planer, the difference is that milling is performed instead of planing.
Accordingly, one or more milling heads are substituted for the single-point cutting tools used on
planers, and themotion of the work past the tool is a feed ratemotion rather than a cutting speed
motion. Planer mills are built to machine very large parts. The work table and bed of the machine
are heavy and relatively lowto the ground, and the milling heads are supported by a bridge
structure that spans across the table.

A tracer mill, also called a profiling mill, is designed to reproduce an irregular part geometry
that has been created on a template. Using either manual feed by a human operator or automatic
feed by the machine tool, a tracing probe is controlled to follow the template while amilling head
duplicates the path taken by the probe tomachine the desired shape. Tracermills are of two types:
(1) xy tracing, in which the contour of a flat template is profile milled using two-axis control;
and (2) x–y–z tracing, in which the probe follows a three-dimensional pattern using three-axis
control. Tracer mills have been used for creating shapes that cannot easily be generated by a
simple feeding action of the work against the milling cutter. Applications include molds and
dies. In recent years, many of these applications have been taken over by CNC milling machines.

Computer numerical control milling machines are milling machines in which the cutter path
is controlled by alphanumerical data rather than a physical template. They are especially suited
to profile milling, pocket milling, surface contouring, and die sinking operations, in which two or
three axes of the worktable must be simultaneously controlled to achieve the required cutter path.
An operator is normally required to change cutters as well as load and unload workparts.

DRILLING

The process of drilling means making a hole in a solid metal piece by using a rotating tool called
drill. In the olden days, a flat drill was used for drilling a hole, but these days, a twist drill is
universally used. A twist drill is the cutting tool and it is used in conjunction with a drilling
machine. A twist drill has two cutting edges, hence it is a multiple point cutting tool. The drilling
operation is shown in Fig. below.
TWIST DRILL

Twist drills usually have a taper shank, at the end which is fitted into the drilling machine having
a tapered sleeve of matching taper. When the tapered sleeve rotates, the twist drill also rotates
along with it due to the friction between two tapered surfaces. Sometimes the shank is machined
parallel, then a special collet chuck is fitted in the drilling machine, in which the drill is held.

The drill has two lips at the other end where the cutting takes place, when the drill rotates. The
angle between the two cutting lips is usually 118°. The chips formed at the cutting edges are
automatically guided upwards through the helical grooves cut into the body of the drill; these
grooves are called flutes. This is necessary, otherwise, the chips will interfere with the metal
cutting. Twist drills are made of solid high speed steel, hardened and ground to shape. Drills with
tungsten carbide inserts are also available.

DRILLING MACHINES

Drilling machines are of the following types:

1. Sensitive drilling machines,

2. Pillar type drilling machines,

3. Radial drilling machines, and

4. Multispindle drilling machines.

Sensitive drilling machines:

This is a light duty machine and is capable of drilling a hole of 12 mm dia maximum and its
spindle speeds are correspondingly high. This machine can tackle small jobs. The work piece is
kept on the table and clamped in the appropriate position and the hole is drilled by lowering the
spindle of the drilling head. Feed is given by moving the hand wheel gently which lowers the
spindle and the hole is drilled up to the required depth. Remember that the job has to be moved
so as to align the centre of hole exactly below the spindle.

Pillar type drilling machines: These are generally similar to sensitive drilling machines but are
meant for heavier work. The vertical column can be either of rectangular or round section; the
latter offers the advantage that the table can be swung out and the slightly bigger jobs can be
accommodated on the machine base instead of the table. The drilling head can be lowered and
hole drilled in the job.

Radial drilling machine: This is really meant to drill holes in bigger and heavier workpieces,
which cannot be manipulated so that the centre of the hole may be aligned with the drilling
spindle. In this case, the drilling head is mounted on a radial arm. The radial arm can be rotated
around the round column and the drilling head can be moved in or out on the radial arm.

The work piece is kept on the table which is really an integral part of the base and by the
combined movement of the radial arm and the drilling head (think of the polar coordinates θ, r),
any point on the work piece can be covered and a hole drilled at the required location, without
shifting the heavy work piece.

Multiple spindle drilling machines: On these machines, more than one hole may be drilled at
one time. These machine are very useful for mass production work.
Allied operations performed on drilling machines: Operations closely associated with drilling
are shown below.

Core drilling: Holes made in castings by use of cores, are rough and require a special kind of
drill, called core drill to clean up the holes. This operation is called core drilling.

Step drilling: More than one diameter can be ground on the drill body which saves an extra
operation.

Counter boring: Often a flat surface is needed around a hole to provide a good seating area for
washer and nuts/head of a bolt. The counter boring tool has a pilot, which ensures that the
ounterbore is concentric with the hole.

Counter sinking: Counter sinking provides a tapered entrance to the hole. A special counter
sinking tool with a pilot is used as shown.

Reaming: Reaming is an operation of sizing and improving the geometry and finish of a
previously drilled hole. Hand, machine and shell reamers are used for this purpose. Machine
reamers are used with a drilling machine. To work efficiently, proper stock allowance is very
important. Reamers cannot remove much material, but at the same time, enough material should
be available all round. For holes up to 12.5 mm in diameter, about 0.38–0.4 mm of material is
left as reaming allowance. A reamer follows the original hole and cannot shift its centre.

Tapping: Tapping is also done on a drilling machine with a special flexible adapter for holding
machine taps. Tapping means cutting internal threads in a hole. A machine tap set consists of
two tapsrough and finish. Both taps should be used in the same order. During tapping, the
spindle r.p.m. is drastically reduced and a good lubricant used.
GRINDING

In grinding process an emery or corundum wheel is used as the cutting tool. Emery and
corundum are naturally found abrasives and are impure form of aluminium oxide Al2O3. A
grinding wheel is made up of thousands of tiny abrasive particles embedded in a matrix called
the ‘bond’ An abrasive is an extremely hard material second in hardness only to diamond. The
edges of the abrasive particles project out of the periphery of the grinding wheel, and when
grinding wheel rotates, each one of the particles acts like a tiny cutting tool machining away the
material from the surface of the work piece. To the naked eye the cut material looks like metal
dust mixed with powder from the grinding wheel. However, seen under magnifying lens, the
metal dust shows all the characteristics of metal chips produced in other machining processes.
The grinding process is truly a chip producing machining process.

The grinding process is capable of producing very accurate sizes, equally accurate geometry like
flatness or circularity and extremely good surface finish. The grinding wheel is capable of
machining hardened steel and even hardened high speed steel, which cannot be done by other
machining processes.

When a grinding wheel is applied to the workpiece, the sharp edges of the abrasive grains which
are cutting, will eventually loose their cutting effect and become dull. At that stage, the abrasive
grain should either split and form new edges or it should break away from the wheel exposing
the next layer of grains to do their work. If the dulled grains stay in the wheel, they simply keep
on rubbing on work without actually cutting. This defect is known as ‘glazing’. If on the other
hand, the abrasive grains break away from the wheel or split prematurely, before becoming dull,
it causes reduction in life of grinding wheel.

GRINDING OPERATIONS AND GRINDING MACHINES

The common grinding operations are

(a) Cylindrical grinding: This operation is carried out on a cylindrical grinding machine which
is made in two varieties ‘‘plain’’ and the ‘‘universal’’ type. The fundamental design is the same
in both cases, but the universal machine can be adopted for internal grinding operation as well.

In cylindrical grinding operation, the work is mounted between two centres and is rotated. A
grinding wheel is mounted on a spindle and revolves at much higher r.p.m. than the work. The
work centres are mounted on a table which can traverse at various feeds so that the entire length
of the work passes to and fro in front of the wheel. The depth of cut is very small, about 0.015
mm. When the entire length of work has passed infront of the wheel, the wheel advances forward
by another 0.015 mm at theend of the traverse and so the cycle of machining goes on, until the
desired daimeter of the work piece is reached. The result is a long cylinder of perfectly circular
profile with very fine surface finish.

A schematic diagram of the plain cylindrical grinder is given in Fig below:

(b) Internal grinding: Internal grinding operation means, grinding of internal holes or bores.
The principle of internal grinding is shown in Fig. below:

Internal grinding is designed to grind the surface of bores; whether plain or tapered with the help
of a small grinding wheel mounted on a long slender spindle which can enter in the bore. It is
capable of giving improved geometry of the hole as well as the surface finish. This operation is
performed on specially designed internal grinding machines. For internal grinding, a softer wheel
is generally preferred.

(c) Surface grinding: A flat surface can be ground in many ways with a grinding wheel. Some
possible configurations are illustrated in Fig. below. Recently surface grinding has emerged as a
very important operation. Flat surfaces may be ground either by using the periphery of a disc
wheel or by grinding with the end of a cup-shaped wheel.
These methods can be further sub classified according to the method of feeding the work to the
wheel. The method of using disc wheels entails the use of a horizontal spindle grinding machine.
The cup wheels may be used in conjunction with either a horizontal or vertical spindle machine.
Wheel speeds
The wheel manufacturer specifies a maximum safe r.p.m. for the wheel. In actual operation, this
speed should never be exceeded. Like conventional machining methods, the concept of cutting
speeds applies to grinding wheels also. The average recommended wheel speeds in metres per
minute for different grinding operations are given below.

Cylindrical grinding : 2000 metres/minutes

Internal grinding: 700–1000 metres/minutes
Surface grinding: 1200–1600 metres/minutes
Cutting off with rubber, shellac and bakelite wheels 3000–4000 metres/minutes.

In cylindrical grinding operation, work is made to rotate at a r.p.m. which works out to about 20-
25 metres/minutes speed.
COOLANT

In the grinding operation, lot of heat is generated. This heat must be carried away. Hence an
effective coolant is used. The most common coolant for grinding operation is water in which
same soda ash has been dissolved. There should be a copious flow of coolant at the work-wheel
interface. The coolant also washes away the ground chips and swarf. The coolant must not have
lubricant in it, otherwise, it may lead to glazing of wheels.

BROACHING

Broaching is performed using a multiple-teeth cutting tool by moving the tool linearly relative to
the work in the direction of the tool axis. The machine tool is called a broaching machine, and
the cutting tool is called a broach. In certain jobs for which broaching can be used, it is a highly
productive method of machining. Advantages include good surface finish, close tolerances, and a
variety of work shapes. Owing to the complicated and often customshaped geometry of the
broach, tooling is expensive.

There are two principal types of broaching:

 External broaching (also called surface broaching)

 Internal broaching

External broaching is performed on the outside surface of thework to create a certain cross-
sectional shape on the surface. Figure (a) shows some possible cross sections that can be formed
by external broaching. Internal broaching is accomplished on the internal surface of a hole in the
part. Accordingly, a starting hole must be present in the part so as to insert the broach at the
beginning of the broaching stroke. Figure (b) indicates some of the shapes that can be produced
by internal broaching. The basic function of a broaching machine is to provide a precise linear
motion of the tool past a stationary work position, but there are various ways in which this can be
done.

Most broaching machines can be classified as either vertical or horizontal machines. The vertical
broaching machine is designed to move the broach along a vertical path, while the horizontal
broaching machine has a horizontal tool trajectory.Most broaching machines pull the broach past
the work. However, there are exceptions to this pull action. One exception is a relatively simple
type called a broaching press, used only for internal broaching, that pushes the tool through the
workpart. Another exception is the continuous broaching machine, in which the workparts are
fixtured to an endless belt loop and moved past a stationary broach. Because of its continuous
operation, this machine can be used only for surface broaching.