Cutting Speed, Feed, and

Depth of Cut & Lathe Safety

IE-102
UNIT 47
Text Book: SF Krar-4th edition
Lecture by: Gp Capt Dr Niazi
 Learning Objectives
Cutting Speed, feed and depth of cut are
three important factors in order to
calculate the efficiency of lathe machine
and therefore its necessary to have a
hands on expertise on adjusting the best
cutting speed and practice feed and depth
of cut to get maximum results on a lathe
machine.
 Cutting Speed
Lathe work cutting speed (CS) may be defined as the rate at which a point on the work
circumference travels past the cutting tool.
For instance, if a metal has a CS of 90 ft/min, the spindle speed must be set so that 90 ft of the
work circumference will pass the cutting tool in 1 min.
Cutting speed is expressed in feet per minute (ft/min) or in meters per minute (m/min).
If the CS is too high, the cutting-tool edge breaks down rapidly,
With too slow a CS, time will be lost for the machining operation, resulting in low production rates.
the CS for high-speed steel tools listed in Table 47.1
To calculate the lathe spindle speed in revolutions per minute (r/min),
 the CS of the metal
 the diameter of the work must be known.

CS
r / min 
Where D is the diameter in ft
D
CS is the cutting speed in ft/min
CS 12 CS  1000
r / min  r / min 
D D
Where D is the diameter in inches or mm
CS is the cutting speed ft/min or m/min
 Lathe Feed
The feed of a lathe : the distance the
cutting tool advances along the length of
the work for every revolution of the spindle
feed is dependent on the speed of the lead
screw or feed rod; which is controlled by
the change gears in the quick-change
gearbox
 Type of cuts
Two cuts should be taken to bring a diameter to
size:
 A Roughing Cut : the purpose of a roughing cut is to
remove excess material quickly and surface finish is not
too important, a coarse feed should be used
 0.010- to 0.015-in. (0.25- to 0.4-mm) feed for roughing
 A Finishing Cut: The finishing cut is used to bring the
diameter to size and produce a good surface finish, and
therefore a fine feed should be used.
 0.003- to 0.005-in. (0.07- to 0.012-mm) feed for finishing
is recommended.
Table 47.2 lists the recommended feeds for cutting
various materials when a high-speed steel cutting
tool is used.
Table 47.2
 DEPTH OF CUT
Depth Of Cut : the depth of the chip taken by the
cutting tool and is one-half the total amount
removed from the workpiece in one cut.
When machining a workpiece, take only one
roughing and one finishing cut if possible.
If much material must be removed, the roughing
cut should be as deep as possible to reduce the
diameter to within .030 to .040 in. (0.76 to 1 mm)
of the size required.
The depth of a rough-turning cut will depend on
the following factors:
 The condition of the machine
 The type and shape of the cutting tool used
 The rigidity of the workpiece, the machine, and the
cutting tool
 The rate of feed
The depth of a finish-turning cut will depend on
 the type of work
 the finish required.
 In any case, it should not be less than .005 in. (0.13
mm).
Graduated Micrometer Collars
When the diameter of a workpiece must be
turned to an accurate size, graduated
micrometer collars should be used.
The collars on lathes using the inch system
of measurement are usually graduated in
thousandths of an inch (.001).
The micrometer collars on lathes using the
metric system of measurement are usually
graduated in steps of two hundredths of a
millimeter (0.02 mm).
Remember that, since material is removed
from the entire circumference, the cutting
tool should be moved in only half the
amount of material to be removed.
Note: Some industrial machines may have
collars have a much finer in-feed possible.
 HINTS ON GRADUATED
COLLAR USE
Read it yourself
Calculating Machining Time
The following formula may be applied to
calculate the time required to machine a
workpiece:

Example Pg 315 of book

 Lathe Safety

Covered in the lab

Read it yourself. Safety Precautions
are displayed everywhere in the
workshop
 Summary
In order to operate a lathe efficiently, the
engineer/ machinist must consider the
importance of cutting speeds and feeds.
Much time may be lost if the lathe is not
set at the proper spindle speed and if the
proper feed rate is not selected.
Questions and Queries?
Thank you