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Lathe: Introduction
A lathe is probably the oldest machine tool, stemming from the early tree lathe, which was turned by a
rope passed around the work a few times and attached to a sparingly branch overhead. The work was
supported by two dowels struck in adjacent trees. The operators foot supplied the motion, which was
intermittent and fluctuating. The tool was held in the operators hand. Later a strip of wood called a lath
was used to support the rope and hence named as Lathe. From this crude beginning and over period of
more than two centuries, the modern engine lathe has evolved. Until about 1770, lathes were useless for
metal cutting because they lacked power and a holding device strong enough and accurate enough to
guide the tool. For its development to the form in which we know it now, we owe much to Henry
Mauldsley, who developed the sliding carriage and in 1800 built a screw cutting lathe. Nowadays, it has
become a general purpose machine tool, employed in production and repair work, because it permits a
large variety of operations to be performed on it.
Basic working principle of lathe machine
Lathe removes undesired material from a rotating work piece in the form of chips with the help of a tool
which is traversed across the work and can be fed deep in work. The tool material should be harder than
the work piece and the latter held securely and rigidly on the machine. The tool may be given linear
motion in any direction. A lathe is used principally to produce cylindrical surfaces and plane surface, at
right angles to the axis of rotation. It can also produce tapers and bellows etc. Operation of turning is done
on parts as small as those used by watches to huge parts weighing several tons.
A lathe basically consists of a bed to provide support, a headstock, a cross slide to traverse the tool, a tool
post mounted on the cross slide. The spindle is driven by a motor through a gear box to obtain a range of
speeds. The carriage moves over the bed guide ways parallel to the work piece and the cross slide
provides the transverse motion. A feed shaft and lead screw are also provided to power the carriage and
for cutting the threads respectively.
Parts of lathe and their function
Bed: Almost all lathes have a horizontal beam is called as bed. It has guide ways on it for sliding and
supporting tail stock and carriage.
Head stock: At one end of the bed (almost always the left, as the operator faces the lathe) is a headstock.
It contains drive mechanism with necessary speed change arrangement to achieve different speeds. It also
has chuck which is used to hold the job.
Tail stock: It is places opposite to headstock. It can move along guide ways. Its main applications are to
hold long jobs to avoid vibrations and excessive deformation and for drilling axial holes in the work piece
it can also hold the tools such as drill, reamer, tap to do the operations like drilling, reaming etc.
Carriage: It is located between head stock and tail stock. It can be moved in longitudinal direction and can
be fixed at any position. Carriage has following parts
A. Saddle: Its base portion, located across lathe bed and carries cross slide and tool post, it can be moved
longitudinally along the bed.
B. Apron: it is attached to saddle and appears as hanging on front side. It consists of gears for motion
transmission.
C: Cross slide: it is mounted on top of the saddle and acts as support to compound rest
D: Compound rest: It is mounted on cross slide and it consists of swivel and topside. The tool post is
mounted on top slide.
E: Tool-post: it is used to hold the tool position the tool as per the requirement.
Plain Turning
It is an operation of removing excess amount of material from the surface of the cylindrical work piece. In
this operation, as shown in below Fig.3. the work is held either in the chuck or between centers and the
longitudinal feed is given to the tool either by hand or power.
Fig.3.Plain Turning
Fig.4.StepTurning
Step Turning
It is an operation of producing various steps of different diameters in the work piece, as shown in above
Fig.4. This operation is carried out in the similar way as plain turning.
Taper Turning
It is an operation of producing an external conical surface on a work piece. A small taper may be
produced with the help of a forming tool or chamfering tool, but the larger tapers are produced by
swiveling the compound rest, as shown in below Fig.5. At the required angle or by offsetting the tailstock
or by taper turning attachment.
Fig.5.Taper Turning
Note. If D is the larger diameter, d is the smaller diameter and L is the length of taper, as
shown in Fig.4. , then
Taper = D- d/L
Drilling
It is an operation of making a hole in a work piece with the help of a drill. In this operation, as shown in
below Fig.6, the work piece is held in a chuck and the drill is held in the tailstock. The drill is fed
manually, in to the rotating work piece, by rotating the tailstock hand wheel.
Fig.7.Reaming Operation
Reaming
It is an operation of finishing the previously drilled hole. In this operation, as shown in above Fig.7, a
reamer is held in the tailstock and it is fed into the hole in the similar way as for drilling.
Boring
It is an operation of enlarging of a hole already made in a work piece. In this operation, as shown in
below Fig.8. A boring tool or a bit mounted on a rigid bar is held in the tool post and fed into the work by
hand or power in the similar way as for turning.
Fig.9. Undercutting
Fig.10. Threading
Threading
It is an operation of cutting helical grooves on the external cylindrical surface of work piece. In this
operation, as shown in above Fig.10, the work is held in a chuck or between centers and the threading
tool is fed longitudinally to the revolving work. The longitudinal feed is equal to the Ditch of the thread to
be cut.
Knurling
It is an operation of providing knurled surface on the work piece. In this operation, as shown in below
Fig.11, a knurled tool is moved longitudinally to a revolving work piece surface. The projections on the
knurled tool reproduce depressions on the work surface.
Fig.11.Knurling
TERMS USED IN LATHE MACHINING
The following terms are commonly used while machining a work piece on lathe.
1. Cutting speed: It is defined as the speed at which the metal is removed by the tool from the work
piece. In other words, it is the peripheral speed of the work past the cutting tool. It is usually expressed in
meters per minute.
2. Feed: It is defined as the distance which the tool advances for each revolution of the work. It is usually
expressed in millimeters.
3. Depth of cut: It is defined as the depth of penetration of the tool into the work piece during machining.
In other words, it is the perpendicular distance measured from the machined surface to the unmachined
surface of the work piece. It is usually expressed in millimeters.
moved past the revolving milling cutters. The machines may have horizontal or vertical spindle axis.
These machines are mostly used in aircraft industries.
(g) Planetary Milling Machine: These machines are so called because of their planetary (circular) path
of the cutters during the operation. The work is held stationary while all the movements which are
essential for the cutting are made by the revolving cutters and are the principal features that distinguish
this machine from the normal method. The spindle types of both horizontal and vertical designs are
available. The planetary milling machines are used for milling both internal and external threads and
surfaces.
Angular Milling
The angular milling is the operation used for machining flat surfaces at an angle. Depending upon
whether the machining has to be carried out in a single or two mutually inclined surfaces, a single or
double angle cutter may be used. The V-blocks of any size can be machined by this operation.
Staggered Milling
These types of cutters are narrow and cylindrical having staggered teeth and with alternate teeth having
opposite helix angles. These cutters are used for milling deep slots.
Form Milling
These types of milling cutters are used to cut some profile or contour on the work piece. These can be
used to cut convex, concave, corner rounding and gear tooth in the work piece.
End Milling:
These types of cutters have teeth on the circumferential surface at one end. They are used for facing,
profiling and end milling operations.
Classifications of Shapers
The shapers are classified as follows:
1. According to the ram driving mechanism
According to the ram driving mechanism, the shapers are classified as follows:
(a) Crank shaper: In a crank shaper, a crank and a slotted lever quick return motion mechanism is used
to give reciprocating motion to the ram. The crank arm is adjustable and is arranged inside the body of a
bull gear (also called crank gear).
(b) Geared shaper: In a geared shaper, the ram carries a rack below it, which is driven by a spur gear.
This type of shaper is not widely used.
(c) Hydraulic shaper: In a hydraulic shaper, a hydraulic system is used to drive the ram. This type of
shaper is more efficient than the crank and geared shaper.
2. According to position and travel of ram
According to the position and travel of ram, the shapers are classified as follows:
(a) Horizontal shaper: In a horizontal shaper, the ram moves or reciprocates in a horizontal direction.
This type of shaper is mainly used for producing flat surfaces.
(b) Vertical shaper: In a vertical shaper, the ram reciprocates vertically in the downward as well as in
upward direction. This type of shaper is very convenient for machining internal surfaces, keyways, slots
or grooves.
3. According to the direction of cutting stroke
According to the direction of cutting stroke, the shapers are classified as follows:
(a) Push-Cut shaper: In a push-cut shaper, the ram pushes the tool across the work during cutting
operation. In other words, forward stroke is the cutting stroke and the backward stroke is an idle stroke.
This is the most general type of shaper used in common practice.
(b) Draw-cut shaper: In a draw-cut shaper, the ram draws or pulls the tool across the work during
cutting operation. In other words, the backward stroke is the cutting stroke and forward stroke is an idle
stroke.
4. According to the design of the table
According to the design of the table, the shapers are classified as:
(a) Standard or plain shaper: In a standard or plain shaper, the table has only two movements i.e.,
horizontal and vertical, to give the feed. It can not be swiveled or tilted.
(b) Universal shaper: In a universal shaper, in addition to the above two movements, the table can be
swiveled about a horizontal axis parallel to the ram and the upper portion of the table can be tilted about
the other horizontal axis perpendicular to the first axis. This type of shaper is mostly used in tool room
work.
Specifications of a Shaper
The shaper is specified as follows :
1. Maximum length of stroke is millimeters,
2. Size of the table, i.e., length, width and depth of the table,
3. Maximum vertical and horizontal travel of the table,
4. Maximum number of strokes per minute,
5. Power of the drive motor,
6. Type of quick return mechanism.
7. Floor space required, and
8. Weight.
Silicate Bonds S
Oxy-chloride Bonds O
(d) Grade
This indicates the strength with which the bonding material holds the abrasive grains in the grinding
wheel. Different grades in grinding wheels are shown below:
Material Grade
Soft A to H
Medium I to P
Hard Q to Z
The selection of a grinding wheel depends upon the nature of work, its composition, size and hardness.
Hard wheels are used for softer material and vice versa.
(e) Structure
It is the spacing between the abrasive gains or the density of the wheel. The structure of the grinding
wheel is designated by a number. The higher the number, the wider is the spacing.
Structure Symbol
Dense 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Open 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 or more
(f ) Specifications of A Grinding Wheel
The grinding wheel is specified as under 300 30 35W A36 M 55 17
Each element is to be indicated in a fixed order.
First element 300 is wheel diameter.
Second element is thickness.
Third element is diameter.
Forth element is manufacturers symbol.
Fifth element is abrasive used.
Sixth element is grain size.
Seventh element is Grade.
Eighth element is structure.
Ninth element is type of bond.
Tenth element is optional for manufacturer.
Grinding Machine
(a) Cylindrical Grinders
These machines are used to produce external cylindrical surfaces. This machine has a head stock and a
tail stock. The work piece is mounted between centers. The grinding wheel and work piece move in the
opposite direction. The depth of the cut is given by the moving the wheel towards the work piece.
In cylindrical grinding, two types of grinding are carried out:
(1) Traverse grinding: In traverse grinding, the work reciprocates as the wheel rotates. Here, work
pieces of a large size can be ground with grinding wheels that are less thick.
(2) Plunge grinding: In plunge grinding, the wheel is fed into the rotating work piece but there is no
reciprocating motion. This method is used for relatively short work pieces and especially in form grinding
where some profile on the work piece is to be ground.
(b) Surface Grinders
Surface grinders are used to produce flat surfaces. The basic machine has a grinding wheel above the
work area which can be fed downward in very small increments into a work piece which is being moved
to the left and the right and in and out. This allows the wheel to contact all areas of the surface of the
work piece. The grinder is usually equipped with a magnetic plate used to hold the work piece.
This type of machine is used for grinding both external and internal cylindrical surfaces without mounting
the work piece between centers in a chuck. This machine makes use of two grinding wheels. The larger
grinding wheel does the actual grinding and the small grinding wheel is mounted at an angle to the plane
of the grinding wheel. The small wheel is responsible for the feed of the work piece. The work piece with
its both ends freely supported on a V rotates between large and small wheels. The small wheel also
called the regulating wheel does not perform grinding operations but only controls the speed of rotation
and longitudinal motion of the work piece.
Advantages of Centreless Grinding:
The advantages of centreless grinding are as follows:
1. Chuck and centers are not required.
2. The work piece is rigidly supported during grinding, so there is no change of direction of work piece.
3. This process is fast.
4. Less skilled operator can carry out operation.
5. Wide range of components can be ground.
6. Large grinding wheels can be used so as to minimize wheel wear.
3. Reaming: It is an operation of slightly enlarging a machined hole to proper size with a smooth finish.
The reamer is an accurate tool and is not designed to remove much metal.
The reaming allowance is usually 0.2 mm only. The reaming tool is shown in Fig.3.
Fig.3.Reamer
Tapping: It is an operation of producing internal threads in a hole by means of a tool called tap. A tap is
shown in Fig.4.
Fig.4.Hand Tap
Counter boring: It is an operation of enlarging the mouth of a drilled hole to set bolt heads and nuts
below the surface so that they may not project out from the surface level. It is done by a counter boring
tool as shown in Fig.5. Which is similar to an end mill or a single blade ground to give two cutting edges
and is guided by a pilot pin which fits into the drilled hole?
Fig.6.Spot Facing
Counter sinking: It is an operation to bevel the top of a drilled hole for making a conical seat for a flat
head screw. Ordinary flat drill ground to correct angle is used for countersinking holes. A counter sunk
drill is shown in Fig.7.