Unit 3 TURNING The lathe And lts Construction a lathe is a machine tool used primarily for producing surfaces of revolution and flat edges. Based on their purpose, construction, number of tools that can simultaneously be mounted and degree of automation lathes-or, more accurately, lathe-type machine tools-can be classified as follows 1)Engine lathes 2)Toolroom lathes 3)Turret lathes 4)Vertical turning and boring mills 5 )Automatic lathes sPecial purpose lathes In spite of that diversity of lathe type machine tools, they all have common features with respect to construction and principle ofoperation These features can best be illustrated by considering the commonly used representative type, the engine lathe. Following is a description of each of the main elements of an engine lathe, which is shown in Fig. 3. I
The Lathe And Its Construction A lathe is a machine tool used primarily for producing surfaces of revolution and flat edges. Based on their purpose, construction, number of tools that can simultaneously be mounted and degree of automation, lathes-or, more accurately, lathe-type machine tools-can be classified as follows: 1 )Engine lathes 2)Toolroom lathes 3)Turret lathes 4)Vertical turning and boring mills 5 )Automatic lathes 6)Special purpose lathes In spite of that diversity of lathe type machine tools, they all have common features with respect to construction and principle of operation. These features can best be illustrated by considering the commonly used representative type, the engine lathe. Following is a description of each of the main elements of an engine lathe, which is shown in Fig. 3. 1. Unit 3 TURNING
Headstock assembly, Tool post Face plate Compound rest mounted on the Center Cross slide Tailstock quill Tailstock assembl Chip pan Pig. 3.1 The engine lathe (Courtesy of Clausing Industrial, Ine. Kalamazoo Mich. H
Lathe bed The lathe bed is the main frame, involving a horizontal beam on two vertical supports. It is usually made of grey or nodular east iron to damp vibrations and is made by casting. It has guideways to allow the carriage to slide easily lengthwise. The height of the lathe bed should be appropriate to enable the technician to do his or her job easily and comfortably ■ Headstock The headstock is fixed at the left hand side of the lathe bed and includes the spindle whose axis is parallel to the guideways(the slide surface of the bed). The spindle is driven through the gearbox, which is housed within the headstock. The function of the gearbox is to provide a number of different spindle speeds usually 6 up to 18 speeds). Some modern lathes have headstocks with infinitely variable spindle speeds, which employ frictional, electrical, or hydraulic drives
◼ Lathe bed. ◼ Headstock. The lathe bed is the main frame, involving a horizontal beam on two vertical supports. It is usually made of grey or nodular east iron to damp vibrations and is made by casting. It has guideways to allow the carriage to slide easily lengthwise. The height of the lathe bed should be appropriate to enable the technician to do his or her job easily and comfortably. The headstock is fixed at the left hand side of the lathe bed and includes the spindle whose axis is parallel to the guideways(the slide surface of the bed). The spindle is driven through the gearbox, which is housed within the headstock. The function of the gearbox is to provide a number of different spindle speeds ( usually 6 up to 18 speeds). Some modern lathes have headstocks with infinitely variable spindle speeds, which employ frictional, electrical, or hydraulic drives
The spindle is always hollow, i. e, it has a through hole extending lengthwise. Bar stocks can be fed through that hole if continuous production is adopted. Also, that hole has a tapered surface to allow mounting a plain lathe center. The outer surface of the spindle e ls threaded to allow mounting of a chuck, a face plate, or the like Tailstock The tailstock assembly consists basically of three parts, its lower base, an intermediate part, and the quill. The lower base is a casting that can slide on the lathe bed along the guideways, and it has a clamping device to enable locking the entire tailstock at any desired location, depending upon the length of the workpicce. The intermediate part is a casting that can be moved transversely to enable alignment of the axis of the tailstock with that of the headstock. The third part, the quill, is a hardened steel tube, which can be moved longitudinally in and out of the intermediate part as required. This is achieved through the use of a handwheel and a screw, around which a nut fixed to the quill is engaged. The hole in the open side of the quill is tapered to enable mounting oj
◼ Tailstock. The spindle is always hollow, i. e. , it has a through hole extending lengthwise. Bar stocks can be fed through that hole if continuous production is adopted. Also,that hole has a tapered surface to allow mounting a plain lathe center. The outer surface of the spindle is threaded to allow mounting of a chuck,a face plate,or the like. The tailstock assembly consists basically of three parts,its lower base,an intermediate part, and the quill. The lower base is a casting that can slide on the lathe bed along the guideways, and it has a clamping device to enable locking the entire tailstock at any desired location, depending upon the length of the workpicce. The intermediate part is a casting that can be moved transversely to enable alignment of the axis of the tailstock with that of the headstock. The third part,the quill,is a hardened steel tube,which can be moved longitudinally in and out of the intermediate part as required. This is achieved through the use of a handwheel and a screw, around which a nut fixed to the quill is engaged. The hole in the open side of the quill is tapered to enable mounting of lathe centers or other tools like twist drills or boring bars. The quill can be locked at any point along its travel path by means of a clamping
■ The carriage. The main function of the carriage is mounting of the cutting tools and generating longitudinal and/or cross feeds. It is actually an H-shaped block that slides on the lathe bed between the headstock and tailstock while being guided by the v-shaped guideways of the bed. The carriage can be moved either manually or mechanically by means of the apron and either the feed rod or the lead screw. When cutting screw threads, power is provided to the gearbox of the apron by the lead screw. In all other turning operations, it is the feed rod that drives the carriage. The lead screw goes through a pair of half nuts,which are fixed to the rear of the apron. When actuating a certain lever, the half nuts are clamped together and engage with the rotating lead screw as a single nut, which is fed, together with the carriage, along the bed. When the lever is disengaged, the half nuts are released and the carriage stops. On the other hand, when the feed rod is used, it supplies power to the apron through a worm gear: The latter is keyed to the feed rod and travels with the apron along the feed rod, which has a keyway extending to cover its whole length
◼ The carriage. The main function of the carriage is mounting of the cutting tools and generating longitudinal and/or cross feeds. It is actually an H-shaped block that slides on the lathe bed between the headstock and tailstock while being guided by the V-shaped guideways of the bed. The carriage can be moved either manually or mechanically by means of the apron and either the feed rod or the lead screw. When cutting screw threads, power is provided to the gearbox of the apron by the lead screw. In all other turning operations, it is the feed rod that drives the carriage. The lead screw goes through a pair of half nuts,which are fixed to the rear of the apron. When actuating a certain lever, the half nuts are clamped together and engage with the rotating lead screw as a single nut,which is fed, together with the carriage, along the bed. When the lever is disengaged,the half nuts are released and the carriage stops. On the other hand,when the feed rod is used,it supplies power to the apron through a worm gear. The latter is keyed to the feed rod and travels with the apron along the feed rod, which has a keyway extending to cover its whole length