A universal lathe [1] or parallel lathe [2] is the most common type of lathe. [3] It differs from other types of lathes in that it has the option of a tailstock, separate mechanisms for longitudinal and transverse feeds (typically via separate handwheels), and an automatic (usually mechanically) driven longitudinal leadscrew for making threads. [4]
Universal lathes are used for the production of single products or small batches, and are suitable for maintenance and similar minor work in a workshop, as well as anywhere there is a need for tools that should be as versatile as possible. [5] [6]
On universal lathes, one can turn longitudinally, transversely, one can turn cylindrical and conical threads, Archimedean spirals, one can also bore, countersink, ream, tap threads with taps and dies, manually polish and file. [7] Extra accessories enables ball turning, copying and grinding. There are even aftermarket accessories for milling; typically by replacing the top slide (compound) with a milling head and a spindle for mounting the milling bit, [8] [9] but sometimes instead by mounting a coordinate table in place of the top slide and by mounting the milling bit in the main spindle. [10]
The conventional layout is that the main spindle is located on the left side, while the tailstock is located on the right side. [11]
A lathe is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object with symmetry about that axis.
In machining, a shaper is a type of machine tool that uses linear relative motion between the workpiece and a single-point cutting tool to machine a linear toolpath. Its cut is analogous to that of a lathe, except that it is (archetypally) linear instead of helical.
Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator is known as a turner, and the skills needed to use the tools were traditionally known as turnery. In pre-industrial England, these skills were sufficiently difficult to be known as "the mysteries of the turners' guild." The skills to use the tools by hand, without a fixed point of contact with the wood, distinguish woodturning and the wood lathe from the machinist's lathe, or metal-working lathe.
A mandrel, mandril, or arbor is a tapered tool against which material can be forged, pressed, stretched or shaped, or a flanged or tapered or threaded bar that grips a workpiece to be machined in a lathe. A flanged mandrel is a parallel bar of a specific diameter with an integral flange towards one end, and threaded at the opposite end. Work is gripped between the flange and a nut on the thread. A tapered mandrel has a taper of approximately 0.005 inches per foot and is designed to hold work by being driven into an accurate hole on the work, gripping the work by friction. A threaded mandrel may have a male or female thread, and work which has an opposing thread is screwed onto the mandrel.
The phrase speeds and feeds or feeds and speeds refers to two separate parameters in machine tool practice, cutting speed and feed rate. They are often considered as a pair because of their combined effect on the cutting process. Each, however, can also be considered and analyzed in its own right.
A wood shaper, is a stationary woodworking machine in which a vertically oriented spindle drives one or more stacked cutter heads to mill profiles on wood stock.
A chuck is a specialized type of clamp used to hold an object with radial symmetry, especially a cylinder. In a drill, a mill and a transmission, a chuck holds the rotating tool; in a lathe, it holds the rotating workpiece.
A machine taper is a system for securing cutting tools or toolholders in the spindle of a machine tool or power tool. A male member of conical form fits into the female socket, which has a matching taper of equal angle.
A Tool and Cutter Grinder is used to sharpen milling cutters and tool bits along with a host of other cutting tools.
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
Milling cutters are cutting tools typically used in milling machines or machining centres to perform milling operations. They remove material by their movement within the machine or directly from the cutter's shape.
In machining, a metal lathe or metalworking lathe is a large class of lathes designed for precisely machining relatively hard materials. They were originally designed to machine metals; however, with the advent of plastics and other materials, and with their inherent versatility, they are used in a wide range of applications, and a broad range of materials. In machining jargon, where the larger context is already understood, they are usually simply called lathes, or else referred to by more-specific subtype names. These rigid machine tools remove material from a rotating workpiece via the movements of various cutting tools, such as tool bits and drill bits. Metal lathes can vary greatly, but the most common design is known as the universal lathe or parallel lathe.
A lathe faceplate is a basic workholding accessory for a wood or metal turning lathe. It is a circular metal plate which fixes to the end of the lathe spindle. The workpiece is then clamped to the faceplate, typically using t-slot nuts in slots in the faceplate, or less commonly threaded holes in the faceplate itself.
A tailstock, also known as a foot stock, is a device often used as part of an engineering lathe, wood-turning lathe, or used in conjunction with a rotary table on a milling machine.
Sherline is a machine tool builder founded in Australia and currently headquartered in Vista, California, USA. It builds miniature machine tools and a wide range of tooling to be used on them. Within the miniature segment of the machine tool industry, Sherline is one of the most widely known brands. According to Sherline, their line of OEM accessories is more comprehensive than that of any other builder of machine tools, regardless of machine size.
In machine tools, a spindle is a rotating axis of the machine, which often has a shaft at its heart. The shaft itself is called a spindle, but also, in shop-floor practice, the word often is used metonymically to refer to the entire rotary unit, including not only the shaft itself, but its bearings and anything attached to it. Spindles are electrically or pneumatically powered and come in various sizes. They are versatile in terms of material it can work with. Materials that spindles work with include embroidery, foam, glass, wood, etc.
In metalworking and woodworking, an automatic lathe is a lathe with an automatically controlled cutting process. Automatic lathes were first developed in the 1870s and were mechanically controlled. From the advent of NC and CNC in the 1950s, the term automatic lathe has generally been used for only mechanically controlled lathes, although some manufacturers market Swiss-type CNC lathes as 'automatic'.
Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of different operations and machines, on scales from small individual parts to large, heavy-duty gang milling operations. It is one of the most commonly used processes for machining custom parts to precise tolerances.
A vertical lathe is a lathe where the axis of rotation is oriented vertically, unlike most conventional lathes which are oriented horizontally. Many of them are frontal lathes, meaning they do not have the option of mounting a tailstock, but vertical lathes can also be implemented as parallel lathes.
A frontal lathe or face lathe is a type of lathe with a horizontal headstock, and without a tailstock. They are suitable for workpieces with a very large diameter, but with a relatively short length.
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