Lathe Machine Introduction: 16 Types of Lathe Machine

Lathe is one of the most widely used machine tools in the field of metal processing. There are various kinds of machine tools. It is difficult for people who do not know this industry to make clear the difference between different types of machine tools. In this paper, we classify from 6 sub-systems: control mode, machine structure, use, processing materials, number of tool holders, type of machine parts. Although different kinds of lathe names, there are cross cases, such as gap bed lathe machine also has horizontal lathe , pipe thread lathe also hasCNC lathe machine , but it does not affect our understanding of the lathe.

Types of lathe machine introduction:
According to the control method

  • Conventional lathe
  • CNC lathe

According to the machine structure

  • Horizontal lathe
  • Vertical lathe
  • Slant bed lathe

According to the purpose of the machine

  • Crankshaft lathe, camshaft lathe, wheel lathe, axle lathe, roll lathe and ingot lathe, turning and milling machine tool, wheelset lathe, pipe thread lathe

According to the processed materials

  • Woodworking lathe
  • Metal cutting lathe

Classified by number of tool holders

  • Single tool holder CNC lathe, double tool holder CNC lathe

Classified by basic type of machined parts

  • Chuck type CNC lathe, top CNC lathe

According to the control method

At present, there are two control methods for the lathe, one is manual control, and the other is CNC programming control. According to different control methods, the lathe is divided into conventional lathe and CNC lathe.

Conventional lathe

The general lathe has a wide processing object, the adjustment range of the spindle rotation speed and the feed amount is large. The inner and outer surfaces, end faces, and internal and external threads of the workpiece can be processed. This type of lathe is mainly operated manually by the worker. It is easy to operate. In the early stage, the speed is adjusted, the gear is moved, the starting lever is lifted, and then the joystick is pushed forward. The turning tool advances, the rear pulls, the turning tool retreats to the left, and the turning tool goes to the left. Left and right are the same. Although the operation of the general vehicle is simple, the processing of the parts is a technical activity, and the workers will look at the measuring tools and drawings for processing. When machining small batches of parts,conventional lathes have a greater efficiency advantage than a CNC lathe machine. Many times the general-purpose lathes have been processed, and the CNC lathes are still in the programming stage. Due to this feature, the ordinary lathe still has a market, suitable for single-piece, small batch production and maintenance workshops.

These lathes can be divided into a variety of conventional lathes of different specifications, such as LT6232 and LT6250, depending on the center height and center distance. In addition to turning all kinds of rotary workpieces, they can also turn various threads, such as metric thread, inch thread, modulus thread, diametric thread and end thread.

In order to improve the processing diameter of the conventional lathe, a gap bed lathe was derived(also called saddle lathe).

The left end of the gap bed lathe at the front of the headbox is sunken and can accommodate large diameter parts. The shape of the lathe is two-head high, low in the middle, and looks like a saddle, so it is called a saddle lathe. The saddle lathe is suitable for machining parts with large radial dimensions and small axial dimensions. It is suitable for turning the outer circle, inner hole, end face, slot and metric, inch, modulus, warp thread, and drilling and boring. , reaming and other processes, especially suitable for single-piece, batch production enterprises. The saddle lathe can process larger diameter workpieces in the saddle groove. The machine tool guides are hardened and finely ground for easy and reliable operation. The lathe has the characteristics of high power, high speed, strong rigidity, high precision and low noise.

CNC lathe

The CNC lathe is developed from the lathe, and a program control system is added to the main machine. The program is controlled by the program to control the machine to perform the operation according to the specified procedure, completing the cycle of the entire machining process.

Like conventional lathes, CNC lathes are also used to machine the rotating surface of parts. Generally, it can automatically complete the machining of the outer cylindrical surface, the conical surface, the spherical surface and the thread, and can also process some complex rotating surfaces, such as hyperboloids. The workpieces of the lathe and the ordinary lathe are installed in the same way. In order to improve the processing efficiency, the hydraulic lathes are mostly hydraulic, pneumatic and electric chucks.

The shape of a CNC lathe is similar to that of a conventional lathe, that is, it consists of a bed, a headstock, a tool holder, a feed system pressure system, a cooling and lubrication system. The feeding system of the CNC lathe is qualitatively different from the conventional lathe. The conventional lathe has a feed box and an exchange carrier. The CNC lathe directly uses the servo motor to drive the slide and the tool holder through the ball screw to realize the feed motion. The structure of the feed system is greatly simplified.
Today’s CNC lathes are already popularized for microcomputer control. There are currently two categories of CNC lathes, one of which is a simple microcomputer-controlled machine tool, and the other is a computer-controlled machine tool. During operation, the CNC lathe performs calculations according to the input program instructions and inputs the calculation results to the drive unit. The control drive device performs calculation according to the command, inputs the calculation result to the drive device, controls the drive device (stepper motor) at the center of the drive device to drive the mechanical transmission mechanism, and operates the working step of the machine tool (longitudinal and horizontal carriage) to realize the cutting motion.

According to the machine structure

Horizontal lathe

The main feature of the horizontal lathe is that the main axis is parallel to the workbench and looks like it is lying on the ground. Horizontal lathes are suitable for processing lighter workpieces that are not large in diameter but long. This is because the horizontal lathe is processed by the chuck and the top against the workpiece. This structure determines that the weight of the workpiece cannot be very large. The ordinary maximum load is 300 kg, and the heavy-duty lathe can bear 1 ton. The processing length is the main advantage of the horizontal lathe relative to the vertical lathe.

The processing length is 750mm, 1000mm, 2000mm, 3000mm, 4000mm or even 8000mm, etc.

Vertical lathe

The main feature of the vertical lathe is that the spindle is perpendicular to the table and the workpiece is clamped to the table. The vertical lathe is suitable for processing heavy workpieces with large diameter and short length. This is because on the vertical lathe, the clamping and alignment of the parts is convenient, and the rotary guide between the worktable and the base has better bearing capacity. The smoothness of the movement during work is high, so the processing quality of the parts is high, but the quality of these parts is difficult to guarantee when placed on conventional lathes and end lathes.

Vertical lathes can be divided into single-column vertical lathes and double-column vertical lathes. Single-column vertical lathes generally have a vertical tool holder and a side tool holder. Both holders have separate feed boxes that can be operated individually or simultaneously for vertical and horizontal passes. Large vertical lathes generally have two uprights. For ease of processing, the two-column vertical lathe generally has two vertical tool holders and one side tool holder. The larger two-poster has a side knife holder on each of the two columns.

Slant bed lathe

The inclined rail structure allows the lathe to be more rigid and easy to remove chips.

According to the purpose of the machine

Crankshaft lathes, wheel lathes, roll lathes and ingot lathes, turning and milling machine tools, pipe thread lathes.

A Crankshaft lathe

A Crankshaft lathe is a specialized type of lathe used to machine the connecting rod neck and the crank arm side of an internal combustion engine and an air compressor crankshaft.

The CNC wheel lathe

The CNC wheel lathe is a special machine tool for machining and repairing wheel pairs of railway machines. In order to improve the performance and price ratio of the machine tool, the CNC system for the double tool holder of the wheel lathe was developed, and the automatic measurement, tool setting and economic cutting functions of the CNC system were discussed. It is a fully automatic machining operation mode, and is equipped with an automatic measuring system, which automatically calculates the optimal cutting parameters after measuring the tread surface of the wheel to be repaired.

Roll lathes

Roll lathes are lathes designed to process rolls. The rolls are generally rolls used on the rolling mill. It is a very large, heavy and heavy cylindrical shape with grooves on it.

Turning and milling machine

Turning and universal milling machine tool composite machining is one of the most popular machining processes in the world of machining. It is an advanced manufacturing technology. Composite machining is the implementation of several different machining processes on a single machine. Milling Drilling, turning machine. Composite processing is the most widely used and the most difficult is the combination of turning and milling. The turning and milling combined machining center is equivalent to a combination of a CNC lathe and a machining center.

Pipe thread lathe

Pipe thread lathe, also known as pipe thread lathe, is a horizontal lathe designed for turning large-diameter pipe fittings. It features a large hole diameter of the main shaft (generally 135mm or more) and a chuck on the front and rear of the spindle box. In order to facilitate the clamping and processing of large-diameter pipe fittings or bars, the product is widely used in mechanical processing of machinery manufacturing, petroleum, chemical, coal, geological exploration, urban water supply and drainage industries.

According to the processed materials

Woodworking lathe

Metal cutting lathe

The metal cutting car is similar to the woodworking car in that it is used to cut the workpiece by rotating the workpiece in contact with the tool.

However, the difference between the two is also huge:

  1. The structure of the knife holder is different. Woodworking cars are more flexible. For example, using a metal cutting lathe to drive a vase, moving the tool to shape it can be inconvenient.
  2. The nature of the workpiece is different. The workpiece of the metalworking vehicle is generally homogeneous, and the density and hardness remain basically the same, so it can be cut 3mm at a time, and the tool can be automatically moved. If the wood is used in this way, the wood will be provoked and even the wood will be torn. The car hardwood metal cutting car is better.
  3. The turning tools are different. The cutting edge of the turning tool is not the same as the angle.

Classified by basic type of machined parts

Chuck type CNC lathes

These lathes have no tailstock and are suitable for turning discs (including short shafts). Most of the clamping methods are electric or hydraulic control, and the chuck structure has many adjustable jaws or non-quenching jaws (ie, soft jaws).

Top CNC Lathes

These lathes are equipped with a common tailstock or CNC tailstock. They are suitable for turning long parts and disc parts with a small diameter.

In addition, it can be different according to its processing accuracy

The lathe is divided into a general lathe, a precision lathe and a high-precision lathe. Precision and high-precision lathes are usually based on ordinary precision lathes. By improving the geometric accuracy of the machine, reducing the effects of vibration and heat sources, and using high-performance bearings, the machine has high machining accuracy.

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