13.

505 Machine Tools

Module 2
 THE LATHE
• The Lathe is known as the mother of
machine tools.
• It is said that the first screw cutting lathe
was developed by an Englishman named
Henry Maudslay in. the year 1797.
• The function of the lathe is to remove excess
material from the work piece in the form of
chips by rotating work piece against a
cutting tool.

• Primary task of a lathe is to generate

cylindrical work pieces.

• This machine tool is useful in performing

plain turning, facing, taper turning, thread
cutting, chamfering and knurling, tapping,
spinning, boring, reaming, drilling etc.
• The process of machining a work piece to
the required shape and size by moving the
cutting tool parallel to the axis of rotation of
the work piece is known as Turning.
 Main parts of a LATHE
1. Bed
2. Headstock
3. Spindle
4. Tailstock
5. Carriage
A. Saddle
B. Apron
C. Cross-slide
D. Compound rest
E. Compound slide
F. Tool post
6. Feed mechanism
7. Lead screw
8. Feed rod
9. Thread cutting mechanism
 Types of lathe
• The following are the different types of lathe
1. Speed lathe
• a. Wood working lathe
• b. Centering lathe
• c. Polishing lathe
• d. Metal spinning lathe
2. Engine lathe
• a. Belt driven lathe
• b. Individual motor driven lathe
• c. Gear head lathe
3. Bench lathe
4. Tool room lathe
5. Semi automatic lathe
• a. Capstan lathe
• b. Turret lathe
6. Automatic lathe
7. Special purpose lathe
• a. Wheel lathe
• b. Gap bed lathe
• c. ‘T’ lathe
• d. Duplicating lathe
 Speed lathe
• Spindle of a speed lathe operates at very high
speeds. (approximately at a range of 1200 to
3600 rpm) and so it is named so.
• It consists of a headstock, a tailstock, a bed and
a tool slide only
• Parts like lead screw, feed rod and apron are
not found in this type of lathe.
1. Centering lathes are used for drilling center holes.

2. The woodworking lathes are meant for working on

wooden blanks.

3. Metal spinning lathes are useful in making

tumblers and vessels from sheet metal.

4. Polishing of vessels is carried out in polishing lathe.

SPINNING
 Engine lathe
• Engine lathes are named so because the early lathes
were driven by steam engines.
• As the turning operations are performed by holding
the work piece between two centers, it is also known
as centre lathe.
• It consists of parts like headstock, tailstock and
carriage.
• Parts like lead screw and feed rod which are useful in
providing automatic feed are also found in this type of
lathe.
 Bench lathe
• Bench lathe is a small lathe generally mounted on a
bench.
• It consists of all the parts of a engine lathe.
• It is used for small works like machining tiny and
precise parts and parts of measuring instruments.
 Tool room lathe
• A tool room lathe has similar features of an
engine lathe but is accurately built and has wide
range of spindle speeds to perform precise
operations and different feeds.
• It is costlier than a centre lathe.
• This is mainly used for precision works like
manufacturing tools,dies, jigs, fixtures and
gauges.
 Semi automatic lathe
• Turret and Capstan lathes are known as semi-
automatic lathes.
• These lathes are used for production work where
large quantities of identical work pieces are
manufactured.
• They are called semi-automatic lathes as some
of the tasks are performed by the operators and
the rest by the machines themselves.
 Automatic lathe
• Automatic lathes are operated with
complete automatic control
• They are high speed, mass production lathes.
• An operator can look after more than one
automatic lathe at a time.
 Special purpose lathe
• Special purpose lathes are used for special
purposes and for jobs, which cannot be
accommodated and conveniently machined
on a standard lathe.
• Wheel lathe, ‘T’ lathe,duplicating lathe are
some examples of special purpose lathe.

Wheel lathe duplicating lathe

 Size of a lathe
The size of a lathe is specified by the following points
1.The length of the bed
2. Maximum distance between live and dead centres.
3. The height of centres from the bed
4. The swing diameter
• The swing diameter over bed - It refers to the largest diameter of the
work that will be rotated without touching the bed.
• The swing diameter over carriage - It is the largest diameter of the
work that will revolve over the saddle.
5. The bore diameter of the spindle
6. The width of the bed
7. The type of the bed
8. Pitch value of the lead screw
9. Horse power of the motor
10. Number and range of spindle speeds
11. Number of feeds
12. Spindle nose diameter
13. Floor space required
14. The type of the machine
 Main parts of a LATHE
1. Bed
2. Headstock
3. Spindle
4. Tailstock
5. Carriage
A. Saddle
B. Apron
C. Cross-slide
D. Compound rest
E. Compound slide
F. Tool post
6. Feed mechanism
7. Lead screw
8. Feed rod
9. Thread cutting mechanism
 Bed
• Bed is mounted on the legs of the lathe which are
bolted to the floor.
• It is made of cast iron and its top surface is machined
accurately and precisely.
• Headstock of the lathe is located at the extreme left of
the bed and the tailstock at the right extreme.
• The top of the bed has flat or „V‟ shaped guideways.
 Headstock
• Headstock is mounted permanently on the inner
guide ways at the left hand side of the leg bed.
• The headstock houses a hollow spindle and the
mechanism for driving the spindle at multiple
speeds.
• The headstock will have any of the following
arrangements for driving and altering the spindle
speeds
(i) Stepped cone pulley drive
(ii) Back gear drive
(iii) All gear drive
 Spindle
• The spindle rotates on two large bearings housed
on the headstock casting

• Hole extends through the spindle so that a long

bar stock may be passed through the hole.

• The front end of the spindle is threaded on which

chucks, faceplate, driving plate and catch plate
are screwed.
 Tailstock
• Tailstock is located on the inner guideways at
the right side of the bed opposite to the
headstock.
• The body of the tailstock is bored and houses
the tailstock spindle or ram.
• If the tailstock hand wheel is rotated in the
clockwise direction, the spindle advances.
The uses of tailstock
• It supports the other end of the long workpiece when
it is machined between centres.

• It is useful in holding tools like drills, reamers and

taps when performing drilling, reaming and
tapping.

• The dead centre is off set by a small distance from

the axis of the lathe to turn tapers by set over
method.

• It is useful in setting the cutting tool at correct

height aligning the cutting edge with lathe axis.
 Carriage
• Carriage is located between the headstock and
tailstock on the lathe bed guideways.
• It can be moved along the bed either towards or
away from the headstock.
• It has several parts to support, move and control
the cutting tool.
• The parts of the carriage are :
a) saddle
b) apron
c) cross-slide
d) compound rest
e) compound slide
f) tool post
 Saddle
• It is an “H” shaped casting.
• It connects the pair of bed guideways like a bridge.
• It fits over the bed and slides along the bed
between headstock and tailstock.
• The saddle or the entire carriage can be moved by
providing hand feed or automatic feed.
 Cross slide:
• Cross-slide is situated on the saddle and slides on the
dovetail guide ways at right angles to the bed guide
ways.
• It carries compound rest, compound slide and tool
post.
• Cross slide hand wheel is rotated to move it at right
angles to the lathe axis.
 Compound rest:
• Compound rest is a part which connects cross slide
and compound slide.
• It has a circular base on which angular graduations
are marked.
• The compound rest can be swiveled to the required
angle while turning tapers.
• A top slide known as compound slide is attached to
the compound rest by dove tail joint.
 Tool post:
• This is located on top of the compound slide.
• It is used to hold the tools rigidly.
• Tools are selected according to the type of operation
and mounted on the tool post and adjusted to a
convenient working position.
• There are different types of tool posts and they are:
1. Single screw tool post
2. Four bolt tool post
3. Four way tool post
4. Open side tool post
 Lead screw
• The lead screw is a long threaded shaft used as master
screw.
• It is brought into operation during thread cutting to
move the carriage to a calculated distance.
• Mostly lead screws are Acme threaded.
• The lead screw is held by two bearings on the face of
the bed.
• A half nut lever is provided in the apron to engage half
nuts with the lead screw.
 Feed rod
• Feed rod is placed parallel to the lead screw on the
front side of the bed.
• It is a long shaft which has a keyway along its
length.
• The power is transmitted from the spindle to the
feed rod through tumbler gears and a gear train.
• It is useful in providing feed movement to the
carriage except for thread cutting and to move cross-
slide.
 Operations performed in a lathe
• Various operations are performed in a lathe other than
plain turning.
• 1. Facing
• 2. Turning
– a. Straight turning
– b. Step turning
• 3. Chamfering
• 4. Grooving
• 5. Forming
• 6. Knurling
• 7. Undercutting
• 8. Eccentric turning
• 9. Taper turning
• 10.Thread cutting
• 11. Drilling
• 12. Reaming
• 13. Boring
• 14. Tapping
 Facing
• Facing is the operation of machining the ends of a
piece of work to produce flat surface square with the
axis.
• The operation involves feeding the tool
perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the work.
 Turning
• Turning in a lathe is to remove excess material from
the workpiece to produce a cylindrical surface of
required shape and size.
• The work is turned straight when it is made to
rotate about the lathe axis and the tool is fed
parallel to the lathe axis.
• Step turning is the process of turning different
surfaces having different diameters.
 Chamfering
• Chamfering is the operation of bevelling the
extreme end of the workpiece.
• The form tool used for taper turning may be used
for this purpose.
• Chamfering is an essential operation after thread
cutting so that the nut may pass freely on the
threaded workpiece
 Grooving
• Grooving is the process of cutting a narrow goove on
the cylindrical surface of the workpiece.

• It is often done at end of a thread or adjacent to a

shoulder to leave a small margin.

• The groove may be square, radial or bevelled in

shape.
 Forming
• Forming is a process of turning a convex, concave or
any irregular shape.

• For turning a small length formed surface, a

forming tool having cutting edges conforming to
the shape required is fed straight into the work.
 Knurling
• Knurling is the process of embossing a diamond
shaped pattern on the surface of the workpiece.

• The knurling tool holder has one or two hardened

steel rollers with edges of required pattern.

• The tool holder is pressed against the rotating work.

• The rollers emboss the required pattern. The tool

holder is fed automatically to the required length.
 Undercutting
• It is a process of enlarging the diameter if done
internally and reducing the diameter if done
externally over a short length.
• It is useful mainly to make fits perfect.
• Boring tools and parting tools are used for this
operation.
 Eccentric turning
• If a cylindrical workpiece has two separate axes of
rotating, one being out of centre to the other, the
workpiece is termed as eccentric and turning of
different surfaces of the workpiece is known as
eccentric turning.

• Eccentric turning may also be done on some special

machines.

• The distance between the axes is known as offset.

 Taper turning
• A taper may be defined as a uniform
increase or decrease in diameter of a piece of
work measured along its length.

1. Form tool method

2. Compound rest method
3. Tailstock setover method
4. Taper turning attachment method
5. Combined feed method
 Form tool method
• A broad nose tool is ground to the required length
and angle.
• When the tool is fed into the work at right angles to
the lathe axis, a tapered surface is generated.
• This method is limited to turn short lengths of
taper only.
• The length of the taper is shorter than the length
of the cutting edge.
 Compound rest method
• The compound rest of the lathe is attached to a
circular base graduated in degrees, which may be
swiveled and clamped at any desired angle.
• The angle of taper is calculated using the formula

• Feed is given to the compound slide to generate the

required taper.
 Tailstock setover method
• Turning taper by the setover method is done by
shifting the axis of rotation of the workpiece at an
angle to the lathe axis and feeding the tool parallel
to the lathe axis.
• The dead centre is suitably shifted from its original
position to the calculated distance.
• The work is held between centres and longitudinal
feed is given by the carriage to generate the taper.
The amount of setover - s, can be
calculated as follows
 Taper attachment method

•The taper attachment consists of a bracket which is attached to

the rear end of the lathe bed.
•It supports a guide bar pivoted at the centre.
•The bar having graduation in degrees may be swiveled on either
side of the zero graduation and set at the desired angle to the
lathe axis.
•A guide block is mounted on the guide bar and slides on it.
• The cross slide is made free from its screw by removing the
binder screw.
• The rear end of the cross slide is tightened with the guide
block by means of a bolt.
• When the longitudinal feed is engaged, the tool mounted on
the cross slide will follow the angular path as the guide block
will slide on the guide bar set at an angle of the lathe axis.
• The advantage of this method is that long tapers can be
machined.
• As power feed can be employed, the work is completed at a
shorter time.
 Work holding devices used in a lathe
• The work holding devices are used to hold and rotate
the workpieces along with the spindle.

• Different work holding devices are used according to

the shape, length, diameter and weight of the
workpiece and the location of turning on the work.
• They are
1. Chucks
2. Face plate
3. Driving plate
4. Catch plate
5. Carriers
6. Mandrels
7. Centres
8. Rests
 Chucks
• Workpieces of short length, large diameter and
irregular shapes, which can not be mounted
between centres, are held quickly and rigidly in
chuck.

There are different types of chucks namely,

1.Three jaw universal chuck,
2.Four jaw independent chuck,
3.Magnetic chuck,
4.Collet chuck and Combination chuck
Three jaw self-centering chuck
 It consist of three jaws.
 When the chuck key is turned all the jaws will
move equal distance in radial direction
 This type of chuck is suitable for holding and
rotating regular shaped workpieces like round or
hexagonal rods about the axis of the lathe.
 Workpieces of irregular shapes cannot be held by
this chuck
 Four jaw independent chuck
• There are four jaws in this chuck.
• Each jaw is moved independently by rotating a
screw with the help of a chuck key.
• A particular jaw may be moved according to the
shape of the work.
• Hence this type of chuck can hold woks of irregular
shapes.
 Magnetic chuck
• The holding power of this chuck is obtained by the
magnetic flux radiating from the electromagnet
placed inside the chuck.
• Magnets are adjusted inside the chuck to hold or
release the work.
• Workpieces made of magnetic material only are held
in this chuck.
• Very small, thin and light works which can not be
held in a ordinary chuck are held in this chuck
 Collet chuck
• Collet chuck has a cylindrical bushing known as
collet.
• It is made of spring steel and has slots cut
lengthwise on its circumference. So, it holds the
work with more grip.
• Collet chucks are used in capstan lathes and
automatic lathes for holding bar stock in production
work.
 Face plate
• Faceplate is used to hold large, heavy and irregular
shaped workpieces which can not be conveniently
held between centres.
• It is a circular disc bored out and threaded to fit to
the nose of the lathe spindle.
• It is provided with radial plain and ‘T’ – slots for
holding the work by bolts and clamps.
 Catch plate
• When a workpiece is held between centres, the
catch plate is used to drive it.
• Catch plates are designed with ‘U’ – slots or
elliptical slots to receive the bent tail of the carrier.
• Positive drive between the lathe spindle and the
workpiece is effected when the workpiece fitted
with the carrier fits into the slot of the catch plate.
 Mandrels :-
• This is used for holding hollow work pieces
between centres.
• There are centre holes provided on both faces of
the mandrel.
• The live centre and the dead centre fit into the
centre holes
Solid mandrel
Gang mandrel
Expanding mandrels
Cone mandrel
 Solid mandrel
• It is known as plain mandrel.
• Most commonly used in shops.
• Body has a slight taper.
• Taper is given for gripping of work piece. (2:100)
 Gang mandrel
• It has a fixed collar at one end and a movable
collar at the threaded end.
• This mandrel is used to hold a set of hollow work
pieces between the two collars by tightening the nut.
 Screwed mandrel
• It is threaded at one end and a collar is
attached to it.
•
• Work pieces having internal threads are screwed on to it
against the collar for machining.
 Cone mandrel
• It has two conical ends.
• One end has a solid cone the other end has got
thread.
• At threaded end there is a sliding cone.
• This sliding cone can adjusted by a nut.
• This is used for holding workpieces of different
hole diameters.
 Rests
• A rest is a mechanical device to support a
long slender workpiece when it is turned
between centres or by a chuck.
• It is placed at some intermediate point to
prevent the workpiece from bending due to its
own weight and vibrations setup due to the
cutting force.
• There are two different types of rests
1. Steady rest
2. Follower rest
 Steady rest
• It may be made to slide on the lathe bedways and
clamped at any desired position where the workpiece
needs support.
• Machining is done upon the distance starting from
the headstock to the point of support of the rest.
• One or more steady rests may be used to support the
free end of a long work.
 Follower rest
• It consists of a ‘C’ like casting having two adjustable
jaws to support the workpiece.
• The rest is bolted to the back end of the carriage.
• During machining, it supports the work and moves
with the carriage.
• So, it follows the tool to give continuous support to the
work to be able to machine along the entire length of
the work.
 Apron Mechanism
• Apron is attached to the carriage and hangs over
the front side of the lathe bed.
• It is useful in providing power and hand feed to
both carriage and cross-slide.
• It is also used to provide power feed to the carriage
during thread cutting through two half nuts.
• Power is transmitted from the spindle to
the leadscrew and feed rod through the
spindle gear and tumbler gear
arrangement.
• A worm is mounted on the feed rod by a
sliding key.
• The worm meshes with a worm gear on
whose axis another gear G1 is attached.
• Gear G1 is attached to a small gear G2 by a
bracket as shown in the diagram.
• Gear G4 is positioned to be in mesh with
the rack gear always. Another gear G3 is
mounted on the same axis of gear G4.
• The carriage handwheel meant for longitudinal feed
is attached to the gear G5 on the same axis.
• The gears G3 and G5 are always in mesh. The gear
G6 is attached to the cross slide screw.
• The feed selection lever can be kept in neutral, up
and down positions to obtain the following
movements.
1. Hand feed and power feed to the carriage
2. Hand feed and power feed to the cross slide
Hand feed to the carriage
 Feed selection lever is kept in neutral position and the
carriage hand wheel is rotated.
 The gear G4 attached to the rack gets rotation
through the gears G5 and G3.
 The carriage moves longitudinally.
Power feed to the carriage
 When feed selection lever is kept in up position (U),
the gear G2 will mesh with gearG3.
 Gear G4 gets rotation through gear G3 and the
carriage gets automatic (power) feed
Hand feed to the cross slide
 Feed selection lever is kept in neutral position.
 The cross slide will move on rotation of the cross slide
handwheel.
Power feed to the cross slide
 When the feed selection lever is kept in down position
(D), gear G2 will be in contact with gear G6.
 The rotation of G6 will make the cross slide screw also
to rotate and the cross-slide moves automatically.
Power feed to the carriage for thread cutting
When the two half nuts in the apron are made
as one unit, leadscrew makes the carriage to move
automatically and cut threads of required pitch
value