1、The design of lathes can vary greatly depending on the intended application; however, basic features are common to most types. These machines consist of (at the least) a headstock, bed, carriage, and tailstock. Better machines are solidly constructed with broad bearing surfaces (slides or ways) for
2、stability, and manufactured with great precision. This helps ensure the components manufactured on the machines can meet the required tolerances and repeatability.edit HeadstockHeadstock with legend, numbers and text within the description refer to those in the imageThe headstock (H1) houses the mai
3、n spindle (H4), speed change mechanism (H2,H3), and change gears (H10). The headstock is required to be made as robust as possible due to the cutting forces involved, which can distort a lightly built housing, and induce harmonic vibrations that will transfer through to the workpiece, reducing the q
4、uality of the finished workpiece.The main spindle is generally hollow to allow long bars to extend through to the work area. This reduces preparation and waste of material. The spindle runs in precision bearings and is fitted with some means of attaching workholding devices such as chucks or facepla
5、tes. This end of the spindle usually also has an included taper, frequently a Morse taper, to allow the insertion of tapers and centers. On older machines the spindle was directly driven by a flat belt pulley with lower speeds available by manipulating the bull gear. Later machines use a gear box dr
6、iven by a dedicated electric motor. A fully geared head allows the operator to select speeds entirely through the gearbox.edit BedThe bed is a robust base that connects to the headstock and permits the carriage and tailstock to be aligned parallel with the axis of the spindle. This is facilitated by
7、 hardened and ground ways which restrain the carriage and tailstock in a set track. The carriage travels by means of a rack and pinion system, leadscrew of accurate pitch, or feedscrew.Types of beds include inverted “V“ beds, flat beds, and combination “V“ and flat beds. “V“ and combination beds are
8、 used for precision and light duty work, while flat beds are used for heavy duty work.citation neededWhen a lathe is installed, the first step is to level it, which refers to making sure the bed is not twisted or bowed. There is no need to make the machine exactly horizontal, but it must be entirely
9、 untwisted to achieve accurate cutting geometry. A precision level is a useful tool for identifying and removing any twist. It is advisable also to use such a level along the bed to detect bending, in the case of a lathe with more than four mounting points. In both instances the level is used as a c
10、omparator rather than an absolute reference.edit Feed and lead screwsThe feedscrew (H8) is a long driveshaft that allows a series of gears to drive the carriage mechanisms. These gears are located in the apron of the carriage. Both the feedscrew and leadscrew (H7) are driven by either the change gea
11、rs (on the quadrant) or an intermediate gearbox known as a quick change gearbox (H6) or Norton gearbox. These intermediate gears allow the correct ratio and direction to be set for cutting threads or worm gears. Tumbler gears (operated by H5) are provided between the spindle and gear train along wit
12、h a quadrant plate that enables a gear train of the correct ratio and direction to be introduced. This provides a constant relationship between the number of turns the spindle makes, to the number of turns the leadscrew makes. This ratio allows screwthreads to be cut on the workpiece without the aid
13、 of a die.Some lathes have only one leadscrew that serves all carriage-moving purposes. For screw cutting, a half nut is engaged to be driven by the leadscrews thread; and for general power feed, a key engages with a keyway cut into the leadscrew to drive a pinion along a rack that is mounted along
14、the lathe bed.The leadscrew will be manufactured to either imperial or metric standards and will require a conversion ratio to be introduced to create thread forms from a different family. To accurately convert from one thread form to the other requires a 127-tooth gear, or on lathes not large enoug
15、h to mount one, an approximation may be used. Multiples of 3 and 7 giving a ratio of 63:1 can be used to cut fairly loose threads. This conversion ratio is often built into the quick change gearboxes.The precise ratio required to convert a lathe with an Imperial (inch) leadscrew to metric (millimete
16、r) threading is 100 / 127 = 0.7874. . The best approximation with the fewest total teeth is very often 37 / 47 = 0.7872. . This transposition gives a constant -0.020 percent error over all customary and model-makers metric pitches (0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.60, 0.70, 0.75, 0.80, 1.00, 1.
17、25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.50, 3.00, 3.50, 4.00, 4.50, 5.00, 5.50 and 6.00mm).edit CarriageCarriage with legend, numbers and text within the description refer to those in the imageIn its simplest form the carriage holds the tool bit and moves it longitudinally (turning) or perpendicularly (facing) unde
18、r the control of the operator. The operator moves the carriage manually via the handwheel (5a) or automatically by engaging the feed shaft with the carriage feed mechanism (5c). This provides some relief for the operator as the movement of the carriage becomes power assisted. The handwheels (2a, 3b,
19、 5a) on the carriage and its related slides are usually calibrated, both for ease of use and to assist in making reproducible cuts. The carriage typically comprises a top casting, known as the saddle (4), and a side casting, known as the apron (5).edit Cross-slideThe cross-slide (3) rides on the car
20、riage and has a feedscrew that travels perpendicular to the main spindle axis. This permits facing operations to be performed, and the depth of cut to be adjusted. This feedscrew can be engaged, through a gear train, to the feed shaft (mentioned previously) to provide automated power feed movement t
21、o the cross-slide. On most lathes, only one direction can be engaged at a time as an interlock mechanism will shut out the second gear train.edit Compound restThe compound rest (or top slide) (2) is usually where the tool post is mounted. It provides a smaller amount of movement (less than the cross
22、-slide) along its axis via another feedscrew. The compound rest axis can be adjusted independently of the carriage or cross-slide. It is used for turning tapers, to control depth of cut when screwcutting or precision facing, or to obtain finer feeds (under manual control) than the feed shaft permits
23、. Usually, the compound rest has a protractor marked in its base (2b), enabling the operator to adjust its axis to precise angles.The slide rest can be traced to the fifteenth century. In 1718 the tool-supporting slide rest with a set of gears was introduced by a Russian inventor Andrey Nartov and h
24、ad limited usage in the Russian industry.1 In the eighteenth century the slide rest was also used on French ornamental turning lathes. The suite of gun boring mills at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, in the 1780s by the Verbruggan family also had slide rests. The story has long circulated that Henry Ma
25、udslay invented it, but he did not (and never claimed so). The legend that Maudslay invented the slide rest originated with James Nasmyth, who wrote ambiguously about it in his Remarks on the Introduction of the Slide Principle, 1841; later writers misunderstood, and propagated the error. However, M
26、audslay did help to disseminate the idea widely. It is highly probable that he saw it when he was working at the Arsenal as a boy. In 1794, whilst he was working for Joseph Bramah, he made one, and when he had his own workshop used it extensively in the lathes he made and sold there. Coupled with th
27、e network of engineers he trained, this ensured the slide rest became widely known and copied by other lathe makers, and so diffused throughout British engineering workshops. A practical and versatile screw-cutting lathe incorporating the trio of leadscrew, change gears, and slide rest was Maudslays
28、 most important achievement.The first fully documented, all-metal slide rest lathe was invented by Jacques de Vaucanson around 1751. It was described in the Encyclopdie a long time before Maudslay invented and perfected his version. It is likely that Maudslay was not aware of Vaucansons work, since
29、his first versions of the slide rest had many errors that were not present in the Vaucanson lathe.edit ToolpostThe tool bit is mounted in the toolpost (1) which may be of the American lantern style, traditional four-sided square style, or a quick-change style such as the multifix arrangement picture
30、d. The advantage of a quick change set-up is to allow an unlimited number of tools to be used (up to the number of holders available) rather than being limited to one tool with the lantern style, or to four tools with the four-sided type. Interchangeable tool holders allow all tools to be preset to
31、a center height that does not change, even if the holder is removed from the machine.edit TailstockTailstock with legend, numbers and text within the description refer to those in the imageThe tailstock is a toolholder directly mounted on the spindle axis, opposite the headstock. The spindle (T5) do
32、es not rotate but does travel longitudinally under the action of a leadscrew and handwheel (T1). The spindle includes a taper to hold drill bits, centers and other tooling. The tailstock can be positioned along the bed and clamped (T6) in position as required. There is also provision to offset the t
33、ailstock (T4) from the spindles axis, this is useful for turning small tapers.The image shows a reduction gear box (T2) between the handwheel and spindle, this is a feature found only in the larger center lathes, where large drills may necessitate the extra leverage.edit Steady and follower restsA s
34、teady restWorkpieces often need to be supported more than the chuck and/or centers can support them, because cutting metal produces tremendous forces that tend to vibrate or even bend the workpiece. This extra support can be provided by a steady rest (also called a steady, a fixed steady, a center r
35、est, or sometimes, confusingly, a center). It stands stationary from a rigid mounting on the bed, and it supports the workpiece at the rests center, typically with three contact points 120 apart. A follower rest (also called a follower or a travelling steady) is similar, but it is mounted to the car
36、riage rather than the bed, which means that as the tool bit moves, the follower rest “follows along“ (because they are both rigidly connected to the same moving carriage).2 Follower rests can provide support that directly counteracts the springing force of the tool bit, right at the region of the wo
37、rkpiece being cut at any moment. In this respect they are analogous to a box tool.A follower restedit Types of metal lathesThere are many variants of lathes within the metalworking field. Some variations are not all that obvious, and others are more a niche area. For example, a centering lathe is a
38、dual head machine where the work remains fixed and the heads move towards the workpiece and machine a center drill hole into each end. The resulting workpiece may then be used “between centers“ in another operation. The usage of the term metal lathe may also be considered somewhat outdated these day
39、s, plastics and other composite materials are in wide use and with appropriate modifications, the same principles and techniques may be applied to their machining as that used for metal.edit Center lathe / engine lathe / bench latheTwo-speed back gears in a cone-head lathe.A typical center lathe.The
40、 terms center lathe, engine lathe, and bench lathe all refer to a basic type of lathe that may be considered the archetypical class of metalworking lathe most often used by the general machinist or machining hobbyist. The name bench lathe implies a version of this class small enough to be mounted on
41、 a workbench (but still full-featured, and larger than mini-lathes or micro-lathes). The construction of a center lathe is detailed above, but depending on the year of manufacture, size, price range, or desired features, even these lathes can vary widely between models.Engine lathe is the name appli
42、ed to a traditional late-19th-century or 20th-century lathe with automatic feed to the cutting tool, as opposed to early lathes which were used with hand-held tools, or lathes with manual feed only. The usage of “engine“ here is in the mechanical-device sense, not the prime-mover sense, as in the st
43、eam engines which were the standard industrial power source for many years. The works would have one large steam engine which would provide power to all the machines via a line shaft system of belts. Therefore early engine lathes were generally cone heads, in that the spindle usually had attached to
44、 it a multi-step pulley called a cone pulley designed to accept a flat belt. Different spindle speeds could be obtained by moving the flat belt to different steps on the cone pulley. Cone-head lathes usually had a countershaft (layshaft) on the back side of the cone which could be engaged to provide
45、 a lower set of speeds than was obtainable by direct belt drive. These gears were called back gears. Larger lathes sometimes had two-speed back gears which could be shifted to provide a still lower set of speeds.When electric motors started to become common in the early 20th century, many cone-head
46、lathes were converted to electric power. At the same time the state of the art in gear and bearing practice was advancing to the point that manufacturers began to make fully geared headstocks, using gearboxes analogous to automobile transmissions to obtain various spindle speeds and feed rates while
47、 transmitting the higher amounts of power needed to take full advantage of high speed steel tools.The inexpensive availability of electronics has again changed the way speed control may be applied by allowing continuously variable motor speed from the maximum down to almost zero RPM. (This had been
48、tried in the late 19th century but was not found satisfactory at the time. Subsequent improvements have made it viable again.)edit Toolroom latheA toolroom lathe is a lathe optimized for toolroom work. It is essentially just a top-of-the-line center lathe, with all of the best optional features that
49、 may be omitted from less expensive models, such as a collet closer, taper attachment, and others. There has also been an implication over the years of selective assembly and extra fitting, with every care taken in the building of a toolroom model to make it the smoothest-running, most-accurate version of the machine that can be built. However, within one brand, the quality difference between a regular model and its corresponding toolroom model depends on the builder and in some cases has been partly marketing psychology. For name-brand machine tool builders who made only high
