1.0 Introduction to Lathe Machine and Its Components 1.

1 Lathe Machine The lathe machine is a tool used principally for shaping articles of materials especially metals by causing the work piece to be held and rotated by the lathe while a tool bit is advanced into the work causing the cutting action. The basic lathe that was designed to cut cylindrical metal stock has been developed further to produce screw threads, tapered work, drilled holes, knurled surfaces, and crankshafts. The typical lathe provides a variety of rotating speeds and a means to manually and automatically move the cutting tool into the work piece. Machinists and maintenance shop personnel must be thoroughly familiar with the lathe and its operations to accomplish the repair and fabrication of needed parts. Figure 1 shows the engine lathe which is usually used for metal lathing.

Figure 1: Lathe Machine.

1.2 Type of Lathe Machine There are many kinds of lathe machines available, the oldest example being a pottery wheel, the origins of which date back to ancient Egyptian civilization. In simple terms, a lathe machine is a machine which spins the material or work piece, while a tool (hands in the case of the pottery wheel) cuts or shapes the material. There are many kinds of lathes available including wood lathes, engine lathes, tool room lathes, turret lathes and more recently CNC lathe machines. However, the most common type of lathe machine can be found nowadays is metal lathe. 1.2.1 Wood Lathe The simplest lathe type is the wood lathe. As the name suggests, it is designed for turning wood. Wood lathes are small machines consisting of a bed, headstock, tailstock and tool rest. There are no precision ways as are found on a metal-working machine, since the cutting tools are moved by hand and not by machine power. Great skill is needed to control the cutting tool to accurately turn smooth curves and complex contours on the work piece. The spindle is usually driven by a belt connected to a motor, and speed changes are made by manually moving the belt to one of several pulleys mounted to the back of the spindle. Lathe tools are held manually against the work, with the support of the tool rest. The tool rest is adjustable and is clamped to the bed at a position convenient for the operation at hand.

1.2.2 Engine Lathe Engine lathes are the classic metal turning workhorses of the production machine shop. They come in many sizes and are adaptable to working virtually any material. These machines have a longitudinal bed to which is mounted a headstock and tailstock. As in the wood lathe, the headstock contains the spindle. However, the spindle drive is more complex, including variable speed capability or selectable gearing to provide a much wider range of speeds. A carriage moves back forth on bed ways for longitudinal turning. A crossslide and compound rest is mounted to the top of the carriage to provide cross and angular cutting capability. The lathe cutting tools are moved against the work manually using hand wheels or automatically under the power of a lead screw that is driven by gears in the headstock. 1.2.3 Tool Room Lathe The tool room lathe is a small- to medium-sized engine lathe specially designed for high-precision work. These machines find use in tool and die shops, where custom parts and precision fixtures are produced, often in support of production machining operations. Tool room lathes are manufactured with special attention to spindle accuracy, smooth operation and precise alignment of the carriage and cross slide. A tool room lathe is capable of better accuracy and precision than a standard engine lathe.

1.2.4 Turret Lathe Turret lathes are used in production machine shops where several sequential operations are needed on single work piece. It is costly and time consuming to remove a work piece from one machine and hold it in another. Removing and reholding a work piece also introduces errors in work alignment and machining accuracy. The turret lathe has a rotating turret mounted to the carriage so that as soon as an operation with one tool is completed, the turret is indexed to bring another tool into working position. The part is then machined again without having to remove it from the chuck or collet. Eight or more different operations can be performed on a work piece using this type of machine. 1.2.5 CNC Lathe Computer numerically controlled lathes have largely supplanted engine lathes in production machining environments. CNC lathes offer the advantages of greater powered axis drives, feedback control to monitor and maintain tool positioning and high-speed repeatability of complex machine motions. Once a program is verified, an operation can be quickly set up again without the need for tedious manual adjustments. CNC lathes excel at cutting curved contours without the need for specially shaped tools. This is done by programmed variation of the speed of two motion axes and the spindle simultaneously there it is an operation that is impossible with an engine lathe.

1.2.6 Special Purpose Lathe As the name implies, these lathes are used for special purposes such as heavy-duty production of identical parts. In addition, these lathes also perform specific functions that cannot be performed by the standard lathes. Some examples of special purpose lathes include the bench-type jewelers lathes, automatic lathes, crankshaft lathes, duplicating lathes, multi spindle lathes, brake drum lathes, and production lathes among others. 1.3 Components of a Lathe Machine Generally, the lathe is mainly composed of the bed, headstock, tailstock, and the carriage. Figure 2 shows the structure of a typical engine lathe.

Figure 2: Structure of a typical engine lathe.

1.3.1 Bed The bed is the foundation of the working parts of the lathe to another. The main feature of lathe machine construction is the ways which are formed on its upper surface and run the full length of the bed. The ways provide the means for holding the tailstock and carriage, which slide along the ways, in alignment with the permanently attached headstock. The bed allows the carriage and the tailstock to be in parallel with the axis of the spindle. Moreover, the bed also serves as the base of the lathe and is connected to the headstock. 1.3.2 Headstock The headstock is located on the operators left end of the lathe bed. It contains the main spindle and oil reservoir and the gearing mechanism for obtaining various spindle speeds and for transmitting power to the feeding and threading mechanism. The headstock mechanism is driven by an electric motor connected either to a belt or pulley system or to a geared system. The main spindle is mounted on bearings in the headstock and is hardened and specially ground to fit different lathe holding devices. The spindle has a hole through its entire length to accommodate long workplaces. The hole in the nose of the spindle usually has a standard Morse taper which varies with the size of the lathe. Centers, collets, drill chucks, tapered shank drills and reamers may be inserted into the spindle. Chucks, drive plates, and faceplates may be screwed onto the spindle or clamped onto the spindle nose.

1.3.3 Tailstock The tailstock is located on the opposite end of the lathe from the headstock. It supports one end of the work when machining between centers, supports long pieces held in the chuck, and holds various forms of cutting tools, such as drills, reamers, and taps. The tailstock is mounted on the ways and is designed to be clamped at any point along the ways. It has a sliding spindle that is operated by a hand wheel and clamped in position by means of a spindle clamp. The tailstock may be adjusted laterally by adjusting screws.. 1.3.4 Carriage The carriage includes the apron, saddle, compound rest, cross slide, tool post, and the cutting tool. It sits across the lathe ways and in front of the lathe bed. The function of the carriage is to carry and move the cutting tool. It can be moved by hand or by power and can be clamped into position with a locking nut. The saddle carries the cross slide and the compound rest. The cross slide is mounted on the dovetail ways on the top of the saddle and is moved back and forth at 90 to the axis of the lathe by the cross slide lead screw. The lead screw can be hand or power activated. A feed reversing lever, located on the carriage or headstock, can be used to cause the carriage and the cross slide to reverse the direction of travel. The compound rest is mounted on the cross slide and can be swiveled and clamped at any angle in a horizontal plane. The compound rest is used extensively in cutting steep tapers and angles for lathe centers. The cutting tool and tool holder are secured in the tool post which is mounted directly to the compound rest. The apron contains the gears and feed clutches which transmit motion from the feed rod or lead screw to the carriage and cross slide. 7

2.0 How Lathe Machine Fails 2.1 Lathe Machine Failure Statistic According to Saravanan (2003), all failures of lathe machine have been grouped into four-failure modes viz., component damage, fuse burnt, circuit fault and looseness. It can be observed that the dominant failure mode is because of component damage. The components are electrical, electronics and of mechanical categories. The most of the components are standard and bought-in components. Figure 2 shows the histogram of lathe failure mode.

Figure 3: Histogram of lathe failure mode.

2.2 Cause of Lathe Machine Failure There are so many situations where the lathe machine is working improperly or fail. The operator should always do inspections on the operation of lathe machine to ensure it is functioning in good condition. There are many reasons will cause failure case of lathe machine occurs. Below is the some of the failures which commonly occurs in lathe machine and their causes. i. ii. iii. iv. There is harmonic chatter in the work The work is too thin for the length. Bearings have failed or have insufficient preload. The knob or control is hard to turn There are wood chips and dust in the thread. The thread is stripped. The motor will not run The motor is not plugged in. A circuit breaker or fuse has blown. The thermal switch in the motor has tripped. A fuse has blown in the AC or DC variable-speed drive. There is brownout or no electricity. The motor winding has burned out. The tailstock or tool rest slides on the bed during turning operations The bed has grease or finish on it. The hold-down mechanism needs adjustment.

v. vi. vii.

The tool does not move smoothly on the rest The tool rest is dry. The tool rest needs dressing. Work slows down when apply a tool The tailstock is loose. The belt is loose. The key has come out of the motor or headstock pulley There is vibration The work is out of balance. A part is loose. A belt is loose. The motor or headstock pulleys are dirty or not concentric. The pulleys are not in alignment. The pulleys are out of balance. There is a defective motor or a bent motor shaft. The stand resonates.

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3.0 Type of Maintenance for Lathe Machine The engine lathe is a precision machine tool and must be treated with great care. Regular cleaning and maintenance will help to assure that the lathe will maintain its service life and accuracy for many years. This unit will cover basic lathe maintenance. The procedures you find within this document should be able to be performed by apprentice or beginning machine tool students. Lathe maintenance that requires more extensive disassembly should only be done by, or under the supervision of, qualified personnel. 3.1 Routine Maintenance A lathe doesn't require a great deal of maintenance and even thrives in an environment of downright neglect. There are some habits operator can form and some things operator can do that will greatly add to the life of the machine and to operators enjoyment of using it. The first habit is to unplug the machine when you perform most maintenance. Other habits follow different schedules. Routine maintenance will keep the lathe machine running smoothly for years. Table 1 shows the routine maintenance of a lathe machine. Frequency Every time you use Morse-taper accessory Every turning session Task a Wipe dust out of the taper socket with your finger and wipe the taper accessory. Sweep or vacuum chips from the machine, then wax. All unpainted metal parts such as the bed, spindles, and tool rest. Oil plane bearings. If your machine has oil holes or cups, you should Reason The biggest cause of spindle damage is damaged tapers or taper seats due to dirt. Wood is hygroscopic and even dry wood can promote rusting in the right conditions. If you turn green wood, this action is an absolute must. Plane bearings will run forever if lubricated. 11

Monthly

Annually Every one to five years

apply a few drops of high viscosity machine oil. Some older motors also have oil cups, which should be lubricated. Grease any zerk fittings. Some older machines may have grease fittings for the headstock bearings and possibly the motor. They should be given one shot of grease. Do not overgrease. This should be a habit. Clean all belt pulleys.

They require a film of oil; if they dont have it, they will quickly fail. Grease is required on a regular basis to keep such bearings healthy.

Check the belt for wear and the bearings for endplay and lubrication. On most lathes that are used a reasonable amount, this check should be done more frequently. Since the spindle has to be removed on most lathes to replace the belt, you might as well replace the bearings. On variablewidth sheave machines, belt replacement will be required every year or two, so replacing the bearings may not make sense in this case. Every decade regardless Replace the belt and Time alone will take its of use bearings. toll. Grease in sealed bearings will dry out, and rubber in belts gets hard and cracks.

Dirt and rubber buildup on pulleys causes vibration. A worm or loose belt causes vibration and poor power transmission. Dry bearings will soon fail.

Table 1: Routine maintenance of lathe machine.

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3.2 Bearing Replacement With plane bearings, the lathe can run smoothly by oiling the bearings on a daily basis. Most lathes today, even those found on the used market, are equipped with ball bearings that are lubricated and sealed for life. These bearings don't require any regular maintenance, but they do need to be replaced every few years. The sides of ball bearings are generally sealed with plastic, which retains the grease packed into the bearing during assembly. Age and use take their toll on any grease, even in a sealed-f or-life bearing. Eventually, the grease fails and the bearing fails shortly thereafter. 3.3 Lubrication Application If the operator is ever in doubt, always know that there is never a time where the operator can use too much lubrication. Amongst the gears and the pulleys, there is always can be added a bit of grease. This will simply help keep the gears and pulleys running smoothly while also ensuring that the gears don't break down to fast by being exposed to the air and feel the effects of oxygenation. Eventually your gears and pulleys are going to have to be replaced, because at some point they are going wear away due to rust. 3.4 Drive Belts Inspection The drive belts supply power from the motor to the spindle. Access to the drive belts is gained by removing the end guard on the headstock. Make sure that all power is locked out before removing any guards. Drive belts come in matched sets and should only be replaced with a matched set of belts. Visually inspect the drive belts for excessive wear and cracking. If notice that one or more of the drive 13

belts appear to be excessively worn or cracked, bring this to the attention of the instructor. Check the belt tension by applying finger pressure to each belt at a point midway between the two pulleys. For correct tension a deflection of about 3/8 of an inch should be evident in each belt. If the amount of deflection is more than 3/8 of an inch in any one or more of the belts, bring this to the attention of the instructor. 3.5 Gib Adjustment All lathes employ precision slide ways. The saddle, cross slide, and the compound slide all ride along a box slide way or dovetail slide way. After time the parts that ride along the slide ways begin to wear. To compensate for this wear, machine tools are equipped with adjustable parts called gibs that allow operator to eliminate the space that has been created by the wear between the slide ways. There are two types of gibs, which are straight gibs and tapered gibs. Straight gibs are adjusted by screws spaced out along the length of the gib. The screws push the gib in to create more contact with the sliding mechanisms. Tapered gibs use two screws. The screws are located in each end of the tapered gib. One screw acts as an adjustment while the other screw acts as a locking mechanism. Because tapered gibs are wider on one end than the other, they slide in or out creating more or less contact between the sliding mechanisms. 3.6 Cross Slide Gib Adjustment Wear in the cross slide ways must be adjusted by using the screw on the front face of the cross slide. The procedure is to first loosen the similar gib screw on the rear face of the cross slide, then re-tighten the front screw to lock or adjust 14

the gib in its new position. After the adjustment, traverse the cross slide over its entire travel to be sure of smooth, even operation. 3.7 Compound Slide Gib Adjustment Wear in the compound slide ways must be adjusted by using the screw on the front face of the compound slide. The procedure is to first loosen the similar gib screw in the rear face of the tool slide, then re-tighten the front screw to lock or adjust the gib in its new position. After making the adjustment, traverse the compound slide over its entire travel to be sure of smooth, even operation. 3.8 Wipers Pads Cleaning Most lathes are equipped with wiper pads. Wiper pads are typically made of felt that will hold oil. Wipers are designed to keep out small chips and dirt between the slides and the ways. Wipers are saturated with oil to catch the fine particles of dirt or debris before they get between the two sliding surfaces. The wipers should be removed, cleaned, and re-saturated with oil regularly. You should never use compressed air for cleaning a lathe. Compressed air will push the fine particles trapped in the wiper between the mating surfaces of the slides, causing premature wear on these precision surfaces. 3.9 Tailstock Clamp Adjustment The lock position of the bed clamp lever on the tailstock is adjustable and should be located before top dead center. The lever is adjusted by a self-locking bolt located on the underside of the tailstock front clamp plate and between the bed way. Turn the bolt clockwise to increase the clamping action. Lathes may also

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be equipped with an auxiliary bolt on the tailstock. This bolt is used to give additional clamping action when required. It does not require any adjustment. 3.10 End Gearing and Backlash Inspection The end gearing on the lathe connects the spindle rotation with the feed and threading rods. The gears supplied with a lathe allow the operator to obtain an extensive range of feeds, metric threads, threads per inch, module and diametral pitch threads. To cut threads over a broad range, the lathe operator will need to make changes to the end gear train. Basic lathe setup and operation includes being able to properly change the gears in the train. Most lathes are equipped with charts that explain the gear positioning for certain types and ranges of threads. When the proper gears have been selected and set in the gear train, the mounting or clamping bolts should be lightly snugged in place with a strip of paper or feeler stock placed between the gears. The gears should then be pushed together against the paper shim. The clamping bolts should then be tightened. Remove the shim. The space left between the gears, where the shim was placed, is known as backlash. On most lathes the backlash amount should be between 0.007 and 0.011 inches. If the gears are noisy, more backlash space should be made between the gears. Finish the backlash adjustment by placing a small amount of lubricant on the gear train.

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4.0 Critical Parts and Troubleshooting Problems with a lathe can be related to the motor, including it not starting, and the machine slowing, tool chattering and broken work pieces. These kinds of issues can be identified and corrected with some troubleshooting. Table 2 shows the troubleshooting for lathe machine. Problem There is harmonic chatter in the work. Cause The work is too thin for the length. Bearings have failed or have insufficient preload. There are wood chips and dust in the thread. The thread is stripped. Solution Cradle the work in hand, use a heel cut with skew, use a gauge, or employ a steady rest. Adjust the preload or replace the bearings. Clean the threads. If necessary, run a tap into the internal thread and run a die over the external thread. Replace parts, helicoil the internal thread. Plug in the motor. Reset the breaker or replace the fuse. Reset the thermal switch. Replace the fuse. Check with electric company. Rewind or replace the motor.

The knob or control is hard to turn.

The motor will not run. The motor is not plugged in. A circuit breaker or fuse has blown. The thermal switch in the motor has tripped. A fuse has blown in the AC or DC variable-speed drive. There is brownout or no electricity. The motor winding has burned out. The bed has grease or finish on it. The hold-down

The tailstock or tool rest slides on the bed during turning operations.

Clean with the appropriate solvent. Adjust the hold17

The tool does not move smoothly on the rest. Work slows down when apply a tool.

mechanism needs adjustment. The tool rest is dry. The tool rest needs dressing. The tailstock is loose. The belt is loose. The key has come out of the motor or headstock pulley. The work is out of balance. A part is loose. A belt is loose. The motor or headstock pulleys are dirty or not concentric. The pulleys are not in alignment. The pulleys are out of balance. There is a defective motor or a bent motor shaft. The stand resonates.

down mechanism. Wax the too rest. Dress and wax the tool rest. Tighten the tailstock. Tighten the belt. Replace the key and tighten the grub screw which locks it. Round the work better with a bandsaw or drawknife and change speed. Find and tighten the loose part. Replace the belt. Clean or replace the pulleys. Adjust the pulleys. Have the pulleys balanced. Repair or replace the motor. Put sand bags in or on the stand.

There is vibration.

Table 2: Troubleshooting for lathe machine.

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5.0 Safety In machining operations, there is one sequence of events that one must always follow: SAFETY FIRST, ACCURACY SECOND, AND SPEED LAST. With this in mind, let's look at some of the more important safety precautions that should be observed before and during lathe operations. Carelessness and ignorance are two great menaces to personal safety. Other hazards can be mechanically related to working with the lathe, such as proper machine maintenance and setup. 5.1 Major Hazards The major hazards in the operation of lathe include: Eyes injuries from flying pieces of metal. Hand or foot injuries from dropping heavy objects such as chucks or stock. Catching clothing, shop rags, gloves, hands or arms in the lathe parts or in the work. Cutting hands on chips or sharp edges of the work. Injuries from being struck by flying work or chips. Back injuries from failure to use work handling equipment for heavy chucks and stock. Skin disease from coolant or cutting oils. Reaching over or under rotating parts. Lathe accidents are usually caused by:

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 Loose clothing snagging on the revolving work piece, the chuck, or the work piece. Flying chips entering the eye when turning cast iron or nonferrous metals. Contact of the hands or arms with the lathe dog, chuck or work piece. 5.2 Safety Guidelines All lathe operators must be constantly aware of the safety hazards that are associated with using the lathe and must know all safety precautions to avoid accidents and injuries. The operator should prepare himself by rolling up his shirt sleeves and removing watches, rings, and other jewelry that might become caught while he is operating the machine. The operator should be sure to wear safety glasses or a face shield of the approved type at all times when operating a lathe or when in the area of lathes that are in operation. The operator should be sure that the work area is clear of obstructions that one might fall over or trip on. On turret lathes, care must be taken not to catch loose or torn clothing on a stock that is supported in the collet with chucks and extends beyond the headstock of the lathe. If a coolant or cutting oil is used, the operator should take care when adjusting the splash pans to prevent the liquid from splashing on the floor. The

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cutting oil or coolant can make the floor beneath the lathe slippery and cause the operator to lose his balance and suffer injury. The operator will keep the floor around the machine clear of oil or grease to prevent anyone from slipping and falling into the machine. The operator should use assistance when handling heavy or awkward parts, stock, or machine accessories. Never remove chips with your bare hands; a pair of pliers, a hook, or a brush should he used. (Stop the machine while removing the chips.) The operator should prevent long chips from being caught in the chuck by using good chip control procedures. The operator should never try to stop the machine with his hands or body. The operator will turn the machine off before talking to anyone. The operator should know how to stop the machine quickly if an emergency arises. The operator must be attentive, not only to the operation of the machine, but the events going on around it. The operator should be alert to the location of the cutting tool while taking measurements or making adjustments to the machine. He should see that the

work and the cutting tools clear each other and that they are clamped securely before starting the machine. The operator will remove the centers and the cutting tools when not being used, and always observe the specific safety precautions posted for the machine in which you are operating.

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6.0 Conclusion Lathe machine is an extremely useful piece of equipment that can be used in workshop. For those who do extensive lathing work, owning a working lathe is very important. However, having said that, it is also important to note that this piece of equipment is as dangerous as it is useful. It may increase the range of jobs that you can do, but it can also cause accidents. Thus, users should follow the safety guidelines when using lathe machine. Besides that, there are many different lathe problems that can occur while you are using this tool. Fortunately, most of these problems can be avoided by following troubleshooting guidelines. A part of that, a lathe machine can perform more efficient and longer by having suitable maintenance.

7.0 Reference AIPD (1988) Lathe Operations Subcourse OD1645. Edition 8.

Conover E. (2001) The Lathe Book: A Complete Guide to the Machine and Its Accessories. USA: The Taunton Press

Saravanan S., Yadava G. S., Rao P. V. (2003) Machine Tool Failure Data Analysis for Condition Monitoring Application. In: Proceedings of the 11th National Conference on Machine and Mechanism, 18-20 December, HT Delhi, New Delhi. Allied Publishers Pvt. Limited, pp 552-558

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