Lathe

Lathe is a machine tool used for producing parts with circular sections which may be wood, plastic or metal. Some of the typical parts are shown in figure.

Lathe has the mechanisms to hold and rotate the work piece in a fixed axis and to move the cutting tool against it for removing material in the form of chip. The work piece can be set to rotate at various speeds depending upon the requirement. The movement of the tool against the work piece is termed as feed. This feed may be Longitudinal, cross or angular.

•      The longitudinal feed which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the work produce a straight cylindrical surface.

•      The cross feed which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of work produce flat ends.

•      The angular feed which is at an angle to the axis of rotation of work produce tapered cylindrical surface

The other important operations that can be done in a lathe are 

thread cutting, drilling, boring, knurling and profile turning