CNC Equipment

Information About The New Metal Lathes On The Market

Over the years, new metal lathes have been designed to be more powerful, require less operation control, and produce more precise results.  For metal machining, this is great news.  A lathe is a special took that can perform a number of different operations by spinning a block of material  Depending on the job, the lathe can sand, drill, cut, knurl, and even create a deformation.  When the work piece has symmetry about an axis of rotation, this tool is remarkable.

In addition to being used with metal working, the new metal lathes also handle metal spinning.  Other types of lathes are designed to work with wood and glass materials.  However, when used on metal, this type of lathe can plane surfaces, screw helices and threads, and cerate solids of revolution.

Some of the new metal lathes are called “ornamental lathes”, which are used to create complex three-dimensional solids.  For this, the material being worked is secured in place using one or two centers.  Of these, one would work in horizontal movements that allow materials of different lengths to be worked.  While centers are the more common method of holding a metal piece in place, sometimes people will use clamping, which goes to the axis of rotation with a collet or chuck or clamps going to the faceplate.

Interestingly, the new metal lathes that companies enjoy today were actually developed in ancient times.  History shows that Egyptians used some type of lathe as far back as the 14th century, as well as ancient Greeks and Romans.  During these earlier times, lathes were commonly used to create candlesticks, bowls, musical instruments and more.  Today, the new metal lathes are designed to create complicated parts for the airline, aerospace, and medical fields, among others.

However, by the time the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, lathes were used more commonly for metal to include steam engines and gears.  The older metal lathes were capable of doing so much more because they were built as heavier and more robust machines that used denser parts with more rigidity.  Working off this concept, the new metal lathes have been refined with better materials and technology.

For instance, new metal lathes can work faster and because most are automated, they do most of the work while a trained operator handles the controls.  The newest design is known as the CNC lathe, which stands for Computer Numerated Control, again the automated system.  Although many of the new metal lathes can be operated both manually and automatically, most people prefer the automated system simply because of the time-saving benefit.  Obviously, when a company can get more work done in less time, they have the ability to process customer’s work to a higher level of satisfaction and profits increase dramatically.

In addition, new metal lathes can be operated both horizontally and vertically depending on the material and product being worked.  While most of the newer lathes are large and designed for large projects, metal lathes can also be small.  In fact, the smallest are known as “jewelry lathes”, which are used to create individual jewelry pieces and watches.  With a small lathe such as this, the back of a watch or the inside of a ring could be engraved with a sentimental message.

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