Tips on 5 Main Types of Metal Lathes for Sale

Metal lathe is the name given to a hard apparatus used to get some material out of an area, and generally by using a cutting instrument. There are many types of lathes that are found on the domain of metal works industry. Some of these tools are meant for niche uses, while others are ideal for more apparent usage. At one time, these were used only for machine metals. However, today these have become more versatile in nature and the term “metal lathe” is not suitable these days. This is considering the fact that various composite materials and plastics are majorly in use. The same techniques and principles which had been used to handle metal earlier can still be used to handle these kinds of materials. Read on and get tips on 5 main types of metal lathes for sale in the market which are very popular.

Capstan lathe 

At one time, these were referred to by the name “Capstan lathe”. Today, these are known by the name ram-style turret lathe in the work holding industry. Actually it is a manufacturing tool which can blend the features of a capstan style tailstock along with that of a basic lathe.

Combination lathe 

This type of lathe can be used for milling or drilling operations. The equipment makes use of the top-slide and the carriage as the y axis and the x axis of the equipment.

Center lathe 

It is also referred to by the name “engine lathe”. It can be regarded as the template for metal lathe. It is the type of lathe that is mostly used by hobbyists or general machinists. It is one of the most common metal lathes for sale.

Turret lathe 

This is a manufacturing tool, which is similar to the capstan in appearance. This equipment tends to slide on the bed in a straight manner instead of being attached. This kind of lathe is utilized in production mechanical shops in which various kinds of sequential operations are required on only one work piece. Taking a work piece away from an equipment and holding it in some other machine is time consuming and expensive. Taking the work piece away and holding it back again can result in problems in accuracy of machine or the working alignment.

This type of lathe consists of a rotating turret placed over a carriage. Due to this alignment, the turret can be indexed to get another apparatus into workable position immediately after an operation with a tool is brought to a finish. This component is re-attached to the equipment without any need to remove it from a collet or a chuck. This kind of device can be used to perform more than 8 varied operations on a single work piece.

CNC lathe 

These lathes are quickly being used as substitutes for multi-spindle, and other production lathes, due to the simplicity of their operations and setting. These utilize completely modern techniques and are designed to use latest carbide equipment. These are perfect for cutting curved contours, not requiring any tools of special shape. This can be achieved by simultaneously adjusting differences in speed of the spindle and two motion axes. An engine lathe is unable to perform this type of operation.

With CNC lathes, you can get the following benefits: 

•        Speedier repeat-ability of movements of intricate machines
•          Feedback control for maintaining and supervising the positioning of tools
•          Axis drives with higher amount of power

Once you verify a program, you can re-set an operation fast and without requiring tiresome adjustments in the manual way. Read more for other different types of metal lathe and its apparent usage in these days!