10 Turning Operations You Need To Know — Swiss-Turning Specialists | Turntech Precision (2024)

Lathe machines create sophisticated parts for medical, military, electronics, automotive, and aerospace applications. Read on to find out the top 10 machining operations performed on a lathe.

A lathe is capable of performing numerous machining operations to deliver parts with the desired features. Turning is a popular name for machining on a lathe. Nevertheless, turning is just one kind of lathe operation.

The variation of tool ends and a kinematic relation between the tool and workpiece results in different operations on a lathe. The most common lathe operations are turning, facing, grooving, parting, threading, drilling, boring, knurling, and tapping.

Turning is the most common lathe machining operation. During the turning process, a cutting tool removes material from the outer diameter of a rotating workpiece. The main objective of turning is to reduce the workpiece diameter to the desired dimension. There are two types of turning operations, rough and finish.

Rough turning operation aims to machine a piece to within a predefined thickness, by removing the maximum amount of material in the shortest possible time, disregarding the accuracy and surface finish. Finish turning produces a smooth surface finish and the workpiece with final accurate dimensions.

Different sections of the turned parts may have different outer dimensions. The transition between the surfaces with two different diameters can have several topological features, namely step, taper, chamfer, and contour. To produce these features, multiple passes at a small radial depth of cut may be necessary.

10 Turning Operations You Need To Know — Swiss-Turning Specialists | Turntech Precision (2024)

FAQs

What are the 10 lathe machine operations? ›

The most common lathe operations are turning, facing, grooving, parting, threading, drilling, boring, knurling, and tapping.

What are the operations of turning? ›

A turning operation is employed when the surface of a workpiece needs to be machined to the required diameter. In other words, excess material is removed from the external diameter of a workpiece or cylindrical surface. In a boring operation, a cutting tool is used to create specified shapes in an existing hole.

What are the operations of wood turning? ›

Woodturning is the process of using tools to cut and mould shapes onto wood while it turns on an axis of rotation. It usually uses a tool called a wood lathe which performs operations such as sanding, cutting, knurling, facing, turning, drilling and deformation.

What are guidelines for turning operation? ›

In turning operation, design the part for easy fixturing and secure holding. A large, solid mounting surface with parallel clamping surfaces should be provided to assure a secure setup. Avoid designs that require sharp corners and sharp points in cutting tools because these make the tools more subject to breakage.

What is the basic principle of turning? ›

Turning operates on a simple yet effective principle: The workpiece is rotated at high speed while a single point cutting tool traverses along the workpiece's surface, cutting off a thin layer of material. The cutting action takes place at the point where the tool's cutting edge meets the workpiece.

What is the tool used in turning operation? ›

Types of Turning Tools

Examples include wood turning tools and a lathe cutting tool. Wood turning tools are used for woodturning and are used to meet the needs of a wood turner. A wood turning tool can be of various types such as: spindle gouge.

What is turning and step turning? ›

Step turning operation is a type of turning operation in which a series of steps are created on the surface of the workpiece. This is done by adjusting the position of the cutting tool during the turning operation. Step turning is commonly used in the production of parts that require a series of stepped surfaces.

What do you call someone who turns wood? ›

Woodturner Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster.

What is a wood turning machine called? ›

A lathe (/leɪð/) is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object with symmetry about that axis.

What are the two major methods of turning wood? ›

Two distinct methods of turning wood are spindle turning and face plate turning. Bowls, platters and other vessels are face plate turned, while pens, furniture legs and spindles are spindle turned.

What are turning operations? ›

Turning is a machining process where a lathe is used to rotate the metal while a cutting tool moves in a linear motion to remove metal along the diameter, creating a cylindrical shape. The cutting tool can be angled differently to create different forms. It can be done manually or with a CNC turning machine.

What is the necessary condition for turning operation? ›

The necessary condition for turning is b) cutting tool should be harder than the material of work piece. This is because the cutting tool needs to be harder to withstand the forces and heat generated during the cutting process.

What is the process of turning? ›

Turning is one of the most basic machining processes, which involves a rotating part cut by a single-point cutting tool whose movement is parallel to the axis of rotation. Turning can be performed on both the external and internal surfaces of parts.

What are the order of lathe operations? ›

  • Facing. The initial step in most lathe operations involves facing the workpiece. ...
  • Turning. Among the most frequently executed operations on a lathe, turning stands out as the most prevalent. ...
  • Taper Turning. ...
  • Parallel Turning. ...
  • Parting. ...
  • Chamfering. ...
  • Knurling. ...
  • Drilling Operation.
Sep 28, 2023

How many operations does a CNC lathe machine have? ›

What are the operations consisted of in a CNC lathe machine? CNC lathe is a versatile machine tool, you can perform almost any operation but in general, Majorly, we use the CNC lathe for centering, facing, turning, chamfering, knurling, thread cutting, drilling, boring, reaming, spinning, tapping and parting off.

What are the 7 basic types of machine tools? ›

They retain the basic characteristics of their 19th- and early 20th-century ancestors and are still classed as one of the following: (1) turning machines (lathes and boring mills), (2) shapers and planers, (3) drilling machines, (4) milling machines, (5) grinding machines, (6) power saws, and (7) presses.

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