The processing technology and application scope of ordinary lathes

The ordinary lathe, as the most fundamental and classic metal cutting equipment in the mechanical manufacturing industry, is hailed as the "mother machine of industry". It relies on the rotation of the workpiece as the main motion and the linear movement of the turning tool as the feed motion. It features a simple structure, flexible operation, and extremely strong versatility. It can complete various precision processing procedures without complex programming. In the current era when CNC lathes are widely used, ordinary lathes still rely on their advantages of high adaptability, low cost and easy debugging to be widely applied in various industrial production, equipment maintenance and vocational training scenarios, and are indispensable core equipment in the field of mechanical processing.

Ⅰ. Core Processing Technology Scope

Ordinary lathes are mainly used for processing various rotary parts. With different cutting tools and auxiliary accessories, they can complete multiple compound processes, covering the vast majority of basic mechanical processing needs. The core processes include the following categories:

- Surface turning processing: It can precisely process the outer circle, inner hole, end face, step, conical surface, arc curved surface and other conventional rotary surfaces of the workpiece. It can not only complete rough machining of the blank to remove excess allowance, but also perform fine machining to ensure the dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the parts. It is suitable for the forming processing of various shaft, disc and sleeve parts.

Thread processing: It can turn various types of internal and external threads such as metric, imperial, module, and diameter pitch, including common fastening threads, trapezoidal transmission threads, pipe threads, etc., meeting the processing requirements of threaded parts for mechanical equipment connection, transmission, sealing, etc. It is the core processing method for various threaded parts.

- Composite auxiliary processing: By matching with accessories such as drill bits, reamers, taps, and klobs, it can complete processes such as drilling, reaming, boring, boring, tapping, klobbing, cutting, and slotting. One device can achieve multi-process integrated processing of parts without the need to replace equipment, and the processing efficiency is flexible and controllable.

Ⅱ, adapt to the range of workpieces and materials

The clamping methods of ordinary lathes are flexible and diverse. Three-jaw chucks are suitable for regular circular workpieces, while four-jaw chucks can clamp square, irregularly shaped and irregular workpieces. With the addition of centers, mandrels and other accessories, it can process long shafts, thin-walled parts and other special workpieces, with extremely strong adaptability. At the same time, the equipment has no strict restrictions on the processing materials and can process various metal materials such as carbon steel, stainless steel, cast iron, copper, and aluminum, as well as non-metal materials such as plastic, acrylic, and wood, fully meeting the processing requirements of workpieces in different industries.

From the perspective of workpiece specifications, conventional lathes can process medium and small-sized rotary parts. Improved models such as saddle lathes can also process large-diameter disc-shaped parts with large radial dimensions and short axial dimensions, covering both small precision parts and medium-sized structural parts processing scenarios.

Ⅲ. Application Scope in Mainstream Industries

1.General machinery and hardware manufacturing industry

This is the most core application field of ordinary lathes, mainly processing various general basic components, including smooth shafts, transmission shafts, shaft sleeves, flange plates, gear blanks, bolts and nuts, pins and other standard and non-standard parts. This type of parts comes in a variety of specifications and has flexible batch sizes. Ordinary lathes can perfectly meet the production demands of single-piece, small-batch and medium-small batch sizes. They are cost-effective and easy to debug, making them the main equipment for the production of hardware accessories and general mechanical equipment.

2. The automotive and construction machinery industry

In the automotive manufacturing industry, ordinary lathes are often used for rough and finish machining of core components such as engine crankshafts, camshafts, piston pins, connecting rod bushings, brake discs, and drive shafts. In the field of construction machinery, we can process structural components such as connecting shafts, hydraulic bushings, rotary joints, and flange connection parts for excavators, cranes, and agricultural machinery equipment, ensuring the precision and stability of parts in the transmission and connection systems of construction machinery.

3. Precision manufacturing and mold industry

For fields such as mold manufacturing, electronic equipment, and instruments and meters, ordinary lathes can complete the processing of precision parts such as mold guide pins, guide sleeves, inserts, and centering pins. At the same time, they are suitable for the fine processing of small-sized and high-precision parts such as small electronic metal parts, instrument rotating shafts, and precision bushings, and can meet the strict concentricity, dimensional tolerance, and surface finish requirements for equipment assembly.

4. Aerospace and military supporting industries

Aerospace and military equipment mostly consist of small-batch, high-precision, and non-standard customized parts. The cost-effectiveness of batch processing by CNC equipment is low, while the flexible processing advantages of ordinary lathes are highlighted. They are mainly used for processing small precision rotary structural parts, special threaded accessories, and precision shaft parts for instruments, meeting the small-batch and high-precision customized processing requirements of special equipment.

5. Equipment maintenance and emergency processing field

When parts of factory production lines, ships, mining equipment and agricultural machinery are damaged, there are mostly no ready-made spare parts. Ordinary lathes can quickly measure and process individual parts for emergency repair, such as various failed shafts, sleeves, threaded parts, etc. Without complex programming and debugging, they can quickly complete emergency processing, significantly reducing the downtime for equipment maintenance. They are core equipment for industrial operation and maintenance and equipment emergency repair.

Ⅳ. Scope of adaptation to Production scenarios

The core advantages of ordinary lathes lie in their flexibility and versatility, precisely adapting to two types of core production scenarios. The first category is the single-piece and small-batch non-standard processing scenario. When dealing with customized and diverse parts, there is no need for programming and modeling. Manual debugging can be used for rapid processing, which is more time-saving and cost-effective compared to CNC lathes. The second category is the production scenario of regular parts with multiple varieties and medium to small batches, which can flexibly switch processing procedures to meet the production demands of frequent production changes.

Meanwhile, the ordinary lathe is a core practical training equipment for the mechanical profession. All major vocational colleges and technical schools take the ordinary lathe as the core practical training equipment, which is used to cultivate students' basic mechanical processing operations, drawing recognition, tool setting, and process control abilities. It is an essential equipment for the practical operation of mechanical majors and provides basic processing talents for the industry.

Ⅴ. Application Advantages and Applicable Boundaries

Compared with CNC lathes, ordinary lathes have a simpler structure, lower failure rate, lower procurement and maintenance costs, lower operation threshold, and flexible production changeover. They have significant advantages in the processing of non-standard parts, emergency repair parts, and small-batch parts. However, due to the limitations of manual operation, its efficiency in large-scale precision processing and the accuracy of repeated processing are slightly inferior to those of CNC lathes. Therefore, it is not suitable for the large-scale production of standardized, ultra-high precision, and complex curved surface parts in large quantities. Such scenarios are mostly handled by CNC equipment.