A universal lathe or parallel lathe is the most common type of

lathe A lathe () 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 w ...

. It differs from other types of lathes in that it has the option of a

tailstock Tailstock used for drilling A tailstock, also known as a foot stock, is a device often used as part of an engineering lathe, wood-turning lathe, or used in conjunction with a rotary table on a milling machine. It is usually used to apply support ...

, separate mechanisms for longitudinal and transverse feeds (typically via separate handwheels), and an

automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...

(usually mechanically) driven longitudinal

leadscrew A leadscrew (or lead screw), also known as a power screw or translation screw,Bhandari, p. 202. is a screw used as a linkage in a machine, to translate turning motion into linear motion. Because of the large area of sliding contact between ...

for making threads.

Description

Universal lathes are used for the production of single

products Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that can be offered to a market to satisfy the desire or need of a customer. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution ...

or small batches, and are suitable for maintenance and similar minor work in a

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

, as well as anywhere there is a need for

tools A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ...

that should be as versatile as possible. On universal lathes, one can

turn To turn is to rotate, either continuously like a wheel turns on its axle, or in a finite motion changing an object's orientation. Turn may also refer to: Sports and games * Turn (game), a segment of a game * Turn (poker), the fourth of five co ...

longitudinally, transversely, one can turn

cylindrical A cylinder () has traditionally been a Solid geometry, three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a Prism (geometry), prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may ...

and

conical In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

threads,

Archimedean spiral The Archimedean spiral (also known as Archimedes' spiral, the arithmetic spiral) is a spiral named after the 3rd-century BC Ancient Greece, Greek mathematician Archimedes. The term ''Archimedean spiral'' is sometimes used to refer to the more gene ...

s, one can also bore,

countersink In manufacturing, a countersink (Engineering drawing abbreviations and symbols, symbol: Miscellaneous Technical#Miscellaneous Technical (2300–23FF) in Unicode, ⌵) is a Cone (geometry), conical hole cut into a manufactured object, or the Cutt ...

ream Ream may refer to: * Paper ream, a unit of quantity for paper * Ream (surname) * Reamer, tool used to widen a hole * Ream, West Virginia * Ream, the name of Rama in the Khmer version of the Ramayana, the Reamker * Ream National Park, a national ...

, tap threads with

taps and dies In the context of threading, taps and dies are the two classes of tools used to create screw threads. Many are cutting tools; others are forming tools. A tap is used to cut or form the female portion of the mating pair (e.g. a nut). A die is us ...

, manually

polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and

file File or filing may refer to: Mechanical tools and processes * File (tool), a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece. ** Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing ** Nail file, a tool used to gen ...

. Extra accessories enables

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

turning,

copying Copying is the duplication of information or an wiktionary:artifact, artifact based on an instance of that information or artifact, and not using the process that originally generated it. With Analog device, analog forms of information, copying is ...

and grinding. There are even aftermarket accessories for

milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using ro ...

; typically by replacing the top slide (compound) with a milling head and a spindle for mounting the milling bit, but sometimes instead by mounting a

coordinate table X-Y tables, also known as cross working tables or coordinate tables, help provide horizontal motion for automated machinery such as assembly robots in manufacturing facilities. Robotic arms and other automated machinery have only a limited range o ...

in place of the top slide and by mounting the milling bit in the main spindle. The conventional layout is that the main spindle is located on the left side, while the tailstock is located on the right side.

References

{{improve categories, date=December 2024 Lathes

Description

See also

References