A lathe can do many different operations. Some of the most common are: restraining, taper turning, thread cutting, cylindrical turning, metal cutting, shape cutting, and slicing. Lathes are that set of machines and tools that allow machining, threading, roughing, drilling and slotting pieces of a geometric shape per revolution.

1. Revolver lathe

It is called a revolver lathe because a turret is mounted on the carriage, which has several points where tools can be placed, placing itself in position each time it advances with a movement of the lever, thus imitating the rotation of a revolver drum. This lathe is used for high production jobs that require a sequence of cuts on the part. Since it is designed to machine parts on which it is possible to work simultaneously with several tools in order to reduce the total machining time.

types of revolver lathe

Horizontal revolver lathe: This lathe is widely used in mechanical workshops. It is designed to produce equal cylindrical parts on bars or plates and can be operated manually or automatically, depending on the control system. It has fast scrolling.

Vertical revolver lathe: Its rotary table or jaw chuck is located in a horizontal position and its hexagonal tower in a vertical position. It is designed to facilitate the machining and assembly of large diameter parts.

Automatic revolver lathe: This lathe makes its tools automatically advance and withdraw after having completed a cutting cycle, these movements are caused by the different cams that play an important role in the machining of the parts.

2. Parallel Lathe

This lathe is a machine tool that allows transforming any solid into a well-defined piece or body in terms of its shape and dimensions. It does this by rotating said solid around the axis of symmetry of the desired shape and removes peripherally shaped material and chips. This lathe performs all kinds of tasks typical of turning, such as drilling, threading, reaming, turning, knurling, boring, cones, etc., using different tools and tools that can be interchanged and with various shapes, can be attached to it.

The main elements of a parallel lathe are:

-Bench: this piece is on which all the elements of the machine rest and on which the carriage, the steady rests and the tailstock slide.

-Fixed head (plate): where all the transmissions, shafts and ribbed gears are located, with which different ranges of speeds are achieved that are transmitted to the plate, which is a rotating cylindrical piece on which the workpiece is held by means of claws .

-Mobile headstock (tailstock): piece located on the opposite side of the headstock, it is used to better hold the piece when turning between points, in this case it houses what is called a tailstock. It is also used to contain a reamer or bit, when you want to drill and refine holes.

-Carriage (torrera): here the tools that are going to be used to machine the piece are fixed and that slides along the bench. It can be manually or motorised.

-Studs: used to support long parts.

3. Difference between a revolver and parallel lathe

The difference between a revolver lathe and a parallel lathe is that the revolver lathe is for manufacturing a series of pieces, normally of short length. They usually get the most out of using a bar feeder and clamp plate so that parts are machined in series starting from a long bar. Although it also allows making unitary pieces. The proliferation of the CNC has been destroying them. They do not usually have a feed box and most of the threads are made with taps and dies.

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