A lathe is a machine tool used to shape wooden or metallic products by rotating a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an... . Lathe machines were invented back in 1300 BCE in ancient Egypt and were majorly used in France for making wooden products around 1569 C.E. During the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, people in England modernized the metal lathe. Lathe machines are used for various product fabricating operations such as sanding, drilling, cutting, deformation, and turning. They are employed in the metalworking, thermal spraying, glass processing, and wood tuning of various artistic products.
A lathe machine works by rotating the workpiece around a stationary cutting tool. The main use is to remove unwanted parts of the material, leaving behind a nicely shaped workpiece. The motor can be found on the underside of the lathe bed, on the left near the headstock. It is often some type of electric motor, but a lathe can have a hydraulic motor as well. Lathes can be combined with other tools to create more complex shapes and designs.
There are different types of lathe machines, including fully automatic mechanical lathes, employing cams and gear trains for controlled movement, called screw machines, and lathes that are controlled by a computer, called CNC lathes. Lathes with the spindle mounted in a vertical configuration, instead of horizontal configuration, are called vertical lathes or vertical boring machines. They are used where very large diameters must be turned, and the workpiece (comparatively) is not very long.
