Used CNC Lathes

Cnc lathe seals

2010-10-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, we discussed about hydraulic hoses in cnc lathes and the maintenance issues with cnc lathe hydraulic hoses. This post is sort of a continuation in thought. There we discussed that cnc lathe hydraulic hoses need to be replaced periodically because they may form pin holes and hence cause hydraulic fluid to leak causing a mess on the floor in one hand and loss of hydraulic pressure on the other.

There is another problem that we need to be wary of. Cnc lathes of all kinds including Mazak cnc lathes have seals all over the place for various functionalities. For example, the Mazak Quickturn 6 has several o-rings and seals in the turret assembly as well as several tiny o-rings in the coolant block in addition to seals in the hydraulic motor exit as well as in the draw bar.

These seals are not designed to last forever and need to be replaced during periodic maintenance. Especially if you are in a high production environment, these seals are critical for machine performance. There have been many instances I have seen, where worn out seals can prevent the turret from indexing properly and guess what – when the turret does not index properly to the next station that is called for by the program, you are not going to be making parts.

I have found that when replacing o-rings and seals, putting on a thin film of high temperature silicone grease such as Dow Corning high vacuum grease helps the seals and o-rings last longer – that has been my experience. Again, note that these seals are performing under tremendous mechanical repetition and they are prone to wear out eventually. A good preventive maintenance on seals is essential for maintaining productivity.

CNC lathe hydraulic hoses

2010-10-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

Manufacturing shops everywhere that are involved in the CNC lathe production of components have all one thing in common. They want their cnc lathe to be producing parts all of the time without any breaks. After all the common saying in the cnc lathe component manufacturing industry is one thing: if the spindle aint turning then you aint earning. No one wants an expensive cnc manufacturing lathe sitting idle.

While this is true of almost all cnc lathe manufacturing shops, proper maintenance of the cnc lathe is important for high production outputs. And one of the key elements is the hydraulic hoses that are part of the cnc lathe. These hydraulic hoses carry high pressure fluids to the turret as well as to the chuck open close functions in many models as well as the parts catcher and other accessories.

These hydraulic hoses have a limited life too just like everything else in life. Especially in high volume cnc lathe manufacturing situations, some of these hydraulic hoses go through hundreds of thousands of cycles and may therefore form holes and pin holes causing hydraulic fluid to leak out and thus lose pressure. It is imperative therefore to replace these hydraulic hoses at predetermined intervals to ensure uninterrupted operations.

Most of these hydraulic hoses have a crimped connection any there are many outfits that will make a hydraulic hose for you while you wait. I personally like Parker fluid fittings but that is just a matter of choice. And when I replace one, I replace them all so I am not replacing hydraulic hoses every other week. This is part of a routine maintenance that I recommend. The cost of these hoses is relatively inexpensive compared to the downtime of even one high volume producing cnc lathe.

It might even make economical sense to have a spare set of hydraulic hoses for each machine in your machine shop rather than run every time you have a hose that blows to the hose maker and create panic.

Used CNC lathe sources

2010-06-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

Let us say you have decided to purchase a used cnc lathe. The next question is what sources are available to you to purchase your dream used cnc lathe from. In this brief article, we will briefly touch upon the places and avenues to consider to locate used cnc lathes so you can potentially have some choices available to you and you can then take the best choice from the available ones. Remember nowadays used cnc lathes are not as cheap as they used to be and some can end up costing a pretty penny, so weighing out your choices is always a good idea.

Obviously, the easiest place to start looking for a used cnc lathe is to talk to your regular machine tool salesman. He may have a customer that is looking to sell his used cnc lathe so he can hopefully buy a new one from this salesman and since the salesman sees a lot of customers who use lathes, he is the best source of contact. He may also provide you with inside information as to how well or how badly the specific used cnc lathe has been treated by the seller and that is a bit of good information he can pass on your way.

The second source is auction listings and I am sure many of you get such listings to your company every once in a while. The third source is the machinery and tools section of your local Sunday newspaper. Sounds pretty unsophisticated, but you will be amazed at the listings that you can sometimes come across there. The fourth source is obviously the internet. Do a search of used cnc lathes and cnc equipment and you will end up with a variety of machine dealers that deal with both new and used cnc lathes.

A fifth source is to talk to your bank. Sometimes some companies stop making payments on their cnc lathes and the bank wants to repossess the machine. Now the bank is not in the business of operating or selling used cnc lathes. They would rather get rid of it to someone else and start collecting interest payments because that is what they do and so you may be able to get a good used cnc lathe for a great deal simply by making one phone call to your local bank.

Alternately, you could place an ad on classified sites such as Craigslist and such. Auction sites such as e-bay and such are another alternative. Simply talking to your peers in the business is seldom looked into. I had a case where a peer in the machining business was selling two very well maintained cnc lathes for a very reasonable price and it was not advertised anywhere and sold it simply by word of mouth.

So there are several sources to purchase a used cnc lathe from. Try to get as many choices as possible available so you can choose the best from what is available.

Used CNC lathe programs

2010-06-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

Many machine shops that do a lot of turning of different types of parts that do repeat over time may have hundreds if not thousands of various part programs that have worked very well in their used cnc lathes. It is imperative that these programs all be saved in computers off of the cnc lathe itself. Additionally backups of these programs need to be maintained off line for safety. The big issue comes in when newer models of the cnc lathes from the same manufacturer sometimes update their programming code and suddenly all of the programs from your used cnc lathe will not work in the new machine. Thus while progress is welcomed everywhere including the machine building industry, it sometimes becomes an issue for small machine shops that have thousands of part machining programs in used cnc lathes that will not function in the newer models. This used to be a serious problem in the olden days.

Manufacturers however have come up with a solution. That is they have started making cnc lathe controls that are downwardly compatible. In other words machining programs written in the newer cnc lathes will not function in the used cnc lathes but programs written in the used cnc lathes will function properly in the newer machines. There is however, still a cut off point where the downward compatibility of machining programs stops. Thus if you have a thirty year used Mazak cnc lathe, and you just purchased a 640 fusion control two axis cnc lathe, you may have a problem running the thirty year used program in the new machine. At the same time programs written on a ten year used Mazak QT-6T with a mazatrol t-plus control will continue to work in the new 640 fusion control machine.

It is the trade off that needs to be made between progress and comfort. By the same token, we have had similar problems between eight tracks and audio cassettes and five inch floppy discs and compact discs, vinyl records and Cds. That is progress, isn’t it or is it?

CNC lathe breakdown maintenance

2009-06-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

In previous posts, we had discussed both routine maintenance as well as scheduled preventive maintenance on used cnc lathes and how valuable they can be in ensuring continued optimum operating levels of used cnc lathes. However, there may be times when used cnc lathes will simply need a breakdown maintenance performed because of the failure of a component unexpectedly. Such a breakdown maintenance may also be needed in case of a crash because of incorrect programming or operator error in handling accurate z offsets or improper tool setting and such. Breakdown maintenance on used cnc lathes is always very expensive.

This high cost comes because of three reasons. First the machine is inoperable and so productivity comes down to zero. Second of all, the spare parts needed may not be available immediately and there may be a lead time to receive them which means the lost productivity time is extended. Thirdly, your delivery cycle of parts to your customer gets extended because your machine is down and you may not have another station where these parts can be machined. Finally, you may need to pay premium rates to outside services since you need them on an emergency basis to perform the maintenance operations.

Since breakdown maintenance on used cnc lathes cannot really be avoided and they usually happen unannounced without any indications, anything you can do to reduce the costs of such breakdowns is a step taken in the right direction. Steps that you can take to reduce the burden of breakdown maintenance includes maintaining an inventory of long lead time delivery spare parts. It may be wise to keep a hydraulic pump, some turret seals, coolant blocks, a video board and such in stock.

Some companies are known to purchase an used cnc lathe just so they can butcher it to get spare parts to keep their active cnc lathes running without waiting for spare parts to arrive. Another step that you can take is to enter into a breakdown service contract with your outside source. Such contracts are usually not that expensive and come in handy in an emergency. If you have internal personnel that are well trained in maintenance procedures, that will alleviate emergency premium labor costs from outside sources.

Other than that, breakdown maintenance is usually expensive and you only hope that there is not too much breakdowns occurring. Past a certain point, it might simply be wise to get rid of an used cnc lathe and simply get a new one!

CNC lathe bar feeders

2009-06-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Increasing production capacity in small cnc lathe machine shops without spending too much money has always been the quest of business owners and shop foremen for quite some time now. While worker productivity can be improved, there is a limiting point, beyond which machine capacity limits take over the problem. Now in order to reduce capital expense, one could go the route of purchasing used cnc lathes in place of new equipment.

But then again, a used cnc lathe may not necessarily be the optimum solution. One of the solutions to consider might be to purchase a used cnc lathe bar feeder. The increase in productivity gained might really come as a surprise, especially if you have not considered using any automatic bar feeders in your shop thus far. Besides, purchasing a used bar feeder is significantly lower in costs as compared to a new one.

The main factors to consider are obviously the reliability of the used cnc lathe bar feeder that is being considered for purchase. An unreliable machine is more of a liability than a help in improving productivity. If more time is spent in constantly doing maintenance on a piece of equipment that is supposed to be running all the time, then all that has happened is money has been flushed down the drain. Hence reliability is the first factor to consider.

Secondly of course, the interface requirements need to be taken up. Many of the older cnc lathe bar feeders require specific interface cards that may be harder to come by. When possible, put the burden of providing you the interface card to the seller. Make the deal contingent upon the fact that a workable interface card along with cables must be provided to you. You will be surprised at how many sellers will oblige.

Thirdly, ensure that the manufacturer of the used cnc lathe bar feeder is still in existence AND that they still support the model that you are considering. Models that have been deemed obsolete tend to become real headaches when trying to buy spare parts or get service.

However, if these three hurdles can be successfully overcome, then installing a bar feeder can significantly improve productivity not only during normal shift operations, but can also allow for unmanned lights out operations, which is where the real profits get generated.

Used Star CNC lathes

2009-06-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

I was at a machine shop some time ago, that was in the business of producing high volume small parts all of which involved strictly turning. The facility was loaded with used cnc lathes all of which had been purchased new and had aged with time. What was also striking was that all of them were used Star cnc lathes. This was my first time visiting a shop that seemed married to the brand and the owner had nothing but great things to say about his investment in all those used Star cnc lathes. I decided to look into it a bit further and was pleasantly surprised at the repeatability and performance of the used Star cnc lathes.

My research showed that Star cnc lathes have been in manufacture for over fifty years now and are manufactured in Japan under a tight quality control environment. Star cnc lathes seem to be one of the best manufacturers of Swiss-type cnc lathe machines and have several models to choose from depending upon the requirements of the customer. They produce the SR series, SB series, SB series and the ECAS series. The machines seem to be of sturdy construction with sophisticated controls. Most of the machines have a backworking attachment. Coupled with a magazine loader, the high spindle speeds and super fast movements reduce component production costs by offering very high production rates.

The owner had invested wisely in keeping a good set of spares inventory, to prevent significant down times in case of breakdown maintenance requirements. The overall review of the Star cnc lathes that was presented to me was extremely positive. I have myself not worked with a Star cnc lathe thus far and so I do not have any first hand experience; however, I tend to trust the feelings of my friend who would not have bought all those machines if he was not comfortable about their quality level.

Ultra modern CNC lathes

2009-06-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

In this day and age of cnc lathes being used almost in every facet of component manufacturing, all manufacturing houses are looking for the latest and greatest in cnc lathe technology to enable lowered manufacturing costs. To cater to this need cnc machine tool manufacturers continue to strive to bring to the market the most ultra modern cnc lathes every year and market it with pride and joy. At the same time, machine tool manufacturers are very much aware of cost consciousness of machine tool buyers and hence try to keep a lid on the prices of these ultra modern cnc lathes.

So what do these ultra modern cnc lathes of today bring to the table? Well, to start off they bring in very high productivity levels as is the case with the ultra modern star cnc lathes. These machines move with lightning speed with extremely fast traverses. Other cnc lathe machine tools manufacturers are not far behind either. Super fast traverses coupled with accurate acceleration, deceleration and position control enable lowering of idle movement times that enhances productivity.

The ultra modern cnc lathes also feature rapid tool changing technology. This is very critical especially in high volume manufacturing. Additional tool holding stations, rapid tool station indexing, advanced tool holder designs that enable quick insert changes, etc all add to the productivity levels, thereby reducing the component manufacturing time and therefore lowered costs.

Not to mention the advanced add-ons that are available nowadays. For example attach a fast bar feeder or magazine loader, include a super fast moving parts catcher and a chip conveyor and these ultra modern cnc lathes can crank out parts at rates never possible just a few years ago; and what more they will thus enable lights out operations. With a highly skilled manufacturing engineer on staff that can tweak the set ups and program efficiently and designate proper tool and insert choices, lowered component costs are all but inevitable, making the initial capital investment costs quite justifiable.

CNC lathe programming jobs

2009-05-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

CNC lathe programming jobs can be found in almost any economy be it hot as it was a few years ago or quite lukewarm as it is now. The reason for this is that CNC lathe programming jobs require skills from candidates that are multi-disciplinary in nature for the most part. Candidates that are looking for CNC lathe programming jobs need to develop and be interested in various aspects of product and component manufacturing. Objectivity, logical thinking, mechanical ability as well as a basic knowledge of manufacturing engineering are all pre-requisites for such positions. In this post, we will briefly address some of these issues as one looks to find CNC lathe programming jobs be it in the US or anywhere in the world for that matter.

To have an edge over your competition, you will need to hone some skills. Blueprint reading is a must in this regard. If you are not well versed in being able to understand mechanical drawing symbols, tolerances and such, then take a course in one of the local colleges, many of which offer classes in the evenings as part of their continuing education programs. Next learn as many programming platforms as you can. To be successful in your search for CNC lathe programming jobs, you may want to learn to program in conversational platforms as well as in G-code bases as well. Additionally a good knowledge of machining tools such as boring bars, drills, reamers, grooving, facing and threading tools and associated inserts and insert geometries is needed.

Next, comes logical thinking abilities coupled with manufacturing engineering knowledge base. What is meant is that one needs to identify the manufacturing requirement prior to start programming the job. For example, certain CNC lathe programming jobs may have to be manufactured in a very high volume basis where high productivity is the key issue; whereas in other situations, the inserts that are to be used are very expensive and it is the minimization of tool wear that is of cardinal importance and not productivity. Yet another situation may arise where it is a one piece component to be machined out of a very expensive material where the key may be to produce that one piece component with a zero scrap allowance, inserts and time of production both being of secondary importance. All of the discussed three CNC lathe programming jobs are totally different in the needed approach and the operator needs to be cognizant of this. These skills are what employers are looking for.

Of course while CNC lathe programming jobs generally pay very well in comparison to other jobs in manufacturing companies, one may want to stay competitive in putting in your expected salary. All said and done, companies do want to keep their payroll levels low as much as they possibly can and so you should not try to price yourself out of the market.

Increasing used cnc lathe value

2009-05-06T12:50:00.001-07:00

Many companies that are in the machining business sell their used cnc lathes for various reasons including upgrading to a higher speed machine or upgrading to a higher chuck capacity machine or upgrading to a multi-spindle machine from a single spindle machine and such. Some may choose to sell their used cnc lathe simply because the owner wants to retire or chooses to pursue a different line of business and such. Regardless of the reason you are selling your used cnc lathe, there are a couple of simple steps that you can take in order to get the most money from the sale of your old used cnc lathe. In this brief article, we will explore three such simple steps that can help you derive a higher sale price from the sale of your used cnc lathe.

First of all, clean up the used cnc lathe machine of all the metal chips and metal debris from all of the machining operations. Empty the machine of old coolant that may be emanating foul odors. Clean the face of the machine as well as all of the covers. This can be done using bio-degradable solvents such as Simple Green that is available in all hardware stores. Such eco friendly solvents usually also provide a pleasant smell thereby getting rid of all the foul smell from old coolants. If any internal worklights are malfunctioning, ensure that they are replaced and repaired. No potential buyer wants to consider a used cnc lathe that is smelling of rancid coolant, is filled with metal chips and debris and has covers that have not been cleaned in ages. A good looking machine will always fetch more sales dollars than one that seems to have been abused and looks old and used.

Secondly, organize all the tooling that is used in the cnc lathe that you can afford to get rid off and package them in a nice looking package. You do not need to give away this tooling but this tooling can be used a bargaining and negotiating tool. CNC lathe tooling can get to be very expensive and you can offer the potential buyer all of the tooling if he will honor the asking price on the used cnc lathe. This is a technique used by many machine shops quite successfully; but the key to using this method is that the tooling needs to be cleaned organized.

Thirdly, offer a certain amount of money towards transportation and rigging costs. Many would be buyers of used cnc lathes shudder at the cost of transportation and rigging. A selling price offer for a used cnc lathe that comes with a ten percent cost sharing of the transportation and rigging cost is a bait for getting a higher price for the used cnc lathe, that is often overlooked used by sellers and is often sought after by buyers. You can package this additional cost into the selling price of the machine and the buyers will not even balk at paying the price.

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2009-05-05T12:12:00.001-07:00

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Mazak CNC lathe leaking

2009-04-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here is an episode that I faced with an old Mazak CNC lathe. Now Mazak CNC lathes are pretty good machines in my opinion, even the old ones. What I am about to discuss in this post is regarding a problem I faced with an old Mazak CNC lathe concerning leaking hydraulic oil. I am sure those of you that have dealt with older models of cnc lathes have had the problem of leaking hydraulic oil at one time or another caused by leaking o-rings, seals and such. But this was a problem that bothered me so much for so long a time that I was almost ready to give up even though giving up is something I do not cherish doing.

In all honesty, the subject Mazak cnc lathe that I am talking about was purchased brand new at our shop over twelve years ago. Fitted with an SMW bar feeder, this machine made parts relentlessly every day of the week, seven days a week about fifteen hours each day. And so I cannot really complain too much. Over the course of this hectic production schedule, we did have leaking hydraulic oil problem every once in a while and almost every time it was a hydraulic hose that formed a pin hole and simply replacing the hydraulic hose would solve the problem. But no, not this time.

This time around the hydraulic hoses were all in good shape and yet every week, the floor around the Mazak cnc lathe would be wet with oil. We were so busy that we would simply clean up the oil and go on because we simply could not find the leak source. Finally, this morning, a different problem arose that led to the source of the problem. The problem that arose this morning was a “low hydraulic pressure alarm” and the machine would shut down. I checked the pressure gage on the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic pressure was fine. I said to myself, this machine is over a dozen years old and so may be the pressure sensor has failed. So, I reached the pressure sensor which was mounted in an awkward position in the back of the hydraulic pump with two wires that lead out of it and the wires were covered by a piece of rubber. I pulled the rubber and found oil in the rubber cap which should not be there. Then the two wires were jumpered, so I eliminated the pressure sensor reading and the machine started working fine. So I determined that sometime soon we will install a new pressure sensor.

But as soon as the machine was restarted, I saw oil level in the hydraulic tank go down again and upon inspection, it was leaking from the pressure sensor which was still connected, only electrically disabled. Since the pressure sensor was openly visible now, with no rubber caps covering it, I could see there was a little screw in the center that had come loose. I tightened it and there the problem got resolved. Sometimes it takes a second problem to arise to diagnose and fix the first problem, I thought to myself in a chuckle!

Used Takisawa CNC lathe shop

2009-03-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of a small machining business that started with used Takisawa cnc lathes and ended with the same used Takisawa cnc lathes that it started with and what happened in between was nothing but a tremendous level of revenue generated with the machining services offered by the use of the used Takisawa cnc lathes. Essentially, this example goes to prove that you can start a small shop with the purchase of a couple of used cnc lathes and if you have good machining skills and good business acumen, then you can after all succeed well.

Felix was a supervisor in a medium size aerospace machine shop loaded with modern cnc lathe equipment with names like Okuma, Mori-Seiki, Mazak and so on. He rose to be the supervisor because he was really good with his machining skills and was really an expert when it came to machining set ups. Well, you know what happens in larger organizations when the employee count keeps going up. Politics takes over and Felix was getting frustrated fighting the shop politics that kept him unsatisfied in his work place. So what does he do. Instead of complaining and moaning about the problems, he decided to venture on his own and purchased two small used Takisawa cnc lathes and a used Bridgeport.

The machine shop was only a thousand square feet in an old industrial area that had other small businesses involved in manufacturing and finishing operations. Even though the place was small, it was kept clean and organized. The two Takisawa used cnc lathes showed their age but ran accurate parts as far as dimensional accuracy and tolerances. Next he started pounding the pavement looking for machining work. He was willing to work for whatever the customer was willing to pay. In other words, profits was the last thing on his mind. Getting his name out in the marketplace was more important. His deliveries were excellent and he always had a cheerful outlook whenever he met with customers.

Business started picking up and he hired an assistant machinist who for all intents and purposes was a cnc lathe operator. Felix still did all the setups and let his assistant finish up the manufacturing. He invested the profits back in to the machine shop by purchasing measuring instruments, tools and such. He started making quite a bit of money, but kept his prices low and his quality high.

After several years, he ended up with a sudden unexpected serious medical illness and passed away within a matter of one week. His assistant could not survive on his own and he left and found himself employment in another company. The family decided to sell of the used Takisawa cnc lathes and a wonderful chapter came to an end. Everyone that knew him had nothing but good things to say about this small business machine shop entrepreneur.

Used Tsugami CNC lathe episode

2009-03-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

In previous posts, we had discussed the value of purchasing used cnc lathes under general circumstances and also the value of considering the purchase of used cnc lathes under more specific set of conditions. We discussed how used cnc lathes can reduce the capital expense involved in machining houses when economic conditions are tight as well as how used cnc lathes can be a good value when used for the purpose of secondary operations. In this post, I would like to describe a real life scenario that involves the situation with a used Tsugami cnc lathe.

I was involved with a machining facility which for the most part dealt with high volume machining of steels and aluminum. The facility had started off with a set of brand new Mazak cnc lathes which after several years of use had become used cnc lathes by our definition. As described in a previous post, even though the Mazak machine tools had become used cnc lathes by now, the machines worked perfectly with no problems whatsoever; everyone was a fan of the Mazak cnc lathe machine tools.

We had a request from a very large customer of ours on a set of parts that could potentially become a medium volume job for a very long period of time. This was in addition to the business that we were already enjoying. Needless to say no one wanted to turn this work away. There was only one problem and a big one in that the parts were all ceramic parts. That involved purchasing partially fired ceramic rods and machining the necessary shape by machining. I immediately said to myself that no way will this material be turned in our Mazaks. So there came the perfect opportunity to purchase a used cnc lathe. We contacted a local machine tool dealer and he offered us a used Tsugami cnc lathe for consideration. This used Tsugami cnc lathe was twenty years old, two-axis and came with a twelve station turret. We purchased it and had the cnc lathe installed and working. Unfortunately, there was no tooling that came with the used cnc lathe and there were no manuals.

After some playing around and doing some minor repairs and purchasing some basic tooling, we had the machine up and running. It worked perfectly for our ceramic machining job and we had started to make parts after struggling somewhat with the programming. However, the parts that were machined in the partially fired ceramic state required subsequent firing operations in a small air furnace which was actually quite an expensive deal. We struggled with the secondary firing operation quite a bit and could never really meet the specification requirements. After hundreds of firing runs and numerous discussions with the ceramic rod supplier who was nearly impossible to deal with, we decided to pull the plug on the project and I do not blame management because we were throwing money away and not getting anywhere.

The result was the scrapping of the project and now the question became what do we do with this used Tsugami cnc lathe. Since we had cut so much of ceramic with it and the machine had gotten tore up by now, we simply had no use for it in our shop and so we decided to see if we could get rid of it. We ended up with a buyer in about three months because he was going to use it for dry cutting of some parts that had very loose tolerances and he was really looking for something exactly as we were offering and the old Tsugami cnc lathe was gone. Because we had specifically gotten the machine for this specific project without letting the project interfere with our normal parts machining, and because it was an old used cnc lathe, our expenses in our project was really just a fraction of what it could have otherwise been.

Used cnc lathes for secondary operations

2009-02-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

In this day and age of global competition in the metalworking and machining industry, all manufacturing organizations look to find every possible method in trying to reduce costs and increasing profitability. One of the areas in which cost reductions are eagerly sought after is in capital equipment spending and many machining houses are accomplishing this by opting to purchase used cnc lathes in place of new cnc lathes. Used cnc lathes obviously provide immediate relief in capital equipment costs and these savings in costs can reflect a healthy improvement in bottom line profitability. However, there is another area where the purchase and employment of a used cnc lathe can help in increasing profitability. And that is the situation wherein a used cnc lathe can be used strictly as a station to perform secondary operations on parts.

Secondary operations such as drilled holes at the end opposite the nose or front end of the workpiece, drilling and tapping operations on the tail end, back turning, back side male thread turning and such that are sometimes needed on parts can take a long amount of production time and you do not need to tie up more expensive and high speed cnc lathes to accomplish these. Such secondary operations can be relegated to a low cost used cnc lathe that does not need to be a high speed machine. Additionally, performing these secondary operations on a low cost cnc lathe reduces the per piece production cost on the part from the low cost machining station.

Secondary operations on used cnc lathes lend themselves to be performed by lower pay level and lower skilled operators, relieving the higher skilled operators to perform production on higher cost new cnc lathes and such. Secondary operations on used cnc lathes are performed by a lot of machine shops nowadays in pursuit of reducing the capital expense burden that gets amortized into the part piece price.

Used cnc lathe pricing

2009-02-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

Companies everywhere in today’s economy are looking for used cnc lathes as an option to increase their productive capacity in place of purchasing new cnc lathes. This is for the prime reason that used cnc lathes are cheaper to purchase and require a smaller amount of capital tie up as opposed to their new cnc lathe counterparts. If price is the main motivator for this consideration, then the immediate question comes up as to what is the proper used cnc lathe pricing which will tilt the decision towards purchasing a used cnc lathe in place of a new one.

That is really a complicated question even though it appears simple. Used cnc lathe pricing is actually based on several variables and one needs to patiently evaluate every single one prior to making a decision. Let us address just a few of them in this post just to increase awareness. Firstly, what is the age of the used cnc lathe being considered and attached to this question is what kind of production has been run on this used cnc lathe. These two kind of go hand in hand. For example, a used cnc lathe that is ten years old and has run a production contract everyday using the same materials, in my opinion should be priced higher than a comparable machine that has run ten different jobs everyday, running materials from steel to inconel to plastic to graphite. Materials such as graphite and ceramics will tear up the guideways of the machine and you are liable to get a lot more problems down the road than a used cnc lathe that has been running a stainless steel turning job day in and day out.

Secondly, you must check the maintenance records for the used cnc lathe being considered. If the main spindle motor has been replaced a couple of times, the bearings a couple of times and the turret has been realigned over a dozen times in a two year span then the used cnc lathe pricing for this item must be significantly lower even if the machine is only a couple of years old. Significant problems in the past may mean similar headaches in the future.

Thirdly, you need to evaluate how easy it is to obtain and procure spare parts and service for the particular brand and make and model of the used cnc lathe being considered. I have come across some machine models that are so hard to get service for and so hard to find spare parts for, especially electronic boards that no matter how low the used cnc lathe pricing is, I would stay away from. Thus in evaluating used cnc lathe pricing, besides the sticker price, one needs to evaluate the headache price also prior to making a decision.

CNC lathe machinist jobs

2009-02-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

CNC lathe machining has become pretty much a staple in manufacturing industries everywhere with the result that there is always a demand for cnc lathe machinist jobs at all times. Even in an environment such as the global downturn in economy, cnc lathe machinist jobs can be found quite easily as opposed to jobs in more competitive fields. Because cnc lathe machinist jobs involve knowledge of cnc lathe programing as well as cnc lathe set ups and operation, this is a multi-faceted experience requiring position that requires skills of many disciplines and hence the demand for higher pay levels by cnc lathe machinists.

That is the good news. The bad news is that since it is not a secret that cnc lathe machinists jobs pay fairly well and that there is a reasonable demand for them, many people are getting into the field now in hopes of finding good employment in an employment market that is quite bleak. It is therefore essential to note that if you are looking to find a cnc lathe machinist job, you will be competing with quite a few candidates who will all be applying for the same position. And how can you overcome this level of competition? Well, there are several methods in which you can accomplish this.

First of all, even though you can find cnc lathe machinist jobs in a wide variety of industries, try to focus your search in the industry where you have already had some experience. This is a big plus from the point of view of employers. Employers try to hire cnc machine operators and cnc lathe programmers that have already a reasonably good knowledge of the industry that they are in. This is because different industries have different blueprint requirements and characteristics. A cnc lathe machinist that is well versed in turning parts for the pump industry may not be nearly as well qualified for an aerospace cnc lathe machining outfit as a cnc lathe machinist who has been machining parts for the aerospace industry. While the basic technical requirements of blueprint matching may be the same, aerospace quality requirements and tolerance requirements are different than those of the industrial pump industry and similarly different niche markets have niche specific requirements.

Secondly, learn as many different programming platforms as you can. For example, an operator looking for a cnc lathe machinist job, who is conversant only with Mazatrol programming is less marketable than one that can program in G-code also. Thus learning different platforms can be to your advantage.

A good knowledge of cnc tools, carbide inserts, drills, carbide drills, and other cutting tools can be a big plus when applying to get cnc lathe machinist jobs. Employers tend to look for operators that are well rounded in their training and expertise and tooling knowledge can go a long way in accomplishing this goal.

Make a note of all the productivity enhancements that you have accomplished in previous positions and bring them up to the surface when putting together your application. Employers want operators that are very much aware of high productivity requirements and any real accomplishments that you have had by way of improved set ups and such are a real feather in your cap. Thus in searching for a cnc lathe machinist job, you need to separate yourself from your competition by bringing forth real knowledge in the area of cnc lathe machining.

Used lathe service contracts

2009-02-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

Used cnc lathes behave generally like all other machines that have been in service for some time at all production facilities cranking out hundreds and thousands of parts. Depending upon the time in service, these used cnc lathes sometimes do have breakdowns and malfunction. Anytime there is a breakdown in a used cnc lathe, production throughput is bound to take a hit. Reducing these production hiccups in used cnc lathes is important because production hiccups first of all cost money by way of lost production time and second of all cause customer dissatisfaction by way of lost time in delivery cycles.

One way in which used cnc lathe down times can be reduced is by having a good preventative maintenance program in place. Preventive maintenance programs on used cnc lathes can be scheduled at lower production scheduled times thereby not affecting the normal flow of work. If you do not have a sufficiently strong maintenance department at your workplace, then one way in which such a preventive maintenance program can be instituted is by engaging in a used cnc lathe service contract through an outside vendor. There are many vendors that offer used cnc lathe service contracts that are highly competitive in price. And because all that these companies do is to service used cnc lathes, they are usually very well equipped by way of personnel, tools and parts.

Engaging in a used cnc lathe service contract can significantly reduce the amount of breakdown maintenance on used cnc lathes and this in turn can reduce the amount of spare parts inventory that needs to be carried for use in case of a breakdown. Additionally, because of reduced production hiccups, customer delivery cycle times can be comfortably maintained.

Used Mazak cnc lathes

2009-01-31T08:09:00.000-08:00

Many machine shop owners and foremen have been turning more and more towards purchasing used cnc lathes for their machining operations. Considering the tremendous level of competition in the cnc machining business, used cnc lathes are becoming more and more popular as the choice for increasing machining capacity because of their lower up front costs. And when it comes to used cnc lathes, there are so many options available to the purchaser from the stand point of machine manufacturer, machine tool options, accessories and so on. One can virtually find almost any combination of the above when it comes to looking for used cnc lathes for sale. There is only one exception and that is finding the perfect used Mazak CNC lathe.

While there are several resources to find, locate and purchase used cnc lathes from, finding used Mazak cnc lathes is quite a challenge. Simply search the internet under the search term used mazak cnc lathes and the while you may end up with a lot of hits, many of them may not suit your requirements. And why is it that finding a used mazak cnc lathe is such a tough project, one might wonder. Well the answer is very simple.

Mazak cnc lathes are simply the best in value for the money spent. Mazak cnc lathes are usually very well built both from the stand point of mechanical rigidity and ease of operations. By the second phrase, what is meant is that the controls are extremely versatile and programming ease is a winner. Especially the newer mazak cnc lathes with their conversational programming controls such as the mazatrol t-plus and fusion controls are very much amenable to quick part programming. Additionally, finding replacement parts for mazak cnc lathes is very easy and the service and support that is available out there is mind boggling.

The end result is that once a machine shop purchases a mazak cnc lathe, they do not want to sell it because it really represents an operator friendly machine. Unfortunately, that means for the prudent buyer who is in the market for a used mazak cnc lathe, he will have to do a lot of searching and research before he will be successful in finding a used mazak cnc lathe that fits his needs. I know of machine shop owners that have looked long and hard for used mazak qt-6t cnc lathes for months at a time with no avail. Additionally, the footprint of these machines is very low, meaning that they occupy less floor space in the manufacturing shop.

Looking at it from a different point of view, no one wants to sell a good machine!

Used CNC lathe preventive maintenance

2009-01-11T04:23:00.001-08:00

In a previous post, we discussed the value of performing routine maintenance on used cnc lathes and the routine maintenance steps involved. In this post, we will discuss the preventive maintenance programs for used cnc lathes. It is many times advisable to have a simple written preventive maintenance program for used cnc lathes in place to avoid confusion and oversight of critical check points. The write up does not need to be over elaborate, but needs to address all the critical points nevertheless. Scheduled preventive maintenance programs on used cnc lathes can be performed by the machine operator himself if he is well qualified, by the shop maintenance personnel if they are well qualified or simply out sourced to and external organization if deemed necessary.

Scheduled preventive maintenance on used cnc lathes must include a turret alignment check to ensure accuracy of cut. Sometimes used cnc lathes continue to be operated even though there may be signs of leaking oil from the turret head. This is a common problem and if turret leaking oil is discovered then the turret will have to be taken apart, worn out parts replaced and a turret realignment done. If this is overlooked, then the turret will at some point, usually at the most inopportune moment, stop indexing and a breakdown maintenance performed which is usually very costly. Next, take out the screens on the chip pan and clean the chip pan completely and remove all chips. This is also the most opportune moment to drain out all of the coolant and replace with fresh coolant made to the proper proportions as instructed by the manufacturer. Chip conveyor should be thoroughly cleaned. If collet chucks are used, then drain the collet chuck of all trapped oil and coolant.

Check the electric current levels drawn by all motors to ensure their health. If a tool setter otherwise known as a tool eye is being used then this is the best time to get it calibrated. Calibration of other gages and instruments may also be performed if deemed necessary. This is especially true of chuck pressure gages. Over chuck pressure can be a fatal safety issue and must not be overlooked. Check the condition of machine guards and replace broken viewing windows and such. These basic scheduled preventive maintenance procedures can ensure that your used cnc lathe will faithfully produce parts over and over again without the need for spending enormous amounts of money in breakdown maintenance which can be quite expensive both in terms of lost productivity and emergency maintenance labor rates.

Used cnc lathe routine maintenance

2009-01-07T04:29:00.000-08:00

In this day and age of increased competition in the manufacturing sector worldwide, it is imperative that companies keep their costs of operation as low as possible and this includes maintaining low cost of capital equipment such as used CNC lathes. It is many times cheaper to spend money periodically to keep up with the maintenance of your used cnc lathe, rather than to ignore maintenance procedures and end up having to purchase a new cnc lathe prematurely. The increased cost of this capital equipment purchase may simply be the straw that will put your company into the realm of being non-competitive. Hence maintenance procedures on used cnc lathes are very important to be followed. There are three basic types of maintenance procedures on used cnc lathes. The first is the routine maintenance tasks, the second is the scheduled preventive maintenance tasks and finally it is the breakdown maintenance tasks. In this post, we will consider only the first of the three, namely the routine maintenance tasks on used cnc lathes.

Routine maintenance tasks on used cnc lathes must be peformed every day or every eight hours of operation, whichever is longer. There are some used cnc lathes that are used sparingly every two or three days and routine maintenance on such machines does not have to be performed every day, rather every eight hours of operation will suffice. Note that the goal is to keep the used cnc lathe in proper operable condition and not spend unnecessary time, effort and money in unnecessarily overloaded maintenance procedures. Hence the period between routine maintenance cycles needs to be effectively pinned down.

Routine maintenance for used cnc lathes involves cleaning the chips from the chip pan and parts catcher bucket. Check hydraulic oil level in the main hydraulic tank and top off as needed. If the hydraulic oil runs out, then significant damage can ensue to the hydraulic motor which is usually a very expensive unit to replace. It is cheaper and quicker to keep a watchful eye on the hydraulic oil level in the main tank. Check the lubricating oil level in the guide ways lubricating oil tank and top off if necessary. Some cnc lathes, even the older used cnc lathes will suspend operations and give a warning if the oil level runs low and some will not give any warning. Visually inspecting the sight glass to ensure sufficient oil level just takes a few minutes ensuring proper lube oil levels. Check the coolant levels in the coolant sump and add to it if necessary. While this does not really affect your used cnc lathe performance, running the machine with very little coolant will reduce the life of tooling inserts and drills and result in higher part costs. Clean chips in the chip conveyer portion and replace with a new chip barrel if necessary. Finally give the machine a quick clean up using a bio degradable solvent such as simple green to keep the externals clean and dirt free.

Your used cnc lathe will perform very well if maintained properly and spending a few minutes on routine maintenance goes a long way in this regard.

Used cnc lathe leasing

2009-01-01T04:30:00.000-08:00

Manufacturing companies everywhere nowadays are looking for creative ways to reduce their costs. This includes creative methods to reduce the cost of capital equipment. Hence more and more companies that are in the market to purchase new cnc lathe equipment are seriously considering purchasing used cnc lathes. As you may know, there are two ways in which you can acquire a used cnc lathe. One is to buy the machine and the other method is to lease the used cnc lathe with a one dollar buy out at the end of the leasing period. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. In this post, I would like to introduce a third way in which you could have the capacity to get access to a used cnc lathe in your machine shop.

And that is by taking over an existing lease on a used cnc lathe. Some companies obtain lease financing on their used cnc lathes with a one dollar buyout at the end of the lease. Half way through the lease, they may end up in a situation whereby they need to get rid of the lathe machine for various reasons. The machining contract may have been completed or they need a bigger machine or whatever. In any case, see if you can take over their lease on the used cnc lathe and also the option to buy at the end of the lease. This can work out in your favor because the seller of the used cnc lathe may have already paid the last month’s payment upfront as is usually the case. And since you are entering part way into the lease, your leasing period is much shorter on the used cnc lathe.

The existing lease finance company may be more than willing to work with you because frankly they are in the leasing business and they would be more interested in continuing to receive lease payments than let you go with your business of leasing a used cnc lathe some place else. This is not very common in the industry now, but nevertheless very much exists and might very well be worth looking into. One word of wisdom though -- see if the seller will include all of the tooling with the used cnc lathe. Sometimes, they buy the new cnc lathe with the tooling package and work that into the lease and if they are going to sell you the used cnc lathe machine but keep back the tooling then you are getting short changed on the tooling which itself could run several pennies! Remember buy smart; sleep well!

Used cnc lathe for parts

2008-12-31T03:42:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, we had discussed that if you are in the market for a used cnc lathe, then you need to ensure the integrity of all the parts in the machine, so the used cnc lathe that you are considering to buy will satisfactorily produce the parts that you plan to manufacture with it. We had therefore discussed about getting a machine mechanic to go through the mechanicals and electricals and the hydraulics to help provide you with peace of mind. Because unlike new machines, used cnc lathes generally do not come with any warranty.

There is one instance where this level of precaution does not bear ground. And that is if you are purchasing an old used cnc lathe just so you can use the parts out of it for the other cnc lathes that you may have in your shop that are the same make and model. This can actually work out to be cheaper in the long run. Especially if you have several cnc lathes of the same make and model as the used cnc lathe that you are considering, and many of them are beginning to show their old age, then chances are there is going to be a lot of breakdowns requiring replacement of hardware and stripping from the new acquisition may reduce the maintenance costs for the existing machines in your machine shop.

The key to ensure is that the make and model need to be the same. Because many machine tool manufacturers improve upon their design constantly and a machine make with a model that is slightly different may have totally different parts from its predecessor model. This may not be easily noticeable but nevertheless may be very true. This includes things like hydraulic motor, video screens, tool holder sizes and such. In any case, by having a used cnc lathe sitting with parts, the lead time to wait for spare parts is also reduced in addition to having lower costs as far as component pricing. The key is to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible and one way of reducing maintenance costs may well be to invest in a used cnc lathe just for getting access to spare parts.

Certified used cnc lathes

2008-12-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I attended a party at my friend’s house. There were twelve families invited by the host. So with the husbands, wives and children it was quite a commotion. Six of the men were in the IT line of work, two were accountants, one was a professor in a university, one was a doctor, one was in the fast food business and two were in the machining business. The two accountants who both worked in the same office had purchased automobiles within a week of each other and needless to say they were both talking about it and that’s where I came up with the idea for this post. They had both purchased certified used cars. One had bought a certified used Lexus and the other had bought a certified used Honda. And I thought to myself, why don’t we have certified used cnc lathes? That seems like a great idea!

You know, not every used cnc lathe has had twenty years of life behind it. Many used cnc lathes have simply one or two years logged on them and then the machine shop decides to get rid of them for various reasons. May be they bought a new cnc lathe because they needed the additional capacity for a contract that just got finished and they don’t need the extra equipment any more. May be they bought this new cnc lathe and now they need a bigger one with a sub spindle may be and they need to trade this in to upgrade. May be they decided to outsource the work that this formerly new but now used cnc lathe was putting out and so on. There could be a million reasons why they want to sell it. And some machine shop owners that are leary of buying anything used may have their fears subsided, if the original manufacturer offers them a certified used cnc lathe as an option, similar to certified pre-owned cars.

When you take out the fear from the customer, he becomes more apt to buy what you are selling. For some reason that I cannot put my fingers on, the certified used cnc lathe market does not exist. Especially with the price of new cnc lathes nowadays, machine tool distributors could really capture a piece of the used cnc lathe market by offering a certification process. And that will not, in my opinion, dampen their new machine tool sales, just like the new car market has not been affected by the certified pre-owned car sales. This does give some food for thought I would presume.

Used cnc lathe certification

2008-12-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

It is quite natural for machine shop owners looking to purchase a cnc lathe to consider buying a used cnc lathe. After all, businesses exist to make profits and if they can save on the capital expense of a new cnc lathe by buying a used cnc lathe then it does make sense to go that route. However, not all used cnc lathe salesmen have high standards and not all deals on used equipment can be as sweet as they sound. That is the reason, I would recommend the following.

Once you feel that you have a good deal on a used cnc lathe as far as pricing, terms and such, insist that you will get a machine mechanic go through the internals of the used cnc lathe and make recommendations as needed for any replacements or maintenance issues that he deems necessary and that the seller must accept the costs for the same. Now, I do know that many times sellers of old cnc lathes do not want to get bothered with these after deal costs and headaches and would like to sell the machines as is without warranty of any kind. That is fine; but if you are planning on getting a deal on a used cnc lathe as is, then ensure that you take a machine mechanic with you BEFORE you give the final price and let him go through the machine and give you his recommended costs of repair and replacements and deduct that amount from the price that you were willing to pay.

Many sellers may balk at such a statement from you. In this case, you have two choices. Either you say NO and walk away or the second option that you have is to take a chance and hope and pray that the seller is not going to let you end up with a cnc lathe you cannot use. And guess what happens if you take the second route -- you will in turn want to get rid of that machine and the buyer you get may have read this blog and may demand that you let him use his mechanic and you pay for fixing all the broken things. Now the choice is yours. I know there are many good quality used cnc lathes available in the market but you just want to be sure that you do not end up with a lemon. After all, your peace of mind is a lot more important than you think. Buy smart. Be happy!

Used cnc lathe tooling

2008-12-25T12:49:00.000-08:00

Tooling for cnc lathes is getting more and more expensive nowadays. Granted, the cost of everything goes up because of inflation one might argue, but small machine shop owners seem to be finding it more and more difficult to pass on these increased costs of cnc lathe tooling to their customers. And cnc lathe tooling is a big part of the operating costs of small machine shops everywhere. With the result that more and more shop owners, foremen and purchasing agents are looking for used cnc lathe tooling. And that is actually a good idea when implemented properly. As in everything, the idea is a good one, but the implementation is critical. For if the implementation is done haphazardly, then purchasing used cnc lathe tooling could end up biting you worse than simply getting into buying new tooling.

In my opinion, this is what I would suggest. First evaluate the price of the new cnc lathe tooling. Negotiate with the supplier to see if any discounts can be obtained. When the final price has been nailed down, go looking for used cnc lathe tooling. If you find a good bargain, insist that you will pay and buy only after physically evaluating the hardware. There are many salesmen with questionable reputation that will sell you used cnc lathe tooling that is not even fit to be sent to the scrap dealer. This is especially true of tapping heads and miniature boring bars. And not to mention cnc lathe tooling collet chucks. You might think you are getting a great deal on a used 5C collet chuck from a used cnc lathe tooling salesman who is located in the other end of the world, you pay for it and when it arrives you find nothing but gouge marks in the internal diameter and suddenly you are not able to reproduce the diametrical tolerances any more. Don’t blame the lathe, the blame needs to fall on the cnc lathe tooling.

So buying used cnc lathe tooling is a good idea, but the implementation of the purchase needs to be thorough and carefully orchestrated to prevent problems down the line. Being pennywise and pound foolish is not worth it.

Used CNC lathes

2008-12-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

In this post, we shall define the term used cnc lathe. We have already defined what is a lathe and what is cnc and what is a cnc lathe and so it is only fair that we do not leave the term used cnc lathe wait any longer to be defined!

The term used itself is quite vague in its very existence. If you want to be very technical about it, the moment the electrical and pneumatic connections have been hooked up and the machine certified to be powered up, the moment you power on, the machine has become a used cnc lathe. Well, you could cut some slack and say that the first machining cut needs to be made before you can call it a used cnc lathe or that at least forty hours need to be logged on and so on and so forth. But then again, the same criteria apply to used cars, don’t they? They say the moment you drive a car away from a dealer’s lot, the car has become a used car. In my opinion, I am going to stay with the most stringent technical definition of a used cnc lathe and that is the moment it has been powered on, it is now a used cnc lathe.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have seen ten year old cnc lathes that look and function like they are brand new even though they have made millions of parts and I have seen one year old cnc lathes that look like they are ready to be retired even though they have operated only a few hours a day. It all comes down to how well the machine has been taken care of. It all depends on how many times the old cnc lathe has seen crashes and lack of hydraulic oil and guide way lubrication and such. If you can see marks of the shoe that belongs to the operator, then that is not a good sign. I would rather see the machine kick the operator in the knucles a few times during the year than the other way about! CNC lathes are by no means cheap nowadays and there is no reason for the operators to treat them with disrespect.

So to complete the definition of a used cnc lathe, I am going to vote for a cnc lathe which has been powered on in the end users factory for the first time after installation has been completed. If anyone wants to vote otherwise, comment away!

Modern CNC lathes

2008-12-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

We have covered the CNC and lathe terms of the used CNC lathe phrase in the previous two posts. One more step that is involved is the combining of the two terms, so we can define the term CNC lathe properly, before we go into the realm of the used cnc lathe. So the used cnc lathe terminology will have to wait just a little bit longer, just enough for us to complete the understanding of the modern CNC lathe.

Combining CNC technology and lathe technology, the modern CNC lathe can be programmed via the built in computer to adjust the spindle speeds, cutting tool feeds and depth of cut, coolant on off controls, chuck open and close controls, tailstock quill extension and retraction, parts catcher up or down, chip conveyor controls, threading parameters, drilling parameters, tapping parameters and such. Additionally, chamfer and necking parameters, grooving and profiling parameters, reaming and boring parameters can be adjusted. If the CNC lathe is equipped with a bar feeder, then parametric signals can be communicated back and forth between the cnc lathe and the bar feeder, allowing for end of bar detection, new bar load and even sense and implement auto power off for completely unattended operation.

Data such as part specific programs can be downloaded from the cnc lathe on to either disks or memory sticks and saved off site for program software security. Several programs are available nowadays for offline programming and loading of cam files directly from cad cam systems. Overload detection for identification of broken inserts, drills and other tools are available for instigating operator intervention and proper parameter settings can bring up maintenance warnings including but not limited to low hydraulic oil, coolant levels, low lubricating oil levels, guide way oil levels and so on. Turret spin speeds as well as rapids and returns can be controlled as well as location of the turret spin can be specified.

The modern CNC lathe is simply a wonder that has been developed over the years combining various interdisciplinary engineering talents including controls engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and metallurgy and materials science.

What is CNC

2008-12-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

In our previous post, we addressed the brief history of the lathe as a precursor to answering the question of what is a cnc lathe. Before we delve into what is a cnc lathe, I believe we need to concentrate on the acronym cnc as it is applicable to cnc lathes. CNC lathe as a term can be better understood, in my opinion, once we dissect and understand the term CNC, which will be the topic for this post.

Quite simply, the term CNC in CNC lathe stands for computer numerically controlled. Before that, its predecessor used to be the NC lathe which was short for numerically controlled lathe. The advent of the computer, allowed for instructions to the lathe to be fed via punch cards and tape that allowed for the proper revolution speed of the headstock motor, the feed rate of the cutting tool and the adjustment of the depth of cut of the tool. This data as mentioned was supplied to the lathe by way of computer punched cards and tapes with a reader that was incorporated on the lathe itself.

The advent of the personal computer advanced this technology further and allowed for a personal computer to be hard wired to the lathe thereby eliminating the card reader, punched cards and such. Programming was usually done on the personal computer dedicated to the lathe and manufacturing engineers were on top of the world. This was later modified to incorporate the pc into the lathe thereby eliminating the need for a stand alone personal computer hard wired to the lathe. The CNC lathe was thus evolving faster than one could imagine.

With further advances in computing power and capabilities, modern CNC lathes run under advanced operating systems such as Windows XP, and thereby allow for proper file handling and storage and retrieval of part programming data. The CNC in cnc lathe therefore deals with the computer that numerically controls the lathe by way of spindle rpm, feeds, speeds, tailstock quill extension and retraction, turret spin, rapid speeds and rapid returns, threading parameters, tapping parameters, drilling parameters and such. It also can handle a wide variety of other parameters such a necking and chamfer control parameters, radius parameters and such. In our next post, we will combine the two terms lathe and cnc and describe the modern version of the cnc lathe.

What is a lathe

2008-12-19T15:51:00.000-08:00

As in all things one comes across in life, a clear definition of terms is needed for a proper understanding of the subject matter at hand. For without a clear definition, there could be misunderstandings and misconceptions. The same is applicable in terms of the phrase used cnc lathe. What do we clearly mean by used cnc lathe? Furthermore, in order to define a used cnc lathe, we need to first have a background of simply what is a lathe. This maiden post will be geared towards the topic of what is a lathe before we jump on to what is a used cnc lathe.

Well for one, a lathe is a machine tool that is used to machine a shape from a piece of raw material. The raw material could be wood, cast iron, steel, titanium, inconel or any other exotic alloy material or other commonly used material such as aluminum. Furthermore, a lathe is considered as a turning machine as opposed to milling machines. In its most basic form, a lathe comprises of a headstock, and a tool post. The headstock spins the part or the raw material and the tool post that holds the cutting tool, cuts the material to give it the shape that is desired. In the early days, the headstock obtained its motion from belts that were dropped down from common overhead shafts, which were later replaced by individual motors that could spin at different revolution rates depending upon the material being machined. And similary, the tool post that originally carried only one tool was later modified to carry multiple tools on a turret that could be spun, manually of course, to different positions to activate different tools such as threading and cut off tools.

While those were the humble beginnings of the lathe, designers and machine builders rapidly advanced technology to update the humble lathe to accommodate more features to satisfy the ever growing demand for higher productivity levels. A tailstock was added to enable turning of longer parts and threading operations could be performed effectively by the use of proper threading tools. In order to increase the life of the cutting tools, coolant supply was incorporated. Whereas the original lathes were simply equipped with three jaw or four jaw chucks, collet chucks were soon introduced to hold parts and remove parts in rapid succession. Such manual lathes were usually built very sturdy with heavy cast iron beds and some of them could be found in operation even today in some factories in the world.

That in brief has been the history of the lathe which is the basic machine tool of the machining industry. Now that the basis has been established, in our next post we will address the question of what is a cnc lathe. See you soon!