Jun 23

Jun 23 Fifteen Parameters to Be Considered for Lathe Machined Parts

CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing

There are fifteen parameters to be considered when analyzing a new part to be made in a CNC lathe. While this may seem like a lot of considerations, if you examine a part properly you will be successful in its implementation. Here are the parameters to consider and the questions to ask:

What are the tightest tolerances, are they achievable with the desired manufacturing process?
What are the dimensions? Will it fit properly in the machine?
What are the quality demands?
What type of cutting operations are there?
- Facing cuts
- Longitudinal cuts
- Profiling cuts
- Roughing passes
- Finishing passes
- External cuts
- Finishing cuts
What is the number of passes?
What is the material?
Is the material machinable?
Is the part cast material?
Is the part pre machined?
Is the part coming out of bar material?
What is the hardness of the material?
Was the material annealed?
What are the material alloys?
Will the material break a chip?
What grade and style of inserts and cutting tools are required?

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Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT

Matthew started his manufacturing career while in high school as a youth apprentice. He went on to study Tool and Die making while pursuing a apprenticeship. Upon completion of the 10,400 hour apprenticeship he used his Journeyman Tool and Die making skills to make tooling for the motorcycle industry. From there he spent ten years making surgical instrumentation for spinal surgery, while leading the machining department. He most recently became a manufacturing engineer at a global manufacturing company, while focusing on machining processes. He started this website after researching what kind of information people pursuing or starting a manufacturing career need to succeed, and how the information should be presented.