The difference between manual lathes, CNC lathes, and vertical lathes

Vertical lathes are large-scale machinery and equipment, used to process large and heavy workpieces with large radial dimensions and relatively small axial dimensions, and complex shapes. Such as the cylindrical surface, end surface, conical surface, cylindrical hole, the conical hole of various discs, wheels, and sets of workpieces. It can also use additional devices for threading, spherical turning, profiling, milling, and grinding. Compared with the horizontal lathe, the workpiece is clamped on the inside of the clamp of the horizontal lathe. The spindle axis of the vertical lathe is in a vertical layout, and the worktable is in a horizontal plane, so it is more convenient to clamp and align the workpiece. This layout reduces the load of the spindle and bearing, so the vertical lathe can maintain the working accuracy for a long time.

So what is the difference between a vertical lathe, an ordinary lathe, and a CNC lathe? Let's get to know it together.

Manual lathes are driven by gears and ordinary lead screws and nuts. Due to the gap between the motion pairs and the inaccurate manual operation, the repeat accuracy is low. Ordinary lathes need to be manually measured after the machine is stopped during measurement. The measurement error is large and the efficiency is low. It is suitable for small batches, low precision requirements, and zero-working parts. It has a lower investment than CNC but requires higher operating skills for workers, so the wage level is higher. The scrap rate and productivity of low-level workers will give you a headache.

The CNC lathe relies on the stepper motor to drive the ball screw drive. Because the ball screw can have interference, the transmission has no backlash, and the accuracy is mainly guaranteed by the machine tool itself and the program. It can be automatically measured during processing, and can automatically compensate for tool wear and other errors. Therefore, the processing quality is good and the precision is stable. You can also use the programming method to turn out parts that are complex in shape and difficult to machine on ordinary lathes. Suitable for parts with high precision, large batches, and complex shapes. But small batch production is also very useful. Its maintenance cost is higher than that of ordinary lathes.

The vertical lathe is mainly used for large parts, and its main shaft is vertical. The vertical lathe is also CNC. Due to the increasing shortage of high-tech talents, new companies often adopt CNC to improve productivity and product quality and reduce the scrap rate and cost.