Component of the lathe machine

The lathe is a machine device that holds the workpiece between two rigid and strong supports called centers or in a chuck or face plate which revolves. The cutting device is rigidly held and supported in a device post which is fed against the revolving work. The typical cutting operations are performed with the cutting instrument fed either parallel or at right angles to the axis of the work.

The main components of the lathe are the bed, headstock, fast changing gear box, carriage and tailstock.
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1. Bed: the bed is a rugged, heavy casting in which are mounted the working components of the lathe. It carries the headstock and tail stock for supporting the workpiece and gives a base for the movement of carriage assembly which carries the tool.
2. Legs: the legs carry the whole load of machine and are firmly secured to floor by foundation bolts.
3. Headstock: the headstock is clamped on the left hand side of the bed. It serves as housing for the driving pulleys, back gears, headstock spindle, live centre and the feed reverse gear. The headstock spindle is a hollow cylindrical shaft that gives a drive from the motor to work holding devices.
4. Gear Box: the quick change gear box is placed below the headstock and contains a number of different sized gears.
5. Carriage: the carriage is situated between the headstock and tailstock. It serves the purpose of supporting, guiding and feeding the component against the job during operation. The main parts of carriage are:
   
   • The saddle: is an H-shaped casting mounted on the top of lathe ways. It offers support to cross-slide, compound rest and tool post.
   • The cross slide: is mounted on the top of saddle. It gives a mounted or automatic cross movement for the cutting tool.
   • The compound rest: is fitted on the top of cross slide and is utilized to support the device post and the cutting device.
   • The tool post: is mounted on the compound rest and it rigidly clamps the cutting device or device holder at the proper height relative to the work centre line.
   • The apron: is fastened to the saddle. It houses the gears, clutches and levers required to move the carriage or cross slide. The engagement of splitting the nut lever and the automatic feed lever at the same time is prevented she carriage along the lathe bed.
6.  Tailstock: the tailstock is a portable casting located opposite the headstock on the ways of the bed. The tailstock can slide along the bed in order to accommodate different lengths of workpiece between the centers. A tailstock clamp is given to lock the tailstock at any desired position. The tailstock spindle has an internal taper that holds the dead centre and the tapered shank tools such as reamers and drills.

In order to get an efficient process and beautiful surface at the lathe machining, the tailstock is important to adjust a rotating speed, a cutting depth and a sending speed. Kindly note that the essential elements can not decide easily because these suitable values are quiet different by materials, size and shapes of the part.