Mills and Lathes: Which Is Best for Your Manufacturing Needs?
Mills and lathes are essential tools in manufacturing industries due to their capability to output different kinds of products with extreme precision and high degrees of repeatability. In this article, we’ll discuss what milling machines and lathes are, how they work, and what the differences are between the two types of machines.
What Is a Milling Machine?
A milling machine is a stationary power tool used to remove material from a workpiece, usually by cutting or grinding it with a rotating cutting tool. The cutter tool, known as the milling cutter, is mounted on the arbor and is driven by a motor or a manual hand crank.
The workpiece is fastened to the machine’s tool table by using a vise or a clamp. The machine then removes excess material from the workpiece, either by moving the table with the stationary workpiece into the rotating cutting tool or by moving the cutting tool relative to the workpiece.
Computer Numerical Control, or CNC, milling machines are the most commonly used milling machines across machine shops in various industries due to their versatility and efficiency. However, before the rise of CNC mills, vertical milling machines were most commonly used.
What Is a Lathe Machine?
Lathes are surprisingly ancient machines, and their origins can be traced back to Egypt around 1300 BCE, where a two-person-operated lathe was used for cutting and drilling. However, the first industrial lathe was introduced in the 18th century.
Lathes, like milling tools, are also stationary machines used to shape and cut materials in metalworking, though they’re also used to cut and shape wood and plastics. The machine operates by spinning the workpiece on its axis while a point-cutting tool is moved across to remove excess material and shape the workpiece into a desired shape.
They’re mostly used to produce cylindrical parts and are mostly manually operated, but Computer Numerical Control was also introduced to metal lathe machines. CNC lathes are the new standard in manufacturing, as they provide precision and repeatability that only CNC turning automation can offer.
Differences Between Milling Machines and Lathes
Despite their similarities, lathes and milling machines have certain fundamental differences in terms of operation and function. For example, a rotating machine typically uses rotary cutting tools to cut or grind away material from a stationary workpiece.
However, lathes rotate the workpiece while cutting tools move along the length and depth of the rotating workpiece and toward its rotational axis to remove excess materials. Modern, high-end CNC mills, however, move both the workbench and the cutter during the milling process.
This brings us to the next difference: cutting direction. Milling machines usually move in three directions: the x-axis travels left and right, the y-axis goes forward and backward into the piece, and the Z-axis moves up and down relative to the workpiece.
Turning machines, such as lathes, only move their tools in two axes. The X-axis moves the tool toward the rotational center of the piece, while the Z-axis moves the cutting tool along the length of the workpiece.
When it comes to applications, both CNC and manual milling processes are mostly used for machining complex shapes. CNC is particularly useful when working with tight tolerances. Lathes are typically used in manufacturing cylindrical or conical shapes, as well as threading, knurling, grooving, drilling holes, and so on.
Milling vs. Lathe Tools
Both milling machines and lathes are crucial in the manufacturing of metal components, but their fundamental differences denote their different applications. If you want to learn more about mills and lathes, visit our extensive download library of engineering resources.