Turning, along with drilling, milling, and grinding, is one of the most important manufacturing processes in machining.
As with all these processes, material is removed from a workpiece by cutting to create the desired shape.
On a lathe, the workpiece rotates around its own axis while a cutting tool follows the contour to be produced.
Turning belongs to the group of machining processes with geometrically defined cutting edges, like drilling and milling, and is one of the earliest industrial manufacturing methods.
It is most commonly used to produce shafts, axles, flanges, and generally rotationally symmetrical parts.
The achievable accuracy in terms of dimensions, shapes, and surface roughness is very high, as with most machining processes.
Workpieces are ready for assembly after processing or can be further refined by grinding to achieve even higher quality.
Turning is divided into numerous process variants. If the cutting tool moves parallel to the rotation axis of the workpiece, it is called cylindrical or longitudinal turning.
If it moves perpendicular to the rotation axis, flat shapes are created, and it is called facing.
There are also variants for thread manufacturing or any rotationally symmetrical shapes (e.g., cones or spheres). Both external and internal surfaces of hollow bodies can be turned.
The clamping devices used in turning are process-specific and are rarely used elsewhere. These include chucks, collets, and centering points.
The general principles of machining apply equally to all cutting manufacturing processes, so
turning does not have any particularities concerning tool wear, tool life, energy conversion, or heat.
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