CAPSTAN AND TURRET LATHE

LATHE

THEORY

Capstan and Turret lathe:

Capstan lathe:o It carries a hexagonal turret on a ram or
a short slide.
o Ram slides longitudinally on a saddle
positioned and clamped on lathe bed
ways.
o The tools are mounted on the hexagonal
turret.
o The feeding movement is obtained
when ram moves from left to right and
when ram is moved backward the thrust
indexes automatically.

Turret lathe:o It carries a hexagonal turret mounted

on a saddle and whole unit moves back
and forth on bed ways to apply feed.
o This type of turret lathe is heavier in
construction and is particularly adapted
for large diameter bar work.
o They can accommodate longer work
pieces than capstan lathe.

CAPSTAN AND TURRET LATHE

LATHE

THEORY

Difference:Capstan lathe
Turret is mounted on
a ram that slides on
saddle.
Travel
of
turret
depends upon length
of travel of ram.
Construction is nonrigid
due
to
overhanging of ram
which is subjected to
bending, deflection or
vibration under heavy
cutting load.
Maximum size of bar
that
it
can
accommodate
is
60mm.
Generally used for
articles
requiring
light and fast cuts.

Turret lathe
Turret is mounted on
saddle that directly
slides on bed.
Enables
turret
to
move on entire length
of bed.
Provides
utmost
rigidity to tool and
entire load is taken
by bed directly.

Capable of turning
125-250
mm
in
diameter.
Used for heavy cuts.

Principle parts:o Bed:- The bed is a box like casting

provided with accurate guide ways upon

CAPSTAN AND TURRET LATHE

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THEORY

which are mounted the carriage and

turret saddle.
o Head stock:- It is a large casting and
may be of the following types: Step cone pulley arrangement.
Direct
electric
motor
driven
headstock.
All geared head stock.
o Cross slide and saddle: In
small
capstan
lathes,
hard
operated cross slide and saddle are
used which are clamped on lathe
bed at required position.
Larger capstan lathes and heavy
duty turret lathes are equipped with
conventional type carriage.
Conventional type carriage bridges
gap between front and rear bed
ways and is equipped with 4-station
type tool post at front and 1 rear
tool post at back of cross slide.
o Turret saddle and auxiliary slide: In a capstan lathe, turret saddle is
accurately machined to provide
bearing surface for auxiliary slide.
The hexagonal turret is mounted on
top auxiliary slide.
In a turret lathe, the turret is
directly mounted on top of saddle.
Work holding devices:-

CAPSTAN AND TURRET LATHE

LATHE

THEORY

Absence of dead center to support work at

other end, leads to the use of chucks and
fixtures to support work piece at spindle
end.
o Jaw chuck: Self-centering chuck:- The 3 jaws
operate simultaneously by rotation
and grips the job quickly while
centering it.
4-jaw independent chuck:-It is used
occasionally for gripping irregular
shaped work pieces. Each jaw is
operated independently.
Combination chuck:- It is used to
hold variety of work following
principle
of
self-centering
and
independent jaw chuck.
Air
operated
chuck:In
mass
production, work are equipped with
air operated chucks which grips
work quickly and is capable of
taking pressure of 5.5 kg/cm2 to 7
kg/cm2.
o Collet chucks: Push out type:- To grip the work, the
tapered portion of spring collet is
pushed into mating taper of chuck.
There is a tendency of bar to be
pushed slightly outward when collet

CAPSTAN AND TURRET LATHE

LATHE

THEORY

is pushed into chuck body for

gripping. If bar is fitted on turret
head, this slight outward movement
of bar ensures accurate setting of
length for machining.
Draw-in type:- To grip the work, the
tapered portion of the spring collet
is pulled back into mating taper of
chuck which causes the split end to
close in and grip the bar. The
machining length of bar is slightly
drawn inward towards spindle.
For accurate positioning, dead length type
collet chuck is used. This difficulty is
removed by using a stationary collet on the
bar.
Also fixtures are used for holding, locating
and machining large number of work pieces.
They permit rapid loading and unloading of
work pieces.
Tool holding devices:The wide variety of work performed on
capstan and turret lathe in mass production
necessitated designing of many different
types of tool holders.
o Straight cutter tool holder:- The shank
of holder can be mounted directly into

CAPSTAN AND TURRET LATHE

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THEORY

the hole of turret face. In this type, tool

is held perpendicular to shank axis. The
tool is gripped in the holder by 3 setscrews.
o Combination tool holders:- The tools are
set at different positions on work
surface by inserting shank of tool
holders in different holes of multiple
head body and they are secured to it by
tightening set screws.
o Knurling tool holder:- The holders with
knurls mounted on the cross slide can
perform knurling operation on any
diameter work. Knurling tool holder is
also operated by fitting on turret face.