You can use the CNC lathe or CNC turning machine to cut through the material work piece while rotating the material workpiece at a constant speed. There are various cutting tools available for CNC lathe machines. Each cutting tool has its category based on various aspects, namely the structure, material, operation, and feed direction.
Different Cutting Tool types for CNC Lathe Operations
1. Structural Cutting Tools for CNC Lathe
The structure-based cutting tools for the CNC lathe machines will differ depending on how you build the tools and how you join each tool part.
Welding
The welding tools contain two different parts welded together for a specific function. The parts include the tip and the
bar, which can come from various material types. These welding tools come in different shapes and sizes to perform specific cutting works for the CNC lathe equipment following your requirements.
Single body
Instead of forming from two different parts, the single-body cutting tools for the CNC lathe machines come as unified parts. Depending on the function of the tools, you can put these single-body cutting tools into the CNC lathe machine right away without having to join two different parts together.
Clamping
The clamping tools are the structural-based lathe CNC machining tools that use the clamping configuration to put together two different parts. You need to insert the tip of the clamping tool into the bar handle of the CNC lathe equipment via the clamping mechanism. Like the welding tools, the clamping tools will have different functions and combinations for the CNC lathe machines.
2. Material Cutting Tools for CNC Lathe
Depending on the material type used for each tool, you can get various cutting tool types for the CNC lathe machines.
Carbide
The carbide cutting tool is among the most expensive lathe CNC cutting tools. Carbide is a lathe CNC machine cutting tool with a high hardness level. However, carbide is also susceptible to breaking or getting damaged when you don’t use this cutting tool properly.
Cubic Boron Nitride
Manufacturers often use cubic boron nitride cutting tools to cut through iron-based material workpieces. This cutting tool is very durable and can also resist abrasion effects. With cubic boron nitride cutting tools, you can perform rough machining operations suitable for fast repeat cutting for the material workpiece.
Diamond
Only used for specialized high-grade machining operations, the diamond lathe cutting tools will give you the best performance possible. It is the hardest among the various CNC lathe tools. You can use diamond cutting tools to cut through almost all workpiece materials available. The downside is that the tool is expensive, making it unsuitable for small and low-budget rapid prototype services and low volume manufacturing services operations.
High-Speed Steel
High-speed steel uses the steel material you can use to cut the material workpiece at high speed. It has a considerably high level of strength and hardness. Also, it will last a long time with no significant wear and tear. High-speed steel is suitable for cutting high-durability material workpieces.
3. Operational Cutting Tools for CNC Lathe
Each CNC lathe machine tool will operate in different ways. You can differentiate these tools based on their operation method.
Boring
The boring tools can create holes around your material workpiece during CNC machining services. You can also use boring tools to increase the diameter size of a hole around the material workpiece.
CNC Forming Tools
The CNC forming tools will be usable to create complex shapes during the CNC lathe machining operation. It gives you increased details and accuracy on the part you produce using CNC lathe machining.
Grooving
It would help to have grooving tools to make long, narrow cuts around the CNC material workpiece. With this tool, you can create square and V-shape grooves depending on your needs.
CNC Turning
Turning tools come in two types: roughing and finishing turning tools. You can use the roughing tools to cut along the large part of the material workpiece. Meanwhile, you can use the finishing tools to cut a small part of the material workpiece. By using the turning tools, you can cut down the diameter of the material.
Knurling
You can create an indentation on the material workpiece using the knurling tools on the CNC lathe machine. With knurling, you will use the grinding wheels on the tip of the cutting machine to perform this operation.
Thread cutting
The thread-cutting tools will be suitable for creating various threads with spiral patterns on the material workpiece. You can set up the thread at different angles and depths. The thread-cutting tool is very straightforward to use.
CNC Facing Tools
To smoothen the surface of the material workpiece, you will need to use the facing tools to do that. It is a simple tool you can use during the lathing operation to remove rough surfaces from the material workpiece.
Chamfering
Chamfering is the cutting operation that allows you to create better edges for the part you are producing. You can set the chamfering tools at a specific angle during the CNC machining operations. You can configure the angle to low or high and adjust it based on your requirements.
4. Direction of Feed Cutting Tools for CNC Lathe
You can configure the direction of the cutting tool feed with the CNC lathe machines. It is another categorization for the lathe CNC machine cutting tools.
Round-nose
The round-nose tools for the lathe CNC machines can smooth out the surface of the material workpiece. This cutting tool gives you the flexibility to determine the direction of the feed during the cutting process as you see fit.
Right hand
The right-hand tools for the CNC lathe machine will work by cutting through the material workpiece from right to left. It goes from facing, roughing, and finishing by coming from the right side down to the left side of the material.
Left hand
The left-hand tool is the opposite of the right-hand tool in the CNC lathe machine. This tool works from left to right for the facing, roughing, and finishing operations.
Conclusion
These cutting tools for the lathe CNC machines will have their uses and functions depending on the machining operations you would like to perform. Pick the one most suitable for your project requirements. Contact TEAM MFG today for your new projects!
