Lab Session # 1

“To perform the centering of the cylindrical work piece (Cast iron) on 3-Jaw
chuck lathe and perform facing operation using single point cutting tool”

1. Introduction
1.1. Facing
“In Facing, the length of the work piece is reduced from either of its ends.”

This operation of reducing a flat surface on the end of the workpiece. For this operation,
regular turning tool or facing tool may use. The cutting edge of the tool should set to
the same height as the Centre of the workpiece.

1.2. Facing Operations

Facing consist of 2 operations

 Roughing: Here the depth of cut is 1.3mm

 Finishing: Here the depth of cut is 0.2-0.1mm.

Figure # 1.1 Facing Operation

2. Tooling
2.1. Lathe Machine
A lathe is tool which rotates a work piece around an axis of rotation and
performs various operations such as cutting, knurling, facing etc., to create a
part symmetrical about the axis of rotation. Lathe Machine has many types
based on the material it performs operations on like Metalworking lathe,
Woodturning Lather, Potter’s Wheel and more. The basic parts of a lathe
machine are three, a tool post to hold the tool, a motor to provide rotation, and
a wheel or chuck to hold the work piece. (“Machine tool,” 2020)
 Figure 1.2 # Lathe Machine

2.2. Cutting speed

The rotational speed of the workpiece and the movement of the tool relative to
the workpiece. Basically, the softer the metal the faster the cutting. Don't worry
too much about determining the correct cutting speed: working with the 7x
lathes,

2.3. Adjusting facing tools

First, make sure the tumbler gear lever on the back of the headstock is in the
neutral (middle) position so that the leadscrew does not rotate. This is very
important since you will clamp the half nut on the leadscrew during the facing
operation to keep the saddle from being forced back away from the end of the
workpiece by the force of the cutting operation.

Clamp the workpiece tightly in the 3-jaw chuck. To get the work properly
centered, close the jaws until they just touch the surface of the work, then rotate
the workpiece by hand in the jaws to seat it; then tighten the jaws. It's good
practice to tighten the jaws from all 3 chuck key positions to ensure even
gripping by the jaws.
2.4. Jigs and fixtures [5]
2.4.1. Facing Work Between Centers
Sometimes the workpiece will not fit into a chuck or collet, so facing must be
done between centers. To properly accomplish facing between centers, the
workpiece must be center-drilled before mounting into the lathe. A half male
center (with the tip well lubricated with a white lead and oil mixture) must be
used in the lathe tailstock to provide adequate clearance for the tool bit. The tool
bit must be ground with a sharp angle to permit facing to the very edge of the
center drilled hole. Start the facing cut at the edge of the center-drilled hole after
checking for tool bit clearance, and feed the cutting tool out to the edge. Use
light cuts and finishing feeds, which will reduce the tension put on the half male
center. Replace the half male center with a standard center after the facing
operation, since the half male center will not provide adequate support for
general turning operations. Only a small amount of material can be removed
while facing between centers. If too much material is removed, the center-drilled
hole will become too small to support the workpiece.

Figure # 1.3 Facing using a side-finishing tool and a half-male center.

2.4.2. Precision Facing
Special methods must be used to face materials to a precise length. One
method is to mount the work in a chuck and lightly face one end with a cleanup
cut. Then, reverse the stock and face it to the scribed layout line. This method
may not be as accurate as other methods, but it will work for most jobs. A more
precise method to face a piece of stock to a specified length is to turn the
compound rest to an angle of 30 degrees to the cross slide and then use the
graduated micrometer collar to measure tool bit movement, Figure 1.4. At this
angle of the compound rest, the movement of the cutting tool will always be half
of the reading of the graduated collar. Thus, if the compound rest feed is turned
0.010 inch, the tool bit will face off 0.005 inch of material. With the compound
rest angled at 30°, a light cut may be made on the first end, then the piece
reversed and faced to accurate length. Always lock the carriage down to the bed.
 This provides the most secure and accurate base for the cutting tool and helps
eliminate unwanted vibration during facing operations. Another way to face to a
precise length is to use the lathe carriage micrometer stop to measure the
carriage and tool bit movement. Using the micrometer stop can sometimes be
faster and easier than using the compound rest graduated collar for measuring
tool bit movement.

Figure # 1.4 Facing using the graduated micrometer collar to measure tool bit movement

3. Machine Tool
3.1. Selection of tool
Usually the tool in this operation is single pointed. The selection of the material
of the tool depends on the nature of our job. Depending upon the
hardness/softness of the material of work, the best suited tool is selected. The
most commonly used materials now-a-days are high speed steel and carbide
tipped tools.

3.2. Setting of Tool

If the shank of the tool is small then it is first fitted in the tool holder and then
tool holder is placed and gripped in the tool post. Otherwise the tool is directly
placed in the tool post and is fitted in there. Packing piece is usually used to fix
the tool in the tool post properly. Centering of the cutting tool is very important
otherwise we will be left with some material at the center. To check for centering
ensure that the tip of the tool is at the level of the centerline of the work. If it is
slightly above or below the workpiece use packing piece for adjustment.
3.3. Regrinding/reconditioning of tool
When tool starts consuming more power for the same job and material that
means its tip has become dull so to increase life of tool and to save power the
tool must be reconditioned or regrind. This can be done by selecting a suitable
grinding machine.

3.4. Tool life

Tool life, or the number of parts produced by a cutting tool edge before
regrinding is required, is an important cost factor in manufacturing a part or
product. Consequently, cutting tools must be reground at the first sign of
dullness. If a tool is used beyond this point, it will break down rapidly and much
more tool material will have to be removed when regrinding, thus shortening the
tool’s life.

3.5. Single Point Cutting Tool

The single point cutting tool is that tool which has only one cutting point or
edge. These tools used for turning, boring, shaping or planning operations.
These tools used on lathe, boring and shaper machines.

3.6. Nomenclature of Single point cutting tool

A single point cutting tool has different parts

Shank: It is the main body of tool.

Flank: It is the surface or Surfaces, below the adjacent to cutting edge

Face: The surface on which chip slides

Heel: It is the intersection of the Flank and Base of the tool

Nose: The point where side cutting edge and end cutting edge intersects

Figure # 1.5 Nomenclature

3.7. Angles of single point angle

Figure # 7 Single Point Cutting Tool

3.8. Side Cutting Edge Angle:

The angle between side cutting edge and the side of the tool shank is called side
cutting edge angle. It is often referred to as the lead angle. [3] (“medium carbon
Steel”)

3.8.1. End Cutting Edge Angle:

The angle between the end cutting edge and a line perpendicular to the shank of
the tool shank is called end cutting edge angle.

3.8.2. Side Relief Angle:

The angle between the portion of the side flank immediately below the side
cutting edge and a line perpendicular to the base of the tool.

3.8.3. Side Relief Angle:

The angle between the portion of the side flank immediately below the side
cutting edge and a line perpendicular to the base of the tool.

3.8.4. Back Rake Angle

The angle between the face of the tool and line perpendicular to the base of the
tool measures on perpendicular plane through the side cutting edge. It is the
angle which measures the slope of the face of the tool from the nose, towards
the rack. If the slope is downward the nose it is negative back rake.

3.8.5. Side Rake Angle

The angle between the face of the tool and a line parallel to the base of the tool
measured on plane perpendicular to the base and the side edge. It is the angle
that measure the slope of the tool face from the cutting edge, if the slope is
towards the cutting edge it is negative side rake angle and if the slope is away
 from the cutting edge, it is positive side rake angle. If there is no slope the side
rake angle is zero.

4. Operations
1. The work piece is placed in the chuck and the chuck is tightened using a chuck key.
2. The cutting tool is placed in the tool post and the screws are tightened. The cutting
point of the tool is matched with the center of the work piece.
3. The compound rest’s angle is made 0 o on its scale. And the tool angle is made nearly
45o (generally less than 90o).
4. The tool is moved towards the edge of the work piece so that it touches the surface.
This point is set as reference on the hand wheel of the carriage.
5. The tool is moved back and the work piece is rotated.
6. The carriage hand wheel is moved 1 mm from the reference. This is the depth of cut.
7. The cross-slide’s hand wheel is moved and the tool is pushed into the work piece. The
tool cuts off material from the work piece. This movement should be slow for a better
surface finish.
8. For automation, after moving the carriage a further 1 mm, the automation lever is
pulled out and then turned to the left. This automatically moves the cross-slide. To set
the feed rate and the movement of the cross-slide towards or away for the work piece
the gear mechanism on the headstock is used. [4]

5. Results and conclusions;

The result of the experiment was a faced/surface finished workpiece with side as a straight machined
surface. The data from the experiment was as:
 Least Count of CCL (Carriage Control Lever) = 1 mm
 Least Count of cross-slide = 0.1 mm
 Least Count of compound slide = 0.01 mm
 Rotational Speed= 375 RPM
 Feed rate = 0.06 mm/min.
 Length reduced: 4 mm

6. Environmental Sustainability, Health and safety.

Experiments perform in labs also ends up with its own environmental and health risks
involved some of which are discussed below

 The metal pieces flying away from material are wastage of excessive metal and
causes the unavailability of useful material
 Recycling of these scraps lead to more usage of energy as heat and electricity
and causes an increase in environmental issues like energy degrading and global
warming.
 The metal pieces flying away are tiny and may enter in operators’ nose, eyes or
ear causing serious organ damage. Also, this is heat generating process and is
hazardous to health.
7. Safety Requirements.
There are few Safety requirements and precaution to be followed to perform this
experiment as follows

 Face Mask: wear face mask to prevent from the tiny particle of metal
 Safety Goggles: Transparent safety google are necessary for protection of eyes
 Lab Coat: is necessary to wear to prevent clothes from being entrapped in gear or machine
parts

8. References
[1] Tsai, Peter TH. "Lathe machine." U.S. Patent No. 8,371,195. 12 Feb.
2013.

[2] Francis, F. R. (1950). U.S. Patent No. 2,495,927. Washington, DC: U.S.

Patent and Trademark Office.

[3] Alabi, A. G. F., Ajiboye, T. K., & Olusegun, H. D. (2010). Investigating the
cutting forces in heat treated medium carbon steel when turning on a lathe
machine. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology.

[4] Link, F., & Grossman, W. (1995). U.S. Patent No. 5,455,993 . Washington,
DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

[5] Machining Handbook - adapted from "Fundamentals of Machine Tools"