CNC Turning (Lathe)

CNC Turning Center

CNC Turning of engine component

Pulley Made by CNC Turning

CNC Turned Aluminum Shaft Retainer

CNC Turned and Milled Part

CNC turning produces parts by "turning" rod material and feeding a cutting tool into the turning material.  In CNC turning the cutter can be fed into the rotating workpiece at a variety of angles and many tool shapes can be used.

CNC turning provides an economical way to make parts that are commonly symmetrical about an axis of revolution (e.g. a chess pawn).  Shapes that can be made using CNC turning include a variety of plain, taper, contour, fillet and radius profiles plus threaded surfaces. Although many turned parts use a single axis of revolution, there can be multiple axiis to allow more flexibility (e.g. camshafts). CNC turning can be combined with CNC milling and other processes to make more diverse shapes.

CNC turning can shape most rigid materials such as:

• Aluminum
• Stainless Steel
• Copper
• Nylon
• Steel
• Acetal
• Polycarbonate
• Acrylic
• Brass
• Teflon
• Titanium
• ABS
• PVC
• Sterling Silver
• Bronze
  

Examples of parts made by CNC turning include:

• Robot Parts
• Shift knobs
• Motorcycle Parts
• Auto Parts
• Toy Parts
• Knobs
• Pulleys
• Shafts
• Hubs
• Bushings
• Flywheels
  

Normally the tooling types needed for a job are stock items.

Cost optimization options for CNC turning include:

• Reducing complexity
• Minimizing the amount of material removed
• Avoiding difficult shapes such as very long thin structures.

CNC Turning Design Considerations

• As the turning process applies pressure to the material, weak shapes that may flex can be difficult to machine, such as long thin structures.
  
• CNC turning generates a cut surface with fine helical feed marks resulting from the rotation of the part and movement of the cutter - consider specifying a desired surface roughness.
• Bored holes become difficult when the ratio of the depth to diameter is high.