Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CNC lathe designs

Carlos Guillermo wrote:

> To all –
>
> Can anyone please explain to me the common layouts for CNC lathes, regarding
> tool turrets, toolholders, etc.? I was thinking of CNC’ing a lathe, and was
> wondering about the use of a tailstock in a CNC application. Do CNC lathes
> come with tailstocks?? The ones I’ve seen didn’t, but had a tool turret
> instead. Would this be considered the tailstock then? I was trying to
> figure out how to setup the controller/axes, and I imagine the tool turret
> would require a third axis. What would this be called (U,V,W, etc.)?

Generally, a CNC turning center has a Z axis (parallel to spindle axis)
that's the carriage, and an X axis, perpendicular to the carriage, that's
the cross slide. Some CNC turning centers are optimized for small parts,
and have no tailstock. That is a limitation. Generally, the tailstock is
non CNC'd. The tool turret does not have an axis name, but only tool
positions, selected by the change tool commands, such as T05 with
the M06 command, although this varies quite a bit with different
CNC controls.

Jon