International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com

ISSN 2250-24 59,

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal,

Volume 4, Issue 5, May 2014)

Investigation on Automation of Lathe Machine

Prakash N. Parmar 1 , Prof. N. C. Mehta2 , Prof. Manish V. Trivedi 3
1

Student of M.E. (CAD/CAM),

Head of Department, Professor

, Department3 of Mechanical Engineering, Noble Engineering
College, Junagadh, Gujarat, INDIA.

Abstract Now a days, products can be produced by

Though some electrical subassembly is often performed
modern technology, which uses computer software, hardwareat the retrofitters business location, most o f the work can
and firm ware in industries. It is nee de d to use CNC lathe
be completed at the machine site, avoiding costly machine
machine to get mor e accurate dimensions and irregular shape.
rigging and transportation costs, and minimizing the time
So, CNC machines are becoming more and more important in
that the machine is out of commission.
modernized industrialization. There are many conventional
lathe machines in our country. To build a new modern Rebuilding typically includes the repair or replacement
developed country, it is required to convert these conventional of some worn mechanical components such as ball screws,
lubrication pumps, safety interlocks, guards, hoses, belts
lathe machines into semi-automatic control lathe machine by
retrofitting. Developing and changing into se mi-automaticand electrical wiring. The rebuild is typically performed at
control lathe machine, there are three required portions,
the rebuilders facility, so there may be ad ditional
namely, mechanical electronics and hydraulic. In this project
transportation and rigging costs.
we convert the convention lathes which have 5ft bed length in Remanufacturing goes a step further to repair or replace
to the semi-automatic lathe.
mechanical components to the original, as new, factory
In mechanical side we replace the ball screw in place of
specification. It is likely that the machine will be
lead screw for better accuracy and remove some unnecessary
co mpletely disassembled , cleaned, inspected, repaired and
component like gears for pr oviding space for motors. We add
painted. All pneumatic, hydraulic and electrical systems
an extra plates or structure for installation of mot ors. Also
will
be updated. The machine may also be modified or have
provides a hydraulic circuit for coolant. In electronic side we
mechanical accessories added to re-purpose it for a new
used a servo/ stepper motor for both Z and X axis and provide
controller for the efficient operation.
ap plicatio n. Practically witho ut exception, remanufacturing
will take place at the remanufacturers site.
Keywords Automation, Retrofitting, CNC Turning Center The main objective of the retrofitting in lathe machine is
to improve the existing conventional lathe machine to
I. INTRODUCTION
provide it features of CNC machine with very lower cost
than the new CNC machine.
Retrofitting refers to the addition of new technology or
features to older systems this definition gives an almost all
Rather than ab ove main objective there also several
objectives of the retrofitting which is given below
information about the word retrofitting. When we say that
retrofitting related to some component that mean we try to
To Increased productivity and improved control of
upgrade that component and improve their efficacy through
machine.
a present technology.
Far superior repeatability.
But here we only talks about the retrofitting in lathe
To red uced machine downtime.
machine at time Retrofitting is the process of replacing the
Fast machining cycles.
CNC, servo and spindle systems on an otherwise
High accuracy, high feed -rate.
mechanically sound machine tool to extend its useful life.
To increased accuracy and part finished due to
Rebuilding and reman ufacturing typically include a CNC
co ntroller.
retrofit. The anticipated benefits include a lower cost
User friendly programming and simulation
investment
purchasing
atoisnew
machine
and
anoften
improvement
other
energy
manufacturing
mechanically,
solution
machine
Assuming
unanticip
costs,
tool.
to than
improve
in
CNC
the
higher
data
ated
uptime
machine
accessibility.
retrofitting
benefits
the
performance
and
overall
availability.
tool
is
retrofitting
typically
performance
generally
and
But
a the
new
includ
there
in
lowest
of
level
good
are
ing
an
cost
of
older
shape
lower
The
524
software
Up-gradation
enab
with
lesmore
Eliminate
auto
3D
Package
graphic
matic
readily
additional
is
generation
representation
justifiable.
less expensive
tooling
of G-Code.
ofcost.
and
job

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced

Engineering( ISSN 2250-24 59, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal,
Website: www.ijetae.com
Volume 4, Issue 5, May 2014)
II. LITERATURE R EVIEW

He has developed attachment for an existing CNC

machine. The CNC machine operates on mechatronic
In 1984, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT,
co
ntrols
and a co mputer interface called CAMSOFT, and is
New Delhi [1 ] , has taken a research topic named as
used as a CNC Lathe after installing the respective
Machine tool failure data analysis for condition
attachment to it. He has design the attachment using CAD
monitoring application. With the development of modern
software & fabricated different model. He has susseccfully
manufacturing technology, Flexible Manufacturing
design & fabricated the model. The working of the CNC
Systems have beco me key equip ment in factory
Lathe attachment is tested & checked by making proper
auto mation. Machine tool is heart of the Flexible
machining
op eration like turning and thread cutting. The
Manufacturing Systems. Ex example Lathe machine is the
machining operations are successfully done. The CNC
general type of machine tool used by almost all the FMSs.
machine becomes multifunctional with the presently
During the operation of this machine tool, different kinds
developed
lathe attachment and can be used accordingly by
of failures are faced by the industry. A systematic study of
installing the respective attachmen t to it. The CNC machine
such failures can help in identifying the critical sub-system
is useful for research work in both the fields, when installed
of these machine tools. This will be useful for identifying
with the proper attachment. The figure of developed
the condition monitoring needs o f the machine tools. This
attachment is sho wn below,
deals with the identification of critical sub -system based on
the failure data analysis for d ifferent type of machine tools.
Initially lathe has been classified into various subsystems as shown in Figure. In the frequency of failures for
each sub -system and failure modes have been considered
fo r finding out the weakest sub-system. In analysis, failure
frequency and downtime have been taken into
consideration for deciding critical sub-systems of machine
tools. It can be observed that the maximum failures took
place in headstock and carriage sub-systems. These subsystems face failures in components like gear, gearbox
bearing, spind le bearing, clutch and cross-slide jib. Here it
could be observed that the bearing failures cause longer
downtime.
Fig. 1 Developed attachment

Developed design is successfully implemented in the

proposed work for the development of the lathe attachment
including headstock, tailstock and tool post. The work
shows the process of the conceptual design and use of
prop er process planning for the development of the
different components of the lathe attach ment. The
previously attachment and developed lathe attachment
make the CNC machine multifunctional. Thus further
research can be carried out in both the fields respectively.
The CNC machine is based on the mechatronic controls
Wearing Parts of Conventional lathe
and the computer interface CAMSOFT. Various lathe
On
histogram
different
failure
modes
and
their
relative
failure
modes,
looseness.
mode
are
Engineering,
machine
In
electrical,
2013,
isfrequencies
component
attachment
because
It V.
electronics
India
canRoy
of
bepublished
have
for
damage,
&
component
obCNC
S.
and
served
been
Kumar
of
machine.
fuse
development
mechanical
grouped
that
damage.
burnt,
the into
dominant
circuit
The
categories.
o[ 2]four-failure
f from
comp
Lathe
fault
failure
Jonents
and
in stituteturning,
development
operations
are successfully
525
threading
installed
like
of Multi
is
plain
thedone.
performed
operations
In
lathe
with
turning,
Spindle
2013,
attachment
lathe
Karl-Heinz
step
on
Lathe.
and
attachment.
the
turning,
manufacturing
CNC
for Schumacher
is
the
taper
machine,
invented
The
CNC
turning,
successful
of
machine
aabout
when
bolt
arc
[3]

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced

Engineering( ISSN 2250-24 59, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal,
Website: www.ijetae.com
Volume 4, Issue 5, May 2014)
Multi spindle lathe co mprising a machine frame as
He has concluded that the addition of surface finish tool
spindle drum which is arran ged in the machine frame is in turning process helps to improve the surface finish and
rotatable about a spindle drum axis and is made up at least this setup increases the tool life of the turning tool. From
partially of segments which are cut out from flat material in
the experimental results, it is confirmed that there is no
a stacking direction parallel to the spindle drum axis and
change of power consumption even after the additional
extend in stacking planes transverse to the stacking
usage of surface finish tool. Hence, the set up will be
direction these segments having receiving cu touts and
helpful in quality
improving
product,
the with lesser load
cooling channel cutouts which overlap with o ne another
and power consumption.
such that the spindle drum has spindle motor receptacles
fo r spindle motors and a cooling channel system separated
III. R ETROFITTING
P
ROCEDURE
there from by wall webs characterized in that the cooling
Here I have divide the complete construction procedure
channel system has several channel subsystems for a liquid
into five steps. In which I have developed the complete
cooling medium Which are fed in parallel.
Retrofitted lathe machine from conventional lathe machine.
[4]
In 2013, M. Moses & Dr. Denis Asho k
M. Tech,
Theses all steps are listed below,
Mechatronic from School of Mechanical and Building
Step 1:- Purcha sing of electron ic parts
Science, VIT University, Vellore, India published titled as
Development of a new machining setup for energy efficient
I have p urchased electronic parts like stepper motor,
turning p rocess. In the prod uction unit, lathe is one o f the stepper drive, spindle drive, proximity switch and control
important protection machines. This paper fo cuses on
panel.
producing a quality product in lathe machine with less
Step 2:- Disassemble some parts from conventional lathe
power consump tion. In order to achieve that, a special
machine
setup is developed in the lathe machine for turning and
finishing of the components, to achieve quality product and
As per definitio n of retrofitting process, I have to
remove
non -used parts from conventional lathe machine.
also to improve the productivity. As a result of this new
approach, profuse amount of energy can be saved, quality So I have removed Head stock gearing mechanism, Apron,
Lead screw, Lead screw mounting bracket, Hand wheel,
product can be obtained and tool life can be increased. The
study aimed at evaluatin g the best process environment
etc.
For decreasing friction on the slide and increasing such a
which could simultaneously satisfy requirements of both
quality and as well as productivity. By conducting many
part life I have used turcide which is made from poly tetra
fluro ethylene (PTFE) and bronze.
experiments it was found that this special setup process
improves the quality and also reduces the power
consu mption as compared with the existing process.
Figure of developed attachment as shown below,

Fig. 2 Machine set up

Fig. 3 Turcide on sliding portion

required
Step 3:I have
Dimensionally
for
526 retrofitting
dimensionally
mechanical
Some
ofDesign
&
parts
fab
parts
design
design
ricated
and fa
some
are
and/or
brication
shown
parts
manufactured.
below,
ofwhich
required
are

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced

Engineering( ISSN 2250-24 59, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal,
Website: www.ijetae.com
Volume 4, Issue 5, May 2014)

Fig. 4 Dimensionally design X-axis ball screw

Fig. 7 Z-axis ball screw attached on main slide

Fig. 5 Dimensionally design Z-axis ball screw

Fig. 8 Z-axis Mounting bracket & Stepper motor

Fig. 6 Assembly of Z-axis ball screw with bracket

Step 4:- Assemble all manufactu red parts & electronics

parts at desired place
After manufacturing and/or fabricating all required parts,
assemb ly procedure carried out. All the mechanical &
electronics parts are attached to their desired place. So me
of parts are sho wn below,

527

Fig. 9 X-axis mounting & stepper motor

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced

Engineering( ISSN 2250-24 59, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal,
Website: www.ijetae.com
Volume 4, Issue 5, May 2014)

Fig. 10 Proximity switch

Fig. 12 Developed retrofitted lathe machine

IV.

COMPARISON

For comparison I have co mpare job manufactured on

co nventional lathe machine & job manufactured o n
developed retrofitted lathe machine.
And I have concluded that surface roughness, production
rate, dimensio n stability, one time set up cost is high in
retrofitted lathe machine while machining time, machine
slide wear is too much low.

Fig. 11 Control panel

Step 5:- In spection & testing of new develop ed Retrofitted

Lathe Machine
In this step I have checked all components are properly
Fig. 13 Comparison of machining time between job manufactured on
fitted with machine body and alignment of bo th ball
proposed & existing lathe
screws. Also checked b oth slide working properly by
stepper.
Then I have manufactured job on developed retrofitted
lathe
using
turning
operation
program
which
is Fig. 14 Comparison
from machine
finishing
manual
of theby
part
job.
program
method.
And
checked
surface
528 of job dimension between proposed
lathe machine
& existing

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced

Engineering( ISSN 2250-24 59, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal,
Website: www.ijetae.com
Volume 4, Issue 5, May 2014)
Also I have tested three samples (2 samples from
V. CONCLUSION
retrofitted lathe & 1 sample from conventional lathe) for
By developing automation in conventional lathe machine
surface roughness in Tirth Agro P. Ltd.
by retrofitting stepper based method , the machine works as
The job manufactured on both the machine are sho wn CNC trainer for teaching, learning of the student subject.
belo w,
Also Cost of machine is minimizes approximate 4 times
below the original CNC trainer.
As automation new developed retrofitted lathe is done
by replacing or removing the components from
co nventional lathe machine, therefore setup cost is high as
co mpare with standard lath e mach ine but prod uction rate is
too much high. So it is very useful for mass production.
The accuracy of the job manufactured in retrofitted lathe
machine is also high so repeatability and dimensional
stability of manufactured part is achieved. At last some
co mplex job which is not manufactured in conventional
lathe machine can be manufactured in new d eveloped
retrofitted lathe machine.
Fig. 15 Job Sample

The certificate of surface roughness is shown b elow,

REFERENCES
Machine Tool Failure
[1] Data Analysis for Condition Monitoring
Application, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology, New Delhi. Kegs. R. L., On-line Machine and
Process Diagnostics, Annals of the CIRP. , 32(2), 469-473, 1984.
V. Roy S. Kumar
[2]from Inst. Eng. India Ser. C(AprilJune 2013)
94(2):187195 DOI: 10.1007/s40032-013-0064-2
Karl-Heinz Schumacher
[3] (2013), Multispindle Lathe. US patent #
2013008702/2013

In 2013, M. Moses[4]& Dr. Denis Ashok M. Tech, Mechatronic from

School of Mechanical and Building Science, VIT University,
Vellore, India 978-1-4673-6150-7/13/$31.00 2013 IEEE
[5]

We have also used following links,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_control
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathe
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/609/technicians/retrguid.html

Fig. 16 Certificate for surface quality

529