Lathes and milling machines are two essential machines used in manufacturing. Both involve the use of cutting tools to remove material from the workpiece in the form of chips, but they are not necessarily the same. Lathes and milling machines have their own unique functions and purposes. What is the difference between these two machines?

What is a slant bed cnc lathe?

Slant bed cnc lathes are large machine tools, similar to ordinary workbenches. It consists of nearly twelve different parts, such as bed, carriage, headstock, tailstock, panel, etc., and is designed to rotate the workpiece by a single-edged cutting tool. After installing the workpiece on the top of the lathe, the lathe rotates it relative to the single-edged cutting tool.

The characteristics of a lathe can be carpentry or metalworking, depending on the material to be removed. Woodworking lathes are generally smaller and have fewer parts than metalworking lathes. They all rely on the rotational power of the installed workpiece to expose the material to a single-edged cutting tool to remove the material.

What is a metal cnc milling machine?

Metal cnc milling machines are machines used to remove material from a workpiece by feeding the workpiece onto a multi-edged or pointed cutting tool. Taller than lathes and shorter in length, allowing manufacturing companies to place them in tight spaces.

The different between lathe and milling machine

The main difference between a lathe and a milling machine is their method of operation. When using a lathe, the workpiece rotates on a fixed cutting tool. For milling machines, stationary workpieces are exposed to rotating cutting tools. In addition, the cutting tools used in milling machines usually have multiple blades or tips, which can be used to grind the material on the workpiece.

The milling process can be divided into end face machining or peripheral machining. The face milling feature is the cutting action surrounding the outside of the cutting tool, while the peripheral milling feature is the cutting action across the circumference of the cutting tool. Lathes involve rotating the workpiece against a single-edged cutting tool, while milling machines involve rotating a multi-edged or pointed cutting tool relative to a stationary workpiece.