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the lathe in and of itself is the machine tool that started the industrial revolution. it is also the only machine tool that is able to reproduce itself. (and b
by kazen44 6y ago
the lathe in and of itself is the machine tool that started the industrial revolution. it is also the only machine tool that is able to reproduce itself. (and by being careful, one can make a more precise lathe and improve accuracy that way).
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y agoPeople say that the lathe is unique in this way, but it's not really true. A mill can also do this. It's just that a lathe can do so more easily, since it tends to have a more powerful spindle, a thread-cutting attachment built in (change gears), and larger work area along the spindle axis. As long as a mill can do thread milling (many mills need an attachment for this, but it's hardly rare) it can produce its own components. And both tend to need parts not produced by machine processes, eg cast and scraped ways. And modern machines use electric motors, etc.
- tesseract 6y agoHow common was thread milling on manual milling machines? I don't doubt that it's possible through some sort of attachment but it sounds kind of exotic.
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y agoFar less common now that CNC mills are the norm. Tom Lipton recently built a (modern) semi-manual helical milling system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVydTvwqmRs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVydTvwqmRs He also shows some old books describing the process, starting at 1:55.