Have you ever wanted to add a lathe to your shop, but just didn’t have the room?

In the world of CNC, automation is important. Using CNC, we can make all sorts of products, widgets, and parts quickly and consistently, but we can streamline that process even more by adding automation.

 Cutting threads is an important element of machining. Even if you aren’t into making your own, custom-sized threads, it still helps to know how to create them. We’ve seen customers get pretty creative with their machines and cutting methods, but with a Tormach mill, there are three main ways to cut threads.

 Whether you’re new to the world of turning or you’ve been using a lathe for years, it’s important to know your tools and the best way to use them. Lathe tooling designations are there to help, but they can be just as confusing as the tools themselves.

This is one of the many topics that seems to engender religious fervor from one side versus the other. I personally went through several hundred online articles and correspondences I’ve had with our G-Wizard customers about this choice. For my upcoming Tormach CNC Lathe, I initially had ordered it set up for gang tooling based on my needs, but then hastily added a turret after several conversations with the turret aficionados, just so I could write about and compare the two more fully, and I’m glad I did.

If you’re already using a mill, a natural extension of your shop would be to add turning capabilities with a lathe. CNC milling and CNC lathe work are quite similar, but there are some glaring differences that are easy to miss if you’re new to turning.