EVALUATION OF PRODUCTIVITY OF THE COMPONENTS

MANUFACTURED ON C N C LATHE AND CONVENTIONAL

LATHE
M. Sumalatha1*, V. V. S. Kesava Rao2, & J. N. Malleswara Rao3
1
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, V. R. Siddhartha Engineering College,
Vijayawada-520 007, A. P.,India
2
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Andhra University College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam,
India.
3
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, V. R. Siddhartha Engineering College,
Vijayawada-7, India.

Abstract: According to the degree of automation, Machine tools are classified into machine tools
with manual control and automatic machine tools. The conventional lathes fall into the category of
machine tools with manual control. Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines belong to the
classification under automatic machine tools. The productivity produced by the conventional lathe is
influenced a lot by the skill level of the operator, since the lathe is manually operated. In addition, the
scrap rates are more common in manually operated conventional lathes. In the Numerical Control (NC)
lathes, the coded instructions are expressed through numerals, letters, punctuation marks and other
symbols. Development in the electronics, very large scale integration (VLSI), microchips, together with
advances in Computer technology led to the development and rapid growth of Computer Numerical
Control (CNC). The dedicated computer in CNC lathe controls various elements and also the executive
programme. In CNC machine tools, the part program punched on the tape is run only once and then
stored in the computer memory. Advantages of CNC machine tools are discussed in the paper.
Cylindrical stepped shaft work pieces of Mild Steel material are manufactured on Conventional lathe
and also on CNC lathe. Comparative studies are conducted on the productivity of a batch of work
pieces. The practical observations are presented in the paper.
Keywords: Conventional lathe, CNC lathe, feed rate, cutting force, productivity, part program,
dynamometer and mild steel.
I. INTRODUCTION
A number of developments have been taken place in the machine tools. Conventional Lathes are
replaced by CNC lathes. Conventional lathe machines are manually operated and the production rates
are less. Numerical Control (NC) is a form of programmable Automation in which the mechanical
actions of a machine tool or other equipment are controlled by a program containing coded
alphanumeric data. The alphanumeric data represent relative positions between a work head and a work
piece as well as other instructions needed to operate the machine. When the current job is completed,
the program of instructions can be changed to process a new job. The main advantages of NC are given
below: i. Non- productive time is reduced ii. Greater accuracy and repeatability iii. Lower scrap rates iv.
Inspection requirements are reduced v. More complex part geometries are possible vi. Engineering
changes can be accomplished more gracefully vi. Shorter manufacturing lead times vii. Less floor space
is required, and viii. Operator skill level requirements are reduced.

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 International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering & Research (IJRTER)
Volume 02, Issue 06; June - 2016 [ISSN: 2455-1457]

1. 1. Computer Numerical Control (CNC): CNC is an NC system whose machine control unit is based
on a dedicated micro computer rather than on a hard- wired controller. Features of CNC are: i. Storage
of more than one part program ii. Various forms of program input iii. Programming editing at the
machine tool iv. Fixed cycles and programming subroutines v. Interpolation vi. Positioning features for
set up vii. Cutter length and cutter diameter compensation vii. Acceleration and deceleration calculations
viii. Communication interface and ix. Diagnostics.

II. Cutting Tools, Equipment and Machines:

2. 1. Tungsten Carbide single point cutting tools are used in turning operation on CNC lathe and also on
the conventional lathe. The CNC lathe is Ace Micromatic Jober XL, Bangalore make, Igloo Model. The
CNC Lathe is shown in Fig. 2.1.

Fig. 2.1: CNC Lathe machine.

Hydraulic 3- jaw chuck, Tail stock and tool head of CNC lathe are shown in Fig. 2.2

Fig.2.2: Hydraulic 3- jaw chuck, Tail stock and tool head of CNC lathe.

PSG A 141 Lathe is shown in Fig. 2.3

Fig. 2.3: PSG A 141 Lathe.

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 International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering & Research (IJRTER)
Volume 02, Issue 06; June - 2016 [ISSN: 2455-1457]

2.2 Work piece:

Mild Steel Work piece is specially fabricated in the experiments on CNC lathe and Conventional
lathe. The work piece is shown in Fig. 2.21. The operations include facing, plain turning, chamfering,
step turning and parting off operations.

Fig. 2.21 Specially fabricated Mild Steel work piece.

III. EXPERIMENTAL SET UP:

3.1 On C N C Lathe and on P S G A 141 Conventional Lathe:
The experimental set up is shown in Fig. 3.1. Tungsten Carbide single point cutting tools are used in
the turning operation on C N C Lathe and on P S G A 141 Conventional lathe. Various parts are shown
below: 1. Three jaw chuck. 2. Mild steel work piece. 3. Tungsten Carbide cutting tool. 4. Input power to
the Dynamometer. 5. Strain reader. 6. Dynamometer. 7. Hand wheel for cross slide of Lathe.

Fig.3.1: Experimental set up on Lathe.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

4.1 Experiments on CNC Lathe.
Mild Steel round bar stock of 20 mm diameter and 1000 mm long is used as workpiece in the present
experiments. The work piece is loaded into the hydraulic 3 jaw chuck of CNC Lathe. CNC part
program is written and it is executed at spindle speed N = 600 rpm and feed rate f= 0.015 mm/rev. The
time for machining of a total of 6 nos. components as shown in Fig. 2.21, is calculated using a Stop
watch. The total time for 6 nos. components on CNC Lathe is noted as 90 minutes.
So, the Productivity; i. e., average time taken for manufacturing one component on CNC Lathe as per
the drawing is calculated as follows:
90 min / 6 work pieces = 15 minutes per each component.

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 International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering & Research (IJRTER)
Volume 02, Issue 06; June - 2016 [ISSN: 2455-1457]

The dimensions of the components manufactured on CNC Lathe are measured with Vernier Calipers;
and they are found to be correct on all the 6 nos. components. The diameters and lengths of all the 6
components are as per the drawing; within + or – 0.05 mm. The conclusion is that the skill of the
operator does not influence the quality of manufacturing in the case of CNC Lathe. All the 6
components are found to be similar as per the drawing and there is no scrap component found in CNC
Lathe.

4.2 Experiments on PSC A 141 Conventional Lathe:

Mild Steel round bar stock of 20 mm diameter is used as workpiece in the PSG A 141 Conventional
Lathe. In the second experiment, 20 mm diameter M. S. Round bar stock of 1000 mm is loaded into the
3 jaw chuck of the Lathe, which is manually operated. All the operations such as facing, plain turning,
step turning, chamfering and parting off operations are completed with manual operations by a skilled
operator on the Conventional Lathe. A total of 8 nos. components are manufactured, and the total time
for machining is noted as 240 minutes from the Stop Watch.
The dimensions of the 8 nos. components manufactured on Conventional Lathe are measured with
Vernier Calipers; and they are not found to be similar on all the 8 nos. components. The diameters and
lengths of only 6 nos. components are found to be as per the drawing; within + or – 0.05 mm. For the
remaining 2 nos. components, the dimensions and tolerances are found to be deviating from the drawing.
So, out of 8 nos. components manufactured by manual operation process on conventional Lathe, only 6
nos. components are useful, since their dimensions are as per the drawing, as shown in the Fig. 2.21. The
photograph of the 6 nos. useful components manufactured on Conventional Lathe is shown in Fig.3.1.

Fig.3.1MSComponentsfabricated on Lathe

So, the Productivity; i. e., average time taken for manufacturing one component as per the drawing on
Conventional Lathe as per the drawing is calculated as follows:
240 min / 6 work pieces = 40 minutes per each component.
The reason for more time taken in the case of manual type of operation on Conventional Lathe is
described below: Every time, the cutting tool is to be positioned properly manually, and the orientation
of the tool should be specific in a particular operation. Also, every time, in order to achieve a particular
dimension within the prescribed tolerance, the operator has to give more of trial cuts with minimum
depth of cut. Also, each time, the operator has to stop the Lathe and measure the instantaneous
dimension with Vernier Calipers, and he has to start the Lathe again. This process has to be repeated
several times; which leads to the increase of production time, in the case of Conventional Lathe with
manual type of operation.

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 International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering & Research (IJRTER)
Volume 02, Issue 06; June - 2016 [ISSN: 2455-1457]

4.3 Calculation of Productivity:

The results of the Productivity in both the cases of manufacturing are furnished below.

Table 4.1: Results of the Productivity in both the cases of manufacturing.

S. No. Type of Lathe. Productivity in minutes/ each.
1 CNC Lathe. 15
2 PSG A141 Conv- entional Lathe 40

It is derived from the above table that the increase in Productivity in CNC Lathe is :
(40 – 15) min. / (15 min. X 100) = 167 %.
A graph is drawn for the above results of the Productivity, and it is shown in Fig. 4.1.

Productivity of CNC Lathe versus Conventional Lathe

45
40
Productivity of each in

35
30
Minutes

25
20
15
10
5
0
1 2
Type of Lathe: 1- CNC, 2- Conventional

Fig. 4.1 : Graph showing the Productivity results in CNC Lathe versus Conventional Lathe.

4.3 Calculation of Percentage of Scrap Components:

In the case of CNC Lathe, the useful Components are 6 nos, out of a total 6 nos. components
manufactured; and the Scrap components are zero. And, in the cases of Conventional Lathe, in manual
type of manufacturing, there are only 6 nos. useful components are found, out of a total 8 nos.
components manufactured. Hence, the number of Scrap components is 2.
Hence, the percentage of Scrap Components produced =
(8 – 6) / (8 X 100) = 25 %.
Table 4.2: Results of the Scrap Components in both the cases of manufacturing.

S. No. Type of Lathe. % of Scrap Components Produced.

1 CNC Lathe. 0
2 PSG A141 Conv-entional Lathe. 25

A graph is drawn for the above results of Scrap Components, and it is shown in Fig. 4.2.

Percentage of Scrap Components produced by CNC Lathe

versus Conventional Lathe

30
Percentage of Scrap

25
Components

20
15
10
5
0
1 2
Type of Lathe: 1. CNC Lathe. 2. Conventional Lathe

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 International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering & Research (IJRTER)
Volume 02, Issue 06; June - 2016 [ISSN: 2455-1457]

V. CONCLUSIONS:
After conducting the experimental investigation with Mild Steel work piece on CNC Lathe and
Conventional Lathe, the following conclusions are derived, with the above mentioned conditions.
1. The Productivity of CNC Lathe is 167 % more than the Conventional Lathe. In the present
experiment, simple component with plain turning, step turning, facing, chamfering and parting off
operations are selected. If the complexity of the jobs in the manufacturing is increased, the CNC Lathe
will have more improvement in the Productivity when compared to the Conventional Lathe.
2. The scrap rate in the components manufactured by CNC Lathe is Zero. But, the scrap rate in the
components manufactured by Conventional lathe with an experienced operator is observed as 25 %. If
semi skilled operators are employed; and also, if the complexity of job increases in the case of
Conventional Lathes, the scrap rate will be increased further.

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