NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

WARANGAL, TELANGANA-506004

A report
on

Manufacturing of Machine Tool Beds

Submitted by
CHIRRA KUMARA SWAMY
Roll No-143503
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

Submitted to

Dr. P Vamshi Krishna

Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Contents

Page.No.

1. Introduction

... 3

2. Classification beds

3. Manufacturing of beds

..

4.References

Introduction
The main unit of a machine tool is the bed, base or column which joins all
the units (mechanisms) and components together, and with respect to which all the
movable units (mechanism) travel and are located.
The accuracy of mutual coordination and travel of these units is ensured by
the locating datum surfaces i.e the bed ways. In accordance with their purpose,
ways, or slide-ways, as they are frequently called, can be divided into ways for
travel, along which units are (such as lathe carriages) of the machine tool travel in
the course of operation, and ways for adjustment, along which units are adjusted in
setting up the machine too (for example the tailstock of a lathe). Requirements
made to machine tool slide-ways concern their surface finish and wear resistance.

Ways for travel

Bed ways
Ways of
adjustment
2. Classification of Beds
According to their service function machine tool bed, base and columns can
divided into six groups.
1. Those with horizontal slide-ways and several legs(usually two), bed is
illustrated in fig.1

Fig. 1, bed with two legs

2. The same type of bed but cast integral part with headstock.
headstock is casted along with bed. As shown in fig.2.

Fig .2. Bed integral with head stock

3. Beds which have no legs, but are set with their base surface directly on the
floor of foundation, see the fig.3

Fig. 3. Bed without legs

4. Columns with vertical ways and bores for Spindle bearings.

Fig.4

5. The same type of columns but with no spindle bores Ex. Upright drill press
6. Cylindrical columns with a flat base square to the column. Ex. Radial
drilling machine
The rough castings for beds, bases and columns are delivered for machining with
allowance provided on all surfaces that are to be machined. The weldments for bed
of welded design have smaller machining allowance and more accurate geometric
features.
2.1 Difficulties in casting
In cooling the metal of the casting solidifies non-uniformly because the
thinner parts will solidify first and then the more massive parts i.e slideways, lugs,
etc. This prevents normal shrinking of the casting and leads to the development of
internal stresses. If a bed is machined in the stressed state, stresses will be
redistributed, as a rule, and the casting will be distorted.
To preserve the accuracy of a machine tool over a long period of operation,
measures are taken to eliminate the internal stresses in castings. This includes
design measures (more uniform distribution of the metal among the elements of the
bed, elimination of abrupt changes in cross section etc.), addition of nickel and
chromium to the cast iron to reduce internal stresses, as well as processing
measures, in particular, ageing.
Distinction is made between natural and artificial ageing. In the former, after
machining off the foundry skin, the casting is held for 10 to 20 days in the open air.
The ageing time depends upon the shape of the casting and accuracy requirements.
Artificial ageing is accomplished by heat treatment carried out in the following
order: heating during 3 to 4 hours to a temperature of 500oC, holding at this
temperature from 4 to 6 hours, and cooling in the furnace to a temperature of
200oC.
Before being machined, bed casting undergo fettling in which the gating
system is cut off and the surface are cleaned of adhering sand and burn-on.
Beside the addition of nickel and chromium to the cast iron, the wear resistance of
bed slide-way is increased in many cases by chilling the slide-way surface to

hardness BHN 220-260 and surface hardening with an oxyacetylene flame to a

hardness of BHN 450-600.

Another widely used measure in machine tool engineering is the use of hardened
steel attached ways. After machining such ways undergo carburization and
hardening. Then they are attached to the semi-finished surfaces of the cast bed in
the form of strips. Finally, the working surfaces of the ways are ground. The use of
attached ways increases the service from 5 to 10 times. Plastic ways are also used.
They are attached to the travelling units or mechanisms in section in the form of
pads.
Welded steel beds have the advantages over cast iron beds in that, for same
rigidity, they have a higher wear resistance and require less metal. The ways of
welded steel beds may be made of special rolled stock and the feet, reinforcing
ribs, pan and other components, of flat and press worked sheet and plate steel.
These components are assembled and welded in special rotary welding jigs.

Fig. 4 Rotary welding jig

3. Machining of Beds:
The ways are taken as the processing datum features in machining beds,
bases and columns since the accuracy of the machine tool depends, in the final
analysis, on the ways (The geometrical accuracy of a work piece frequently
depends upon the straightness of the machine tool ways). An end face of the bed is
one of the locating datum features. The initial operations are used for rough
machining surfaces parallel to the ways. These surfaces are subsequently used for

location in machining the ways. The base surfaces of the legs are machined by face
milling cutters in milling machines fig. 5 or by segmented grinding wheels in
special grinders. The point of application of the clamping forces in fixates is
arranged opposite to the corresponding locating point of the bed to exclude
possible deformation of the bed due to clamping.

Fig 5. Milling the base surfaces of the legs

Next, the ways are rough machined together with other surfaces, with location
from principal or auxiliary datum surfaces parallel to the ways. The location and
clamping of the bed for machining the ways shown in fig. 6

Fig. 6 fixtures for locating and clamping a lathe bed in machining

Bed ways may machined by milling with face milling cutters or a gang milling
cutters, or by planning with single point tools. See the fig.7

Fig.7 Milling Ways on a Screw Machine Bed

Planning or milling with faces milling cutters are general purpose methods. Milling
with a gang of cutters is a more productive method but is used, as rule, only in lot
production because of the relatively higher cost of the special cutting tools.
Heavy duty planning machine is generally employed in machining the beds, using
special attachments task is performed.

Fig. 8 Heavy duty planning machine

After rough machining all the principal and auxiliary surfaces as well all cord hoes
for the bearing of the spindle, lead screw and other components, the casting
undergo ageing. Then the surfaces are finished in the same order, in the same
machine tools and fixtures as in the rough machining operation.

3.1 Finishing Operations

After machining the fastening and oils holes, the final operations are performed on
the way surfaces. Such final finishing operations may planning with a broad nose
tool, scraping, grinding or lapping.
Finish planning is done at a high rate of feed (15 to 30mm per table stroke),
removing a thin chip (0.15mm to 0.5mm). Planning may be followed by scraping
procedure known as spotting, frosting or flanking, partly to obtain an ornamental
appearance and to make the surface to hold lubricant more efficiently. The bearing
marks or high spots used in scraping are obtained by applying special plates
having the profile of the ways, surfaces plates and straight edges to the surfaces to
be scrapped. Scraping is preceded by filing and breaking all sharp corners of the
ways. Next, all tool marks remaining after machining is removed by scraping
(rough scraping). Finish scraping is done to remove the special or standard surface
plate coated with some marking compound. Scrapping proceeds until from 12 to 18
spots are obtained in an area 25*25 mm. scraping may be done entirely by hand or
with the mechanization of certain of the operations (for moving the surface plate,
for reciprocating the scraper, etc.).
Bed ways may also ground with the periphery of side of the grinding wheel. This
method provides for high accuracy and an excellent surface finish of the ways, and
extensively used in finishing hardened ways. The grinding allowance is usually 0.2
or 0.3mm.
Grinders with reciprocating tables (way grinders) are used. These machines have
swilling wheel-head carrying the grinding wheel which grinds with its periphery,
and tow side wheel head with wheels grinding with their side surfaces. This
enables all the surface of the ways to be ground simultaneously, thereby leading to
a high production capacity.

Lapping may be used for micro-finishing the bed ways of high precision machine
tools. It is done after scraping and hand honing.
Following scraping the bed ways are sometimes honed with silicon carbide sticks.
This operation is performed in the same way as scraping, except that an abrasive
stick is used in place of a steel scraper. During hand honing, the sticks are washed
from time to time in kerosene to prevent loading. The lapping operation is begun
after washing the ways with kerosene. In the lapping operation the table or saddle
is mounted on the ways and is loaded to 200 or 220 kg with weights, the amount of
the load depending upon the size of the bed and table. The table travers hand wheel
is replaced by a pulley which is driven by periodically reversed electric motor. The
table reciprocates at a speed to 7m per min. lapping takes from 2 to 4hrs during the
ways are amply lubricated with kerosene.

References