GEC 218

WORKSHOP
TECHNOLOGY
(2 UNITS)

LECTURE NOTE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PART

PREPARED BY

OKENIYI, JOSHUA OLUSEGUN

LECTURER MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PART
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
OTA
NIGERIA

SEPTEMBER 2007

MODULE THREE MACHINE TECHNOLOGY

And he made ten bases of brass;
And under the borders were four wheels;
And the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base
And on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees,
According to the proportion of every one
1King 7:27-36

3 MACHINE TECHNOLOGY
Machines, in general workshop usage, refer to devices or system of devices with rigid
moving parts that perform or assist in performing some work in the form of transmitting
or modifying a workshop material, the workpiece. Devices with no rigid moving parts are
commonly considered tools, or simply devices, not machines. Machines normally require
some energy source known as input and always accomplish some sort of work known as
output.

3.1 Machining in engineering workshop

Machining in an engineering workshop could take any form of metal removal processes
that may include:
i.

Cutting off

ii.

Drilling

iii.

Turning

iv.

Planing

v.

Milling

vi.

Surface Grinding

3.1.1 Cutting off

The step of cutting off is the first step in any given machining operation in an engineering
workshop. This is because every machining operation will usually begin with a rough cut
of a blank, slug, or other workpiece to dimensions normally somewhat larger than finish
sizes to allow for stock removal. The machine equipment for the cutting off may be used
to create just one piece or large numbers of blanks to begin the process of making a part,
which may be a turning screw, a gear or other integral part for a machine, an attachment
or fixture for drilling holes, a die for stamping, an aluminium extrusion or any other
workpiece. Though cutting off operation may be performed on a variety of machines,
including the lathes, automatic screw machines, shears, presses, flame cutters, and various
high-tech systems such as lasers, water jets and abrasive water jets, electro-discharge
and electro-chemical machines, nevertheless, most cutting off work especially high
production jobs is performed using some type of mechanically powered sawing
instrument.
Machines for common cutting off by sawing can be categorised into three, in accordance
to how they move their saw-teeth past the material being cut, as:

i.

Circular blade saws the saw-teeth moves along the perimeter of a flat, circular
blade e.g. circular saw machines, (Figure 3.1(a)), radial cold saw, rotary saw, miter
saw concrete saw, abrasive saw;

ii.

Reciprocating blade saws the blade reciprocates up and down or forward and
backward e.g. powered hacksaw (Figure 3.1(b));

iii.

Continuous band saw e.g. band saw (Figure 3.1(c)), chainsaw the teeth are
along one edge of a continuous band, Figure 3.1(d).

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Figure 3.1 Cutting saw machines (a) circular saw machine (b) powered hacksaw (c) band
saw (d) band saw blades

3.1.2 Drilling
Drilling can be described as the process of making cylindrical holes in solid materials by
the use of a cutting tools known as drill bits. The drill bit is held gripped by a chuck at
one end of the drill, and is pressed against the target material and rotated. The tip of the
drill bit does the work of cutting into the target material, slicing off thin shavings, as in
twist drills or auger bits, or grinding off small particles as obtainable in oil drilling.

The drill is a multi-edge cutting tool that cuts on the point. The drills cutting edges, or
lips, are provided with lip clearance to permit the point to penetrate the workpiece as the
drill revolves. It may be fed into the work manually or automatically.
All drilling machines contain certain basic parts, Figure 3.2, depending on the model of
the drilling machine. The main parts on the bench and floor models are the base, column
or pillar, table, and drilling head.

Figure 3.2 Basic parts of a drilling machine

i.

Base usually made of cast iron, it provides stability for the machine and rigid
mounting for the column. The base is usually provided with holes so that it may
be bolted to a table or bench. The slots or ribs in the base allow the work holding
device or the workpiece to be fastened to the base.

ii.

Column also known as pillar, it is an accurate cylindrical post that fits into the
base. The table, which is fitted to the column, may be adjusted to any point
between the base and head. The drill press head is mounted near the top of the
column.

iii.

Table or worktable, either round or rectangular in shape, is used to support the

workpiece to be machined. The table, whose surface is at 90 to the column, may
be raised, lowered, and swiveled around the column. On some models, it is
possible to tilt the table in either direction for drilling holes on an angle. Slots are
provided in most tables to allow jigs, fixtures, or large workpieces to be clamped
directly to the table.

iv.

Drilling Head The head, mounted close to the top of the column, contains the
motor, pulley and gear system and the mechanism used to revolve the cutting tool
and advance it into the workpiece. These mechanisms include:
(a) The spindle, which is a round shaft that locates, holds and drives the
cutting tool, is housed in spindle sleeve, or quill the end of the spindle
may have a tapered hole to hold taper shank tools or may be threaded or
tapered for attaching a drill chuck;
(b) The spindle sleeve (also known as quill) does not revolve but slides up and
down inside the head to provide a downward feed for the cutting tool;
(c) The hand feed lever is used to control the vertical movement of the spindle
sleeve and the cutting tool;
(d) A depth stop attached to the spindle sleeve can be set to control the depth
that a cutting tool enters the workpiece.

3.1.3 Turning
Turning is the machining process used to produce cylindrical components in a lathe,
whose basic parts are shown in Figure 3.3(a). Turning can be done manually, or using a
CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine.
When turning, the workpiece is held securely in a chuck or between lathe centers. A
turning tool, mounted on a holder and set to a given depth of cut, is fed parallel to the axis
of the work to reduce the diameter of the workpiece. As the workpiece revolves and the
cutting tool is fed along the axis, material is separated by the edge of the cutting tool,
Figure 3.3(b), to produce precise diameters and depths. Turning can be either on the
outside of the workpiece or on the inside (also known as boring) to produce tubular
components. Figure 3.3(c) shows a typical turning set-up of a cylindrical workpiece, with
multiple cross-sections, on a centre lathe machine.

(a)

(b)

(c)
Figure 3.3 Turning by the lathe (a) Basic parts of the centre lathe machine (b)
diagrammatic representation of material machining by turning (c) typical turning set-up
on the centre lathe
A typical centre lathe has, as main machine elements shown in Figure 3.3(a) the lathe
bed, headstock assembly, the tailstock, the saddle, the cross slide, the top slide and the
apron.
i.

Bed the lathe bed is the foundation of the complete machine. It is made from
cast iron, designed with thick sections to ensure complete rigidity and freedom
from vibration. On the top surface, two sets of guide ways are provided, each set
consisting of an inverted vee and a flat. The outer guide ways guide the saddle,
and the inner guide ways guide the tailstock and keep it in line with the machine
spindle. The guide ways are hardened and accurately ground.

ii.

Headstock the complete headstock assembly consists of a box-shaped casting

rigidly clamped to the guide ways of the bed and contains the spindle, gears to
provide a range of spindle speeds, and levers for speed selection. The drive is

obtained from the main motor through vee belts and pulleys and a series of gears
to the spindle.
iii.

Tailstock the function of the tailstock is to hold a centre when turning between
centres or to act as a support at the end of long workpieces or to hold drills and
reamers when producing holes. The tailstock can be moved on its guide ways
along the length of the bed and locked in any position. The tailstock quill contains
a Morse-taper bore to accommodate centres, chucks, drills and reamers and is
graduated on its outer top surface for use when drilling to depth. It can be fed in or
out by means of the handwheel at the rear.

iv.

Saddle the saddle rests on top of the bed and is guided by two guide ways
which, for stability, are the two furthest apart. Accurate movement is thus
maintained relative to the centre line of the spindle and tailstock for the complete
length of the bed. The top surface contains the dovetail slideway into which the
cross-slide is located and the cross-slide lead screw, complete with hand wheel
and graduated dial.

v.

Cross-slide mounted in the dovetail slideway on the top surface of the saddle,
the cross-slide moves at right angles to the centreline of the machine spindle.
Adjustment for wear is provided by a tapered gib strip, which can be pushed
further into the slide and slideway by the screw as wear takes place. Attached to
the underside of the cross-slide is the leadscrew nut through which movement is
transmitted from the leadscrew. Power feed is available to the cross-slide.

vi.

Top slide the top slide often referred to as the compound slide, fits on its
slideway and can be adjusted for wear by means of a gib strip and adjusting

screws. Movement is transmitted by the leadscrew through a nut on the slideway.

A toolpost, usually four-way hand-indexing, is located on the top surface and can
be locked in the desired position by the locking handle. Movement of this slide is
usually quite short, however when used in conjunction with the swivel base, it is
used to turn short tapers.
vii.

Apron the apron is attached to the underside of the saddle at the front of the
machine and contains the gears for transmission of movement from the leadscrew
and feed shaft. On the front are the handles to engage and disengage the leadscrew
and feed shaft. Also mounted on the front is the handwheel for longitudinal
traverse of the carriage along the bed, this movement being transmitted through
gears to a rack fixed on the underside of the bed. The complete assembly of apron,
saddle and slides is known as the carriage.

3.1.4 Planing
The cutting tool used in the planning machine or simply the planer, Figure 3.4(a), is
basically the same shape as the lathe tool for machining similar materials. It should have
the proper rake and clearance angles ground on it to machine the workpiece efficiently.
The cutting action of a planer is illustrated in Figure 3.4(b). The workpiece is moved back
and forth under a cutting tool, which is fed sideways a set amount at the end of each table
reversal.
The basic elements of the planing machine include the base, the column, the reciprocating
table and the head on which the planing tool is mounted.

(a)
(b)
Figure 3.4 Machining by planing (a) Planing machine (b) material machining by planing

3.1.5 Milling
Milling is a machining operation during which the workpiece is moved into the cutter on
any of the x or y or z-axis for material removal. A milling cutter is a multi-tooth tool
having several equally spaced cutting edges (teeth) around its periphery. Each tooth may
be considered to be a single-point cutting tool and must have proper rake and clearance
angles to cut effectively.
While being machined by milling, the workpiece, held in a vise or fastened to the table, is
fed into the horizontal revolving cutter by hand or by automatic table feed. As the work is
fed into the cutter, each tooth makes successive cuts, which produce a smooth flat or
profiled surface depending on the shape of the cutter used.

There are four standard types of milling machines. They are

i.

The bed type;

ii.

Column and knee;

iii.

Horizontal; and

iv.

Vertical milling machines, Figure 3.5.

The controls on the vertical milling machine used in materials processing consist of the
following:
i.

A magnetic power switch this must be reset if the main power is interrupted.

ii.

A spindle break to enable loosening of the spindle nut in order to take the collet
out of the chuck.

iii.

A quill feed handle for manually feeding the cutter into the stock.

iv.

A quill lock for locking the cutter in place.

Figure 3.5 The vertical milling machine

v.

A longitudinal feed screw handle for moving the workpiece into the cutter on an
x-axis.

vi.

A cross feed screw handle for moving the workpiece into the cutter on a y-axis.

vii.

A knee height adjustment screw for positioning the depth of the cut.

viii.

A high and low speed clutch knob.

ix.

A back gear control knob.

x.

A power feed engagement knob.

xi.

A manual feed knob.

xii.

A feed control knob.

xiii.

A quill feed selector knob.

xiv.

A draw bar knob.

3.1.6 Surface Grinding

Surface grinding is used to produce flat accurate surfaces and can be carried out on all
materials, hard or soft. There may be no other way of removing metal from a hardened
workpiece. It is normally considered a finishing operation, but large machines are used in
place of milling and shaping machines to remove large amounts of material.
A typical surface grinder (Figure 3.6(a)) uses a reciprocating table (Figure 3.6(b)) a
grinding wheel (Figure 3.6(c)) and a cross-slide whose movements could be manually
operated by hand or through a provided automatic system of operation e.g. hydraulic or
electric system.

(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 3.6 Machining by surface grinding (a) Surface grinding machine (b) basic machine
operation (c) grinding wheel operation
The basic element of the surface grinding machine include
i.

Base the base is a heavily ribbed box-section casting to ensure rigidity and
complete freedom from vibration. The bottom of the base houses the hydraulic
pump and fluid reservoir. At the rear of the base is a vertical dovetail slideway
which guides the column. Two vee slideways on top of the base guide the saddle
and are widely spaced to maintain accuracy and rigidity.

ii.

Column the column, guided on a dovetail slide, carries the wheelhead at its top
end and contains the motor and belt drive to the wheel spindle. The column and
wheelhead are raised and lowered through a screw and nut from a handwheel on
the front of the machine.

iii.

Wheelhead the wheelhead carries the wheel spindle, which is mounted in

precision bearings. The complete grinding-wheel collet assembly is fitted on a
taper on the end of the spindle. Drive to the spindle is by vee belt and pulley from
the motor mounted in the bottom of the column.

iv.

Table The table is guided by the vee-and-flat slideway on the saddle and can be
manually operated with a handwheel. Automatic reciprocation of the table is
transmitted through a hydraulic cylinder at variable speeds. Reversal of the table
movement could be set to give the required length of table stroke and position of
reversal.

3.2 Practice questions 3

1. What do you understand by the following terms in the workshop usage?
i. Machine
ii. Drilling
iii. Turning
iv. Milling
2. Give
i. Five machining processes in the workshop;
ii. Four standard types of milling machines;
iii. Three categories of cutting machines, with an example each;
iv. Seven controls on the vertical milling machine
3. Describe briefly
i. Five basic parts of the drilling machine

ii. Four mechanisms that are contained in the drilling head of a

drilling machine;
iii. Seven main machine elements of the lathe machine;
iv. Four basic elements of the planing machine;
v. Four basic elements of the surface grinding machine.
4. What is meant by CNC?