Belt-drive Spindle & Turning Application

Posted on Jul 9, 2019

Belt-drive Spindle & Turning Application

The belt driven spindle is one of the most important and critical rotational mechanical parts, used to hold and drive the work piece on the lathe. The driving source of the spindle varies with different structural designs, and most turning spindles are belt driven, and some are other transmission methods. There are multiple blueprint configurations.

 

About Belt-Drive Spindle

The belt driven spindle is one of the most important and critical rotational mechanical parts, used to hold and drive the work piece on the lathe. The driving source of the spindle varies with different structural designs, and most turning spindles are belt driven, and some are other transmission methods.

There are multiple blueprint configurations. Spindle designs of belt drive structure is relatively simple, while the spindle body has to keep up with the driving mechanism, because either simple or complicated, the spindle materials must be able to withstand the impacts occur on the spindle.

:: Read more : A Comparison of Direct Drive Spindle and Belt-Driven Spindle

 

Driving Mechanism

The spindle is driven by a variety of methods, which will be different according to different processing requirements. For example, the cartridge assembly is placed in a fixed space, and the angled spindle is designed to allow rotation within a specific angle range.

Some machine tool spindles are installed in a solid block or box-shaped housing, and other spindles use flanges or feet to fix it on the bottom of the housing. Most machine tool spindles suitable for cutting are designed to be tapered. Sometimes, multiple spindle heads are used to speed up the processing speed and perform repeated precision machining, such as precision center hole machining.

:: Read more : How Spindles Determines Your Machining Quality

 

Applications in Lathe Machinery

These are regarded as variables of machine performance, not parameters. The drive mechanism is more of an optional but sufficient factor. The difference between the turning milling spindle and the lathe spindle is not obvious.

The belt driven spindle has been used on lathes since before. The design of the spindle at the time was simple, and there were not many options on the market. The belt driven spindle has many excellent characteristics, especially easy to maintain.

Motors used in the spindle activation for lathes are various, since motors may be different from each other and since the motors’ specifications differ from one to one, like brushless LDC motor, or conventional motor, the drawings and the process of each motor are largely different regarding their specifications.

Even though the current turn mill machines manufacturers have more spindle models to choose from, belt driven spindles are still very popular. On the other hand, motorized spindles are also very popular in the field of high-end advanced lathes, such as turning centers with power turrets and some turning and milling centers with multiple spindles on the front and back.

The motorized spindle (built-in spindle) has many convenient advantages, such as high torque, no tooth loss issue, and better stability.

:: Read more : What Is the Benefit of Turning Spindle

 

Spindle Housing Inside the Lathes

Compared with the belt driven spindle housing, the design of the motorized spindle housing will be very complicated because this type of spindles is with multiple spindle parts. Therefore, the design of the headstock for storing spindle not only needs to be based on the spindle function itself, but also needs to consider the producing cost, and only when the budget is balanced can the best solution be selected.

The arrangement of the spindle of vertical lathe and horizontal lathe is basically the same, but there are subtle differences between the corresponding spindles.

 

Vertical Housing as an Important Variety

A vertical lathe, also called a vertical turning machine, is a machine tool that rotates a work piece on a rotating axis to perform various machining operations, such as cutting, knurling, grinding, drilling, deformation, end machining, and turning. These processes are performed by tools applied to the work piece to create objects symmetrical to the axis driven by the spindle.

Lathes can be divided into two main types according to the way the machine holds work pieces or tools, namely vertical lathes and horizontal lathes, which account for 99% of the total number of lathes. In a vertical lathe, the work piece is clamped vertically, so the cutting tool or the entire machining device is installed in the same direction.

Therefore, with this arrangement, the processing is performed vertically. Compared with horizontal clamping, the vertical clamping is stronger due to the effect of gravity. Manufacturers of vertical lathes usually transform vertical lathes into high precision production equipment, which is used in, for example, the automotive industry, the aerospace sector, sports equipment manufacturing, and other fields with larger-sized work pieces.

 

Clamping Mechanism

The vertical clamping mechanism and the spindle are located behind the chuck. The spindle may be belt driven, and some may be equipped with other types of drive mechanisms, such as direct driven and gear driven mechanisms. Like other milling machines and machining centers, lathes can also be equipped with power tools and two tool magazines to increase their functionality and versatility, thereby providing greater processing possibilities for machine operators.

The lathe spindle is the heart of this type of machine tool. However, the body contains not only the heart but also other parts. Among them, the power turret is like a hand that can complete many complex tasks.

This is a standard accessory for many modern CNC lathes, and as one of the most powerful accessories for CNC lathe users. Taiwan suppliers are committed to this business and develop many high quality power turrets and power tools, these products can meet the needs of turning machine users for intelligent manufacturing.

 

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