Choosing The Right Lathe For You

Lathe machines come in an array of sizes, speeds and functionalities so they can massively differ when it comes to suit your manufacturing needs. If you’re particularly new to choosing a lathe for your business, it can be fairly daunting or overwhelming in knowing which lathe type is best to choose and to know what will work best for your manufacturing or engineering requirements.

Your lathe machine will be one of the most, if not the most, important pieces of tools in your workshop or tool station as it will often be the centre of which everything is done around. Due to its importance in the workplace, you must purchase the right lathe for your business needs. But what type of things need to be considered when browsing for a lathe?

What To Consider

There are several questions that you should ask yourself when shopping for a lathe machine. Answering these questions before you begin browsing can help both narrow your search and lead you to a more suited machine for you and your company.

• Space – The first thing that needs to be considered is the room in which you have for your lathe. Lathes can come in various sizes from smaller manual lathes to huge automatic lathes which take up a lot of space. Whether you have a big warehouse for it to go in or a small workshop will completely change the lathes available to you.

• Type of Job – The type of job that you are doing will also be a determining factor in which lathe you choose. You will have to consider the size of the job required for the lathe and the speed at which it needs to be done.

• Budget – One of the most obvious considerations when purchasing a lathe machine is cost and how much budget you may have. There may be additional accessories and tools that may be required that you didn’t initially budget for.

Choosing a Lathe

Now that you have answered some fundamental questions, now it is time to look further into what lathes are suitable for what level of industry/manufacturer. 

If you work for a large industry that produces parts for cars, furniture or even the aerospace industry, heavy-duty lathe machines may be the best solution for you. They are great for turning objects that are of a hard material and is designed with modern technology to deliver a perfect output. Ideal for companies who product on a large scale, these CNC lathes can produce parts quickly and efficiently.

There are middle-level tier lathe machines that are more suitable for those companies who require parts that are still highly accurate but can be produced at a higher speed using only a limited amount of resources. 

However, if you are a small-scale business or an individual, there are still a range of lathes available that are suitable for you. There are variations of lathes that are often seen in workshops or machine shops, including compact manual lathes that can be used to create smaller objects with great precision determined by yourself. They can often be a lot more versatile if your needs for it change often, meaning that you have more control over what parts you create from part to part.

Lathes are machines that have been around for years but the technological advancements we have seen have made them become a solid centrepiece for most manufacturing/engineering companies. If you need any assistance when browsing for a lathe or further advice on what would be suitable for you, we have a team of specialists ready to help. Contact us on sales@dtsuk.co.uk.