Turning is the process whereby a centre lathe is used to produce "solids of revolution". It can be done manually, in a traditional form of lathe, which frequently requires continuous supervision by the operator, or by using a computer controlled and automated lathe which does not. This type of machine tool is referred to as having computer numerical control, better known as C.N.C. and is commonly used with many other types of machine tool besides the lathe.

When turning, a piece of material (wood, metal, plastic even stone) is rotated and a cutting tool is traversed along 2 axes of motion to produce precise diameters and depths. Turning can be either on the outside of the cylinder or on the inside (also known as boring) to produce tubular components to various geometries. Although now quite rare, early lathes could even be used to produce complex geometric figures, even the platonic solids; although until the advent of C.N.C it had become unusual to use one for this purpose for the last three quarters of the twentieth century. It is said that the lathe is the only machine tool that can reproduce itself.

Facing is part of the turning process. It involves moving the cutting tool across the face (or end) of the workpiece and is performed by the operation of the cross-slide, if one is fitted, as distinct from the longitudinal feed (turning). It is frequently the first operation performed in the production of the workpiece, and often the last- hence the phrase "ending up".

The bits of waste metal from turning operations are known as chips (North America), or swarf in Britain. In some locales they may be known as turnings.

Turning operations

Turning is one of the most basic machining processes. That is, the part is rotated while it is being machined. The starting material is generally a workpiece generated by other processes such as casting, forging, extrusion, or drawing.

The turning processes are typically carried out on a lathe, considered to be the oldest machine tools, and can be of four different types such as straight turning, taper turning, profiling or external grooving. Those types of turning processes can produce various shapes of materials such as straight, conical, curved, or grooved workpiece. In general, turning uses simple single-point cutting tools. Each group of workpiece materials has an optimum set of tools angles which have been developed through the years.

Lathes

main: Lathe A lathe is a machine tool used principally for shaping pieces of metal, sometimes wood, or other materials by causing the workpiece to be held and rotated by the lathe while a tool bit is advanced into the work causing the cutting action. Lathes can be divided into three types for easy identification: engine lathe, turret lathe, and special purpose lathes. Some smaller ones are bench mounted and semi-portable. The larger lathes are floor mounted and may require special transportation if they must be moved. Field and maintenance shops generally use a lathe that can be adapted to many operations and that is not too large to be moved from one work site to another. The engine lathe is ideally suited for this purpose. A trained operator can accomplish more machining jobs with the engine lathe than with any other machine tool. Turret lathes and special purpose lathes are usually used in production or job shops for mass production or specialized parts, while basic engine lathes are usually used for any type of lathe work.