Advantage of Big Lathe Machine Process Pipe

Large horizontal lathe has many significant advantages in processing pipes:

First, high machining accuracy

High-precision spindle system

Large horizontal lathes are usually equipped with high-precision spindles. The radial and axial runout of the spindle is very small and can generally be controlled at the micron level. For example, when machining the inner hole or outer circle of a large pipe, the high accuracy of the spindle can ensure the roundness and cylindricity of the pipe surface. Like when machining the inner wall of an oil pipeline, the high-precision spindle can make the roughness of the inner wall reach a low value, such as Ra (surface roughness) value can be controlled at 1.6μm or even lower, so as to reduce the resistance of the fluid in the pipeline.

High-precision feeding system

Its feeding system adopts high-precision ball screws and linear guides. The ball screw has high transmission accuracy and can precisely control the feed amount of the tool. The linear guide ensures that the tool moves along a straight line during the feeding process, which avoids machining errors caused by deviation of the motion trajectory. When machining the threads of large pipes, the high-precision feeding system can ensure the pitch accuracy of the threads. For example, for some large pipe threads used for chemical equipment connection, the pitch accuracy can reach the higher accuracy level stipulated by the national standard to ensure the sealing and reliability of pipe connection.

High-precision tooling system

The lathe can be equipped with a variety of high-precision tools. For example, the carbide cutting tools are precision ground with high straightness and sharpness of their edges. When machining the end faces of large pipes, high-precision tools ensure the flatness of the end faces. If the pipe end face is used for welding, good flatness can improve the welding quality and reduce welding defects, such as unfused phenomena. Moreover, the tool mounting position precision of the large horizontal lathe is also very high, and the tool tip position can be adjusted by the high-precision tool holder so that it is precisely aligned with the machining centre of the pipe.

II. High machining efficiency

High-power spindle drive

The spindle motor of the large horizontal lathe has a large power. Generally speaking, its power can reach tens of kilowatts or even higher. This enables the lathe to provide sufficient cutting force when processing large pipes. For example, when machining pipes with larger diameters and thicker walls, the high-power spindle can drive the pipe to rotate at high speed, while the tool can make deeper cuts. Compared with low-power lathes, it can remove more material per unit of time, greatly improving processing efficiency. For example, when machining the outer circle of a large pipe with a diameter of 1 metre and a wall thickness of 30 mm, the high-power spindle can make the cutting speed reach a high level, thus shortening the machining time.

Rapid feed and retract function

The feeding system of the lathe has the function of rapid feeding and retiring. During machining, when the tool needs to move quickly to the next machining position or return from the machining position to the safe position, the rapid feed function can greatly save time. For example, when machining multiple holes in a large pipe, the tool can quickly move to the next hole machining position after machining one hole by the fast feed function, reducing the empty travel time of the tool. Moreover, after machining is completed, the quick retract function can quickly move the tool away from the pipe machining area, facilitating subsequent operations such as measuring or loading and unloading pipes, further improving the efficiency of the entire machining process.

High degree of automation

Modern large horizontal lathes are usually equipped with CNC systems, which can realise automated machining. The operator only needs to input the processing programme into the CNC system, and the lathe can automatically complete the pipeline processing. For batch processing of large pipes, the CNC system can accurately control each machining step, including cutting speed, feed, tool path and so on. For example, in the processing of a batch of large pipes with the same specifications, the CNC system can be in accordance with the pre-set procedures, automatically complete the processing of each pipe, greatly reducing manual intervention and improving production efficiency.

Third, a wide range of machinable

Ability to process large pipes

Large horizontal lathe bed and slide plate and other components of large size, can accommodate large pipes. Its processing diameter and processing length range is wide, and it can process pipes with diameters ranging from tens of centimetres to several metres, and lengths ranging from a few metres to a dozen metres or even longer. For example, in the field of shipbuilding, there is a need to process some large seawater pipelines, and large horizontal lathes can easily cope with the processing needs of these large pipelines, including end processing, internal and external surface processing of the pipelines.

Multiple processing methods

It can process pipes in various ways. In addition to basic external turning and internal hole turning, it can also perform a variety of operations such as thread machining, end face machining, grooving, and so on. For example, when processing the connection end of large pipes, it can process different specifications of threads, such as metric threads and imperial threads, to meet different connection requirements. Meanwhile, for special structures such as sealing grooves on the pipe, the lathe can also be accurately processed by the grooving tool to provide a guarantee for the sealing connection of the pipe.

Four, good stability

Sturdy bed structure

The bed of the large horizontal lathe is generally made of high-quality cast iron and is precision cast and processed. The structure of the bed is reasonably designed and has high rigidity. When processing large pipes, the bed will not produce significant deformation even if it is subjected to large cutting forces. For example, when the lathe is processing the outer circle of a large thick-walled pipe, the cutting force may reach thousands of Newtons, and the sturdy bed can ensure that the machining accuracy of the lathe is not affected, ensuring the dimensional accuracy and shape accuracy of the pipe processing surface.

Good anti-vibration performance

The bed and components of the lathe are designed with anti-vibration performance in mind. During the machining process, especially when cutting large pipes at high speed, a certain amount of vibration will be generated. Good vibration resistance can reduce the impact of vibration on the machining process. For example, vibration can be effectively reduced by designing a reasonable reinforcement structure inside the bed and by using vibration-damping materials. This helps to improve the machining surface quality and avoid problems such as increased surface roughness or machining dimensional deviation caused by vibration.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)