Advantages and Disadvantages of Slant Bed Lathes and Flat Bed Machine Tools

The plane of the two guide rails of the flat bed CNC lathe is parallel to the ground plane. The plane of the two guide rails of the inclined bed lathe intersects with the ground plane to form an inclined plane, with angles of 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°. Viewed from the side of the machine tool, the bed of a flat bed CNC lathe is square, while the bed of an inclined bed lathe is a right triangle. Obviously, with the same guide rail width, the X-direction carriage of a slant bed lathe is longer than that of a flat bed. The actual significance of its application in lathes is that more tool positions can be arranged.

Cutting rigidity comparison

The cross-sectional area of the inclined bed lathe is larger than that of the flat bed of the same specification, that is, it has stronger bending and torsion resistance. The tool of a slant bed lathe cuts downwards obliquely above the workpiece. The china cnc machining service and cutting force is basically consistent with the direction of gravity of the workpiece, so the spindle runs relatively smoothly and is less likely to cause cutting vibration. However, when a flat bed CNC lathe is cutting, the tool and the workpiece The cutting force generated is at 90° to the gravity of the workpiece, which can easily cause vibration.

Processing accuracy comparison

The transmission screw of the CNC lathe is a high-precision ball screw. The transmission gap between the screw and the nut is very small, but it does not mean that there is no gap. As long as there is a gap, when the screw moves in one direction, it will then drive in the opposite direction. When working, backlash will inevitably occur, which will affect the repetitive positioning accuracy of the CNC lathe, thereby affecting the machining accuracy.

The layout of the inclined bed lathe can directly affect the clearance of the ball screw in the X direction. Gravity directly acts on the axial direction of the screw, making the backlash during transmission almost zero. The X-direction lead screw of a flat-bed CNC lathe is not affected by axial gravity, and the gap cannot be eliminated directly. This is the inherent precision advantage that the design brings to the inclined bed lathe.​

Comparison of chip removal capabilities

Due to the gravity, the inclined bed lathe is less likely to produce entangled tools, which is conducive to chip removal; at the same time, combined with the central screw and guide rail protective aluminum sheet metal fabrication, it can prevent chips from accumulating on the screw and guide rail. Slant bed lathes are generally equipped with automatic chip conveyors, which can automatically remove chips and increase the effective working time of workers. The structure of the flat bed makes it difficult to install an automatic chip conveyor.

Automated production comparison

The increase in the number of machine tools and the configuration of automatic chip conveyors actually lay the foundation for automated production. One person taking care of multiple machine tools has always been the direction of machine tool development. The inclined bed lathe is equipped with a milling power head, an automatic feeding machine or a manipulator, automatic loading, completes all chip cutting processes in one clamping, automatic unloading, and automatic chip removal, and it becomes an automatic CNC lathe with extremely high work efficiency. The structure of the flat bed CNC lathe is at a disadvantage in automated production. Although inclined bed lathes are more advanced than flat bed CNC lathes, their market share lags far behind. Flat-bed CNC lathes account for more than 90% of the market share of CNC lathes due to their ease of production and other advantages.