What Is A Turned Part?

You may here the term "turned part" from time to time, but do you really know what it means? Well, I hope this post will give you a good understanding of what a turned part is and how they are manufactured 😀.

Early Years of Manufacture

Turned Parts were a originally manufactured starting in the late 1700's after the design of the lathe by Jaques De Vaucanson. This was seen a massive leap forward by the manufacturing industry and created a wealth of jobs throughout developing country's.

This advance in manufacturing technology spurned the industrial revolution. Machining operations could be carried out using cutting tools for turning, machine drills for producing holes and machine taps for putting a thread onto a component. The machining process on a "Centre Lathe" involves rotating a piece of metal (bar stock) at speed in a chuck. Tools are then brought into contact with the rotating work piece to create the desired feature (drilling, turning, threading).

Although seen as a great progress in manufacturing, manual machining involved heavy labour and was only as efficient as the person operating the machine. As labour costs rose within now established country's there was a demand for greater efficiency.

CNC Turning Lathe

From the 1980's a new type of machinery appeared within the turning industry. A new wave of technology was in motion called "CNC" (Computer Numerically Controlled). 

G-Code was a god send for manufacturing companies allowing the automatic machining of turned parts and components. A part could now be dropped off the machine finished and due to the computer brain it could run unmanned at night. Efficiency of turned part production increased rapidly. On a negative note, many jobs were taken away from the industry due to this new technology.

Recap - "What is a Turned Part"

So, to summarise a turned part is a component which is rotated at speed in machine chuck. Cutting tools are brought into the surface of the material to generate shapes and features such as holes and threads. Turned Parts are typically manufactured from materials such as steel, s/steel, brass and plastics. Wood can also be turned on a "Wood Lathe".