Big Bore Lathe
Big bore lathes are used for turning large parts. They consist of a headstock with a spindle, chuck for holding the part, lathe bed, carriage and cross slide as well as a tool turret and tailstock. Lathes with a moveable tailstock support the workpiece at the end which stabilizes relatively long parts.
Buying Used Big Bore Lathes
Big bore lathes are mainly used for parts that must extend through the back of the chuck, a hollow spindle or through-hole is needed. For some applications, the through hole needs to be bigger than the standard, which is why these machines are called large bore lathes.These lathes may also be called heavy duty boring turning centers, oil field lathes or hollow spindle tube lathes (HSTL). There are numerous variations which make individual big bore machines better suited to specific applications.
The spindle bore diameter, swing over the bed, width of the bed, and distance between centers determine the size part that a big bore lathe can make. The swing diameter on a large bore lathe indicates the largest-diameter part that can fit in the chuck and still swing over the bed without hitting.
The age and type of CNC controls determine the ease of programming for a big bore lathe machine. These machines make big steel rollers, large diameter flanges, and long shafts of ships, for example. Any large diameter turning, threading and chamfering application is a good fit for a big bore machine. Machine shops that work in the oil field, nuclear, ship-building and large scientific equipment industries buy big bore lathes to make large, precision-machined parts.
Common Options for Big Bore CNC Lathes
- Rotary quill option on tailstocks
- Double chuck systems (front and rear)
- ear tool post
- Taper attachments
- 3-jaw or 4-jaw chucks
- Steady rest
- Follow rest
- Quick-change tool posts
- Coolant Tank & Pump
- Chip Conveyors
- Tailstock
- Enclosures
- V8 Turret
Bore Lathe Made Manufacturers
- Cincinnati
- Ganesh
- Haas Lathe
- Hankook
- Jonford Big Bore
- Kent USA
- Kitamuar
- Leblond
- Lehmann
- Lodge & Shipley
- Mazak Lathe
- Megabore
- Mori Sieki
- Okuma
- Steiner
- Stanko
- Summit
- Takang
Common Big Bore Specs
- Controls: CNC & Manual
- Swing: 16 to over 50
- Centers: 40 to over 380
- Spindle Bore: 2 to 65