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tery, the bestknown design being the potter39。s wheel. Most suitably equipped metalworking lathes can also be used to produce most solids of revolution, plane surfaces and screw threads or helices. Ornamental lathes can produce threedimensional solids of incredible plexity. The material is held in place by either one or two centers, at least one of which can be moved horizontally to acmodate varying material lengths. Examples of objects that can be produced on a lathe include cue sticks, table legs, bowls, baseball bats, crankshafts and camshafts. History The lathe is an ancient tool, dating at least to the Egyptians , and known and used in Greece, the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The origin of turning dates to around 1300BC when the Egyptians first developed a twoperson lathe. One person would turn the wood workpiece with a rope while the other used a sharp tool to cut shapes in the wood. The Romans improved the Egyptian design with the addition of a turning bow. Early bow lathes were also developed and used in Germany, France and Britain. In the Middle Ages a pedal replaced handoperated turning, freeing both the craftsman39。s power lathes). A master would cut the wood while an apprentice turned the crank。s lathes are metal, jeweler39。 and the continental Dstyle bar bed (used on both 6 mm and 8 mm lathes). Lathes that sit on a bench or table are called bench lathes. Lathes that do not have additional integral features for repetitive production, but rather are used for individual part production or modification as the primary role, are called engine lathes. Lathes with a very large spindle bore and a chuck on both ends of the spindle are called oil field lathes. Fully automatic mechanical lathes, employing cams and gear trains for controlled movement, are called screw machines. Lathes that are controlled by a puter are CNC lathes. Lathes with the spindle mounted in a vertical configuration, instead of horizontal configuration, are c