What is a 4-spindle lathe and a multi-spindle lathe

As the name suggests, a horizontal lathe has 4 spindles: the 2 spindles in a sealed cutting environment are cutting while the 2 spindles outside the processing area are simultaneously loading and unloading workpieces. Therefore, the 4-axis lathe of the multi-spindle lathe can achieve almost “zero” loading and unloading time, which greatly improves the utilization rate of the spindle. For example, we know that the automated loading and unloading time of a manipulator on a lathe is generally about 12 seconds. We assume that a dual-spindle lathe is processing a simple workpiece with a 12-second cycle. The processing time and loading and unloading time of the workpiece are both 12 seconds, then this dual-spindle The processing cycle of the lathe is 24 seconds/2 pieces; the spindle utilization rate is 50%. The machining cycle of a 4-axis lathe in the same cutting conditions is: 12 seconds + 1.5 seconds / 2 pieces; the spindle utilization rate is 89%. Through a simple comparison of the above cases, we can clearly draw the following conclusions:

1. The higher the utilization rate of the spindle, the greater the machining efficiency and output per unit time of this machine tool, that is, the greater the investment benefit of this machine tool.

2. The shorter the workpiece cutting time, the higher the proportion of the loading and unloading time, then the advantage of the multi-spindle lathe 4-axis lathe is greater than the advantage of the double-spindle lathe. On the contrary, the advantages are reduced.