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What is a Precision Lathe?

Sometimes a shop doesn’t do enough turning work to justify the purchase of a CNC lathe. But when it needs to produce precision turned parts, even if for a very small lot size, the shop needs a solution.

Such was the case for Sturges DesignWorks, a company in Portland, Ore., that provides automation and design engineering solutions in a variety of industries, including medical products, electronics, fixturing and tooling, and research and development. The company was working with a client who needed a special machine built that required substantial CNC lathe work. But Sturges didn’t have a lathe. “CNC lathes are expensive, take up much needed floor space, and have a steep learning curve,” explains Dan Sturges, company CEO. He considered a CNC mini lathe, but found that it would not be precise, rigid or accurate enough for the work required.

To address the issue, the company developed what it calls the Sturges Turning Head system to bridge the gap between traditional, full-featured CNC lathes and low-productivity, small CNC mini lathes. “I had always wondered why we couldn’t somehow do precision CNC lathe work on a CNC milling machine,” Mr. Sturges says. “The problem is, even if you attach a lathe tool to the mill spindle and lock it, there’s still a tiny bit of play that makes it impossible to maintain a standard of precision.