What is Turning: Definition and 317 Discussions

Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of external surfaces by this cutting action, whereas this same essential cutting action when applied to internal surfaces (holes, of one kind or another) is called "boring". Thus the phrase "turning and boring" categorizes the larger family of processes known as lathing. The cutting of faces on the workpiece, whether with a turning or boring tool, is called "facing", and may be lumped into either category as a subset.
Turning can be done manually, in a traditional form of lathe, which frequently requires continuous supervision by the operator, or by using an automated lathe which does not. Today the most common type of such automation is computer numerical control, better known as CNC. (CNC is also commonly used with many other types of machining besides turning.)
When turning, the workpiece (a piece of relatively rigid material such as wood, metal, plastic, or stone) is rotated and a cutting tool is traversed along 1, 2, or 3 axes of motion to produce precise diameters and depths. Turning can be either on the outside of the cylinder or on the inside (also known as boring) to produce tubular components to various geometries. Although now quite rare, early lathes could even be used to produce complex geometric figures, even the platonic solids; although since the advent of CNC it has become unusual to use non-computerized toolpath control for this purpose.
The turning processes are typically carried out on a lathe, considered to be the oldest of machine tools, and can be of different types such as straight turning, taper turning, profiling or external grooving. Those types of turning processes can produce various shapes of materials such as straight, conical, curved, or grooved workpieces.
In general, turning uses simple single-point cutting tools. Each group of workpiece materials has an optimum set of tool angles that have been developed through the years.
The bits of waste metal from turning operations are known as chips (North America), or swarf (Britain). In some areas they may be known as turnings.
The tool's axes of movement may be literally a straight line, or they may be along some set of curves or angles, but they are essentially linear (in the non mathematical sense).
A component that is subject to turning operations can be termed as a “Turned Part” or “Machined Component”. Turning operations are carried out on a lathe machine which can be manually or CNC operated.

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  1. N

    I don't understand this step in turning this negative into a positive

    So I have this question. I get all the working out, but then I feel like the answer should be; -2/(b-a). Then I thought -2/(-a+b) must just be the same thing... all good so far.. Then they somehow just to 2/(a-b) as the final answer.. I'm lost there. How does that conversion happen...
  2. A

    B Hanging beads in vehicle turning on horizontal road (constant v and r)

    Neglect any forces within string, except tension.
  3. W

    Electrical Turning a single phase motor into a generator

    Hi I’m a year 12 student and I’m trying to turn a washing machine motor into a generator. In my physics class we have only learned about AC generators using permanent magnets but the motor I’ve got doesn’t have any magnets and I believe that it is called an induction motor? Anyway I’m still...
  4. C

    I Angular momentum and turning a bicycle

    Hello everyone! I've been watching the following Walter Lewin lecture, the part that illustrates my question is part 17:19 of the video Most things have made sense during this lecture, but one persistent question I have is the following: why does the bicycle tilt toward the inside of the...
  5. U

    Shooting an arrow through the spokes of a turning wheel

    r=22 cm = 0.022 m 3.5 rev/s L_arrow = 26 cm= 0.026 m first I got the speed in rad $$ 3.5* \frac {2 \pi}{0.022}= 999.6 m/s $$ from there I tried to determine the time the arrow had to pass through the spokes, 1/8 th of the wheel. $$ \frac {2 \pi}{0.022} * \frac {1}{0.8} = 35.7 rad $$...
  6. 1

    Why did my roller luggage's wheels stop turning smoothly?

    Two weeks ago, my carry on worked perfectly. But last week the detachable wheels stopped rotating smoothly, when I tried to glide my carry on. The wheels budge JUST A TAD when you push them hard, but it should be EFFORT LESS! Please see two pictures below. I see nothing jammed in the wheels. I...
  7. S

    Checking nature of turning point of parametric equation

    I have found the turning point. I want to ask how to check the nature of the turning point. My idea is to change the equation into cartesian form then find the second derivative and put the ##x## value of the turning point. If second derivative is positive, then it is minimum and if the second...
  8. A

    I How is static friction the centripetal force during a car turning?

    Hello, as you can see i am trying to understand conceptually how the tires during turning create a centripetal force. It was explained to me that as we turn the car tires, the tires similar to a ski or a wedge, now want to push the ground to the side and forward. If the ground was loose, this...
  9. S

    Mechanism that engages when turning both ways, but releases when not driven

    I have an application in mind with a hand crank mechanism that will usually not be engaged to a trugh shaft so it can freewheel, but as soon as you start turning the hand crank in either direction it should engage with the shaft. And i want it to be silent (no mechanical ratchets) and with...
  10. S

    MATLAB Turning Fourier coefficients into an interpolated freq domain function

    Hi, I am interested in understanding the relationships between Fourier series and Fourier transform better. My goal is 1) Start with a set of ordered numbers representing Fourier coefficients. I chose to create 70 coefficients and set the first 30 to the value 1 and the remaining to zero. 2)...
  11. Epsilon Eridani

    Turning oxygen into fluorine in our atmosphere

    Summary:: Hypothetical discussion of a method to turn oxygen into fluorine through the use of another chemical and also discussing the biological effects of fluorine. Hello, I'd like to start this by saying my knowledge of chemistry is extremely basic. I barely graduated chemistry in high...
  12. Gaby

    Thermofluids -- A fireboat carries out a turning manoeuvre

    I would be greatful for any hints and guidance on how to approach these question, thanks.
  13. Wrichik Basu

    Desktop PC not turning on, blinking green LED on motherboard

    Our Windows 7 32-bit desktop PC is fitted with an Asus P7H55-M LX motherboard. It was working fine till yesterday evening, but from this morning, it won't turn on. (By this, I mean that it is not even starting the boot; the fan on the processor won't run.) My first guess was the PSU. So I...
  14. Monoxdifly

    MHB Determining c in Quadratic Function Turning Point

    The graph's turning point of a quadratic function f(x)=ax^2+bx+c is over the X-axis. If the coordinate of the turning point is (p, q) and a > 0, the correct statement is ... A. c is less than zero B. c is more than zero C. q is less than zero D. q equals zero Since the point (p, q) is over the...
  15. R

    Crank Journal Turning w/ Attached Bar: Does it Ever Stop Moving?

    Basic zero clearance friction-less model of a crank journal turning with an attached bar on that journal. Bar moves up and down in Sine fashion, components of journal Velocity vector change accordingly (showing clockwise rotation here), and Velocity of the attached bar only has a Y component (up...
  16. X

    Y-component of the force vector in turning flight

    Hello, I have a question: Why is the y-component of the force at turning flight equal to the weight force? Here, Fs is equal to Fg. But why? I tried to explain it myself but I didn't get it
  17. bbbl67

    I Power output of red dwarfs turning yellow and blue?

    Although the universe is not old enough to experience these yet, but near the end of the lives of red dwarf stars, they will go from red to yellow, to blue eventually. Does this result in additional heat being given off of the surface of those stars? And if so, then does the habitable zone of...
  18. P

    Ratio of the Earth's core radius to total radius via seismic turning point

    I've attached a figure I've made; I know I'm to assume the Earth is a perfect sphere in this case. Assuming the 103 degrees is measured as latitude, I've calculated the distance in kilometers (Xp in the second equation above) to be 1.1453e4 km. I know I need u = p at the turning point, but not...
  19. aspodkfpo

    Car turning and centripetal force

    1. When a car turns there is a centripetal force towards the centre. This centripetal force is labelled as a static frictional force. I don't understand where this static frictional force arises from. Friction is meant to oppose motion, but I don't see the motion that is parallel to the friction...
  20. Avatrin

    Python Differences between Pillow and Pyplot in turning an array into an image

    The other day I was trying to visualize a field using line integral convolution. I thought I kept failing for days since Pillow was giving me outputs similar to this one (img = Image.fromarray(output_image, 'L')): I thought I was making some mistake until I tried Pyplot...
  21. Spinnor

    B Help turning 2 sentences into a flow chart of actions

    Maybe not the right sub-forum? I have a form to complete in which 2 sentences need to be converted into a flow chart of action which I think I understand but maybe I don't and would appreciate your consideration. Please consider the following scanned passage starting at Spousal Consent, It...
  22. Like Tony Stark

    Reaction force acting at the wheels of cars when turning

    Well, I considered the two wheels as two different bodies and I wrote Newton's equations for both of them I considered the wheel closer to the centre of the circle, we have: ##\mu N_1 =mR\dot (\theta)## So we can find ##N_1## Doing the same thing, we can find ##N_2## ##\mu N_2 =m(R+d)...
  23. cookiemnstr510510

    Turning a real world problem into a calculus problem

    So I am a bit confused on how to get started. So far my thought process is we have water flowing in and water evaporating from the pool. The part that I think we are interested in is the leakage. The leakage has the rate it is flowing out per unit time. I will call it change in volume, or dV...
  24. A

    Possibility of turning a threaded rod with spur gears using a motor

    So I'm a college student currently doing A-Level Physics, I am attempting to build a type 4 double arm barn door tracker and although it has been a complicated project, I believe I've got all the planning done, however, I have a 2Rpm motor, a PWM motor controller, 2 9v batteries, an M8 threaded...
  25. berkeman

    Improving hearing "Signal to Noise" by turning your head

    I have long found myself turning my head fairly quickly when a noise steps on something I'm trying to hear. Sometimes it is just a noise like a bang or a pop that steps on a conversation I'm listening to, and sometimes it will happen when another person starts to speak and interferes with a...
  26. danihel

    Why does a piston-powered wheel keep turning in one direction?

    Hi, First I'd like to apologize, for this question probably sounds devastatingly stupid to people on the forum. Why does the wheel powered by a typical locomotive steam engine rotate only in one direction? I don't even understand why doesn't it sometimes just rotate half-way around and then...
  27. noodlesnoah

    Would my turning mechanism for my robot work?

    I am making a robot and was wondering if this mechanism will work to turn my robot. Below is a small diagram of my robot. The main wheels are by the circle and there are a few small not power ones for stablisation in the tail. If I rotated the part pointed to in the tail or just the tail would...
  28. Athi Sankar

    Turning Moment of Single Cylinder 4-Stroke Engine | Explanation

    Figure 1 shows the Turning Moment diagram of Single Cylinder four stroke Engine. Can anyone tell me, how the turning moment becomes positive at the end of suction and exhaust stroke. Net force F = Force due to gas pressure - Inertia Force - Reaction Force due to friction If the net force...
  29. T

    Why is this water turning black during electrolysis?

    Good day, I am here because I have begun a new hobby and it is my hope to better understand what it is I am doing and seeing. Luckily I have the mental capacity to process much of what I read, but sadly I am vastly under-educated. My new project involves electrolysis and for reasons I don't...
  30. L

    Automotive Car Hazard lights turning on by itself

    Last night about 2am (checked cctv). The 2001 honda crv car hazard light suddenly turned on in the parking (its that button at the middle above the aircon). When i found out at 7am. The car couldn't start so i connected the jumper, hence asking the question in another thread. Has anyone ever...
  31. D

    How does a 1-wheeled motorcycle turn?

    I've witnessed 1st-hand with my own eyeballs this guy riding an S-shaped path through chicane at Thunderhill East+West 5-mile combined course with front-wheel IN THE AIR! I believe bike is a Yamaha TZ250, 100-120bhp and 200-lbs weight. I conducted an experiment to document behavior of single...
  32. Wrichik Basu

    Turning a desktop PC into a WiFi hotspot using Connectify software

    I was reading online that Connectify can be used to convert any desktop or laptop PC into a hotspot. Our PC is fitted with Windows 7 Pro, 32-bit. It doesn't have an inbuilt WiFi adapter, and connects to the Internet using Ethernet. I wanted to make a hotspot using this desktop. There are...
  33. R

    Mechanics of a car turning left

    Imagine a carom shot in a perfect world. A ball travels diagonally from the lower left-hand corner towards the right cushion and bounces off to head towards the upper left-hand corner. The ball has X and Y momentum. On the collision, the cushion absorbs and then return all the -X momentum to...
  34. S

    Automotive Idling or turning the engine off?

    Hi all, I am aware that idling is fuel inefficient and a waste of fuel, but I guess that it is not always convenient to turn the engine off, since the turning on requires more energy than idling. So, I think that for long periods, turning the engine off is more fuel efficient than idling, but...
  35. EastWindBreaks

    Are theses approaches correct? (entropy change of water turning into steam)

    Homework Statement An insulated piston-cylinder device contains 5 L of saturated liquid water at a constant pressure of 150 kPa. An electric resistance heater inside the cylinder is now turned on, and 2200 kJ of energy is transferred to the steam. Determine the entropy change of the water...
  36. J

    Speed or turning point using energy

    Homework Statement Please look at the attached screenshot. This problem is really confusing for me and I can't seem to make much sense out of it. Homework Equations Ei = Ef The Attempt at a Solution As you can see, I did get (a). (The other checkmarks, I guessed — there were only two...
  37. T

    B Solve Ax ≡ B mod C w/ Bezout's Identity

    This is a very obvious question, but I am having trouble concentrating. Let ax ≡ b mod c and let gcd(a, c) | b. How do I convert this equation into Bezout's identity so that I can use the extended Euclidean algorithm?
  38. C

    Force of friction in turning cars

    I read an article where the author tried to find the maximal speed a car can have when taking a turn of certain radius. They represented the car as a point and claimed that the force of friction is the centripetal force - acting perpendicular to the trajectory of the car. I do understand why...
  39. T

    I An Embarrassing Question about turning a ring into a module

    Given a ring R, how exactly do I interpret it as a module? A lot of my homework assignments involve treating a ring as "a module over itself" and I don't know precisely what that means.
  40. S

    I Turning mass Energy calculation

    Hello, can someone tell me how, or provide me a formula, to calculate the power of the turning shaft? in Nm or Watts, I don't mind. The mass (23Kgr) is turning at stable speed of 100 rpm by external independent force. The shaft is supposed to be on bearings both sides.. I made a picture to save...
  41. Psinter

    Turning on and off the air conditioner consumes more energy?

    The air conditioner is set up to put the temperature at 72F. Which I hate because that's cold, but whatever. The air conditioner turns on and works for about 6 minutes when it automatically turns off because the temperature reached 72F. It stays off for 10 minutes and then it turns on again...
  42. Evo

    Electrical devices turning themselves on

    I wasn't sure where to put this. The other night my electric heater turned itself on. It's a duraflame fake fireplace heater. It turned on, the flames turned on, it was 85F at the time and the unit was off, but plugged in. At the same time in a different outlet my internet and tv turned...
  43. isukatphysics69

    Using potential energy graph, find particle turning point

    Homework Statement Homework Equations Emec - PE = KE The Attempt at a Solution When particle starts at x = 4 KE = .5(.25)(225) = 28.125 Energy of system = 28.125 I don't have anything with position here so i am unsure how to find what position that the energy will be equal to the Emec and...
  44. M

    Car Collision While Turning: Understanding the Outcome at Low Speeds

    Hi! Sorry about the thread level. I had no idea which level to choose. I have a burning question. Can someone help me? If a car collides with a pedestrian (who walks into the path of the car from the right) while turning right (the wheels are still turned) at low speed (10 to 15 mph) and if the...
  45. Biker

    Turning the refraction formula into reflection: Negative index

    In refraction of spherical surfaces, We derived the formula to be: ## u_2 L^{'} = u_1 L + (u_2 - u_1) R## Where ##L^{'}## is the reciprocal of the distance of the image. ##L## is the reciprocal of the distance of the object. ##u_2## is the refractive index of the medium that the light ray is...
  46. T

    Faraday's Law - loop turning in the Earth's B-field

    Homework Statement Homework Equations Faraday's Law, Ohm's Law, definition of current[/B]The Attempt at a Solution We were given this solution:[/B] The above solution is leaving out a lot of intermediary steps. I don't agree that "the axis of the coil is at 20°, not 70°, from the...
  47. K

    Tyres of a car lifting when turning left sharply....

    Homework Statement Why do the left wheels of a car rise when it takes a sharp left turn (that is it lurches towards the right)? Homework Equations $$a_c= V^2/R$$The Attempt at a Solution I started by imagining the car as being a part of a very large ring, dx. Since it's taking a left turn...
  48. Muhammad Danish

    Solving for F2 in the Turning Effect of Force Problem

    Homework Statement Homework Equations How will we find the perpendicular distance between the wall and the centre of mass of the slab? How will we calculate the total downward force exerted by the cables on the slab? I thought much over both the cases but was not able to find any solution...
  49. Muhammad Danish

    Calculating Force in the Turning Effect of Force Equation

    Homework Statement Homework Equations How do we calculate the value of F? The Attempt at a Solution Since for an object to be in equilibrium, F1D1 = F2D2 so 7.2 x 1 = F x 8 F = 0.9N, I am pretty much confused with the answer I worked out. If I am wrong or if I am right, please explain me the...
  50. Observeraren

    I Turning the square into a circle

    Hello Forum, Does topology reckon the art of turning a square into a circle? I am quite new to topology and maths in general, I have only dabbled and eyed on my collection of mathbooks. I have come to a conclusion of how to turn the Square into A Circle without cutting. I wonder if I am...
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