Lathes and milling machines are two types of machine tools commonly used in metal processing, but their processing methods and mechanical principles are very different.

A lathe uses a rotating spindle to hold the workpiece and cut the metal in a certain way to achieve the purpose of making precision parts. The characteristic of lathe processing is that it can cut and chamfer various curved surface shapes on the workpiece, so it is widely used in the production of various small metal parts, wheels, aircraft aviation parts, etc.

A milling machine is a machine tool that mounts the workpiece on the workbench and performs cutting or grooving on a flat surface with a tool. The characteristic of milling machine processing is that it can process complex plane shapes, such as spirals, arcs, trapezoids, etc., so it is widely used in the processing of various molds and parts. In addition, the milling machine can complete the entire workpiece processing process through multiple blank processing.

During the process of processing the workpiece, the lathe rotates around the workpiece for cutting, while the milling machine moves the tool on a plane to achieve the cutting effect. The different cutting methods of lathes and milling machines bring about differences in processing quality. The surface roughness processed by lathes is higher, while milling machines can achieve high-quality surface processing.

In addition, lathes and milling machines are used for different purposes. Lathes are mainly used in the manufacturing of small precision parts such as shafts, discs, and gears, while milling machines are mainly used in mold manufacturing, sheet metal processing of parts, and processing of large metal parts such as chassis and metal casings. Therefore, in factories and machinery manufacturing plants, lathes and milling machines often become two types of machine tools used together, complementing each other and collaborating to complete more complex workpiece processing.

In general, although lathes and milling machines have similarities, their processing principles and methods are very different, and their applicable processing objects are also different. For processing manufacturers and engineers, it is very important to choose a suitable machine tool, which can be selected according to the needs of the workpiece and the processing effect to obtain the best processing effect.