Differences Among Electric Tool Post, Servo Turret, Hydraulic Turret and Power Turret
These four are the most common tool holding structures for CNC lathes. Below is a straightforward, practical breakdown of their distinctions for easy understanding:
1. Electric Tool Post (Standard Electric Tool Post)
- Common stations: 4-station, 6-station, 8-station
- Drive system: Standard motor + worm & worm gear
- Positioning: End gear coupling (indexing gear plate)
- Features: Low cost, durable, simple structure; slow tool change speed, moderate precision
- Limitation: Only fits fixed turning tools; cannot perform milling, drilling or tapping
- Application: Mass production of simple outer diameter, inner bore and thread turning parts
- Structure style: Disc type or square box type
2. Servo Turret
- Common stations: 8-station, 12-station
- Drive system: Servo motor + precision transmission
- Positioning: Servo closed-loop control + end gear coupling
- Features: Fast tool change, accurate positioning, high repeat positioning accuracy, stable rotating speed and low noise
- Limitation: Still only compatible with fixed turning tools, no milling capability
- Application: High-precision turning, mold parts and precision shaft workpieces
- Grade: One tier higher than ordinary electric tool posts
3. Hydraulic Turret
- Common stations: 8-station, 12-station
- Drive system: Hydraulic motor + hydraulic clamping
- Positioning: End gear coupling + high-pressure hydraulic clamping
- Features: Extremely high rigidity, powerful clamping force; suitable for heavy cutting, large cutting tools and rough machining; medium tool change speed
- Limitation: Only accepts fixed turning tools
- Application: Large workpieces, heavy cutting, cast iron and steel components
4. Power Turret (Turn-Mill Composite Turret)
- Common stations: 8-station, 12-station, equipped with powered tool heads
- Drive system: Servo + hydraulic + power drive mechanism
- Positioning: High-precision servo system + end gear coupling
- Features: Supports turning, milling, drilling, tapping and grooving operations independently; each tool station is equipped with an independent drive motor to rotate the cutting tool
- Advantage: Completes turning, milling and drilling processes in a single workpiece clamping setup
- Grade: Top-tier turret for turn-mill composite machining
