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For cylindrical parts such as pins, shafts, and spacers, or parts with general rotational symmetry, ‘turning’ them on a lathe is usually the simplest and most cost effective choice. Contrary to a mill, a lathe operates by fixturing cylindrical stock, called a rod, into a rotating chuck jaw on the machine. As this chuck rotates at a high RPM, so does the stock, and a fixed-orientation tool then translates along and across the stock to cut part features.
A CNC lathe equipped with live-tooling has all the capabilities of a standard lathe, but instead of relying solely on stationary tools, it can have rotating cutters such as drills or endmills, allowing for greater machining freedom and the introduction of asymmetrical features into the part without additional fixturing setups.