Capability
CNC Turning with Live Tooling
Turned parts that come off the lathe finished — diameters, bores and threads plus drilled, tapped and milled features, all in a single setup.
CNC lathe services near Bradenton & Tampa
Turn it, drill it, mill it — in one setup
A conventional lathe can only make round features. Anything else — a cross hole, a wrench flat, a bolt circle on the face — means taking the part off and setting it up again on a mill. Our CNC lathe is equipped with live tooling and C-axis spindle control, so many of those secondary features are machined right on the lathe before the part is cut off.
Fewer operations means faster turnaround and better concentricity and position between turned and milled features.
Turning capabilities
What our lathe can do
OD & ID turning
Outside diameters, tapers, radii, shoulders and grooves; boring and internal profiles.
Threading
Internal and external single-point threads, plus tapped holes on the face or diameter.
Face drilling & bolt circles
Hole patterns on the face of the part, positioned with the C-axis.
Radial (cross) holes
Drilled and tapped holes through the diameter on the part’s centerline.
Flats, hex & slots
Wrench flats, keyways and simple milled features using C-axis interpolation.
Knurling & finishing
Grip features, chamfers and deburring to make parts ready to use.
Straight talk
Live tooling without a Y-axis
We’d rather tell you up front what a machine does well. Our lathe has live tooling and C-axis control but no Y-axis. In practice:
| Done on the lathe | Turning, boring, threading, face hole patterns, on-center cross holes and taps, flats, hex and keyways |
|---|---|
| Done as a second op on the mill | Off-center radial holes, pockets not aligned with centerline and complex milled features on the diameter |
Because we have a 4-axis mill in the same shop, a part that needs both simply moves across the room — you still get one quote, one point of contact and one delivery.
Typical turned parts
What we turn
- Shafts, axles and pins
- Bushings, sleeves and spacers
- Threaded adapters and fittings
- Pulleys, rollers and hubs
- Knobs, handles and caps
- Replacement parts for pumps, motors and equipment
- Marine and automotive components
Common materials
Aluminum, carbon and alloy steels, stainless steel, brass, bronze and plastics including Delrin, nylon and UHMW.
Frequently asked questions
What is live tooling on a CNC lathe?
Live (driven) tools are spinning cutters mounted in the lathe turret. Combined with a C-axis that can hold the spindle at any angle or rotate it under control, they let the lathe drill, tap and mill features on a turned part without moving it to a separate milling machine.
Your lathe has no Y-axis — what does that mean for my part?
Live-tool features are machined on the part's centerline. Radial holes and taps pointing at the center, face hole patterns, flats and keyways can be done on the lathe. Off-center features that need the tool to move sideways — such as a radial hole that doesn't point at the center — are usually finished as a second operation on our 4-axis mill. We'll plan the most efficient route when we quote.
What kinds of parts are best suited to CNC turning?
Anything mostly round: shafts, pins, bushings, spacers, sleeves, fittings, knobs, pulleys, threaded parts and adapters.
Do you machine plastics on the lathe?
Yes. Along with aluminum, steels, stainless and brass, we turn engineering plastics such as Delrin (acetal), nylon and UHMW.