Copying Lathe

a machine used for the reproduction of plane and curved surfaces from a master (template, pattern, model, or blueprint) on products made of various materials. Copying lathes are made for plane, contour, three-dimensional, and combined profiling with a mechanical, hydraulic, electric, or photoelectric servomechanism or without a servomechanism.

The main assembly of a copying lathe is a duplicating device. Copying milling machines are widely used in metalworking; lathes and milling machines are used in woodworking. Many all-purpose lathes (such as turning lathes) are also equipped with a duplicating device. Copying lathes are used in series and mass production of patterned furniture pieces, complex casting patterns, profiled cams, eccentrics, templates, and matrices.