Frequently Asked Questions

Why are your products called Speed Lathes?

When Crozier Machine built its first Speed Lathe, the phrase had not yet been coined. Crozier called its machine the SPEEDY Polishing Lathe. It remained that way for 5 years until the Speed Lathe label was first used. It was a very speedy machine to use and very easy to operate.

How do I use a Speed Lathe?

The Crozier Speed Lathe is used in a variety of industries for many second operations. You can deburr, grind, sand, polish, turn, lap and assemble. Anything that can be held in a collet, can be worked on. Many people have used the Speed Lathe as a building block to build custom machines for their applications.
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What is an air-collet closure?

An air-collet closure is a double acting air cylinder that opens and closes a collet. The air-collet closure is very reliable and easy to maintain. The air-collet closure is operated by an electric foot valve driving a electric valve. On Crozier machines, the collet closure is a built in unit, not an add on. They are ideally suited for fast production work.
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Why would I want an air-collet closure?

An air-collet closure is extremely easy to use and requires very little effort on the part of the operator. The operator uses an electric foot valve to open and close the collet, thus allowing both hands to be free. In addition, with an air regulator on the closing side of the cylinder, you can regulate the amount of gripping pressure of the collet. This allows thin wall and delicate parts to be held by the collet closure. Also, the collet movement of an air-collet closure is more than on a hand collet closure allowing the use of internal expanding and pot chuck collets.
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What is the difference between a dynamic brake and an electric brake?

Electric brakes are mechanical units that act much like a car brake. They have disks and wear pads that over time need adjustment and replacement. They are used on single speed machines and are efficient and reliable. They must be released if you want to turn the spindle by hand. During normal operations, They are released on starting the motor. Dynamic braking is used mostly on variable speed units that can be either DC or AC operations. Both ways turn the motor into a generator, causing the motor to stop. A by product of this power which is expelled through a resistor. The braking has no mechanical parts to wear or replace. There is no adjustment required.
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Speed Lathes seem to be heavy, is there a portable version?

Crozier Speed Lathes can easily be mounted on a four wheel cart. It then can be rolled to where it is needed.
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Why would I want a 16C collet?

The 16C collet is not for everyone. It is designed for companies that are now using 16C collet machines in their CNC operations. If the part you are running has come off a 16C machine, you can pop it in the Speed Lathe and do your deburring work, without tying up your expensive CNC.
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Why would I want a speed lathe on a bed rather than purchasing a standard speed lathe?

If you were buying a standard lathe, it would have to be modified extensively to match the features on a Speed Lathe. The most important consideration is price versus performance for the application. For a reasonable capital investment, you can design and build a specialty machine for your application utilizing the speed lathe and lathe bed option.
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What is the most unique application or operation that a speed lathe has performed?

We have built machines utilizing the Speed Lathe for grinding firing pins for missiles, machining impellers for garbage disposals, machining wrist pins, small motor pistons and drilling holes in dies.
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What industry employs the largest number of speed lathes?

Our most popular application is the screw machine industry, because of the volume of parts manufactured.
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