Cycle lathes

The gap between manual lathes, found in a toolroom and CNC turning centers and in a production plant is very wide. For this reason the manufacturers have created the semi-CNC, semi-automatic, teachable, hybrid and controlled cycle lathes. They  can be operated in a mode involving some level of electronic assistance. Many also can be operated in a strictly manual mode with the operator simply working the handwheels. The level of electronic assistance found on these machines varies widely- from a level one step above a simple digital readout that gives the operator prompts, to a level one step below full CNC in which automatic operation does not require standard G-code program input.