RETRACTABLE TOOL HOLDER

About the Project

This project developed an auxiliary tool to produce external threads on a conventional lathe more easily and accurately. Producing external threads by conventional methods requires repeated compound-feed adjustments and high skill levels, in addition to being time-consuming and risking non-uniform thread depth. Therefore, this project was specifically designed to assist less-skilled students—particularly certificate-level students in the Industrial Machining Technology program—in producing external threads more systematically and efficiently. The tool is mounted on the tool post and uses a High Speed Steel (HSS) threading tool. Its design focuses on facilitating depth adjustment without repeatedly moving the compound rest. The project scope includes designing, developing, and testing the tool in the industrial machining workshop at Shah Alam Vocational College. The tool can produce external threads on workpieces with diameters from Ø10 mm to Ø100 mm and thread lengths from 30 mm to 100 mm. Test results show that the tool reduces machining time, improves accuracy of thread depth, and produces thread quality comparable to conventional methods using the compound rest. Overall, the project has the potential to be an effective learning aid to improve students’ skills and confidence in external threading on a conventional lathe