A split die is a device used on metal lathes and milling machines to drive the tool holder along the bed of the lathe. It consists of two halves of a threaded device that can be closed around a threaded shaft or opened to slide freely along the shaft. Split nuts are commonly made of brass or nylon and can have both forward and reverse automatic feed capabilities. The nut halves are initially engaged by adjusting small screws or bolts, and the final pressure is provided via a spring or pair of springs. Two split nut drives are used to achieve forward and reverse operation.
A split die is a device commonly found on a metal lathe and automatic feed milling machines. It consists of two halves of a threaded device that can be closed around a threaded shaft or opened to slide freely along the shaft when the halves are separated. Commonly connected together with set bolts, the split nut can be tightened to allow the threads to engage a rotating threaded rod, thus driving the tool holder along the bed of the lathe by straddling the threaded rod. This allows you to loosen the split nut to disengage the threaded drive rod, which allows you to manually slide the tool holder back and forth along the bed of the lathe.
Using a split die, the device maintains the simplicity of a hand-operated machine, but gains the complexity of an automatic-feed tool. In highly complex split nut designs, the nut is split into four parts containing both left and right hand threads. With this type of nut, the machine can be adjusted to have both forward and reverse automatic feed capabilities. The most common material to make a split nut is brass, although nylon is often employed due to its ease of use without the need for heavy lubrication. Brass is a soft metal that has some form of self-lubricating properties, making it suitable for design as well.
The success of the self-feeding design is often directly related to how well the nut is held together. While the most basic styles are held together with small threaded bolts, some of the more complex versions are actually held together with small springs. The nut halves are initially engaged by adjusting small screws or bolts, however, the final pressure is provided via a spring or pair of springs placed on the adjusting bolts. If the spring pressure is too much, the tool bed can jam and stick as the equipment attempts to slide along the pushrod. If the spring is too light, the action can become jerky as the components slide against each other as the wires struggle to stay in contact with each other.
Once initial setup and adjustment is complete, most split nut drivers provide very reliable performance for machine operators. In most cases, two split nut drives are used to achieve forward and reverse operation. By disconnecting a nut on one side of the tray, the attached nut will drive it in one direction. The operator simply releases the current nut and engages the other to send the tool bed in the other direction.
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