Live tooling refers to powered, rotating tools mounted in a lathe's turret — driven mills, drills and taps — that let a turning center machine off-center features such as cross-holes, flats, slots and keyways while the part is held in the chuck. Without live tools, a lathe can only cut features concentric to the spindle axis.
Combined with a C-axis (spindle indexing) and often a Y-axis, live tooling lets a turning center finish complex parts complete in one setup, reducing handling and error.
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