What is Swiss CNC Machining?

What is Swiss CNC Machining?
Swiss CNC machining is a specialized process to machine small, high precision turned parts. A Swiss CNC machine, also referred to as a Swiss automatic lathe, Swiss screw machine, or Swiss-type lathe, was originally designed for the Swiss watchmaking industry. Over the years, the Swiss-style turning machine, has been refined to widely used in various industries for high-volume, high-precision manufacturing – and for good reason.Get more news about Swiss-type Lathe Machining,you can vist our website!

A Swiss-style lathe is a type of machine that cuts bar stock fed through a guide bushing while the tools keep stationary. The collet is recessed behind the guide bushing so that the bar stock held in it will have better support and will not directly be exposed to the lathe bed and the tooling, so the machine can process the material rapidly and tightly. Also, it plays a great role in decreasing tool deflection and vibration while increasing parts accuracy since the cutting tool can work nearer to the bushing.
A conventional turning machine has a fixed headstock that holds the spinning workpiece when a cutting tool moves across to machine the outer diameter. However, in a Swiss CNC turning center, it employs a sliding headstock that feeds bar stock through a guide bushing in the Z-axis towards the stationary cutting tool.

In the turning operation, clamped onto the chuck or collet in the headstock, the bar stock is located radially and precisely. The headstock moves back and forth along the z-axis, taking the bar stock with it. The turning tools, carried on the gang slide, always engage the bar stock close to the bushing, usually within 1 to 3 mm, thus providing the greatest degree of support and decreasing vibration and tool deflection consequently. And continuous feeding is achieved by the movement of the spindle and the supply of the guide bush.
Compared with a conventional lathe with fixed headstocks where the workpiece is clamped in a chuck or collet and extends to the enclosure of the machine as a cantilever or can be supported on the one end with a tailstock, the Swiss CNC turning machine has movable headstocks.

The good performance of Swiss CNC machining greatly benefits from the guide bushing and the geometry and mechanics that take place in the tool zone.

The chip-to-chip time from one tool to the next can be one second or less because the cutting tool operates near the guide bushing;
Capacity for 20 or more tools in the tool zone;
Shorter set-up times;
Often a single heavy cut helps to remove all the necessary material while preventing deflection;
Superior surface finish without the need for grinding;
Complex parts can be machined in a single cycle with more accuracy;
Multiple operations on the part in a single machining cycle, making it possible for the parts come off the lathe ready to ship;
Optimization of productivity-the right automatic bar feeder enables continuous, unattended and even lights-out operation;
Tighter tolerances are realized by the sliding headstock & the guide bushing.