Swiss turning: Operation, advantages, limitations, and applications

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes 20 second

Swiss-tuning Operation

The turning process in manufacturing refers to reducing the diameter of a workpiece to obtain the required dimension by removing material from the outer surface. The workpiece rotates, and the turning tool removes material by pressure touching the outer shell.

A regular lathe machine is a very straightforward approach for turning. Even though turning with lathe machining has quality and accuracy issues, CNC Swiss machines have become highly effective and popular in the global manufacturing industry.

Swiss machines are capable of producing extremely small parts with extreme precision. Therefore, it is the best machining approach if you need parts with a diameter of less than 1.25”.

 This article briefly describes the Operation, advantages, limitations, and application of the Swiss turning process.

Swiss turning operation

Swiss machine features a movable headstock where the work- bar gets attached for the turning in a collet or chuck, depending upon the size. If the bar is very tiny, the collet can attach it with a great degree of stability with the help of guide bushing. As a result, the bar stock is not exposed directly to the lathe bed and turning tooling, allowing the material to be turned quickly and securely inside the machine without deflection. 

The Headstocks move along the Z-axis in response to input controls such as feed rate, cutting speed, cutting force, and flank wear, while the turning tool is positioned on the guide bushing face. Guide bushing gives the support the turning in every cutting point. Unlike traditional lathe turning, the working bar in this machine can spin and slide in axial directions.  

Steps to follow

Step 1: Check all the components of the Swiss-turning machine that are working correctly.

Step 2: Attach the workpiece (work bar) to the collet and ensure it’s adjusted so it can grip the work bar properly, whether the headstock moves in or out.

Step 3: Mount the appropriate tool as the requirement of turning on the face of Guide-bushing

Step 4: Adjust the Guide bushing to loosen the work bar for pass-through by allowing the headstock back to access the bushing. Also, ensure it can support the bar at all cutting points.

For most loosening and tightening operations, operators use a spanner wrench with pins embedded into the bushing.

Step 5: To start production, push the work bar through the headstock to the cutoff location and provide the required inputs.

Advantages of Swiss turning

Swiss turning has numerous advantages in the manufacturing industry, especially in precision production. Following are some of the key benefits of using Swiss turning.

1.      Swiss machines can turn even the tiniest parts, such as watch pins and injection needles, with high dimensional accuracy.

2.      Swiss turning is the perfect approach for all requirements, taper, chamfer, and counter turning.

3.      During the Swiss-turning process, the guide bushing feature provides a high degree of stability to the working bar.

4.      Water is used as the cutting fluid for the Swiss turning instead of oil to minimize heat dissipation in the working zone.

5.      Swiss turning provides high-quality work bar finishing, reducing the need for secondary finishing operations.

6.      Since the Swiss machine has a movable headstock, turning Operation makes it more straightforward and quicker than conventional turning with a lathe.

7.      Because the tools in Swiss turning machines are very compatible, there will be minimal vibration during the turning.

8.      The Swiss machine’s compact geometry allows the tool to operate within millimeters of the work bar, reducing the chip-to-chip time during the turning process.

Limitations

·         The cost of Swiss turning is its main drawback. In addition, increasing the accuracy and precision of manufactured parts adds to the process’s cost.

·         The tools in the Swiss turning machine move less in the distance, reducing production time but limiting the working bar’s size.

·         Because the entire working bar revolves at a high RPM, maintaining the precise part diameter per design is also a limitation.

·         Turning operations with Swiss machines, particularly for small automotive parts, necessitate highly skilled operators and a steep learning curve. Such as, Automotive and medical parts materials are challenging to work with in high-precision manufacturing, maintaining the required surface finishing.

·         Unlike in the conventional lathe, water is used as the cutting fluid for the Swiss turning to minimize heat dissipation. However, water does not provide better lubrication than oil in the working zone.

Applications

Swiss turning has applications for almost every industry that requires parts with high precision for the proper functionality of the various systems and machines. 

Parts from Swiss-turning

Watch Industry: Watch components such as Needles, bezel, sub-dial, Hour maker, and more

Automotive:  production of Tiny Cylindrical Automotive parts such as Piston for hydraulic valves, engine components, shafts, fuel Injection systems, gear parts, electrical systems, and transmission components that require a high degree of precision.

Aerospace: In terms of Operation and security, the aerospace industry requires high precision in machined parts. Swiss turning is used to make Aerospace components such as aircraft and spacecraft motors, wings, arms, wheels, cockpit, and electrical components.

Military: Complex and tiny cylindrical geometries for parts used in defense equipment where precision is critical for functionality. Such as guns, tanks, missiles, aircraft, drones, helicopters, rocket launchers, ships, and many more.

 Medical: Various components are required for diagnostic, surgical, Treatment, and drug delivery. A few examples are electrodes, needles, and anchors.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the Swiss turning process is very accurate, quick, and efficient in manufacturing complex cylindrical geometries for various fields ranging from watch needles to components for rockets. It does not matter how tiny the parts are; it never compromises the design tolerance. Although the Swiss turning operation requires highly skilled expertise, it is not complex as you think. we have been working on manufacturing from Swiss machines for a long time. Our expert operators and engineers are qualified to give the best and reliant service related to Swiss turning. So, if you need Swiss turning assistance and consultation, please do not hesitate to contact us.