Swiss Turning Service

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Swiss Turning Manufacturer

Swiss turning refers to a specialized process for machining small, ultra-precise turned parts. The Swiss Screw machine, also referred to as the Swiss Lathe, Swiss Automatic, or Sliding Headstock Lathe, originated in 19th century Switzerland to streamline the mass production of miniature screws required for the burgeoning watch industry. It surpasses the precision and accuracy of conventional “fixed headstock” lathes, especially when dealing with increasingly minuscule components.
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Advantage of Swiss Turning

In Swiss turning, the workpiece is held in a guide bushing close to the cutting tool, providing excellent stability and minimizing deflection. This design allows for exceptional precision and accuracy, particularly when working with small-diameter parts. The cutting tool is typically multiple-axis, allowing for simultaneous machining operations, such as turning, drilling, milling, and threading, to be performed in a single setup.

Enhanced Precision
The close proximity of the cutting tool to the guide bushing effectively mitigates vibration and deflection, leading to exceptional precision and dimensional accuracy.
High Efficiency

The ability to perform multiple machining operations simultaneously reduces production time and increases efficiency

Exceptional Surface Finish

Swiss turning produces high-quality surface finishes, often eliminating the need for additional finishing operations.

Complex Geometries
The multiple-axis capability of Swiss machines enables the production of intricate and complex part geometries, including features such as tapers, angles, and contours.
Material Versatility
Swiss turning can be applied to a wide range of materials, such as stainless steel, aluminum, titanium and plastics, providing versatility in material selection.

What is Swiss Turning?

Swiss turning, also known as Swiss machining or Swiss-style turning, is a highly specialized and precise machining process used for the production of small, intricate, and high-precision turned parts. The technique takes its name from its origins in Switzerland, where it was developed to meet the demanding requirements of the watchmaking industry.

In Swiss turning, the workpiece is held in a guide bushing close to the cutting tool, which provides excellent support and minimizes vibration. This design allows for highly precise and accurate machining, particularly for small-diameter parts. The cutting tool, often multi-axis, performs various operations such as turning, drilling, milling, and threading.

Swiss turning is commonly used in industries such as aerospace, medical devices, electronics, and automotive, where small, high-precision components are required. The process’s ability to deliver exceptional accuracy and intricate part geometries makes it a preferred choice for applications that demand precise and reliable manufacturing.

CNC turning plastics

Aluminum machining is a fundamental aspect of Leland services catalog, but CNC turning can also be employed to process metals such as magnesium, steel, stainless steel, brass, copper, bronze, titanium, and nickel alloy.

CNC turning is frequently utilized for mechanical and precision components, which are frequently crafted from aluminum, the most readily machinable metal. Aluminum parts can be manufactured with exceptional strength and accuracy, along with an excellent surface finish.

CNC turning plastics

While precision machining is primarily employed for metals, Leland is also proficient in offering CNC turning services for plastic parts. The materials available for CNC turning encompass nylon, polycarbonate, ABS, POM, PP, PMMA, PTFE, PEI, PEEK, among others, enabling the production of highly accurate parts compared to those produced through 3D printing methods.

Difference Swiss Turning Vs Traditional Turning

Traditional lathes function by holding the workpiece firmly at one or both ends. While the part spins, the tools will be brought in and out of contact with the workpiece to cut away material along its entire length. With a Swiss Screw machine the bar of material both spins and slides axially through a guide bushing. The tools are mounted to the face of the guide bushing. Unlike a traditional lathe where the force of the tool is exerted on the part far from where the machine supports it, on the Swiss lathe, the force is right where the material is emerging from the bushing. Because of this ingenious design, the effects on the part from tool force is minimized, allowing for far greater precision work. Assuming parts are of the same size and material, the parts in the Swiss Screw machine will deflect and vibrate less during machining than in a traditional lathe. As parts get smaller, the benefits of the Swiss turning process increase in comparison to the traditional lathe. Typically, Swiss-type parts are less than 1 ¼” (32mm) in diameter with the majority being less than ¾” (16 mm) in diameter. In addition, Swiss turning was built around the capability to produce components in very high volumes.

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