About Our Machines

Swissturn/USA Swiss screw machines and high speed CNC machining
A Swiss-type screw machine is an automatic lathe that has a sliding headstock and a guide bushing. The sliding headstock is the part of the machine that holds the bar stock (usually 12-foot metal or plastic bars) and rotates it (usually 1000-10,000 RPM depending upon the diameter and type of material). The cutting tools (brazed carbide turning or cut-off tools or insert tools) move in and out of the material to create required diameters while the headstock moves the material forward to create required lengths.

High speed machining and machine shop equipment
Unlike many other types of screw machines, Swiss machines generate the features of the part by moving the material and the tool at the same time. Other types of screw machines often create part shapes by making a form tool with the shape of the part in the tool.

Swiss screw machine products and machined parts
The headstock contains the collet, which clamps the material. The material is then fed through a guide bushing, which is usually made of carbide. The bushing is adjusted so that the material can slide through it, but tight enough to keep the material from flexing away from the cutting tool. The guide bushing allows Swiss-type screw machines to hold very tight tolerances (+/- .0001") over long lengths in relation to part diameter. For example, if you needed to turn a .100" diameter over a 3" length, a Swiss-type screw machine is the only way to do this. On a conventional lathe the material would bend away from the cutting tool.

CNC machine shop equipment
Newer Swiss-type screw machines are CNC (Computer Numerical Controlled). Older machines were cam operated, so each different part required a new set of cams. With CNC machining you can sometimes switch parts with the push of a few buttons. At our Swiss screw machine shop we still run a few cam machines, but 99% of our work comes off of our new Star CNC Swiss screw machines.

Automatic high speed machining
An advantage of our new CNCs is that they have automatic bar loaders. When they finish a bar of material, they remove the remnant (the last 6" of a bar) and load a new bar, even if the machine operator is on coffee break, eating lunch, or sleeping at home.

History of precision Swiss screw machining
Swiss-type screw machines were developed in Switzerland to manufacture watch parts. This allowed them to compete with American watch manufacturers by making high precision parts in high volume. Most CNC Swiss screw machines are made in Japan by Star, Citizen, and Tsugami.

Swissturn – high speed CNC machining from a Swiss screw machine shop you can depend on.

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one hawksley road | oxford ma | 01540 | (800) 394-6123 | (508) 987-6211 | fax (508) 987-9914
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