Evolution of Swiss Machining Without the Guide Bushing
May 1, 2021
"Swiss machines were first developed to meet the needs of the Swiss watch industry in the 1800s to support the development of smaller components," said an Expand Machinery spokesperson. "Problems of the work material moving away from the tool during the cut were solved by using a guide bushing to contain the workpiece while making the cut just past the point of support. This solution was especially effective in long and thin parts. Later machine designs used cams to automate the infeed of the cutting tool, which automated the machining process. This exponential jump in productivity is what drove the acceptance of what are now known as Swiss machines. The machine tool industry of the day was quick to capitalize on this new design and it was also employed in standard non-guide bushing lathes, in both bar and chucking applications."
The GENTURN series of sliding headstock CNS Swiss machines without guide bushings was developed due to customer requests to process shorter aspect ratio work with faster set-ups. "These machines do not require a guide bushing or ground barstock, do not have the waste of long bar remnants and are less expensive than standard Swiss machines," said the spokesperson. The first GENTURN 4-axis CY-32 was introduced in 1993 and was followed two years later with the 7-axis GENTURN 32-CS machine for complex work done in one seamless work handling using a subspindle. "While it was long thought that Swiss machines were relegated to small bar diameters, the bar capacity has inched up over the years and now Expand Machinery has developed the GENTURN 2-inch bar diameter Swiss machine to complete larger complex subspindle work in just one handling," said the spokesperson.
The GENTURN sliding headstock series starts with the 3/4" bar capacity 8-axis GENTURN SL-20Y2 that comes standard with 30 tool positions and includes eight driven tool spindles and a removable synchronous guide bushing to satisfy the needs of a full spectrum of Swiss work.
The 7-axis GENTURN 36-CS handles work up to 1-3/8" bar capacity and comes standard with 27 tool positions and includes 11 driven tool spindles. The new larger 8-axis GENTURN SL-52Y2 accommodates barstock up to 2" diameter and has 30 tool positions with eight driven tool spindles standard. These machines all offer a variety of standard features designed to enhance productivity and capability to handle a broad array of work.
For more information contact:
Expand Machinery LLC
20869 Plummer St.
Chatsworth, CA 91311
888-349-9166 / 818-349-9166
sales@expandmachinery.com
www.expandmachinery.com
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