- a comparison between conventional and Swiss turning -
conventional turning
With conventional turning the material is grasped one by one with a chuck and turned. The workpiece is loaded and unloaded by a person or a robot. • Turning is performed by moving the cutting tool along the X-axis and the Z-axis. • Because it chucks according to the shape of the workpiece the range of the parts that can be processed is wide. • It is possible to machine parts that have been shaped to some extent such as after forging and casting materials.
Swiss turning
Swiss turning centres are good at turning a large amount of parts from bar stock material. It is automatically + continuously turned until the material is exhausted: • Machining is performed by moving the cutting tool along the X-axis and the workpiece along the Z-axis. • Since the guide bushing supports the workpiece and machining is done near the guide bushing the Swiss turning process eliminates workpiece "vibrations" or "deflections" Therefore, the machine is perfect for manufacturing thin and long workpieces. It is ideal for machining parts with tight tolerance requirements and smooth surfaces such as motor parts. Material diameters as small as 1mm (0.04") can also be machined successfully.
With a switchable guide bushing / non-guide bushing set-up (using a removable guide bushing available on many Swiss turning centres including all the Po Ly Gim Swiss turning centre models) Swiss turning centres are also perfect for high speed / high accuracy / high surface finish production of small diameter / short length parts using regular bar stock in the non-guide bushing set-up with shorter material remnant instead of ground bar stock in the guide bushing set-up with longer remnant.
Both conventional and Swiss turning centres are available with a single spindle for one-sided operations or left + right spindles with its relevant additional spindle-to-spindle part transfer axis for two-sided operations plus rotary tools with its relevant additional spindle C-axis and rotary tool movement Y-axis.
Conventional turning centres with left + right spindles and a single turret offer sequential left + right side operations whereas conventional turning centres with left + right spindles and left + right or top + bottom tool turrets offer simultaneous left + right side operations. With top + bottom tool turrets you can also pinch turn using two turning tools simultaneously on a single spindle turning centre and on a left or right spindle of a twin spindle turning centre.
Swiss turning centres with left + right spindles always offer simultaneous left + right side operations with left + right side tooling systems. With side tooling systems facing the left spindle (instead of top and side tooling systems) you can also pinch turn using two turning tools simultaneously. And many Swiss turning centres (such as the Po Ly Gim CSL series) offer programmable left + right spindle angle machining with a multi-tool B-axis angle machining system.
Swiss turning/machining part examples
the Po Ly Gim Diamond Swiss turning centre brochures - from 12.7 to 33mm maximum bar capacity -
the Po Ly Gim Diamond B/CSB II/III/IV Swiss turning centre brochures - from 12.7 to 42mm maximum bar capacity - with optional Y2-axis on the Diamond CSB II/III series
the Po Ly Gim Diamond CSL Swiss turning centre brochures - from 12.7 to 42mm maximum bar capacity -
with optional Y2-axis / B-axis / thread whirling on the Diamond 25/32/42CSL
with Y2-axis + pinch turning/milling + optional B-axis on the Diamond CSL 12-2Y/CSL 16-2Y
with Y2-axis + power driven turret tooling + pinch turning/milling on the Diamond CSL 42-2Y/CSL 42-2YII + 3 channels on the Diamond CSL 42-2YII