Look for Nexturn SA-20B Swiss Lathe Firing Pin Cutting Demo at Shot Show 2022

Absolute Machine Tools is excited to head to Las Vegas next week for Shot Show 2022! We will have several live demos at booth #40554, including the Nexturn SA-20B cutting a firing pin.

Why Is a Swiss Machine the Most Efficient Way To Cut a Firing Pin or Similar Type of Parts?

The Nexturn SA-20B Swiss lathe was chosen because of the diameter to length ratio of the part. The part has a small diameter with a tight tolerance compared to the length. The ability to utilize the guide bushing that comes standard on a Swiss lathe to take heavier depth of cuts with higher accuracies justifies its use.

Cutting a part such as the firing pin on a conventional lathe could encounter issues with tool deflection and surface finish quality. With a CNC Swiss lathe, deflection from the chuck/tooling isn’t an issue because the part can be machined all the way down to the guide bushing. Also, the guide bushing assists in holding an enormous amount of rigidity, allowing the part to keep its slim diameter without having to reprogram to consider counter taper or issues with surface finish or tolerance.

Even though it is a simple part to make, being able to take one rough/finish cut compared to roughing out a blank, followed by a finish pass with a different tool, made more sense. The cutting process using the Nexturn made it an excellent choice to mate with the .223 bolt that is being made on the Quicktech T8 Hybrid Mill/Turn Center.

Increase Volume with Bar Feeder or Short Loader

The firing pin was made with 4 total tools, two on the main and two on the sub, with a less than 40 second cycle time. Volume can be significantly increased when paired with a hydrodynamic magazine bar feeder or even a short loader, depending on the equipment a shop may already have.

Tolerance on this part is +/- .002, and most likely can be held between .0005 to .0007 for the entire duration of the lights out shift. These days, with employees hard to find and retain, the key to any manufacturing process is learning how to automate. For a Swiss machine, it’s best to autoload with any type of bar feeding machine. The firing pin print was loaned to Absolute Machine Tools from a customer who is a certified gunsmith.

A special SHOUT-OUT to Kevin Lai and Scott Petrisko, Applications Engineers at Absolute Machine Tools, for making this demo happen!