Nexturn SA(XII) 9-Axis with Opt. B-Axis Swiss Lathe Series

As the turning process begins on a CNC Swiss machine, the main spindle unchucks the workpiece, giving the operator the amount of stroke needed based on the length of the part. The guide bushing continues to feed material into the tooling to create the desired features. The close geometry construction of the machine allows the tool to work within millimeters of the workpiece, reducing chip-to-chip time to a second or less. Using a guide bushing allows a tool to take a heavier depth of cut on the part itself without jeopardizing tolerances. Then, the machine performs a pick off process with the sub-spindle side. If there are any secondary operations to be done on the back of the part, this can be achieved here at the sub. The part is then dropped into a conveyor, which ejects it out the front of the sub.

The rotary guide bushing, originally called an anti-friction guide bushing, was patented in 1963 to hold various diameters of bar stock for automatic screw machines. The guide bushing rotates the workpiece and pushes it into and out of the cutting tool. It was found to be particularly adaptable for use in a Swiss-type automatic screw machine, which are generally provided with a headstock movable axially to the machine frame while rotating the bar stock. Having an adjustable bushing allows for turning bar stock rigidly and close to the turning tools, which makes it possible to machine parts with high quality finishes and extreme accuracies. A rotary guide bushing rotates with the workpiece and is ideal for turning wider parts, with tolerances greater than +/-0.0005”. Fixed guide bushings remain stationary while the bar stock spins and are ideal for parts that require tighter tolerances.

While the number of axes can vary depending on the options, most conventional Swiss lathes have 7-9 axes. For instance, the Nexturn SA(XII) series feature up to 8 axes and up to 29 total tools, increasing to 9 axes with the B-axis.