What Is a Swiss-Style Lathe?

If your business operations involve drilling, sanding, cutting or facing, you depend on lathes to complete those tasks. This essential machine rotates the workpiece to help remove unwanted materials. A Swiss lathe is a variation of the equipment for performing specialized applications. 

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If your business operations involve drilling, sanding, cutting or facing, you depend on lathes to complete those tasks. This essential machine rotates the workpiece to help remove unwanted materials. A Swiss lathe is a variation of the equipment for performing specialized applications. 

The Swiss-style lathe originated in Switzerland during the 1870s to serve the country's watchmaking industry. The machine's innovative design consists of a recessed collet or holding mechanism located behind the guide bushing. This configuration prevents the direct exposure of the workpiece to the lathe bed and tooling, offering several benefits:

• Utilizes guide bushing to provide extra support for the stock material during turning
• Holds a better tolerance by executing the turning process closer to the guide bushing
• Offers more rigidity due to the reduced amount of stock exposure 
• Provides the ability to turn high-diameter parts
• Minimizes tool chatter due to the juxtaposition of the guide bushing

How Does a Swiss Lathe Machine Operate?

A Swiss machine uses a moving headstock during turning. The operator clamps the workpiece onto the chuck or collet close to the tooling area and through the guide bushing. The headstock then moves back and forth along the z-axis. 

Because the turning tools are located on the gang slide, they maintain close contact with the material throughout the process. The spindle's motion and the supply of the guide bushing ensure continuous material feeding for a seamless experience. 

Swiss Turning vs. Conventional Turning Lathe: What's the Difference?

A Swiss machine differs from a traditional turning lathe in several areas:

• Programming: While a conventional lathe features a minus offset programming, the z-axis of the Swiss version requires a plus offset programming. This configuration enables the swiss-style lathe machine to drill deeper holes and turn longer lengths.
• Guide bushing: With a Swiss machine, the collet that holds the material can slide along the headstock to achieve the desired configuration and prevent deflections. A conventional machine stabilizes the workpiece in the collet.
• Capacity: Newer Swiss-style lathes have five-axis control, enabling them to perform multiple tasks in one cycle. A traditional lathe may have three or four axes and cannot machine a workpiece in a single cycle.
• Headstock: A Swiss lathe has a movable headstock. In contrast, a conventional model includes a fixed headstock that extends the machine's enclosure or has one end supported by a tailstock. 
• Cycling: Swiss machines have a shorter cycle time when machining complex components. This characteristic enables operators to complete projects faster.
• Temperature control: Traditional lathes typically rely on water for cooling. Most Swiss lathes require machine oil.

Why Choose R.R.I.C. Associates for Swiss-Style Lathes?

R.R.I.C. Associates has provided reliable CNC machining solutions for more than 35 years. We specialize in buying and selling high-quality used equipment that meets our customers' performance expectations and reduces their operating expenses. As a family-owned business, we back our machines with expert service every step of the way.

Browse our current Swiss machine inventory and contact us for additional product and pricing information today.