Bracalente Manufacturing Group (BMG) is a globally recognized and renowned manufacturing solutions provider.
We developed this reputation by dutifully maintaining an unwavering commitment to providing unparalleled levels of quality and precision in all that we do. This commitment was a pillar of BMG when we were founded in 1950 and it still remains an important pillar today.
One of the ways BMG ensures quality and precision parts for our clients is with our Swiss turning capabilities.
Swiss Turning vs CNC Turning
The turning process, sometimes referred to as lathing, is a machining process that dates back to ancient Egyptian time.
Though BMG uses state of the art, automated computer numerical control (CNC) turning machines as compared to ancient Egyptians’ hand-turned lathes, the underlying mechanics of the process are virtually unchanged. Material, generally bar stock, is spun at a high rate of speed around its longitudinal center. Cutting tools, various rotary and non-rotary tool bits alike, are used to remove material from the spinning workpiece.
Swiss turning — which is also referred to as Swiss machining or Swiss screw machining — is a virtually identical process to CNC turning with one small, but important, difference.
When bar stock is spun on a one sided lathe, as with all CNC turning and Swiss turning machines, the centrifugal force can sometimes cause wobbling in the bar. This wobbling in the bar, though often imperceptible to the naked eye, can cause loss of tolerance in parts. Both longer and narrower parts are susceptible to this wobbling.
Swiss style machines are designed to reduce this wobbling and neutralize its effects, thus resulting in perfect precision in even very long and very small diameter parts. It does this in two ways.
First, Swiss turning machines incorporate a guide bushing near the collet chuck, which is the opening that the bar stock is fed through. The guide bushing helps to stabilize the rotating bar stock, minimizing wobble. Second, all of the cutting cools on a Swiss machine perform their duties next to the guide bushing, reducing the deflection from the force of the tool as well as wobble from the rotation of the bar.
Swiss Machining at BMG
BMG’s two modernized facilities — Trumbauersville, PA and Suzhou, China — are equipped with a number of cutting edge Swiss turning machines from Star, Traub, and Tsugami. With this high quality equipment, we can guarantee high quality and precision in all parts, including small diameter and long parts which are traditionally difficult to keep in tolerance.
To learn more about our Swiss machining capabilities, contact BMG today.
