In our July 2016 blog we shared some of the capital equipment investments Profile Precision Extrusions has made to support our customer projects over the past 4 years. Citizen’s Swiss-type CNC lathe (model L20E) is one of the investments we made to support our medical device customers. The machine is not necessarily made in Switzerland, however it’s designed to turn complex, small and precision parts (think Swiss watch parts). The machining application advantages to a Swiss-type lathe for medical device customers and custom extrusion projects are:
- High degree of precision and repeatability
- Improved quality and accuracy
- Shortened lead times
- Ability to run small batches once the programs are written and production flow path is qualified
A Swiss-type lathe feeds the aluminum tube stock through a guide bushing. The cutting tools are located very close to the guide bushing. The cutting tools’ proximity to the guide bushing allows for a very high degree of precision and accuracy. The machine feeds the work out of the spindle and past the tool as it goes, allowing for complete machining in a single operation. This makes a Swiss-type CNC lathe particularly effective for long and slender parts, which we produce.
Our finished parts are between 5mm–12mm in diameter, and 6-7” long. They require precise machining in the middle as well as on both ends. This is accomplished by using a probe to determine the location of the extruded aluminum stock, machining the features on the front of the part, and machining the features in middle section. At this point, the lathe transfers the semi-completed part to a sub-spindle within the lathe to machine the features on the back end. The back end of the first part is machined simultaneously with the front and middle sections of the second part.
Our Swiss-type lathe replaced 4 separate machines and operations. The benefit to our customers has been higher quality and accuracy, and reduced lead times.
Please contact us today to see if we can do the same for your precision machining or custom extrusion project.
Great information about CNC.