CNC turning lathe, Swiss type lathe original manufacturer since 2007.
Three Things That Have Changed Woodturning
Woodturning is known to have been practiced for literally thousands of years. Pictures of woodturners have been found on the walls of the pyramids of Egypt, turning wood in much the same manner as we do today. One would thing that with such a long history might be little that has changed in the field in recent years. However, there have been at least three major changes in the last half century in the wood turning world of art and craft.
The first thing to change the way in which we turn wood has been the advances in metallurgy and the effect this has had on the woodturner's tools. Turning tools have progressed not so much in shape as in the material from which they are made. For centuries they have been produced by the village smithy and later in large factories from high carbon tool steel. This is famous for getting and keeping a sharp edge for tools such as plane blades and chisels but does not work so well for most wood turning tools.
A tool edge at the lathe is likely to take far more use and abuse in a few minutes than many other edged tools take in hours of work. High speed steel is now used for most tools at the wood lathe. It retains an edge much longer and is quick to sharpen at the grinder. It may not be as sharp as high carbon steel but it gets sharp enough to do the job and holds an edge long enough to allow concentration for the work at hand.
Second was a move away from strictly utilitarian turning into the art work of today. This meant the development of new tools and new techniques as well as the recovery of some lost ones. Much has been made of the similarity between modern wood lathe forms and those of potters through the years. This has been couple with the advent of new and stronger adhesives as well as sophisticated cutting tools to bring about segmented turning. In this form of work various types of woods with varied colors and grains are glued together to form beautiful multifaceted works.
Third has been the invention of the four jaw chuck to hold wood to the lathe.
While there have been many ways of holding wood on the lathe, the four jaw, self centering chuck has enabled even novice woodturners to easily mount work that would have been complicated to deal with a few years ago.
It needs to be emphasized that even with these developments, it really has been innovation and imagination that have powered the change in wood turning to bring it to where it is today. When these have been coupled with the vision of many suppliers to produce tools and additions for the growing world of home turners it has resulted in a new world of woodturning.
For business owners unsure of how to effectively incorporate new technology into our cnc service, life may have just become a little easier.
Looking for a company to handle your cnc service mill axis? Visit JSTOMI CNC Machine today for more information.
Zhongshan JSTOMI CNC Machine Tool Co., Ltd. are used to coming up with solutions while think about problems, also expressing the whole idea individually.
Obviously, financial return is important in manufacturing cnc service, but I think that's not enough. I think many customers want to support something they really believe in.
Overall, cnc service may be a great way for manufacturers to expand their use of technology, but the price could present a significant hurdle for some businesses.
Daily “Clean + Lubricate” as the Baseline
After each shift, remove chips and coolant residue from the fixture surface and collet jaws with a soft cloth or air gun to prevent corrosion and re-clamping errors. Every eight hours, apply a trace of rust preventive oil to spring collets, guide bushings and other moving parts; once a week, add a thin coat of grease to ball-screw nuts and hydraulic cylinder rods to reduce wear. Before any prolonged shutdown, spray anti-rust oil on internal bores and locating faces and wrap them in wax paper or plastic film.
Precision Calibration & Data Closure
Use ring gauges or master bars every month to verify repeatability of the fixture; log results in the MES. If deviation exceeds 0.005 mm, trigger compensation or repair. For quick-change systems (HSK/Capto), check taper contact percentage every six months—target ≥ 80 %. If lower, re-grind or replace.
Spare Parts & Training
Keep minimum stock of jaws, seals and springs to enable replacement within two hours. Hold quarterly on-machine training sessions for operators on correct clamping practices and anomaly recognition to eliminate abusive clamping.
In short, embedding “clean–lubricate–inspect–calibrate” into daily SOP keeps the fixture delivering micron-level accuracy, reduces downtime, and extends overall machine life.
Six preventive measures
Environment control: keep the workshop at a stable temperature and low humidity; exclude dust and corrosive gases to reduce chemical wear on guideways and screws.
Daily checks: remove chips every shift and inspect the lubrication of the spindle, bearings, ball screws and guideways; act on any abnormality immediately.
Preventive lubrication: replace lubricants on schedule and keep the lubrication system unobstructed to minimize fatigue wear.
Accuracy monitoring: use laser interferometers or ball-bar systems monthly to measure geometric errors and compensate for ball-screw backlash or guideway straightness in time.
Electrical health checks: periodically examine cables, relays and cooling fans to prevent hidden aging caused by overheating.
Data monitoring: onboard sensors record spindle current, vibration and temperature; cloud-based analytics predict early bearing or tool failures.
Why prevention matters
• Ensures machining consistency: eliminating micron-level error sources keeps batch dimensions stable and reduces scrap.
• Extends machine life: preventing micro-cracks from growing can prolong overall life by more than 20 %.
• Reduces unplanned downtime: planned maintenance replaces emergency repairs, increasing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) by 10 % or more.
• Cuts total cost: lower spare-parts inventory, labor and lost-production costs can save tens of thousands of dollars per machine annually.
• Enhances brand reputation: consistent on-time, defect-free deliveries strengthen customer trust and secure future orders.
Optimizing cycle time on turn-mill machining centers is crucial for boosting productivity and reducing costs. It requires a systematic approach addressing machine tools, cutting tools, processes, programming, fixtures, and material flow.
Ensure Geometric Accuracy
Swiss-type lathes process long, slender workpieces with multi-axis synchronization. A bed inclination of only 0.02 mm/m creates a “slope error” along the Z-axis, tilting the tool relative to the part centerline. This results in taper on outer diameters and asymmetric thread profiles. Periodic re-verification and re-leveling restore overall geometric accuracy to factory standards, guaranteeing consistent dimensions during extended production runs.
Extend Guideway and Ball-Screw Life
When the machine is not level, guideways carry uneven loads and lubricant films become discontinuous, accelerating localized wear and causing stick-slip or vibration. After re-leveling with shims or wedges, load distribution evens out, reducing guideway scoring and ball-screw side-loading. Service life typically improves by more than 20 %.
Suppress Thermal Growth and Vibration
A tilted bed leads to asymmetric coolant and lubricant flow, generating thermal gradients. Subsequent expansion further amplifies geometric errors. Re-verifying level, combined with thermal compensation, produces a more uniform temperature rise and reduces scrap caused by thermal drift. Additionally, a level bed raises natural frequencies, cutting chatter amplitude and improving surface finish by half to one full grade.
Chinese-built Swiss-type lathes have moved beyond the “low-cost substitute” label to become the “value leader” for overseas users. On the cost side, machines of comparable specification are priced well below those of traditional leading brands, and ongoing maintenance costs amount to only a fraction, dramatically lowering the entry barrier for small-to-medium job shops in Europe and North America. Lead time is equally compelling: major domestic OEMs can ship standard models within weeks, and special configurations follow shortly thereafter. When urgent orders arise from the electric-vehicle or medical-device sectors, Chinese production lines consistently deliver rapid responses.
Intelligence is on par with top-tier global standards. Machines routinely feature thermal compensation, AI-based tool-life prediction, and cloud-enabled remote diagnostics. Mean time between failures is long, and fully open data interfaces simplify secondary development for end users. Complementing this is a worldwide service network: Chinese manufacturers maintain parts depots and resident field engineers across the Americas, Europe, and Southeast Asia, enabling on-site support often within a single day, whereas legacy brands usually require factory returns measured in weeks.
1. Quick Troubleshooting Steps
Check the clamping pressure: Ensure the pressure plate or collet applies even force; too much or too little pressure will jam the bar. Adjust the pneumatic or hydraulic release mechanism accordingly.
Align the material path: Verify that the bar feeder, guide bushing, and spindle centers are collinear; any offset will cause the bar to twist or wedge.
Inspect belts and rollers: Belts must be tensioned correctly—loose belts slip, over-tight belts bind. Replace worn rollers immediately.
Lubricate moving parts: Clean and grease the eccentric shaft, release cam, and pusher fingers; lack of lubrication is a common cause of seizure.
I. Installation Guidelines for Swiss-Type Lathe Bed
1. Foundation Preparation
Floor Requirements: The Swiss lathe bed must be installed on a solid, level concrete foundation to prevent machining inaccuracies caused by ground settlement or vibration.
Load Capacity: The foundation must support the machine’s weight and dynamic cutting forces to avoid deformation affecting spindle and guide bushing alignment.
Vibration Isolation: If the workshop has vibration sources (e.g., punch presses, forging machines), anti-vibration pads or isolation trenches are recommended to enhance CNC machine stability.
Summary
Ball screws are the physical enablers of Swiss-type lathes across five critical dimensions:
Micron-level positioning for complex micro-structures;
High-speed rigidity supporting synchronized multi-axis cutting;
Active thermal control ensuring batch consistency;
Ultra-wear-resistant design enabling maintenance-free operation for 10+ years.
Their performance defines the precision ceiling of Swiss-type machining – truly "invisible champions" in precision transmission.