CNC turning lathe, Swiss type lathe original manufacturer since 2007.
Woodturners And The Band Saw: Getting A Good Start
Woodturning is the art and craft of taking wood and making it round in decorative and utilitarian ways. In order to do this it is necessary to mount the wood onto the wood lathe. Preparation for doing so, particularly in faceplate work, can be greatly aided by the band saw.
Faceplate work generally consists of turning rounds and disks into various forms. Consider the challenge of getting a ten inch bowl blank onto a twelve inch lathe. While it sounds like a great fit, consider yourself looking down at the top of the blank as it is cut from the log. Most likely it started as a ten inch round and ten inch long section. Once cut lengthwise in two it now has semicircular ends and a flat top. That top measures roughly ten inches on a side which sounds good for the lathe until one looks at the diagonals. They will be roughly fourteen inches long and are going to hit the lathe bed preventing it form turning. The corners need to be removed.
While it can be done with a chain saw, many turners find it easier to do so with a band saw. One method is to flip the blank over so the flat side is down and able to sit on the band saw table. A cardboard or thin wood disk of appropriate size, ten inches in our example, is tacked to the rounded center of the section. This serves as a template to cut around. With the flat side on the table, this is now a supported cut.
Green wood cutting such as this requires a blade with coarse teeth, good gullets and a wide set. Three eighths inch blades with three hook teeth fer inch tend to work well. Care is needed as for part of the cut as the wood curves down there is a lot of blade exposed, but it is easy to keep ones fingers away from the blade with reasonable caution. Sometimes a spray of cooking oil on the balde will help to relieve binding as green wood can swell with the friction of a cut. Once the blank is round it can then be mounted on the wood lathe with plenty of clearance.
Band saws can also be used for straight cuts. Again, if cutting boards and squares for spindle projects and small items, it is important to establish a flat to move on the table. Unsupported cuts can cause the blade to bind pulling the work at high speed and power to the table. This can cause a broken blade or, worse, pull hands and fingers into the moving blade. If round work is to be cut it needs to be stabilized so it can not be caught or rotated by the blade.
The band saw is often considered one of the safest of all the cutting tools in the power woodworking shop as it does not cause kickback as might a table saw or radial arm saw. It also provides for the curved cuts so often needed by woodturners. With simple caution and good set up it is an excellent addition to the craft.
The point for Zhongshan JSTOMI CNC Machine Tool Co., Ltd. is that managerial processes are as important as other inputs in production and can create significant competitive advantage.
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In terms of cnc service, why is it different than other production? How does it fit a true need or desire for your requires? Is it simple to use? Make life easier?
These mill axis cnc service are not only useful but also more cost effective than those traditional ones.
The rising multi axis cnc machine consciousness observed worldwide are expected to be key factors driving the demand for mill axis cnc service.
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.