CNC turning lathe, Swiss type lathe original manufacturer since 2007.
Woodturning - The Art of Making Beautiful Wood
Woodturning is perhaps one of the most artistic of the wood crafting family of skills. That's not to say that traditional woodworking; or certainly wood carving is not artistic. They can, in fact, be very artistic. Look at the sculpted lines of a Sam Maloof chair, or the graceful style of a Craftsman table and wood carving is art by definition. What sets woodturning apart is the basic tool of the trade, the lathe.
Woodworkers employ any of a considerable number of power and hand tools to create tables, chairs, bookcases, boxes, etc. The number of tools makes the possibilities endless. Wood carvers use fewer tools but still have a fairly large selection from which to choose. These can include chisels and mallets, handsaws, bandsaws, even chainsaws, routers, and rotary tools.
Woodturning, on the other hand, is limited to one power tool, the lathe and a selection of hand tools. The lathe is in a stationary position and simply rotates the block, or length of wood into the tool held by the woodturner. So, what's so creative about standing in one place with a sharp tool while the lathe does all the hard work of turning the wood? If you've ever seen a wooden vase, or a wooden cowboy hat in the window of a gallery you might get an inkling of what makes woodturning so unique.
Most of us see only the most basic of turned wood projects in our day to day experience. We see the turned legs of a poster bed, turned spindles on the staircase, turned baseball bats at the ball park. We don't think much about them because they are so ubiquitous and we figure, and rightly so, that most of them are turned by automated lathes. Probably the closest we get to something more interesting and original is a turned salad bowl. (That's assuming you have something other than the pressed kind you get in a restaurant.)
To get a real feel for the possibilities of artistic woodturning we need to step out a little bit and go looking in the windows of higher end gift stores and art galleries. Here we might begin to see the turned candlesticks and goblets that will get us thinking that there just might be something to this woodturning business. Woodturners often use chunks of wood that a woodworker would find unsuitable. A piece of walnut burl for example that is neither long enough, nor stable enough to use in a chair, can be chucked onto a lathe and turned into a beautiful bowl. Those splits or knots that made it inappropriate for a chair can become intriguing aspects of a decorative bowl that might just become a display piece in your home.
Woodturners are forever expanding their form of art. Experienced turners are noted for developing unique tools to help them achieve unexpected forms. I have seen delicate urn shaped vases, hollow throughout and wondered how the turner could have possibly managed to get a tool through the thin neck to hollow the wider portion of the base. To my eye, it is all but impossible and yet, there it is thin enough to allow light to seep through illuminating the natural beauty of the wood.
One of our best known woodturners, Rude Osolink was famous for his wood vases turned from domestic hardwoods. If you didn't know better, you would swear these pieces were some sort of painted porcelain. After all, how could one piece of wood be shaped, inside and out, as if it were pottery? And, not just any pottery, delicate, finely detailed pottery. Rude Osolink was a master and an inspiration to woodturners all over the world. His pieces are in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and one of his bowls was actually presented to the Queen of England by the US Government!
For as amazing as woodturning can be, it's actually not hard to get started. Think of it like chess, the rules are easy to learn, even a child can play and yet. a true chess master works a lifetime at his craft. To begin, you just need a lathe and a few chisels. Furthermore, lathes come in a broad range of sizes so that you can find one to fit even the smallest space. Of course, you won't be turning a big bowl on a small lathe! And, recently Oneway Manufacturing, a maker of high quality lathes, has developed a full sized 'Sit Down' lathe. This is a lathe that can be used in a traditional standing position but the headstock can also pivot and lock in position for someone who cannot stand. This opens the world of woodcraft to persons who might otherwise be excluded because of disability.
Woodturning is an excellent hobby, one that many woodturners find not only relaxing but also artistically fulfilling. If you've been searching for that perfect hobby that is both useful and creatively fulfilling, why not consider woodturning? A word of warning, lathes can be quite expensive and, as your skills grow so will your investment in tools. You might want to consider finding a local class on woodturning and/or checking out a woodturning exhibition at a local wood working show. An excellent resource is the American Association of Woodturners. They can be found online at
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Zhongshan JSTOMI CNC Machine Tool Co., Ltd. has developed a unique technology with many applications including mill axis.
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.