processingdetails

Screw / Swiss Machining

Screw machines belong to the class of automatic lathes for small- to medium-sized parts, which can quickly mass-produce turned parts. It is used in the high-volume manufacture of a vast variety of turned components, which is widely used in the mechanical application. A screw machine uses cutting methods similar to that of a lathe but is highly automated. Screw machines are typically used for high-volume, low-cost turned parts. Feed stock for a screw machine is a long cylindrical rod of material. The screw machine automatically turns/faces the part, parts it off, and advances the rod for the next part. A screw machine is illustrated below. All screw machines are fully automated, whether mechanically (via cams) or by CNC (computerized control), which means that once they are set up and started running, they continue running and producing parts with very little human intervention. This has been true since the 1870s. Mechanical automation came first, beginning in the 1870s; computerized control (via first NC and then CNC) came later, beginning in the 1950s.