This Desktop Swiss Machine Changes Everything

The NANO compact Swiss lathe enables manufacturers to affordably leverage the distinct capabilities of a Swiss-style lathe in a machine the size of a microwave oven.

APSX has sponsored this post.

The APSX NANO. (Image: APSX.)

The APSX NANO. (Image: APSX.)

A Swiss lathe is the perfect machine for creating small, intricate parts because these machines can perform thinner and more precise cuts than other types of lathes. However, a standard Swiss-style machine can be pricey and take up a lot of space in the shop.

There are some precision machining operations that can only be accomplished using a Swiss-style lathe. The unique feed system holds the stock material in position with a collet and guide bushing to support the material, feeding the bar stock through the machine instead of fixturing it in place like a standard lathe. This enables a Swiss machine to make more precise cuts on very small parts.

Because the cutting takes place very close to where the stock bar is supported, Swiss machines produces less vibration on the workpiece, reducing deflection and creating more accurate parts with tight tolerances. In addition, Swiss lathes use live tooling, which allows for different milling and drilling operations and the manufacture of more diverse set of products.

While a Swiss lathe excels at cutting very precise parts, it isn’t as fast and efficient as a CNC lathe, nor can it be programmed to quickly produce a large volume of parts with minimal operator input like a CNC milling machine.

But when you need a Swiss lathe, those factors are less important. These machines are chosen for manufacturing operations because of their accuracy and precision. The medical industry uses them to create small, delicate parts for medical devices such as implants; the oil and gas sector uses them for nozzles, pins, washers and fasteners; aerospace and defense companies use them for precision components for rockets and engines; and the automotive industry uses them to create engine components and other parts.

Affordable and Compact

Two things not usually associated with Swiss-style machining are small size and low cost. The machines tend to be large enough to handle long bar stock and their niche capabilities come at a premium. But one company has seen this as an opportunity.

APSX LLC, a machine builder based near Cincinnati, has built its business on designing and building compact production-capable machines for entrepreneurs and larger companies alike. Its machines are small-footprint, low-cost versions made for lower-volume production and prototyping, and they are hand-built in-house.

The company’s NANO Swiss lathe is much smaller and less expensive than standard Swiss lathes. Even though it’s about the same size as a microwave oven, the NANO is a complete, easy to operate and affordable Swiss lathe that can machine aluminum, stainless steel, titanium (grade 5), bronze, brass and other materials. The NANO includes an embedded PC, a keyboard, pendant and mist system.

The NANO can handle a 20-inch-long bar stock and provides stationary support for the workpiece during the machining process, enabling the creation of very small and very precise parts. In fact, the NANO can make .04-in. diameter parts with less than 0.0002-in. tolerance.

Watch as APSX demonstrates its Nano Swiss lathe on Instragram.

Allan Braun, the owner of Braun Co. Engineering, chose an APSX NANO for his workshop (and posts some of his work on the machine on Instagram) for a variety of reasons.

“The NANO Swiss offers live tooling,” said Braun. “And getting live tooling, such as diametrical and axial tools, on any CNC lathe is extremely expensive. The cost of entry of any CNC machine is going to be in the tens of thousands of dollars easily for those capabilities. So, the fact that the NANO Swiss offers that is unique and that’s what interested me the most about it.”

Many of the parts Braun makes, such as auto transmission valves, have grooved geometries that require high precision. “Their diameter-to-length ratio creates an opportunity for deflection,” said Braun. “And these are very tight tolerance parts. I think running them on a Swiss machine is really the only option to minimize deflection and for quick tool changes.”

The NANO’s convenience was also appealing. Because the bar is feeding into the machine, there is less downtime between cycles: the time required to unload the part, set up the stock and initiate the next cycle is far less than a standard lathe.

Watch how Allan Braun uses fusion 360 and the Nano Swiss machine to manufacture an intricate test part.

As a one-person machine shop, Braun found the ease of use and accessibility of the NANO was crucial. “It’s almost more like a 3D printer in terms of how easy it is to own and operate, or to get your hands on it, and have it delivered and to set it up, “said Braun. “I was able to lift the machine onto the table and set it up completely by myself. The fact that it just plugs into a wall outlet and you can get up and running is pretty rare.”

Not Just a One-Man Show

Alex Martino, design and manufacturing engineer at Pro Plate, a full-service electroplating company in Anoka, Minn., also turned to the NANO to help reduce its production costs for specialized medical components. Pro Plate performs selective metal plating of exotic metals such as rhodium, iridium, gold and platinum, mainly for the medical device industry.

One job the NANO excelled at was to manufacture buttons used in plating tiny components for implants. The buttons range from 90 to 160 millimeters in size and are used as cathodes and anodes for the plating bath. During the plating process, the buttons also get covered in the plating metal, essentially making them consumables.

“Platinum is a hard metal to plate with,” said Martino. “If we’re plating a thick layer—we’re talking about a thousand micro inches of plating—the platinum sticks to these buttons. To remove it from the buttons is a nightmare, and platinum doesn’t have a good breakdown chemical, so we end up sacrificing the buttons.”

Because the buttons are sacrificial, the material used to create them doesn’t matter. Originally purchasing the buttons from an outside supplier, Pro Plate started using the NANO to make them in-house them out of brass, which is much less expensive and easier to work with than the stainless steel the button manufacturer used. “I think we’ve saved about $20,000 a month without having to buy these buttons,” said Martino.

They also use the NANO to manufacture mandrels for stents. The mandrels can be as small as a hundredth of an inch in diameter. “Generally, I’m making 50 to 150 of them in a week. Once you set up the first program [on the NANO], you just let it run and then swap the bar out and then keep going from there. I let it do its thing, and then if I don’t hear it, I’ll go over there and swap the bar out.”

The ease in using the NANO was an important factor for Pro Plate—particularly that it’s compatible with a number of CAD software suites, with post processors for Fusion 360, Solid CAM, MasterCAM and ESPRIT. “We were looking at pre-owned Swiss machines, and I have no Swiss machining experience, and they all had different systems I would have to learn,” said Martino. “To be able to program it all through Fusion 360 was nice because I already knew it and was running it regularly. There was no onboarding time and no learning curve. If I bought a used machine, I would’ve had to pay riggers to pick it up and deliver it, and then I would also probably have had to hire someone to just get me up and running on the machine.”

Watch the APSX Nano in action on the company’s YouTube channel.

Bringing Swiss Machining into Your Shop

A Swiss lathe could be a beneficial addition to the shop floor of any manufacturer that makes small, detailed parts or uses small jigs and fixtures. Because of the APSX NANO’s affordability and flexibility, it makes for an ideal entry into Swiss machining.

“Most businesses are going to look at Swiss machining as a niche,” said Braun. “I would say this gives them an opportunity to sample the capabilities of Swiss machining and see if they can work it into their processes—either for production or fixturing, just to have it as an option because it’s easy to use, takes up very little space and doesn’t break the bank.”

To learn more, visit APSX.