Although specialty screws and fasteners are a common product manufactured by screw machining, also known as Swiss screw machining, other types of turned parts have crucial applications as precision medical tools, automotive tools, laboratory tools, electronics components, appliance components, military parts and many others. Precision turning and machining processes are often required for the construction of such products. CNC turning and CNC Swiss machining are accomplished by CNC screw machines or CNC lathes and they produce quality CNC turned parts, which can also be described as precision turned parts. CNC machining and turning equipment may machine up to six parts simultaneously, and screw machining is considered one of the fastest and most cost-effective methods of small rotary part manufacturing. Different kinds of screw machines are capable of different processes, including knurling, thread rolling and many other processes. Once a screw machine tooling process has produced screw machining equipment, the possibilities for that equipment are extensive.
Screw machining offers design capabilities and structural benefits that cannot be cost-effectively reproduced with any other manufacturing method. Specialty fasteners, metal knobs, miniature medical instruments, bio implants, tire gauges, threaded rods, splines, spindles, fittings and a limitless variety of custom metal parts can be machined to precision tolerances by turning. Not only can metal parts be shaped by screw machining, but they may also be surfaced; turning can produce a smooth, near-polished finish or it can produce a knurled finish. Knurling is the process of creating a patterned texture on the surface of a metal to provide grip; common knurling applications include tool handles, metal flashlights, knurled nuts and knurled knobs. Knurled patterns are achieved with specialized CNC turning tools. Thread rolling and thread forming processes are employed in the formation of screw heads. Both processes involve pressing a shaped die against a work piece. Thread rolling and forming are cold forming processes, which requires a minimum threshold of ductility from the involved work pieces. In other words, metals formed by thread rolling and forming processes must be able to be formed by compressive force at low temperatures.
Both lathes and screw machines are used to produce screw machined parts, although screw machines are capable of carrying multiple spindles, unlike lathes, and are therefore more commonly used for mass production. Screw machines are also known as Swiss screw machines due to their invention in Switzerland in the 1800s. They may have more than eight spindles, which all operate simultaneously; round, square or hexagonal metal bar stock is attached to the spindles' spring collets, which spin as multiple automated cutting, drilling, notching and knurling tools attached to the screw machine work the bar stock into parts by shaving away excess material, smoothing and drilling. The main drive shaft of a screw machine provides power to the machine bed's lead work shaft and controls the two front cam shafts. The machine motor, located at the base of the machine, is the central power source for all operations and will vary in horsepower, depending on the size of the machine, speed and stock to be machined. Virtually any metal may be manufactured by screw machining; common screw machined materials include steel, stainless steel, brass and aluminum. Titanium is often used for sanitary and miniature medical tools.
CNC screw machining and CNC turning have greatly expanded on lathes' manufacturing capabilities. Not only are screw machines capable of machining several parts simultaneously, but they also achieve high production rates, making it possible for manufacturers to make a large number of uniform precision machined parts with very little process time. Unlike manual lathes and non-CNC machines, multi-spindled CNC screw machines require a lengthy set-up process involving part design and system programming, including CAD design. For this reason, long runs are typically most cost effective, although no dies or hardware must be created custom for custom screw machine parts, making even short run screw machines a relatively cost effective means of precision production. Very few other metal forming and metal fabrication processes come close in precision to screw machining; some types of metal stamping can reach tolerances close to those of screw machined products, but for the extremely small, precision tools used in critical medical applications, screw machining is the only practical means of manufacturing.
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Screw Machine Products – H & R Screw Machine Products, Inc. |
Screw Machine Parts – Tompkins Products, Inc. |
Screw Machine Products – Tompkins Products, Inc. |
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Screw Machine Parts – Tompkins Products, Inc. |
Screw Machine Products – Tompkins Products, Inc. |
Screw Machine Products – H & R Screw Machine Products, Inc. |
Screw Machine Product Types
- are complex parts that are often cylindrical and/or threaded.
Automatic screw machines produce these parts at high speeds.
- CNC swiss machining is a precision metal part manufacturing process controlled by a software program.
- CNC turned parts are the result of a precision machining process that is controlled by a software program.
- CNC turning is a precision machining
process that is controlled by a software program tooling, called
computer numerical control (CNC), which is used to produce cylindrical
parts.
- are produced to extremely close tolerances,
which is particularly useful when producing large volumes of turned
parts. Close tolerances are achieved through the use of high-grade metals
and close inspections during production stages.
- Knurling is manufacturing process in which a rough patterned texture is created
on the surface of a metal in order to provide grip or for aesthetic
purposes.
- are used in a variety of applications in the medical,
scientific and pharmaceutical industries. Precision medical components
include spinal implants, screws and dental implants.
- Precision turned parts are parts that have been machined with extremely tight tolerances.
- Precision turning is a process where parts are machined to exact specifications. Though operators with high levels of skill and knowledge may be able to achieve precise results, automated machines controlled by computer programs are predominantly used.
- Screw machine tooling is the process of fabricating components of machines that manufacture screws and other threaded parts by the selective removal of material. Whereas screw machining is the process that produces threaded parts, screw machine tooling makes the parts that make the parts.
- Screw machining is a precision manufacturing process that fabricates screws and other
threaded parts by the selective removal material. The end product of
screw machining is a screw.
- are usually cylindrical and threaded products.
- are manufactured by screw machines.
- provide superior corrosion and chemical resistance.
Stainless steel screw machine products are useful in industrial applications
in which they will be exposed to temperature extremes, moisture and
chemicals.
- Swiss screw machining is a rotary machining process in which stock metal rods are threaded,
drilled, slotted, milled, knurled and tapped into precision application
parts. Swiss screw machining is a common term for screw machining,
since the first screw machines were developed in Switzerland during the
late 1800s in order to produce collets for watch balance springs.
- are produced to very close tolerances. Swiss screw machines
are often used in the production of small, complex parts.
- Thread rolling is a cold-forming process that uses hard dies to press threads into a solid blank or workpiece and create external rolled threads, which are helical structures that are used to convert rotational motion into linear motion.
- is a fastening bar with a twisted grove along its length.
-
are parts with extremely tight tolerances that are formed by loading
bar stock into a screw machine and then machining the parts as the bar
is fed through the machine. The vast majority of turned parts are formed
by this process.
Screw Machine Products Terms
–
A threading die used in screw machines whose cutting portion has a shape
similar to that of an acorn.
– A machining process
in which the interior and exterior surfaces of a part are altered to meet
design requirements by the pushing or pulling of a cutter, called a broach,
through the part surfaces. Broaching is particularly advantageous when
machining complex parts.
– A tiny, adjustable
die that is supported in a ring holder. Button dies are used in screw
machines and for other work of the same type.
– The components of a screw
machine that move the slides and turret in order to feed cutting tools
to the work. Cams control the automatic movements, depth and duration
of every cut.
– The part of the lathe
of a screw machine that grips the part to be turned, holding it in place
while it is rotated and shaped.
– A type of chuck on
a screw machine that provides a solid grip on the turned part. A collet
holds the part in place during rotation without leaving any defective
marks on the part.
– A cam-driven slide
that carries tools at right angles to the spindle. Cross slides operate
through levers to give each tool the proper feed.
– A screw machine tool
onto which a part is placed and rotated in order to shape it.
– A
device that protects the mechanisms of a screw machine by disengaging,
in order to stop the main drive shaft in the event of overloading or jamming.
– A machining process
that involves the shaving of a layer from the metal part.
– A
slotted, machined screw that is milled from bar stock. The thread is then
cut and the screw is machine-finished.
– Typically, a free-machining
type of alloy, in the shape of a wire or rod, that is used to form screw
machine products.
– A screw machine part
that consists of a rotary shaft about which a screw machine part rotates.
– A machining process,
used to form screw machined parts, in which a blank is rotated about a
stationary piece of equipment.
– A component of a screw
machine that is driven by cams to bring each tool into position automatically.