Leverage In-House Swiss Precision Machining Capabilities to Optimize Your Parts

United Centerless Grinding and Thread Rolling is proud to be a one-stop shop for customers seeking everything from heat-treated blanks to finishing services. 

Earlier this year, we announced our acquisition of long-time partner Allen Precision, a Swiss precision machining facility in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. 

We now offer in-house Swiss precision machining in addition to our precision centerless grinding and thread rolling capabilities.

What Is Swiss Precision Machining?

Originally used to turn screws for the watchmaking industry, Swiss screw machines have evolved over the years to manufacture a wide variety of parts across industries like aerospace, medical, and armament. 

These 11-axis machines can turn wheelhouse parts up to 1.25” in diameter; small parts like shafts, pins, studs, plugs, and screws; and parts with large length to diameter ratios.

While conventional lathes hold rotating workpieces in a fixed position at one or both ends, Swiss screw machines feed workpieces through a guide bushing to ensure that all cutting occurs near the point of support. The added stability prevents deflection (i.e., bending) of the tool to guarantee exceptional cutting precision—even for parts made of hard materials like nickel, Inconel, cobalt, and titanium. Swiss screw machines also perform milling operations for optimal effectiveness. 

Considerations for Swiss Precision Machining 

Swiss precision machining is a fast and cost-effective manufacturing solution for production volumes. The machines can run “lights out” to maximize efficiency, and the combined turning and milling capabilities can consolidate several steps into one operation. 

There are, however, parts for which centerless grinding or thread rolling are better alternatives. Take precision aerospace components, for example. Only thread rolling can provide the tensile, shear, and fatigue strength required of precision threaded components for critical aerospace applications. 

In many cases, we combine our Swiss machining and centerless grinding or thread rolling capabilities for parts. For instance, we’ll machine heat-treated blanks on our Swiss screw machine and then use centerless grinding to finish them. This hybrid approach yields better parts and reduces lead times by up to 50%! 

We’re thrilled to offer a new capability that saves customers time and money on exceptionally high-quality parts. Could your part benefit from Swiss precision machining? Request a free estimate today!