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Swiss Machined Parts by Application
The small turned parts buyers send us most often, what each one asks of a Swiss-type shop and what to put on the drawing.
We are a matching service and own no machines. We read your RFQ and match it with up to 3 shops that run Swiss-type lathes and already make parts like yours. Figures on this page are typical.
Parts at a glance
Typical starting points. Your drawing and quality requirements decide the real specification.
| Application | Typical parts | Usual materials | Key features | Typical yearly volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical screws and pins | Bone screws, K-wire style pins, dental implant parts, instrument pins | Ti Grade 5 / 23, 316L, 17-4 PH | Whirled threads, drive recesses, cannulation, burr-free edges | Hundreds to tens of thousands |
| Connectors and contacts | Contact pins and sockets, RF connector bodies, pogo pin barrels | Brass C36000, tellurium copper, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze | Small bores, slots, crimp barrels, plating allowance | Tens of thousands to millions |
| Pins, shafts and pinions | Dowel and hinge pins, motor shafts, gear shafts, spindles | 303, 416, 17-4 PH, 12L14 | Diameter tolerance, concentricity, flats, knurls | Thousands to hundreds of thousands |
| Watch and instrument parts | Pinions, arbors, stems, tiny screws, instrument shafts | Free-machining steels, brass, stainless | Very small diameters, fine threads, polish | Thousands and up |
| Fluid fittings and valve parts | Hydraulic and pneumatic fittings, valve spools, nozzles, orifices | 303, 316L, brass, lead-free brass, aluminum | Sealing seats, thread forms, cross holes, deburred intersections | Thousands to hundreds of thousands |
| Fasteners and specials | Shoulder screws, standoffs, captive screws, threaded inserts | Stainless, brass, aluminum, titanium | Threads, hex or polygon heads, slots | Thousands and up |
What each application asks of the shop
Medical screws and pins
Bone screws are slender, threaded along much of their length and often cannulated, which is what a guide bushing is built for. Thread whirling cuts long bone threads in one pass with good form. Expect requests for material certificates (for example ASTM F136 titanium or ASTM F138 stainless), first article reports and lot traceability. Medical Swiss machining.
Connector pins and contacts
Contacts are small, made in very high volume and nearly always plated, so the drawing should say whether dimensions apply before or after gold, nickel or tin. Brass C36000 runs fastest. Copper alloys conduct better but cut slower. Connector pins and RF connectors.
Pins and shafts
Pins and shafts depend on diameter tolerance, straightness and concentricity between diameters. Turned diameters typically hold ±0.005 to ±0.013 mm. Tighter diameters usually get centerless grinding after turning. Hardened parts are turned soft, heat treated and then ground.
Watch and instrument parts
Swiss turning started with watch parts: pinions, arbors and stems where diameters are often around 1 mm and less. Fine threads, small module gear forms and polished pivots are common. Below 1 mm is a specialist job. See also optics and instrument parts.
Fluid fittings and valve parts
Fittings and spools need clean sealing seats, accurate thread forms and burr-free cross-hole intersections, because a loose burr can jam a valve downstream. Specify the thread standard (for example SAE, NPT or ISO 228) and the deburr requirement for internal edges. Hydraulic fittings.
Fasteners and specials
Special screws, standoffs and inserts that a catalog cannot supply. Polygon turning puts hex or square heads on in the same cycle. The guide covers head forms, threads and plating. Swiss machined fasteners.
Design notes that apply across applications
- Use a standard bar size. A part designed just over a common bar diameter forces a larger bar and more material per part. See materials and bar stock.
- Tolerance only what matters. Micron-level diameters need gauging during the run and more checks per lot. Open up non-functional features.
- Mind the part-off end. The part-off face carries a small pip or burr unless the sub-spindle finishes it. Say if that face is functional.
- State finish allowances. Plating, anodize and passivation change size and edge condition. Say whether dimensions apply before or after finish.
- Give the yearly volume. Setup is paid once per job, so yearly volume changes the price per part more than the first order quantity.
For the machine side, see capabilities. For how to prepare a drawing, read design for Swiss machining. Background on the machine type: Swiss-style lathe (Wikipedia).
Parts that do not fit
Parts with a largest diameter above the machine's bar range, flat or boxy parts, castings and one-off pieces belong on a conventional lathe or a mill. If you are not sure which side your part falls on, send the drawing and we will say so.
Questions about Swiss machined parts
What makes a part a good fit for a Swiss-type lathe?
A largest diameter of about 32 mm or less, a length several times the diameter, side features a live tool can add in the same cycle and a volume of a few hundred pieces or more. Pins, screws, contacts, shafts and fittings fit that profile. Large, flat or boxy parts do not.
Can Swiss shops make medical bone screws?
Many do. Bone screws are turned from titanium or 316L bar, with the thread often cut by thread whirling and the drive recess milled or broached in the same cycle. Medical work also needs material certificates, first article reports and lot traceability, and some buyers need ISO 13485. Say what you need in the RFQ so we match shops that already work that way. You verify any certificate yourself.
Are watch parts still made on Swiss-type lathes?
Yes. The sliding headstock lathe was first built for watch parts, and pinions, arbors, stems and tiny screws are still classic Swiss work. Very small diameters below 1 mm are specialist jobs, so we match them only with shops that confirm they run that size.
What volume do these applications usually run at?
From a few hundred pieces to hundreds of thousands per year. Setup takes longer than on a conventional lathe, so quote your yearly volume, not just the first order. For 1 to 50 pieces a conventional CNC lathe is often cheaper.