What Is Swiss CNC Machining?
Swiss CNC machining (also known as Swiss screw machining or sliding headstock turning) feeds bar stock through a stationary guide bushing directly adjacent to the cutting tool. Because the material is supported right where the cut happens, deflection and vibration are eliminated — allowing ultra-tight tolerances, micro features, and length-to-diameter aspect ratios over 20:1 that conventional CNC lathes cannot achieve.
Bar Stock Feeds Through Guide Bushing
The raw bar feeds through a carbide-lined guide bushing, providing zero-clearance support right next to the cutting insert.
Sliding Headstock Moves Along Z-Axis
Instead of moving the cutting tool along the part, the headstock advances the bar past fixed gang tooling, maintaining maximum rigidity.
Live Tooling & Sub-Spindle Dual Machining
Cross-milling, axial drilling, threads, and back-side features are completed in a single setup before parting off the finished part.
The Swiss Turned Parts Kent Buys Most
Start with the parts, because in Kent the parts are specific. Blue Origin builds New Shepard vehicles and BE-4 engines at its headquarters in the Kent Valley, and rocket propulsion programs consume exactly the geometry Swiss lathes exist for: valve spools with lands ground round and concentric, high pressure fluid fittings, orifice bodies, igniter components and instrumentation bosses in stainless, Inconel and titanium. Down the road, Boeing Space Center has anchored satellite and defense work in Kent for decades, which adds connector pins, contact pins and hermetic feedthrough hardware to the local shopping list.
The valley around those two names is one of the densest manufacturing corridors in Washington. Boeing's 737 line sits minutes north in Renton and its fabrication plant is next door in Auburn, so Kent is packed with the machine shops, processors and Tier 2 suppliers that feed both. Even the machine tool industry lives here: Flow International and OMAX, two of the world's major waterjet builders, are headquartered in Kent, and equipment builders burn through pump plungers, check valve poppets, seal glands and precision shafts.
What most of these buyers share is a part under 1.5 inches in diameter, an aggressive length to diameter ratio and a print that does not forgive taper. Swiss turning supports the bar at the cut, so a 20:1 slender shaft comes off straight, and live tooling plus a sub-spindle finish cross holes, flats and back work in one setup. RivCut runs that work from single prototypes to 100,000 plus piece bar fed production, no minimum order, shipped to Kent from our California shop.
Engineered for Micro-Precision & High Volume
From single medical prototypes to automated 100,000+ piece production runs — built for zero defect manufacturing.
±0.0001" Micro Tolerance
Holding ultra-precise concentricity, diameter, and thread pitch tolerances on slender pins, shafts, and medical implants where standard lathes fail.
Single-Setup Completion
Multi-axis live tooling and sub-spindles handle turning, off-center milling, cross-drilling, hex broaching, and thread whirling with zero secondary setups.
Superior Ra 16 Surface Finish
Rigid guide bushing support eliminates chatter and micro-vibration, consistently producing mirror-smooth Ra 16 µin (0.4 µm) turned surfaces as-machined.
Lights-Out Production Savings
Automatic bar feeders and continuous chip management allow 24/7 un-attended operation, dramatically lowering unit costs for mid-to-high volume orders.
Swiss Machining Services Suite
Sliding headstock capabilities engineered for challenging small-diameter components.
Micro-Miniature Turning
Machining small-diameter components down to 0.020" (0.5 mm) with tight features, internal bores, and miniature threads for medical instruments and micro-valves.
Down to 0.5 mm barHigh L/D Ratio Slender Shafts
Turning long, slender shafts and pins with length-to-diameter ratios up to 20:1 without chatter, taper, or deflection.
L/D up to 20:1Multi-Axis Live Tooling
Up to 12 axes with motorized driven tools for off-center milling, keyways, cross-drilled passages, hex flats, and helical thread whirling.
Up to 12-axis liveDual-Spindle Sub-Machining
Synchronized pick-off sub-spindle finishes the back end of the part—chamfering, counterboring, and tapping—delivering 100% complete parts off the line.
100% finished partsMedical & Implant Machining
Precision turning of Titanium Ti-6Al-4V ELI bone screws, dental implant posts, orthopedic pins, and endoscope tips with ISO 13485 quality control.
Titanium & 316L medicalHigh-Volume Bar Fed Runs
Automated 12ft bar loaders, high-pressure coolant (2,000 PSI), and automated part catchers support fast production runs from 500 to 100,000+ pieces.
500 to 100,000+ pcs
Titanium Grade 5 Dental Implant Post & Bone Screw
Swiss turned for a medical device manufacturer requiring intricate thread geometry, micro-cannulation through-holes, and tight hex drive features. Machined in a single operation with zero hand deburring required.
tolerance held
surface finish
turnaround
2,500-piece run
- Optical comparator & CMM dimensional inspection report
- Mill test certs (EN 10204 3.1) with heat lot traceability
- Passivation certs per ASTM A967 / ASTM F86
- Certificate of Conformance per medical purchase order
Swiss Turning vs. Standard Lathe vs. CNC Milling
Choose the right manufacturing method based on geometry, tolerances, and batch size.
Stocked Materials for Swiss Turning
Precision ground round bar stock in metals, medical alloys, and engineering plastics.
Titanium Alloys
Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5), Ti-6Al-4V ELI (Grade 23), Commercially Pure Titanium (Grade 2). Ideal for biocompatible implants, dental screws, and aerospace pins.
Stainless Steels
303, 304/304L, 316/316L, 17-4 PH, 440C, Custom 455. Excellent corrosion resistance, high tensile strength, and medical compliance.
Copper & Brass Alloys
C36000 Free-Cutting Brass, C17200 Beryllium Copper, Tellurium Copper C14500. Perfect for gold-plated electrical contacts and probe tips.
Specialty & Superalloys
Inconel 718, Kovar, Nitronic 60, Hastelloy C-276, Nitinol. High-temperature and controlled-expansion applications for aerospace and energy.
Medical Plastics
PEEK (Unfilled & 30% Glass Filled), Delrin (POM-H), PTFE (Teflon), Ultem 1000, Torlon 4203. Biocompatible, autoclavable, and dimensionally stable.
Alloy & Tool Steels
4140, 4340, A2, D2, M2 tool steel. High wear resistance and toughness after vacuum heat treating for mechanical shafts and dowels.
DFM Tips for Swiss Turned Parts
Optimize your 3D CAD models and drawings for maximum Swiss machining efficiency.
1. Precision Ground Bar Stock
Because the bar slides through a guide bushing, use h8 diameter tolerance precision ground bar stock to prevent binding or loose play.
2. Thread Relief Grooves
Provide a thread relief necking groove at thread shoulders (minimum 1.5x thread pitch) to allow clean single-point thread tool retraction.
3. Corner Radii & Chamfers
Specify internal corner radii of at least R 0.010" (0.25 mm) and external 45° lead-in chamfers to ease automated tool engagement and deburring.
The Parts Kent Industries Order Most
A sector-by-sector look at Kent Swiss turning demand.
Space & Rocket Propulsion
Blue Origin's Kent campus and its supplier network buy turned hardware that lives in propellant and pneumatic systems: valve spools, orifice fittings, pintle and poppet components, igniter bodies and pressure port bosses. These parts demand concentricity, and guide bushing turning holds 0.0002 inch TIR with Ra 16 microinch finishes as machined. RivCut works 316L, 17-4 PH, Inconel 718 and Ti-6Al-4V bar with full traceability and first article inspection reports for flight adjacent programs.
Aerospace & Defense Suppliers
Boeing Space Center in Kent, the 737 line in neighboring Renton and the Auburn fabrication plant together sustain hundreds of valley suppliers, and their bills of material are full of small turned items: clevis pins, connector and contact pins, standoffs, ferrules and static port fittings. Bar fed Swiss runs of 500 to 100,000 plus pieces keep per part cost down while every piece stays on print, with AS9102 style first articles and mill certs in the box.
Machinery & Industrial Equipment
Kent builds machines that cut metal with water. Flow International and OMAX headquarter their waterjet businesses here, and ultra high pressure equipment consumes hard, round, precise components: pump plungers, check valve poppets, seal glands, nozzle bodies and mixing tube retainers. RivCut Swiss turns replacements and production lots in 440C, 17-4 PH and carbide friendly geometries, often working from a sample part and a sketch when an OEM drawing is not available.
Kent Buyer FAQ
Straight answers on Swiss work shipped to Kent.
More Swiss Coverage Near Kent
Quote Your Kent Parts in Minutes
Get pricing now, a DFM review within hours and Swiss turned parts on the way to Kent.