Tornos Swiss Nano offers compact, fast and capable small parts production - available Q4

The new Swiss Nano is intended to be a resolutely, uncompromising watchmaking machine and its kinematics enable it to produce 75% of the moving parts in a watch. In the UK, Tornos envisages this machine making a significant impact in the production of small connectors and within the electronic industry. Tornos UK's accounts manager, John Stretton, says: "In the UK, Tornos UK has many customers producing small parts and we see the Swiss Nano providing addition flexibility and performance, especially in the small diameter connector industry, where we have many Deco 7 and 10 mm machines installed. The new Swiss Nano is an exciting addition to our machine tool range that will offer potential beyond the remit of competitor products. Furthermore, it's aesthetically eye-catching, offers easy operator access and all in a small footprint. This is a very exciting new machine from the Tornos stable that will be available for UK installation in the last quarter of 2013." Image: The Swiss Nano is scheduled for availability Q4 this year The machine's design brings together two important aspects aesthetics and practical considerations. Tornos marketing manager Brice Renggli explains: "We wanted to create a modern automatic turning machine with a 4 mm capacity, occupying minimum floor space and with complete 180° access. So, we have created a frontal design and integrated a tablet in addition to the conventional control." Image: Swiss Nano is clearly colourful Given the space constraints in watchmaking and small workshops, the Swiss Nano machine was developed so it doesn't require any rear access. If necessary, it can even be placed against a wall. The machining area is protected by a 'bubble' and is accessible from all sides. Mr Renggli, continues: "The set-up is user-friendly, not only is everything easily visible, but it also gives us ideal accessibility. We had a very positive experience." With a footprint of 1.8 by 0.65 by 1.6 m (LWH) and a maximum workpiece diameter of 4 mm, the Swiss Nano incorporates an X1/Y1 tooling platten with seven turning tools having maximum shank dimensions of 8 by 8 mm. The Swiss Nano also has the capacity for three end-mounted tools having a diameter up to 16 mm, as well as another two end-mounted tools for counter-operations. To meet the specific needs of the end user, the Swiss Nano is available with optional extras, such as a gear hobbing device, transverse drilling, HF spindles and polygon tools. The 1 kW induction motorised spindle and counter-spindle are both capable of 16,000 rpm. Furthermore, the Swiss Nano offers fixed, rotating and guide-bushless operation. The Swiss Nano also offers peripheral additions, such as a carousel collection system, vacuum, smoke extractor and fire prevention system. The kinematic structure was designed for balance and thermal management. The axes and cast iron elements are aligned symmetrically to the guide bush, with the thermal aspects managed by 'mini-loops' that prevent heat propagation. The structure is anchored on three damped points. This enables rigidity and vibration stability to reach new peaks, it is claimed. Consequently, machining precision and quality are everything that they should be. Mr Renggli adds: "Results of the tests were never able to fault the machine, either with respect to the high precision required in watchmaking or in terms of quality of finish." The Swiss Nano includes a precision tool setting system that uses a sensor and feeler probe. The aim of this is to provide a user-friendly system, able to position the tools to within 3 to 8 micron, according to the bar diameter. The greatest advance may be in terms of communication. The Swiss Nano has a graphic tablet on top. All the basic production data (workpieces, products, machine, bar changeover, fleet monitoring) are reported on this interface. At a glance, the operator can access all the data for a specific machine or for a whole fleet of machines.