The Citizen Cincom CNC lathes used by Pacific Swiss & Manufacturing (Pacific Swiss) to produce precision machined parts for its global customers.
Pacific Swiss & Manufacturing (Pacific Swiss) is an all-Swiss machining job shop that has been in business since 1995 in Portland, an Oregon suburb of Clackamas in the US. The shop has nine Citizen Cincom CNC lathes, or turning centres, that are programmed using ESPRIT CAM software, allowing for the provision of specialised and diverse Swiss machining services to a diverse, global customer base that includes the medical, dental, aerospace, and motion and flow control industries. In the words of Scott Durkee, a 20-year machine shop veteran and CNC programmer at Pacific Swiss: “We go after anything our machines can make.”
The once upon a time programming bottleneck
Prior to adopting ESPRIT, Pacific Swiss undertook most of its programming by hand. The shop occasionally used a basic CNC editor on the lathes, but this afforded minimal calculations and involved a cumbersome cut-and-paste program generation process. As recalled by Kevin Wilhite, a 10-year machinist, newly minted mechanical engineer and quality engineer at Pacific Swiss for the past 5 years: “[We had to do] lots of pen-and-paper calculations. It was gruelling to say the least—very much trial and error a lot of the time.”
Programming sessions typically took three to seven days, during which the lathes were not in use. These were followed by three-day machine setups and on-machine program verification. “We [needed] a three-day setup [to] wheel through the program to check it,” said Durkee. “Mistakes like a misplaced decimal point or negative sign would crash the machine, and we’d have to order a new tool or fix the machine.”
The potential complexity of 7-axis machining and the shortcomings of basic programming tools meant that the shop occasionally had to turn away lucrative jobs deemed too complex to program by hand.
A Citizen Cincom L32 7-axis sliding head lathe at Pacific Swiss.
Enter ESPRIT
When it came to investing in a CAM system to improve the shop’s capabilities, it quickly became clear that ESPRIT was the right choice, with its exceptional support for Swiss lathes, turnkey post processors and renowned customer support. Other CAM systems being considered lacked Swiss programming and specific post solutions, some had a lacklustre numerical code (NC) output or uninspiring user interface (UI).
In addition, Durkee’s positive experience with ESPRIT at a previous shop gave him tremendous confidence that it was the right choice for Pacific Swiss. “I like using ESPRIT,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to use. One of the things I really like is the consistency of the GUI (graphical user interface). Other programming software I’ve used would constantly change icons, menu locations and buttons. ESPRIT has kept the interface pretty solid. With each new version, there are a lot of upgrades in functionality and post processor enhancements.”
Significant reductions in programming session, machine setup and cycle times
Pacific Swiss quickly saw impressive results using ESPRIT. Firstly, the three- to seven-day programming sessions now take a day. “Even the most complex parts now don’t take more than a day to program,” said Wilhite. “Sometimes I run into something I’ve never seen before, and it might take me a little while longer to figure it out, but most of that is figuring out what tool and operation to use.”
Secondly, the time taken for machine setups has been cut from three days to one. Swiss-type CNC lathes such as the Citizen Cincom L32 are compact and complex, featuring multiple turrets and dual spindles, therefore every movement must be extremely precise to increase productivity and avoid disasters. ESPRIT CAM’s digital twin, a simulation tool for the machining process, has provided significant time and tooling savings, and its edit-free NC has contributed greatly to enhanced productivity. “Having a solid post-processor has eliminated a lot of programming errors,” said Durkee. “If it works on the computer, it works on the machine.”
“The confidence level coming from programming to the shop floor is much, much higher with ESPRIT,” added Wilhite. “It makes my life easier in quality control, in that I don’t have to turn away a part as often because of a quality issue.”
Thirdly, cycle times have improved in line with part quality, since complex wrap milling, automatic chamfering, a technique that eliminates secondary deburring operations, and balanced spindle usage are enabling the Citizen lathes to achieve optimal performance.
According to Durkee, balanced spindle usage in legacy applications has been particularly effective. “On average, we can reduce the cycle time by 20 percent on legacy programs,” he said. “I was able to get the cycle time for one relatively large volume part—we do about 30,000 pieces a year—down from three minutes to two minutes after programming with ESPRIT. That’s 30,000 minutes [500 hours] of machine time saved!”
“I have ESPRIT templates built for different machines that already have the syncs (synchronisation of turrets) in place,” he continued. “It’s really easy to get a new part in, put the operations where I need them and have everything work simultaneously without crashes.”
Microparts produced by Pacific Swiss in beryllium copper, brass 303 stainless steel, 17-4 stainless steel and Torlon 4203 for the aerospace, connector, defence and medical industries. Tolerances are generally +/- .0003.
More opportunities, more business
Since the introduction of ESPRIT, the company’s prospects have widened considerably in terms of being able to take on more complex jobs as well as plan and quote for them accurately. “As the complexity of parts we produce increases, and I’m not sure how long it will take to machine a specific feature, I’ll build a quick program with that feature and ESPRIT then provides an estimate of the machining time required,” said Durkee.
All of this means more future business and success. “So far, sales are up 10 percent over last year,” said Wilhite. “We’re projected to do a lot better this year than our prior year without ESPRIT.” Also, the shop has been able to rise to the challenges presented by COVID-19. “We have had some aerospace customers push back, but it’s nothing that we weren’t prepared for,” continued Wilhite. “Business wise, it has presented some opportunities. [For example], we’ve made some ventilator parts.”
Looking to the future, Durkee and Wilhite see ESPRIT as instrumental in future growth, not only in complexity of work but in equipment as their shop and capabilities continue to expand. “With ESPRIT, the transition to machines that have a programmable B axis will be very easy, which could potentially open us to more business opportunities,” said Durkee. “The ease of programming with ESPRIT in Swiss machining gives us the competitive advantages of better product quality, reduced machining costs and improved machinability on complex parts.”
Pacific Swiss & Manufacturing
ESPRIT