From model
to metal.
SwissNC is turnkey CAM for Swiss-type and sliding-headstock lathes, not a general CAD/CAM package with a lathe module added on. Import the model, program the main spindle, the live tools and the sub spindle, run the whole job in simulation, and post the program your control runs. You prove the part out on screen first, so the first part off the bar is one you can use.
- Import · Program · Simulate · Post
- Main and sub spindle
- Runs in the browser
- 5 model formats
STEP, IGES, Parasolid, Rhino and STL in; STEP and STL out
- 2 spindles
Main and sub spindle setups, with part transfer and cut-off
- 4 channels
Programs side by side, with their sync codes lined up
- 18 tool types
From turning and grooving inserts to thread whirls and broaches
Follow one part from the model to the program
The example below is a small M5 pin from Ø8 bar, with a thread, two wrench flats and a cross hole. The animations are drawn to look like the app; the part, sizes and code are examples.
Drop in the model; get a turning profile and a setup
Open the customer's model and SwissNC reads it in the browser. Extract the turning profile in one click, then describe the bar and the machine on one form.
- STEP, IGES, Parasolid, Rhino or STL in, plus DXF for 2D. The part is placed on the spindle axis.
- Extract ▸ Spun revolves the part into its half-profile on the setup plane. Section and Silhouette are there too.
- Round Bar or Hex Bar, outer diameter, part length and excess; Sliding Headstock and Guide Bushing with its length.
- Main Spindle or Sub Spindle per setup, work offset (G54 by default), and Turning, Axial Milling or Radial Milling setups.
Rough, finish and thread, the way a Swiss cuts
Pick the profile and a tool from the library, and press Calculate. With a sliding headstock the bar moves in Z and the tool stays at the guide bushing, and the view shows it that way.
- Rough Turning and Finish Turning with stock to leave on walls and flats, lead-in and lead-out arcs, and a Bar Breaker exit.
- Rough Groove, Finish Groove and Cut-off with pecks, dwells and chip breaks.
- Thread Turning pass by pass: Constant Area or Constant Depth, flank, alternating flank or radial infeed, spring passes and multi-start threads. Thread Rolling and Thread Whirl too.
- Feeds per minute or per revolution, from the Feeds & Speeds Library by material and coating.
Flats and cross holes, with C indexing the part
Add a Radial Milling or Axial Milling setup and the same profile and tool library drive the live tools. SwissNC turns the part in C rather than moving the tool around it, as the machine does.
- Polygon Milling cuts each flat across the bar with a radial end mill and indexes C between flats.
- Hole Making drills, pecks, taps, reams and bores, with canned cycles (G81 to G89) when the post supports them.
- Y-Axis (XYZ), C-Axis (XCZ) with or without polar interpolation, and Eccentric Milling for XYC contours with the part turning.
- Contour Milling, Pocket, Thread Milling, Back Deburring, and 3D roughing and finishing for the harder parts.
Pick off, cut off, and finish the back
Put the back operations in a Sub Spindle setup. In Process, order the work on each channel and say how the material moves between the spindles.
- Material handling: Transfer Part from Main to Sub-Spindle, Pull with Sub Spindle, Bar Feed, side and front grippers, Rechuck and Remove.
- Cut-off on the main spindle while the sub holds the part, then back working on the sub spindle from the backworking tool post.
- Channels shows up to four programs side by side, and Align Sync Codes lines up their waits so you can check the timing.
- Swap Spindle moves a setup from one spindle to the other.
Prove it out on screen, not on the machine
In SIM the stock is cut as the program plays, as an exact mesh, helical thread passes included. The guide bushing and both spindles are shown for orientation. Scrub, step or play at any speed, and the G-code line follows.
- Rapids through stock are listed with a button that jumps to the line. On a machine, a G0 through stock is a crash.
- Tool Colors tints each face by the tool that cut it; Section cuts the stock through the spindle axis.
- Statistics gives distance and time per tool, feed against rapid. Save the cut stock as an STL.
- Collision Check on 3D milling looks for gouges and air cuts, and workholding faces are always checked.
G-code for your control, line by line with the toolpath
Pick the machine and the post writes the program in its own dialect, in inches or millimetres. The program and the backplot run together: click a line and playback jumps to it.
- Multi-channel Swiss programs: one program per path, with matching wait codes, back work, pick-up and bar change.
- Any CNC machine: we provide the post for your machine and control.
- Compare two programs diff by diff, and read G-code back in to plot and simulate.
Fix it in the program, prove it again, then cut
The rapid that clipped the shoulder takes one edit: change the operation, press Calculate, and play SIM again. Toolpaths that are out of date are recalculated before playback, and Lock Calculation keeps the ones you've already proven.
On screen · minutes
Program, simulate and post as many times as it takes. A mistake costs a click.
On the machine · once
Run the program that already passed. Bring what you learn at the machine back to the job.
The operations a Swiss job needs, in one place
Turning, grooving, threading, live tooling and 3D milling share one tool library, with 18 tool types, holders and a feeds and speeds library. Import or export each tool's shape as a DXF.
We can support any CNC machine
Tell us the machine and control in your shop and we'll provide the post for it, delivered through your account. Write to support@swiss-nc.com.
Nothing to install
SwissNC runs in the browser. Sign in and the whole CAD, CAM and simulation environment loads, with no installer and no workstation to set up.
Your parts stay on your computer
Models are read and toolpaths, simulation and posting are computed in your browser. Jobs save to your own files, or to your Google Drive if you choose.
One package, no tiers
Every license includes the full CAD, CAM and simulation environment, and we can support any CNC machine in your shop.
Prove out your next Swiss part on screen
Import it, program both spindles, watch it cut, and post the code. Licensed users sign in below; for access or a post for your machine, email us.
Access and support: support@swiss-nc.com