One-Stop Medical Part Processing

The article “Precision Machining for the Medical Industry” looks at a machine that needs little introduction to the medical machining community. The Bumotec s191 is the long-standing flagship of Switzerland-based Starrag Vuadens SA and is designed to deliver parts from barstock and cut blanks.

It’s this processing flexibility that makes the machine a favorite for precision machined parts makers serving the medical parts industry. The s191 was developed 15 years ago to handle complex geometric shapes that include either a ground finish or a dimensional tolerance of four decimal places.

It successfully processes materials including titanium, Waspaloy, ceramic, glass, quartz, Inconel and stainless. It’s a turn/mill platform that comes standard with a bar pusher, but in the U.S., it is most commonly fitted with a bar feeder and chip conveyor. A pallet loader is also available.

While it’s a seven-axis machine (with five-axis simultaneous machining capability) it is fitted exclusively with the FANUC 31i-B5 CNC as a solution to simplify its operation. Range for the bar loaded machine is 32-mm to 65-mm diameter raw stock.