Tsugami Machine Tools Review from a Medical Manufacturing Perspective

Dan Dean
Medical Manufacturing Specialist
The Robert E. Morris Company

Today’s medical implant and component manufacturers fall into two major groups, I’ve observed. One group focuses on medium to high production products like screws, joint reconstructive products, and needles of all types and uses. The other group focuses on lower production components like patient specific implants or instruments like specialty forceps, reamers, and cutting blocks.

Regardless of production focus, all of today’s medical implant and component manufacturers share common challenges. Their products are complex in nature and machined from some tough materials: Cobalt Chrome, 17-4 and 15-5 Precipitation Hardening Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless, CP4 Titanium and high performance polymers like UHMWP and PEEK. These materials can be real bears to machine and deburr. To tackle difficult-to-machine components and tough materials, medical implant and component manufacturers look for power, tool capacity, and capability when shopping for a machine tool. Robust spindles plus powerful and rigid live tools for the cleanest finishes and deepest cuts are necessary.

Tsugami’s newest Swiss turns and established models provide a range of reliable, high performance, precision machine tools that are perfectly suited for medical implant and component manufacturers.  As a longtime machine tool guy who regularly works with medical implant and component manufacturers and contract job shops, I was impressed by what I saw in the Tsugami booth at IMTS.  Here’s my brief Machine Tools Review.

The BE Series: For ease of use and speed to market, the BE series provides up to 20mm capacity with 12,000 rpm and overlapping capability.  The BE12-V at IMTS featured additional software from Caron Engineering and an LNS Tryton 112 automatic barfeed, showing how the BE model’s basic Swiss operations can easily be enhanced.

The New S Series: The highly capable new S Series line really grabbed my attention with three models, all in 20mm capacity with 5, 6, and 7 axis platforms. The S205 model boasts a modular tooling layout with up to eleven (11) 8,000 rpm live tools. The S206 model has even more live tool capacity-- up to fifteen (15) live tools!   The S207 had “medical” written all over it, in my opinion.  Currently the only full B-axis 20mm Swiss machine on the market, with six (6) live B-axis tools that can approach components from any angle, and provide 5-axis machining capability, the S207 masters highly complex geometries and sculpted surfaces. WOW!

The SS Series: These Super Swiss Turns can cut heavy and fast, all day and night. Boasting plentiful modular tool layouts, large tooling platens and horsepower, the SS can handle the toughest operations with ease. The new SS26 26mm model was introduced at the show, joining the popular SS20 and SS32 models.  The SS machines have satisfied the medical manufacturing community since 2005.  (Did I mention that all SS machines can be purchased as conventional “chucker” models or converted into chucker mode, saving money by using non-ground material and shortening remnants by up to 10 inches!)

The BH Series: In the past few years, the BH20 and BH38 have been the hottest gang slide/turret Swiss platforms available. They are heavy, capable, and fast, with tons of tooling available, and able to perform the most critical and precise cuts on the manufacturing floor.

The T Series: The TMA, TMB and TMU machine models are meant for set it and forget it operation! These machines are the dreams of every production supervisor and scheduler. Each features 60 or 120 tool magazines. The TMU is a sliding headstock 1.5” bar capacity machine with a 16 station lower turret, 10,000 rpm through tool coolant live spindle and 15 horsepower. The TMB is a 2” fixed headstock twin of the TMU while the TMA stands alone as the ultimate in precision 8” chuck multifunction machine.

Of most importance for medical implant and component manufacturers, practically all of these models can easily be equipped with thread whirling, gun drilling, high pressure coolant, high frequency spindles, and other accessories that aid in machining medical components. REM Sales’ engineering talents add macros and custom software that provide shorter set up times and change overs, keeping the spindles turning more frequently.

At IMTS, Tsugami and its North American importer, Rem Sales, clearly showed that they understand the tough machine tool and engineering requirements of medical implant and component manufacturers, as evidenced by the ongoing design and development of the ultimate machines for the medical manufacturing community.  

Don’t accept my opinion! See for yourself the strengths of Tsugami precison machine tools and Rem Sales’ engineering.  Especially if you are involved in medical implant and component manufacturing, be sure to check out the Tsugami machine tool line-up at the next trade show or demonstration event at your local distributor.