Technology and precision for bespoke components
Bar turning
CIEFFE operates an extensive range of CNC bar-fed lathes – both fixed-headstock and Swiss-type (sliding-headstock) – with bar capacity from 5 to 80 mm.
These are fully automated machines, ensuring efficiency, precision, great versatility and perfect process repeatability.
The benefits in terms of quality, optimised lead times and cost containment are unquestionable – even on high production volumes.
Forging: superior performance, production flexibility and cost optimisation
Hot forging is the ideal solution for producing high-strength components at competitive cost.
With tooling that is less expensive than cold forging, it allows small and medium batches to be produced while maintaining excellent productivity.
During hot deformation, the material’s fibres are bent and oriented along the part profile, delivering mechanical performance superior to turning: higher tensile strength, greater durability and reliability.
Hot forging also reduces raw material costs, especially when the material is expensive, hard to machine, or when the part shows significant differences in diameter (such as bolts with a head much larger than the shank).
The near-net-shape geometry minimises waste and optimises the entire process.
Second-operation turning
CIEFFE carries out secondary turning operations:
- on previously forged parts
- on semi-finished parts supplied by the customer (subcontract work)
The company operates fully automated CNC plants ensuring efficiency, precision, great versatility and perfect process repeatability.
It also operates hydraulic second-operation lathes for small material removals on cold-forged parts.
Groove turning, point turning, chamfering, and turning operations on the nut end or at the thread root: simple operations, without overly tight tolerances, which allow special parts to be produced from standard cold-forged components while keeping costs low.
Thread rolling: superior strength and zero waste
Thread rolling is a cold-forming process that produces the thread by compressing the material, with no chip removal. The fibres are not cut but compacted, ensuring mechanical and fatigue strength that is markedly higher than threads produced by turning.
Rolled threads offer:
- greater strength and reliability
- smoother, more accurate surfaces
- no scrap and reduced costs
- high productivity, even on high volumes
The ideal solution for fasteners, structural components and safety-critical applications;
perfect for ensuring smoother and more consistent assembly, it also offers a significant advantage, especially with expensive or difficult-to-machine materials.
Centreless grinding: precision, quality and productivity
Centreless grinding is a high-precision finishing process ideal for cylindrical components, ensuring tight tolerances, excellent surface finishes and maximum repeatability.
Infeed (plunge) centreless grinding
In infeed grinding the workpiece does not advance: the grinding wheel moves directly into the area to be machined.
- ideal for localised diameters or non-constant profiles
- very high dimensional accuracy
- perfect for grooves, shoulders, seats and short components
- excellent repeatability on large batches
Through-feed centreless grinding
In through-feed grinding the workpiece moves continuously between the wheels, thanks to the angle of the regulating wheel.
- very high productivity
- ideal for constant-diameter cylindrical parts
- a continuous, high-speed process
- perfect for pins, bars, dowel pins and bushes
Quality control
CIEFFE has made the informed, integrated and cross-functional management of quality across the entire production process one of the cornerstones of its operational strategy: every product is placed within a purpose-defined path and inspected at each stage, from arrival at the plant through to delivery to the customer.
The final quality control department stands out for the completeness of its procedures and its state-of-the-art equipment: optical scanning measuring machines, profile projectors (optical comparators) and surface profilometers are just some of the instruments that have allowed human intervention – and therefore the related margin for error – to be eliminated entirely.