Long Precision OA Shaft
The long slender shaft the workshop was built around, with every step cut while the bar is supported at the tool
The Part The Factory Is Known For
Shafts like this are the reason the company bought sliding-head lathes. The bar is long, thin and carries several steps, a slot and a drilled hole, and all of it has to stay on one axis. The guide bushing holds the material within a few millimetres of the cutting edge, so the shaft does not push away from the tool as it gets thinner.
The lathe department has produced OA shafts of this type for a Japanese financial-equipment customer for many years, on a repeat schedule with stable quality and on-time delivery, which is the record the foreign trade department was set up on in 2021.
Why Long Shafts Come Here
Built For Slender Work
Citizen, Tsugami and Nomura Swiss-type lathes are the plant's core equipment, not an occasional machine.
Years Of The Same Part
This is a family the workshop runs continuously, so the process is proven rather than learned on your order.
Features Cut In-Cycle
Slots and cross holes are machined with driven tooling before the part is parted off.
Application Scenarios
- Roller and feed shafts in financial machines
- Drive shafts in office automation transports
- Guide shafts in printing and scanning modules
- Long idler shafts in conveying mechanisms
Who It Is For
- OEMs in office automation and financial equipment
- Buyers moving a Japanese-sourced shaft to a China supplier
- Engineers with shafts too slender for a fixed-head lathe
- Purchasing teams needing repeat schedules rather than one-off buys
Slender Shaft Problems
- Taper along the shaft because the bar deflects away from the tool
- Steps that are concentric individually but not to each other
- Slots milled off centre in a second operation
- Suppliers who can hold the drawing once but not for two years
Guide Bushing
Support at the cut, which is the only reliable way to machine slender bar.
One Clamping
All steps and features referenced to the same axis.
Schedule Supply
Repeat deliveries against a forecast, not just spot orders.
Technical Features
- Multiple turned steps over a long slender body
- Milled slot positioned from the turned datum
- Cross hole drilled in the same cycle
- Chamfers and radii cut to the drawing
- Bar-fed continuous production
Specifications
| Part Type | Long slender stepped shaft |
|---|---|
| Typical Material | Free-cutting steel or stainless steel |
| Primary Process | Swiss-type CNC turning with guide bushing |
| Machines | Citizen, Tsugami and Nomura sliding-head lathes |
| Secondary Features | Slotting and cross drilling with driven tools |
| Tolerance | To customer drawing, confirmed at quotation |
| Inspection | Profile projector and 2D height gauge |
| Sample Lead Time | Within 30 days of drawing approval |
Dimensions follow your drawing. The machine list and inspection equipment are the plant's actual capability.
Materials We Run
- Free-cutting carbon steel, the usual choice for OA shafts
- SUS304 stainless where the shaft is exposed
- SUS316L for humid or chemically loaded environments
- Customer-nominated alloy steel with subcontracted heat treatment
Manufacturing Process
Bar Feed
Straightened bar is fed automatically for continuous running.
Guide-Bushing Turning
Steps are cut with the bar supported next to the tool.
Driven Tooling
Slots and cross holes are machined before parting off.
Inspect And Pack
Sample frequency is set by the control plan for the part.
Quality Control
- First article measured against the drawing before series release
- Sampling through the run on a profile projector
- Step lengths verified on a 2D height gauge
- Slot position and width checked each lot
- ISO 9001 certified since 2009 and audited by Japanese customers
Customization Options
- Diameters, step positions and overall length
- Slot width, depth and angular position
- Cross hole size and position
- Surface treatment or heat treatment
- Tube, tray or bulk packing for automated assembly
Swiss-Type Against Other Routes
| Fixed-head CNC turning | A fixed-head lathe loses accuracy as the part gets longer and thinner; the guide bushing is what keeps this geometry. |
|---|---|
| Centreless ground bar plus machining | Grinding is added only where the drawing needs it, instead of being the whole process. |
| Cold-headed and rolled shaft | Cheaper at very high volume, but the step tolerances and the slot position are not comparable. |
Moving A Shaft Programme To Shipu
Send Print And Samples
A current production sample tells us what the drawing does not.
Share The Control Plan
If your existing supplier works to one, we adopt the same characteristics.
Agree The First Article
Samples within 30 days, with a dimensional report.
Set The Schedule
Forecast quantities let us hold material and keep lead times short.
Long Precision OA Shaft — FAQ
How long have you been making shafts like this?
The lathe department has produced OA shafts for a Japanese financial-equipment customer over many years of continuous supply. That programme is the reason the plant is equipped with Japanese sliding-head lathes.
Which machines would this run on?
Citizen, Tsugami and Nomura Swiss-type lathes, in three, five and six axis configurations depending on the features on the drawing.
Can you take over an existing part from another supplier?
Yes, and it goes more smoothly if you send current production samples along with the drawing. We measure them, flag anything the drawing does not describe, and confirm before cutting.
Do you hold stock against a forecast?
For scheduled programmes we hold material and sometimes finished stock. That is agreed as part of the supply arrangement rather than offered by default.
What inspection equipment do you use on these?
Profile projectors and 2D height gauges, which are the plant's standard instruments for turned work, used for first articles and for sampling through the run.
Related Products
Related Guides
Why Slender Parts Are Machined On Swiss-Type Lathes
What a guide bushing actually does, and why a long thin shaft behaves differently on a sliding-head lathe.
What To Check Before Importing Machined Parts From China
How to separate a machine shop from a trading company, and how to structure a first order so it proves something.
Talk To Us About A Shaft Programme
Send the drawing and a sample if you have one. We reply with price, sample lead time and the inspection plan we intend to run.