Special machines for watchmaker decoration, diamond finishing and precision machining, developed and manufactured in St-Imier
PF Machines SA
Rue de l'Envers 16, 2610 St-Imier (Switzerland)New on Amplifa
About PF Machines
PF Machines SA, based in St-Imier (canton of Bern), develops, manufactures and services special machines for the watchmaking industry and precision mechanics. The product range includes decorating machines (CNC and manual), perlage machines, diamond-finishing machines, lathes, colimaçon and cercler machines, gicler and decal machines as well as workshop machines in compact bench-top (établi) or larger frame (bâti) designs. Known models include Nelio, Nelio 2, TM2/TM2R, Diamis, PF 35, Lineos, Pico, IDeco, Athom, C-sens, Magic and TM 8. In addition to machine building, the company offers a design office, customer service, breakdown service as well as overhaul and conversion of used machines, including rewiring, programming, mechanical overhaul and repainting. The in-house workshop manufactures components for its own products and reworks used machines, enabling short delivery times. For washing and lubricating machines there is a partnership with Jema SA from Courtelary, which also supplies stainless-steel washing baskets and ATEX-certified systems. The machines are aimed at the watch industry, especially the luxury segment, and at precision mechanics.
- Site
- St-Imier
- Processes
- Watch decoration (manual, semi-automatic and automatic), Automated diamond finishing, Turning / small machining jobs, Côtes de Genève, Circular Côtes, Soleil brushing (Côtes-soleils), Colimaçons (spiral finishing), Soleils (sunray finishing)
- Materials
- Steel (machine structures), Stainless steel (washing baskets), Ketron (high-performance thermoplastic), Steel, Stainless steel, Ketron (thermoplastic)
- Certificates
- ISO 9001
- Industries
- Watchmaking industry, Precision mechanics, Luxury goods (watches), Horlogerie (watchmaking), Micromechanics (precision mechanics), Luxury watches / 'haut de gamme' products
- 01
Design (Bureau d'étude)
- 02
Component manufacturing in the in-house workshop
- 03
Machine assembly
- 04
Overhaul/conversion of used machines
- 05
Customer service and breakdown service
Materials & Processes
Steel
Material for the machine frame, e.g. on the Nelio 2 decorating machine.
Stainless steel
Used for washing-machine baskets (in cooperation with Jema SA).
Ketron (thermoplastic)
High-performance thermoplastic for accessories near washing machines, machined to customer drawings.
Locations
St-Imier
CHHead office with workshop: development, production, service
- Materials
- Steel, stainless steel, thermoplastic
- Nelio 2 decorating machine (CNC 4-axis)
- Nelio decorating machine (3/4-axis, compact)
- TM2/TM2R multi-decor machine
- Diamis diamond-finishing machine
- PF 35 lathe
- Lineos perlage machine
- Athom perlage machine
- C-sens cercler machine
- Pico colimaçon machine
- IDeco decorating machine
- Magic gicler machine
- PFM 8/PF 10 decal machine
- Manual TM 8 polishing spindles
- Overhaul workshop for used machines
Machines & Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watch decoration (manual, semi-automatic and automatic)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Automated diamond finishingSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Turning / small machining jobsMachining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Côtes de GenèveSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Circular CôtesSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Soleil brushing (Côtes-soleils)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Colimaçons (spiral finishing)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Soleils (sunray finishing)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Automatic perlageSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| EngravingSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Micro drillingMachining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Micro millingMachining | – | – | – | – | – |
| MillingMachining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Contour diamond finishingSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| DrillingMachining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cerclage (circular graining)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chamfering / smoothingSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Decal applicationSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Paint spraying (giclage) / date discSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Thickness setting (dials)Machining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Turning / rework of screw-machine partsMachining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Design office / engineeringEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| After-sales service / overhauls / machine breakdown serviceEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
20 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNC 4-axis decorating machine | PF Machines Nelio 2 | – | X 200 mm, Y 150 mm, Z 150 mm, X tilt ±20°, Y ±15° | – | St-Imier |
| Diamond-finishing / turning machine | PF Machines Diamis | – | X 50 mm, Y 50 mm, Z 25 mm (option), A 25 mm (option) | – | St-Imier |
| Compact CNC 3- or 4-axis decorating machine | PF Machines Nelio | – | X 110 mm, Y 110 mm, Z 60 mm | – | St-Imier |
| Multi-decor machine | PF Machines TM2 / TM2R | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Horizontal two-head lathe | PF Machines PF 35 | – | X travel 140 mm, Z 40 mm | – | St-Imier |
| Large-capacity perlage machine | PF Machines Lineos | – | X 500 mm, Y 300 mm, Z 150 mm | – | St-Imier |
| Semi-automatic decorating machine | PF Machines IDeco | – | X 100 mm, Y 100 mm, Z 20 mm (100 mm) | – | St-Imier |
| Colimaçon and/or cercler machine | PF Machines Pico | – | Travel 20 mm | – | St-Imier |
| Semi-automatic perlage machine | PF Machines Athom | – | X 120 mm, Y 120 mm, Z 100 mm | – | St-Imier |
| Manual vertical or horizontal polishing spindle | PF Machines TM 8 | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Sensitive cercler machine | PF Machines C-sens | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Automatic perlage machine with tool sharpening | PF Machines Nelio de perlage | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Automatic gicler machine | PF Machines Magic | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Automatic decal machine | PF Machines PFM 8 / PFM 8 XL | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Manual decal machine | PF Machines PF 10 | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Large-capacity perlage machine (historical) | PF Machines Lineos (2011) | – | – | 2011 | St-Imier |
| CNC decorating machine (historical) | PF Machines Kiccos | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Semi-automatic perlage machine (historical) | PF Machines Moskito | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Modified CNC 102 lathe | Tours 102 CNC (CNC EIP) | – | – | – | St-Imier |
| Washing / lubricating machine | Jema SA ATEX | – | – | – | Courtelary |
Additional services
Quality
Quality assurance is ensured through the company's own design work, in-house manufacturing in the workshop as well as comprehensive customer service and documented overhauls (electrical/pneumatic diagrams, technical documentation). Certificates are not specified in the sources.
| Evidence | St-Imier |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 2004
Presentation of the company and the PF39 and PF35 products at EPHJ Geneva.
- 2006
New automatic decorating machine TM1 (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2007
New diamond-finishing machine for the workbench and new HMIs on TM1 (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2008
New diamond-finishing machine PFD39HP and manual TM8 polishing spindles (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2009
New CNC bench-top machines NELIO and MOSKITO (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2010
New manual decorating machine IDECO and automatic KICCOS (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2011
New large-capacity perlage machine LINEOS (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2012
New decorating machines TM2 and IDECO (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2013
New diamond-finishing machine DIAMIS and decorating machine TM2R with FANUC robot (EPHJ Geneva); trade fair presence at EMO Hannover.
- 2014
New automatic perlage machine and small colimaçon machine PICO (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2015
New automatic cercler machine PICO and gicler machine MAGIC (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2016
New HMIs for the Nelio perlage machine and Pico cercler machine (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2017
New CNC PF on the Diamis diamond-finishing machine and Nelio perlage machine (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2018
New HMI for the IDeco decorating machine (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2019
New C-Sens cercler machine (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2021
New partnership with the company Jema SA (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2022
New lubricating machine Minilubro 2 (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2023
New HMI on the TM2 decorating machine and Nelio decorating machine (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2024
New DH ATEX washing machine and Nelio decorating machine (EPHJ Geneva).
- 2025
New semi-automatic perlage machine and ATEX washing machine (EPHJ Geneva).