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Machining

Milling, turning and finishing under one roof — 3-, 4- and 5-axis capacity for metal and plastic parts, from one-off prototypes to serial production.

Milling

Vertical and horizontal machining centres plus mill-turn lathes with live tooling. We quote the configuration your part actually needs — a 3-axis job is not pushed onto a 5-axis machine just because one is free.

CNC lathe with driven tooling cutting a cross hole in a turned part

Turn-Milling

Milling done on the lathe. Driven tools turn in sync with the spindle, so cross holes, flats, hexes, keyways and radial slots are cut while the part is still in the chuck — no second machine, no second fixture, no second set-up tolerance.

  • Concentricity between a turned diameter and a milled cross hole holds inside a few hundredths — two separate operations cannot promise that.
  • Bar Ø3–65 mm, chuck to Ø200 mm · ±0.01 mm feature to feature.
  • 50 – 50 000 pcs — bar feeders keep the spindle running unattended overnight.
  • Cross drilling
  • Flats & hexes
  • Keyways
  • Radial slots
  • C-index angled features
Vertical machining centre cutting pockets in an aluminium plate

CNC Milling

Vertical and horizontal machining centres running three, four and five axes. One top-down setup covers faces, pockets, slots, bolt patterns and tapped holes; a rotary axis indexes the part through three or four faces without leaving the fixture; simultaneous five-axis reaches freeform surfaces and undercuts no fixed setup can touch.

  • The cheapest configuration that still holds your tolerance — a three-axis job stays on a three-axis machine.
  • Work envelope 1200 × 800 × 500 mm · ±0.01 mm, or ±0.005 mm on selected features.
  • 1 pc prototype to 5 000 pcs / year — programming and fixturing in-house, so the first article ships inside the quoted lead time.
  • Cross drilling
  • Flats & hexes
  • Keyways
  • Radial slots
  • C-index angled features
Multi-tasking mill-turn centre machining a complex part in one cycle

Turn-Mill (CNC)

Multi-tasking machines that turn and mill in a single program: bar in, finished part out. A sub-spindle picks the part off so the back side gets machined, a Y-axis handles off-centre features, and a B-axis tilts the tool into compound angles — all in one clamping.

  • Removes the second setup entirely — and with it the extra stack-up error that two setups always bring.
  • ±0.005 mm turned-to-milled · bar Ø65 mm, chuck Ø200 mm · full part in one cycle.
  • 1 – 2 000 pcs of complex geometry — where two machines would cost more than one machine hour.
  • Cross drilling
  • Flats & hexes
  • Keyways
  • Radial slots
  • C-index angled features
Aluminium housing with bolt pattern
Aluminium housings
Mounting plate with tapped holes
Mounting plates
Machined heat sink with fins
Heat sinks
Machined bracket and cleat
Brackets & cleats
Hydraulic manifold block with ports
Manifold blocks
Hydraulic adapter with threaded ports
Hydraulic adapters
Shaft with milled flats
Shafts with flats
Valve body with turned bores and milled faces
Valve bodies
Robot joint housing machined in one setup
Robot joints

Turning

Turning is cutting while the part spins: the lathe holds the bar, the tool moves in. Three, four and five axes sound like a small difference — what actually changes is how much of the part gets finished before anyone has to let go of it.

3-Axis Turning — X / Z with C-index, bar-fed

OD and ID turning, facing, threading, grooving and parting off from bar, with the C-axis indexed for the occasional flat or cross hole. Cheapest route for round parts that live entirely on the outside — cycle times start around thirty seconds.

  • ±0.01 mm · Ra 0.8 µm
  • Bar Ø3–65 mm, chuck Ø200 mm
  • 100 – 100 000 pcs
CNC lathe turning a stainless steel shaft with a threading insert

4-Axis Turning — twin turret with sub-spindle

The part is picked off mid-cycle, then faced, bored and threaded on the back side without a human touching it. One program, one operation, one inspection — and the second-op setup charge disappears along with the second setup.

  • ±0.008 mm end to end
  • Both ends finished in one cycle
  • 500 – 50 000 pcs
Sub-spindle lathe picking off a part to finish the back side

5-Axis Turning — Y-axis with driven tools

Off-centre holes, milled flats, slots and angled ports are cut while the part is still clamped. Geometry that used to need a lathe and then a mill now ships off one machine — one drawing, one tolerance stack, one supplier to chase.

  • ±0.005 mm turned-to-milled
  • Bar Ø65 mm, chuck Ø200 mm · B-axis option
  • 1 – 2 000 pcs
Y-axis lathe with live tooling cutting off-centre holes
Turned shaft with threaded ends
Shafts & spindles
Machined bushing and sleeve
Bushings & sleeves
Precision spacer and pin
Spacers & pins
Machined hose fitting
Hose fittings
Hydraulic adapter with threaded ports
Hydraulic adapters
Turned connector with milled flats
Connectors
Valve body with turned bores
Valve bodies
Pump housing with off-centre ports
Pump housings
Sensor housing turned and cross drilled
Sensor housings

Not sure which one your drawing needs?

Send it over anyway — this is the comparison we run internally before quoting:

Comparison of our six machining options
  Turn-Milling CNC Milling Turn-Mill (CNC) 3-Axis Turning 4-Axis Turning 5-Axis Turning
Machine CNC lathes with driven tools and C-index Vertical / horizontal machining centres, 3–5 axis Multi-tasking centres: sub-spindle, Y-axis, B-axis CNC lathe, single turret, bar feed Twin turret with sub-spindle pick-off Y-axis lathe with driven tools
Best geometry Round parts with a few milled features Prismatic parts, plates, housings, panels Round and prismatic combined, compound angles Simple round parts Round parts needing both ends Round parts with off-centre features
Done in one setup The whole round part, incl. milled features One part, one to six faces The whole part, both ends, incl. compound angles One end of a round part Both ends, picked off automatically Both ends plus off-centre features
Tolerance ±0.01 mm feature to feature ±0.01 mm (±0.005 mm on selected features) ±0.005 mm turned-to-milled ±0.01 mm · Ra 0.8 µm ±0.008 mm end to end ±0.005 mm feature to feature
Typical batch 50 – 50 000 pcs 1 – 5 000 pcs 1 – 2 000 complex parts 100 – 100 000 pcs 500 – 50 000 pcs 1 – 2 000 pcs
Lead time 5–20 working days 3–15 working days 7–25 working days 3–12 working days 5–15 working days 7–20 working days

Surface Finishing

Finish decides how a part looks, how it wears and whether it survives the field. Cosmetic standards are agreed on a sample before the batch runs, and every finish ships with its certificate. Roughness figures below are the usual range for that process.

As-machined aluminium surface with visible tool marks

As machined & mechanical

  • As machinedStraight off the machine: visible tool marks, Ra 1.6–3.2 µm. Prototypes and functional parts. Default
  • Smoothing / fine finishingTool marks taken out with abrasives or media. Ra ≤ 0.4 µm
  • Bead blastingFine glass beads for an even satin, matte look. Ra 2.8–3.8 µm
  • SandblastingCoarser abrasive: keying surfaces for coatings, or a rougher texture. Ra 2.5–10 µm
  • BrushingDirectional satin grain — the standard look on stainless and aluminium panels. Ra 0.4–2.5 µm
  • PolishingMechanical gloss up to a mirror finish. Ra ≤ 0.1 µm
  • Tumbling / deburringMass finishing for small parts: edges broken, batch after batch the same.
Anodized and passivated parts after chemical finishing

Chemical & electrochemical

  • Anodizing (Type II)Thickens the natural oxide on aluminium — clear or dyed, corrosion resistance plus insulation.
  • Hard anodizing (Type III)Thicker, harder oxide for wear surfaces and sliding parts.
  • ChromatingConversion coating on aluminium: corrosion protection, keeps conductivity, primes for paint.
  • PassivationRemoves free iron from stainless so the passive layer can do its job. No change in roughness
  • ElectropolishingElectrochemical material removal: bright, cleanable, corrosion-resistant. Ra down to 0.1 µm
  • Black oxideMatte black on steel: light corrosion protection, low glare. Dimensionally neutral
Powder coated and plated machined components

Coatings & plating

  • Powder coatingElectrostatic powder cured under heat: a tough, uniform film in any RAL colour.
  • Zinc platingSacrificial corrosion protection for steel — clear, yellow or black passivate.
  • Nickel platingHard, decorative and conductive; also used as an under-layer.
  • Tin platingFor solderability and contact resistance on terminals and busbars.
  • Painting & primingMatched to your colour chip or RAL number, wet or powder.
Heat treated parts with laser engraved markings

Heat treatment & marking

  • Hardening & temperingThrough-hardening to the drawing's hardness band, with the certificate.
  • Stress relievingBetween roughing and finishing, so thin parts stay flat after the last cut.
  • Case hardening / nitridingHard skin, tough core — gears, cams, wear plates.
  • Laser engravingPermanent, dimensionally neutral marking: logo, part number, serial, lot.

In-house: deburring, tumbling, blasting, brushing, laser marking. Audited partners: anodizing, plating, powder coating, heat treatment — all with mill certificates and finish reports.

Quality Inspection

Every order carries an inspection plan agreed before the first chip is cut. You get the measurements, the reports and the lot numbers — not just a box of parts.

  • CMM (1.5 µm accuracy) in a temperature-controlled metrology room
  • First-article inspection (FAI) report on every new part — sample sent for approval
  • Material certificates and heat-lot traceability for every batch
  • Roughness, hardness and thread-gauge checks on the shop floor
  • Salt-spray testing for corrosion-resistant and marine parts
  • Packing photos before dispatch — what leaves is what you approved
  • ISO 9001 : 2015
  • ISO 13485 : 2016
  • IATF 16949 : 2016
  • AS9100D
CMM inspection of a machined aluminium part
CMM inspection in a temperature-controlled metrology room
Surface roughness measurement on the shop floor
Roughness & hardness checks on the shop floor
Packed machined parts with inspection reports ready to ship
Reports packed with the parts — lot numbers matched
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