CNC Milling

Milling is where most of our parts begin. Prismatic components, housings, plates, fixtures and brackets come off 3- and 4-axis centres with features held to ±0.01 mm across a batch. Because the machines, the fixturing and the inspection are all in-house, a part that starts as a prototype can move to repeat production without anyone re-learning the job.

Capabilities

Machining centres	18 × 3-axis, 6 × 4-axis with rotary table
Working envelope	800 × 600 × 500 mm
Standard tolerance	±0.01 mm, ISO 2768-m for unspecified
Surface finish	Ra 1.6 µm standard, Ra 0.8 µm on request
Materials	Aluminium, stainless steel, carbon steel, brass, copper, engineering plastics
Batch size	1 piece to 5,000 pieces
Inspection	CMM, height gauge, full report per batch
Lead time	7–15 working days

Typical parts

Equipment panels and mounting plates
Housings and enclosure bodies
Fixtures, jigs and welding gauges
Heat sinks and fluid blocks
Connector blocks and manifolds
Brackets, arms and structural nodes

Why it matters

Fixturing designed before the quote

A part that cannot be clamped rigidly cannot be held to tolerance, whatever the machine costs. We design the fixture while quoting, so the price you see already includes the thing that actually determines accuracy.

Thin walls that stay straight

Thin ribs and deep pockets move as the material releases stress. We rough, then let the part settle, then finish with light cuts — walls stay where the drawing puts them instead of bowing after the first cut.

Batch one looks like batch fifty

Tool wear compensation and in-process gauging keep the fiftieth part inside the same tolerance band as the first. You do not assemble around a drifting dimension.

Deburring that is specified, not improvised

Every edge gets a defined break stated on the drawing and checked before packing. On medical and optical parts we deburr under magnification, because a burr you cannot see is the one that ends up in an assembly.

Frequently asked questions

Milling or 5-axis — which does my part need?

If all features sit on faces a vertical or horizontal tool can reach in one or two setups, conventional milling is faster and cheaper. Once features land on more than three faces, or surfaces curve in two directions, 5-axis wins. We state which route a part needs on the quotation rather than defaulting to the expensive one.

What is the largest part you can mill?

800 × 600 × 500 mm on our standard centres. Longer plates can be machined in indexed steps if the features allow it — send the model and we will confirm whether the job fits in one setup or needs repositioning.

Can you hold flatness on large aluminium plates?

Yes, by roughing, stress-relieving and finishing in that order, and by spreading the clamping load. Tell us the flatness requirement on the drawing — it changes the process, not just the inspection.

Do I need a 3D model, or is a 2D drawing enough?

A 2D drawing with complete dimensions is enough for prismatic parts. A 3D STEP file speeds up programming and lets us check for tool access before quoting, which usually shortens the lead time.