Precision Machining for Aluminum, Steel, Titanium and Engineering Plastics
Precision machined parts in aluminum, stainless steel, steel, brass, copper, titanium and engineering plastics — 3 and 4-axis milling, turning, 5-axis work, laser-cut blanks and the full finishing range, quoted and managed by the same engineering team that runs our extrusion line.
- Critical features
- ±0.01 mm
- Batch size
- 1–10,000 pcs
- Equipment
- 35+ machines
- Quotation
- 12 h
Six questions that decide the route before we do
Answer these against your own drawing and the route is usually obvious:
Is the part a housing with a wall, a heat sink, or a shape with pockets?
A wall that must be thin, even and cosmetic runs on extrusion. A solid geometry with pockets, bores and threads runs on machining.
What is the wall thickness?
Below 0.5 mm, extrusion is the practical route. Above it, both work and the die cost decides.
How many per year?
Above roughly 500 for large parts and 2,000 for small parts, a die pays for itself. Below that, a machined-from-solid prototype is usually the cheaper answer.
What material?
Aluminum extrudes. Stainless, steel, brass, copper and titanium are machined. Engineering plastics are machined.
What tolerance carries the price?
±0.01 mm on a machined feature, or ±0.05 mm on the section that carries it.
Is the appearance functional or cosmetic?
Anodizing needs a conductive substrate and a controlled blast texture. Plating and powder coating change dimensions — mark the critical faces.
Which box your part belongs in
Two questions decide it: how complex the geometry is, and how many you need. The four combinations below cover almost every drawing we receive.
| Batch | Simple geometry | Complex geometry |
|---|---|---|
| Above the volume threshold | Extrusion + CNC One supplier, both stages |
Die casting + finishing, or solid CNC from billet. Both are quoted and managed by our engineering team. |
| Below the volume threshold | Solid CNC or one-off prototype No die cut for a single run |
Solid CNC, including 5-axis One piece is a normal order |
We will tell you which box your part belongs in — and if the honest answer is that it needs a process we do not run, we will say so before you spend money on tooling.
What we machine, and in which alloys
The grade you specify is the grade we cut. Where a material has more than one common form, the table lists the ones we run most often.
| Material | Grades | Suitable process |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | 6061, 6063, 7075, 6082 | Extrusion + CNC for housings; solid CNC for parts |
| Stainless steel | 303, 304, 316, 17-4PH | Milling, turning, 5-axis |
| Carbon steel | 1018, 1045, A36 | Milling, turning |
| Alloy steel | 4140, 4340, 8620 | Milling, turning |
| Brass | C360, C260, C272 | Turning, milling |
| Copper | C101, C110, C145 | Milling |
| Titanium | Gr2, Gr5, Ti-6Al-4V | Milling, 5-axis |
| Magnesium | AZ31B, AZ61A | Milling |
| Engineering plastics | POM, PEEK, PA, ABS, PC, PMMA, PTFE | Milling, turning |
For an aluminum housing, our extrusion route for thin-wall housings is usually the cheaper way to hold the same feature tolerances — the profile forms the wall and only the features get cut. See the full capability list for how the processes connect.
The process range behind a precision part
Each process has a geometry it suits and a limit it cannot cross. We tell you which one your drawing belongs in before you commit to a route.
3 and 4-axis milling
Prismatic bodies, pockets, bores and flat faces. When a part has four or fewer machined sides and one setup can reach them all, this is the fastest route to a finished feature.
Turning
Shafts, sleeves, pins, bushings and threaded round parts. Every feature in one setup, with the outside diameter and the bore concentric by default rather than by luck.
5-axis machining
Complex geometry, curved surfaces and tight features that would need several setups on a 3-axis machine. Fewer setups means fewer chances for the datum to move.
Laser-cut blanks
Sheet and plate blanks and simple profiles, cut before machining or finishing. This is the fast way to a first article without buying a plate of finished size.
Tooling and prototyping
Fixtures and first articles at low volume. See tooling, lead time and volume thresholds for when a die starts to pay for itself.
Finishing options
Functional finishes come from the anodic process; cosmetic finishes come from mechanical treatment. Full detail on anodizing, bead blasting and the finish options.
- Functional — anodizing, hard anodizing, passivation, black oxide, zinc, nickel and chrome plating
- Cosmetic — sand blasting, bead blasting, polishing, brushing, powder coating, laser marking
- Plating, powder coating, black oxide and passivation are managed by our team and run at qualified partner shops, with the same inspection report either way
How we decide the route, and what we will not claim
Two rules govern every quote. They exist so that the answer you get is the same one you would get after the tooling is paid for.
Your drawing decides the route, not our machine list. If the part belongs on a die-casting line, we quote the die-casting route.
If a route will not hold your tolerance, you hear it at drawing review, not after the first article.
Die casting, forging and stamping are quoted and managed by our engineering team. Whether a given run is made on our own equipment or at a qualified partner shop is confirmed in writing on the quotation.
What we still do not run
- Plastic moulding and insert moulding — a separate tool discipline we do not operate
- Sheet metal bending — a separate forming process with its own tooling and tolerance behaviour
These two are the exceptions. Everything else on this page is either in our own plant or quoted and managed by the same team, with the route confirmed in writing.
We also serve industries we serve from the same engineering review, and every part on this page goes through the same inspection routine described on our quality page.
What arrives with the parts
A precision part without measurement data is a guess with a delivery date. Every lot ships with the numbers behind it.
- Dimensional report covering the critical features, measured against your drawing
- Thread inspection on every threaded feature, with the gauge recorded
- Appearance and colour sign-off against the approved sample or chip
- First article measurement released before the production lot runs
- Material and batch traceability on the report, so the lot can be traced back
On the accuracy figures
- ±0.01 mm on critical machined features, after engineering review
- ±0.04 mm on bore and outside diameter
- ±0.05 mm as the acceptance tolerance on the section that carries the feature
- 0.001 mm digital readouts, thread gauges and a coordinate measuring machine
- 98% on-time delivery, measured across the same production window
- ISO 9001:2015 quality management system, and 30 CNC machining centres
Precision machining questions
What buyers ask before the first drawing goes to engineering review.
What materials can you machine?
Aluminum 6061, 6063, 7075 and 6082; stainless steel 303, 304, 316 and 17-4PH; carbon steel 1018, 1045 and A36; alloy steel 4140, 4340 and 8620; brass C360, C260 and C272; copper C101, C110 and C145; titanium Gr2, Gr5 and Ti-6Al-4V; magnesium AZ31B and AZ61A; and engineering plastics including POM, PEEK, PA, ABS, PC, PMMA and PTFE.
What is the difference between your precision machining and your CNC machining page?
They are two different jobs. CNC machining for aluminum enclosures covers the machining stage of an aluminum housing we extruded ourselves — the bore, the sealing face and the hinge fit on a profile we made. This page covers the separate capability: precision machined parts in non-aluminum materials and general part forms, such as shafts, sleeves, brackets, multi-face bodies and engineering plastic components, machined from solid stock.
If your part is an aluminum housing that comes out of our extrusion line, start with the CNC machining page. If it is anything else, this is the page that applies.
Do you machine from solid billet or from extruded profiles?
Both, and the choice follows the part. For aluminum housings we prefer extrusion plus machining, because the profile carries the geometry and only the critical features get cut — that is where the 30–50% saving against solid billet comes from. For non-aluminum parts and low-volume pieces, we machine from solid stock, because there is no profile to make.
Can you handle one-off prototypes?
Yes. One piece is a normal order on this page — no tooling, no die, no setup charge for a part that will never be repeated. Prototypes and production runs are handled by the same engineering team, so what you approve on the sample is what gets produced later.
Do you do die casting, forging or stamping?
Die casting, forging and stamping are quoted and managed by our engineering team. Whether a given run is made on our own equipment or at a qualified partner shop is confirmed in writing on the quotation. We do not run plastic moulding or sheet metal bending ourselves, and we will say so at drawing review rather than after you have paid for tooling.
What tolerance can you hold, and how is it verified?
±0.01 mm on critical machined features, established after engineering review of your drawing rather than as a blanket promise. Verification is with a 0.001 mm digital readout, thread gauges and a coordinate measuring machine, and every lot ships with a dimensional report against the drawing. The acceptance tolerance for the section that carries the feature is ±0.05 mm, and how inspection and the inspection report work is covered in detail on the quality page.
Send Your Drawing. Get a Manufacturability Review and a Quote.
Send the STEP, DWG or PDF with material, finish, tolerance and annual quantity. We will tell you which route your part belongs in, what tolerance we can hold on it, and whether a die is worth cutting at your volume — and we review manufacturability before we price it.
What to send
- 2D drawing or 3D model (STEP, IGES, DWG, DXF, PDF)
- Alloy and temper
- Surface finish and color
- Estimated annual quantity