AMOR CNC Precision Production Capability

GreatLight runs 127 high-precision CNC machines across three wholly-owned plants covering 7,600 m² in Dongguan. The five-axis fleet is 16 simultaneous machining centers. Four-axis mills number 12, three-axis machines 27, and mill-turn centers 16. That mix matters more than any single machine. Five-axis work handles contoured faces and angled holes in one setup. Mill-turn covers parts that would otherwise need two fixtures and a second operation.

Work envelope sets the practical ceiling. The largest platform travels 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm, which suits long extrusions, rails, and structural beams. Medium platforms cover 750 × 1,150 × 550 mm and 600 × 600 × 600 mm, the range most enclosures and housings fall into. Compact platforms at 500 × 500 × 450 mm and 500 × 310 × 200 mm handle small, high-count parts. A Ø400 mm rotary table supports cylindrical and indexed features.

A 5-axis center is not automatically faster. Programming takes longer, and the post-processor has to be proven before the first article. For a flat plate with four holes, three-axis is cheaper and just as accurate. Five-axis earns its place when a single setup removes a stack of tolerance buildup, or when the geometry cannot be reached any other way. We say so during the DFM review rather than quoting a process the part does not need.

The stated tolerance floor is ±0.005 mm, or ±0.0002 in. That is a capability, not a default. Holding it across a production lot depends on the feature, the material, and how the part is fixtured. A bored hole in aluminum is a different problem from a thin wall in titanium. We look at the tightest callout on the drawing first, then decide whether the whole part needs that treatment or only two features do.

Thermal drift is the usual culprit when a tight dimension walks. A machine that ran all night is not the same machine at 8 a.m. In-process probing and a settled warm-up cycle remove most of it. Rigid fixturing removes the rest. If a part is thin enough to deflect under clamping, the clamp force itself becomes a tolerance variable. Soft jaws, vacuum plates, and sacrificial tabs are normal answers. When a design cannot be held at ±0.005 mm without distortion, we flag it rather than ship a part that measures well on the bench and fails in assembly.

Surface finish follows the same logic. Ra 0.2–0.8 μm is available for sealing faces and bearing bores. Ra 0.8–1.6 μm covers most mating surfaces. Ra 1.6–3.2 μm is standard as-machined and is usually the right choice for brackets and covers. Specifying a mirror finish on a non-functional face adds cost and cycle time with no benefit. Tell us which surfaces actually seal, slide, or mate, and we will concentrate the finishing budget there.

Not every part should be quoted this way. A prototype with one tight bore does not need the same process control as a 10,000-piece run where every part must interchange. For volume work we lock the process, document the setup, and monitor the critical dimension in-process. For one-offs, we inspect the critical features and report them. Both are valid. They are just different levels of control, and they carry different prices.

Aluminum is the default for most precision work. Grades 6061 and 6061-T6 machine cleanly and hold tight tolerances well. Grade 7075 is stronger but less forgiving, and thin sections can move after machining. 2024, 5052, 5083, 6063, 6082, and ADC12 cover the rest of the common range. If a part needs anodizing, the alloy matters: some grades take color unevenly, and hardcoat changes the dimension by a few microns.

Stainless 303 is the free-machining choice. 304 and 316L are tougher and prone to work hardening, so feed and speed control matters more than on aluminum. 17-4PH (SUS630) machines in the annealed state and gains strength after heat treatment. Steel grades 1018, 1045, 4130, 4140, 4340, and A36 cover shafts, plates, and structural parts. Tool steel is available when wear resistance is the point. Titanium TC4 (Ti-6Al-4V) and Inconel are slow, tool-hungry, and expensive per part, but they are often the only option that survives the service conditions.

Copper and brass conduct and machine well. C101, C103, and C110 are common for electrical parts. C36000 is the standard free-cutting brass. Beryllium copper is used where spring properties and conductivity are both required. Magnesium AZ31B and AZ91D cut fast but bring chip-handling and fire-safety rules into the process.

Plastics behave differently again. ABS, PC, PMMA, POM, PA, PEEK, PP, and HDPE all appear in machined parts. PEEK is stable but costly. POM is dimensionally steady and good for precision moving parts. Carbon fiber reinforced stock is abrasive and wears tooling quickly. Every plastic has a different thermal expansion rate, so a tight tolerance on a plastic part is a different conversation than the same tolerance on steel.

Inspection is not a step at the end. Raw material is checked on arrival. In-process monitoring catches drift before a lot is finished. Final inspection covers 100% of parts before shipment, and dimensional reports are available on request. That structure is what supports a 99.99% qualification rate. It is also what makes a repeat order predictable: the setup is documented, so the second run starts from a known state rather than from scratch.

Finishing is handled in the same flow. Anodizing in clear, color, hardcoat, and conductive types. Electroless nickel, zinc, silver, and gold plating. Powder coating and black oxide. Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing, and polishing. Laser marking and engraving with a minimum character height of 1.5 mm. For medical and automotive programs, the relevant certifications are ISO 13485:2016 and IATF 16949:2016. ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2022 cover quality and information security across the group.

Quoting is fast by design. A quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval. Parts typically ship in 3–5 days. The historical late-delivery probability is below 2%. There is no minimum order quantity, so a single prototype and a 10,000-piece run go through the same review. Uploads are treated as confidential, and an NDA is available on request.

The honest limit is this: if a feature cannot be reached, held, or measured, no machine spec fixes it. Send the drawing early and we will tell you what is achievable, what needs a design tweak, and what should be made a different way.