Process notes from a 3-plant shop in Dongguan making metal and plastic parts to ±0.005 mm. No recycled spec sheets. What we see on setups, tools, inspection and cost, written so you can quote it back to your own team.
Each one has a physical cause. None of them are fixed by asking the supplier to try harder.
A first article passes at ±0.01 mm, then batch three shows 0.04 mm on the same bore. Usually it is thermal growth on a long cycle or a fixture that was never re-torqued. Ask how in-process checks are scheduled, not just what the CMM reads at the end.
Anodizing and hardcoat add thickness on every surface, including the 0.6 mm wall you designed to a press fit. Build the coating into the nominal and confirm the mask plan before the parts are run. Otherwise the lot comes back and the fit is gone.
Long parts need travels, floor space and a way to hold them without sag. If the quote arrives faster than the fixture design, somebody is assuming a machine the shop does not have. Verify travel and table size in writing before you commit.
Ra 3.2 μm reads as acceptable on paper and shows chatter under grazing light. For sealing faces or optical bores, specify the finish and the direction. One number without a direction is not a specification.
Every article comes out of a real setup decision, a material grade we cut, or an inspection step we run.
Holding ±0.005 mm is not a machine spec, it is a system. The machine geometry, the temperature of the shop, the fixture stiffness and the probe all feed into the final number. On a 200 mm aluminum bracket, a 5 °C swing across a long cycle moves the part more than the tolerance band. We rough, let the part settle, then finish.
Inspection is staged the same way. Raw material certificates are checked on receipt, critical features are probed during the run, and every part gets a final check before it ships. Reports are available on request. If a feature cannot be measured reliably, we say so before the run instead of after.
6061-T6 machines clean and holds a good finish. 7075 gives you strength and fights you on chip control. 304 stainless work-hardens at the tool tip, so a light pass with a dull cutter is worse than a heavier pass with a sharp one. 17-4PH in the H900 condition cuts differently again from the annealed bar.
We keep the common grades in stock: aluminum 6061, 7075, 2024, 5052; stainless 303, 304, 316L, 17-4PH; steel 1018, 1045, 4140, 4340; copper C110 and C36000 brass; titanium TC4 and Inconel for the harder jobs. Plastics run from POM and PEEK to HDPE and carbon fibre. If your drawing names a grade we do not list, ask and we will tell you straight whether we can cut it well.
A rough guide from quotes we run every week. Use it to frame the question, not to replace a DFM review.
| Factor | CNC machining | Injection molding | Die casting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tooling cost | Program and fixture only | Steel mold, high upfront | Die and trim tool |
| Volume that makes sense | 1 to 10,000+ parts | Thousands to millions | Thousands and up |
| Typical tolerance | ±0.005 mm achievable | Draft and shrink dependent | Looser, draft required |
| Material range | Wide, including titanium | Thermoplastics only | Zinc, aluminum, magnesium |
| Design changes | Edit the program | Mold rework or new mold | Die rework |
| Best fit | Prototypes and low volume | Stable high-volume part | Thin-wall metal housings |
Six of the ten processes we quote most often. Each one has its own limits, and we will tell you when it is the wrong fit.
16 simultaneous 5-axis centers for contoured faces, deep pockets and parts that would need four setups on a 3-axis machine. One setup means less stacking error and shorter cycle time on complex geometry.
12 four-axis mills and 27 three-axis machines cover the prisms, plates and housings that do not need full simultaneous motion. Often the cheaper route when the geometry allows it.
16 mill-turn centers handle shafts, bushings and fittings with cross holes or flats in one cycle. Turned diameters hold ±0.005 mm on the rotary table and main spindle.
Machined prototypes plus 3D printing and vacuum casting for early fit checks. Useful when you need a part in hand before the design is frozen.
Brackets, panels and enclosures in sheet, and aluminum or zinc die castings when the part count justifies a tool. We will say which route suits your volume.
Anodizing, plating, powder coat, black oxide, bead blasting and laser marking. Coating thickness is planned into the nominal dimension, not added on top of it.
Match your largest dimension to the right machine class before you request a quote.
| Machine class | Travel or size | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Large horizontal | 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm | Long beams, rails, base frames |
| Medium VMC | 750 × 1,150 × 550 mm | Housings, plates, manifolds |
| Medium VMC | 600 × 600 × 600 mm | Box parts, multi-face work |
| Compact VMC | 500 × 500 × 450 mm | Small brackets, covers |
| Compact VMC | 500 × 310 × 200 mm | Connectors, small fittings |
| Rotary table | Ø400 mm | Turned and mill-turn parts |
Everything below is what we can document, not what we hope to achieve.
15 years on the same floor in Dongguan, plus a plant in Singapore. The process knowledge behind these articles comes from parts we actually cut.
±0.005 mm (about ±0.0002 in) on critical features, with staged inspection so the number holds across the run and not only on part one.
16 five-axis, 12 four-axis, 27 three-axis and 16 mill-turn centers. Capacity to move a job between machines if one is tied up.
Parts meeting spec on first pass across recent production. Raw material checks, in-process monitoring and final inspection before shipment.
Quotation plus a free DFM analysis within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval, with parts shipping in 3–5 days.
One prototype or a 10,000+ part run. Uploads stay secure and confidential, and an NDA is available on request before you send drawings.
Housings, brackets and powertrain parts that need process control, not just a good first article.
Instrument bodies, manifolds and implants in stainless and titanium where surface and traceability matter.
Structural brackets, actuator parts and arm segments in 7075, 4340 and titanium.
Heat sinks, busbar supports and enclosure parts where flatness and finish drive the design.
It depends on depth and material more than on a single number. A 1 mm end mill can cut a 1 mm slot in aluminum at about 3× diameter depth. In 304 stainless the same cutter wants a shallower depth and a slower feed or it snaps.
Send the feature and the material together. We will tell you if the tool will survive the cut or if the design should change before quoting.
On the features that matter, yes, but it needs the right plan. Long parts move with temperature and with the release of internal stress after roughing. We rough, let the part stabilize, then finish and probe in the same setup where possible.
If a tight tolerance sits at the far end of a long unsupported span, we will flag it during DFM rather than promise it.
We build it into the nominal. Anodizing, hardcoat and electroless nickel all add material on every surface the bath reaches. For a press fit, the machined bore is undersized by the expected coating thickness, and the mating area is masked if the drawing calls for it.
Tell us the coating and the target fit, and we will set the pre-coat dimension.
A 3D file plus a 2D drawing with tolerances, material, finish and quantity. If the drawing marks only a few critical dimensions, say which ones. That is often enough to quote accurately.
No drawing yet? Send the 3D model and the function of the part. We can still give a DFM read and an indicative price.
Uploads are kept secure and confidential, and we can sign an NDA before you send files. Our information security management is certified to ISO 27001:2022.
If your process requires a specific handling procedure, tell us at the quote stage so it is set up before production starts.
When the geometry has stabilized and the annual volume is high enough to amortize a tool. Machining wins on design changes, tight tolerances and hard materials. Casting and molding win once the part no longer changes and the piece price dominates.
We quote both routes when the volume is borderline, so you can compare the real numbers.
Anodizing in clear, colour, hardcoat and conductive versions; electroless nickel, zinc, silver and gold plating; powder coating and black oxide; bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and polishing.
Laser marking and engraving are available, with a minimum character height of 1.5 mm.
It does not ship. Every part is inspected before shipment, and a part that fails the drawing goes back for rework or into a containment review with a report to you.
If the failure traces to a design feature that cannot be held repeatably, we come back with a suggested change instead of shipping the same problem again.
Upload your files for a quotation and a free DFM analysis within 12 hours. No minimum order quantity, from one prototype to a 10,000+ part run.
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CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
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