5-axis milling and turning for 303, 304, 316L, 17-4PH and 440C. Hold ±0.005 mm, keep work hardening under control, and get a DFM report back within 12 hours.
Most stainless scrap does not start with a bad drawing. It starts with a process that ignores how the alloy behaves.
Austenitic grades harden as the tool rubs. A dull edge or a dwell in the cut raises hardness fast. The next pass chatters, the surface tears, and finish drifts out of Ra 1.6 μm on a part that was cutting clean minutes earlier.
303 machines well, but 316L and 17-4PH tend to weld to the edge. A chip that stays in the flute takes the edge with it. One broken 3 mm end mill in a deep pocket can scrap a part that already has six hours of spindle time in it.
Thin walls and long bores move once the clamps come off. Rough out, stress relieve, then finish is the order that works. Skip the middle step and a 0.8 mm wall can spring 0.05 mm or more, which is ten times the tolerance you promised.
Bead blasting hides tool marks on part one and turns a 316L housing gray on part forty. If the print calls for a brushed or polished face, the surface has to be cut correctly first. Blasting is not a repair step for a torn surface.
Three decisions carry most stainless jobs: alloy, toolpath, and how the part is held.
Free-machining 303 gets high surface speed and sharp, uncoated carbide. It makes chips that break and leaves a good finish on shafts, bushings and fittings. The trade-off is corrosion: 303 carries sulfur, so we steer it away from any part that sees washdown or salt spray.
316L and 17-4PH need the opposite approach. Lower surface speed, positive-rake geometry, and a cut that stays under the hardened layer instead of rubbing through it. For medical and food-contact parts we use 316L and document the heat lot. For 17-4PH we plan around the condition, because H900 and H1025 machine differently.
A stainless housing with a 1 mm wall is a spring. Clamp it hard and it cuts round, then relaxes oval. We rough with light radial engagement, relieve stress where the geometry allows, and finish with reduced clamping pressure or on a fixture that supports the bore from inside.
Inspection runs alongside the cut, not after it. First article on the CMM, in-process checks at defined intervals, and a final dimensional report before the box closes. On a run of 10,000 parts that is the difference between finding a drift at part 300 and finding it at part 9,000.
A quick read on common grades and where each one fits.
| Grade | Machinability | Typical parts |
|---|---|---|
| 303 | Excellent | Shafts, fittings, bushings |
| 304 | Moderate | Brackets, panels, food equipment |
| 316L | Moderate | Medical, marine, chemical contact |
| 17-4PH | Fair | Valve bodies, high-strength stems |
| 440C | Fair | Bearings, wear plates, knives |
One shop, quoting from the same drawing set, so the process does not change between prototype and production.
Complex stainless housings, impellers and brackets cut in one setup, with 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers available.
Milled plates and turned shafts, plus mill-turn centers for parts that need both operations without a second fixture.
One-off stainless prototypes cut from bar or plate, so you test the real alloy instead of a substitute.
Anodizing for aluminum, electroless nickel and plating for steel, bead blasting, brushing and laser marking.
Enclosures, brackets and chassis in 304 and 316L, formed and welded to match machined interfaces.
First article, in-process monitoring and final dimensional reports, with material certificates on request.
Numbers that decide whether a part fits our floor.
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm (±0.0002 in) |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2-0.8 μm fine, Ra 0.8-1.6 μm high |
| Maximum part size | 4,000 mm |
| Large travel | 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm |
| Medium travel | 750 × 1,150 × 550 mm |
| Rotary table | Ø400 mm |
| Order size | One prototype to 10,000+ parts |
Founded in 2011, three wholly-owned plants, 150 technicians, 127 high-precision CNC machines.
Running 300-series, 17-4PH and 400-series work since 2011, with cutting data carried over between jobs.
Tight features are verified on the CMM before the run is released, not after the customer measures them.
16 five-axis, 12 four-axis, 27 three-axis and 16 mill-turn centers, so scheduling does not depend on outside capacity.
Dongguan plus a Singapore factory at No.3 Joo Koon Circle, which shortens logistics for Southeast Asia builds.
You get a price and a manufacturability read inside 12 hours, and production can start within 24 hours.
Raw material check, in-process monitoring and final inspection, with reports on request.
Stainless sensor housings and fittings that must hold up to coolant, salt and vibration.
Pump bodies, valve stems and wear parts cut from 316L and 17-4PH.
316L and 17-4PH components with documented heat lots and clean deburred edges.
Stainless brackets, busbars and enclosures from one prototype up to 10,000+ part runs.
Pick by environment first, then by machining cost. If the part sees chlorides, washdown or salt spray, 316L is the safe default and 303 is the wrong answer even though it cuts three times faster.
If the part is a dry shaft, bushing or fitting, 303 gives you a better finish and a lower price. For strength above 1,000 MPa, 17-4PH in H900 is the usual route, but tell us the condition so we can plan the toolpath.
It depends on the length-to-diameter ratio and the wall thickness, not on the tolerance number by itself. A short bore in a rigid body is routine. A 200 mm bore through a 2 mm wall is a different job.
We keep drill and reamer deflection low with pilot holes, step drilling and low radial engagement. If the geometry cannot hold the tolerance reliably, we say so at quote stage rather than after the run.
Constant feed, sharp edges and no dwell. Rubbing is what hardens austenitic grades, so every toolpath keeps the edge engaged and the chip load steady.
We also change inserts on a count rather than waiting for a bad finish, and we keep the finishing pass in fresh material instead of cutting through a hardened skin.
Stainless does not anodize. Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and polishing all work, and laser marking handles part numbers and lot codes down to 1.5 mm character height.
For wear resistance we use electroless nickel or hard chrome on selected surfaces. Passivation is available for 300-series parts where corrosion resistance matters.
There is no minimum order quantity. We run a single prototype and we run 10,000+ part runs on the same process sheet.
Small orders go through the same first-article inspection as large ones, so a one-off part arrives with the same dimensional data.
Quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours of receiving a drawing and quantity. Production can start within 24 hours of approval.
Standard parts ship in 3-5 days. Complex 5-axis work or parts needing outside finishing adds time, and we tell you the schedule at quote stage.
Uploads are secure and confidential. We sign an NDA on request before drawings change hands, and files stay inside the project team.
ISO 27001:2022 covers how we handle information, which matters for defense-adjacent and medical programs.
Yes. Both materials run through the same floor, so a mixed kit ships together instead of arriving in two shipments from two suppliers.
Keep the alloys separated on the drawing with clear part numbers. Aluminum chips in a stainless setup cause scratches and, in the worst case, corrosion, so we keep the two lines apart.
Upload your files and we come back with a quote, DFM notes and a schedule. No minimum order quantity, 100% inspection before shipment, NDA on request.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo MOQNDA available
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Upload your 3D model or 2D drawing and get a quotation with a free DFM analysis. Maximum processing size 4,000 mm.
CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
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