Turning and milling in one setup on 16 mill-turn centers. Holes, flats, slots and threads come off the same spindle without re-fixturing, so concentricity holds and the second operation disappears.
Each one adds a setup, a fixture or a scrap pile.
Turn the OD on a lathe, then move the part to a mill for the cross holes. Every chucking shift shows up as runout on the finished bore. On a 0.02 mm true-position callout, the second setup eats most of the tolerance before the tool touches metal.
A drill entering a turned diameter walks. Without a milled flat or an interpolated entry, the hole lands off position and the burr sits where you cannot reach it. Deburring by hand then becomes a line item on every unit.
Collet for the first face, soft jaws for the second, then a plate for the milled slots. Each fixture costs design time, setup time and a first-article check. On a 200-piece run that overhead can exceed the cutting time itself.
A lathe shop turns the blank, a mill shop finishes it. Freight between them, two inspection reports, and nobody owns the final dimension. When the assembly will not close, the argument about which half is out of spec takes a week.
The part stays in one spindle from bar or blank to finished geometry.
A mill-turn center holds the part in a main spindle, indexes it to a sub-spindle, and brings a live tool to the work. Turning passes cut the diameters, faces and threads. Then the B-axis or a driven tool interpolates the flats, slots, cross holes and pocket walls without releasing the part.
That matters most when a milled feature is dimensioned from a turned datum. If the part never moves, the relationship between the bore and the bolt circle comes from machine geometry, not from how well a second fixture was dialed in. We hold ±0.005 mm position on features tied to a turned datum, and Ra 0.8–1.6 μm on sealing faces.
Not every compound part suits a mill-turn cycle. When the milled side is a contoured blade, a deep cavity with draft, or a port with compound angles, we move the job to one of the 16 simultaneous 5-axis machining centers and cut it from a turned blank or a casting.
The decision comes down to feature count and access. Ten cross holes on a cylindrical body: mill-turn, one setup. A turbine-style vane ring with twisted airfoils: 5-axis, because the tool has to reach around the geometry. We quote both routes when the drawing is ambiguous and tell you which one carries less risk.
Use the feature pattern, not the part name.
| Part pattern | Recommended route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cylindrical body, cross holes | Mill-turn, one setup | Datum stays in the spindle |
| Shaft with a milled flat | Mill-turn, one setup | Flat cut from the turned centerline |
| Housing, ports at compound angles | 5-axis from turned blank | Tool needs to reach around the wall |
| Long shaft over 1,200 mm | Turn with steady rest, then mill | Deflection control comes first |
| Thin-wall tube, light milling | Mill-turn at low radial depth | Avoids re-chucking distortion |
| Prototype, 1 to 5 pieces | 5-axis or 3-axis, no bar feed | Setup cost is lower than tooling |
16 machines with live tooling and sub-spindle pickoff for parts that need both processes. Bar feed and chucking work up to 4,000 mm.
16 simultaneous 5-axis centers for contoured surfaces, angled holes and ported housings that a live tool cannot reach.
12 four-axis mills and 27 three-axis machines for prismatic parts and second operations on turned blanks.
One-off and low-volume parts, no minimum order quantity. Same inspection routine as production runs.
Anodizing, plating, powder coating, bead blasting and laser marking, applied after machining and before final inspection.
Raw material check, in-process monitoring and 100% inspection before shipment. Reports issued on request.
Pick the class that matches your largest dimension.
| Class | Travel | Typical parts |
|---|---|---|
| Large | 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm | Long shafts, rails, structural tubes |
| Medium | 750 × 1,150 × 550 mm | Housings, plates, manifolds |
| Medium compact | 600 × 600 × 600 mm | Valve bodies, brackets |
| Compact | 500 × 500 × 450 mm | Sensor bodies, fittings |
| Small | 500 × 310 × 200 mm | Connectors, small inserts |
| Rotary | Ø400 mm rotary table | Parts needing index on 4 axes |
Three wholly-owned plants across 7,600 m², with 150 technicians running 127 high-precision CNC machines.
Position tolerance on features tied to a turned datum. That is ±0.0002 in for drawings written in inches.
Compound parts stay in one spindle. Fewer setups means less stack-up and a shorter first-article loop.
Quotation and free DFM analysis within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval.
From a single prototype to runs of 10,000+ parts. The inspection routine does not change with quantity.
Historical figure across shipped production. Every part is inspected before it leaves the floor.
Titanium and Inconel bodies with cross ports and a turned sealing face on the same axis.
Aluminum 6061 and 7075 housings where the bore and the mounting bolt pattern must line up.
316L and 17-4PH components with milled slots referenced to a turned bore. No hand deburring on internal edges.
Long shafts and rotary unions where runout is the acceptance criterion, not the finish.
When a milled feature is dimensioned from a turned datum. If the part stays in one spindle, the relationship between the bore and the cross holes comes from machine geometry rather than fixture setup.
When the order is small. A compound part that needs three fixtures costs more in setup than in cutting time below a few hundred pieces.
Maximum processing size is 4,000 mm, with travels of 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm on the large class. Medium machines run 750 × 1,150 × 550 mm and 600 × 600 × 600 mm.
Parts beyond roughly 1,200 mm in length usually need steady rest support, which changes the cycle plan. Send the drawing and we will confirm the route.
Aluminum 6061, 2024, 5052, 6082 and 7075; stainless 303, 304, 316L, 17-4PH and 440C; steel 1018, 1045, 4130 and 4140; titanium TC4 (Ti-6Al-4V); Inconel; and brass C36000.
Plastics such as POM, PEEK and PA also run on these machines when the wall section allows. Titanium and Inconel need lower surface speed and more attention to heat, so cycle times are longer.
The turn pass establishes the centerline. The live tool then cuts the flat while the part is still in the same chucking, so runout on the turned diameter is not affected by a second setup.
Where the drawing calls for a ground finish, we leave stock and note it on the process sheet rather than trying to hit it with a milling cutter.
Yes, through interpolated chamfering with a back-chamfer tool or a small-radius cutter, run in the same cycle. Edges that cannot be reached by a tool are flagged in the DFM report before we quote.
We will not promise a hand-finished internal edge on a production run. If the drawing requires it, we say so.
Quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours, and parts ship in 3–5 days for most work.
Longer lead times come from material that has to be ordered, heat treatment between operations, and finishing steps like anodizing or plating that go out as a separate process.
Uploads are secure and confidential, and we can sign a non-disclosure agreement on request before you send files.
If your drawing package includes export-controlled data, tell us at the start so we can confirm whether the job fits our process before quoting.
Yes, and we do it when the feature access is not obvious from the drawing. You get two costs and a note on which route carries less risk.
For a prototype quantity, the 5-axis route is often cheaper because it needs no bar feed tooling. As volume grows, mill-turn usually wins.
Upload your files and we return a quotation with free DFM analysis within 12 hours. No minimum order quantity, and an NDA is available before you send anything.
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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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