A 12 ft extruded tube arrives with paint thickness, out-of-round OD and lapping to control. We machine masts on dual-spindle lathes, broach six tight notches in one pass, and pack them standing up so nothing bends in transit.
Most failures on masts and poles are not machining errors. They start upstream, in the extrusion and the paint line.
The extruder holds bare tube size, then coating adds 60–120 µm per side. If the print calls bare-metal diameter, the finished mast lands undersize and the joint will not seat. Diameters must be quoted on the painted condition.
When the extrusion die drags material, the surface tears and laps over itself. Turning it clean can remove more wall than planned. We flag lapped zones before the first cut so the wall stock is accounted for.
Six notches clocked around one end are usually cut one at a time. Indexing error stacks up, and the motor bracket only fits on some masts. That is scrap on a part that already carries hours of turning.
Horizontal trays hold about 5 masts and only 20–30 per box. Parts rest on each other, and a 12 ft tube takes a set. You pay for straightening or eat a rework batch before assembly even starts.
Extrusion, machining, notching, finishing and packing are quoted together so the tolerances still hold at the last step.
The mast starts as a long aluminum extrusion. We work the die dimensions against the coating thickness so the outer diameter and inner diameter land inside print after paint, not before. Wall thickness stays even around the circumference, which is what keeps the mast straight once it is turned.
Lapping is caught at the extruder, not at the lathe. We inspect for torn and folded surface, mark those zones, and adjust the first-pass depth so the lap comes off without breaking into the wall.
We cut these on a dual spindle, dual turret lathe with live tooling and an automatic cartridge feeder. One side machines an end while the other side waits; the part transfers between spindles without being re-chucked by hand. That removes the concentricity error you get when a 12 ft tube is set up twice.
The six notches that clock the pivoting bracket are the hard part. We built a custom broaching tool that cuts all six in a single stroke instead of indexing around the tube. Notch position repeats from part to part, cycle time drops, and the operator is not measuring six features by hand on every mast.
The deciding factor is usually aspect ratio and whether the tube is round after extrusion.
| Part condition | Recommended route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Straight tube, L/D under 20 | Standard CNC turning | Chucking is rigid, no steady rest needed |
| 12 ft tube, thin wall | Dual spindle lathe + steady | Supports the middle, controls deflection |
| Six clocked notches on one end | Custom broaching tool | Single stroke, repeatable angular position |
| Heavily lapped or torn surface | Re-extrude before machining | Turning out the lap eats wall thickness |
| Tube bends in packing | Vertical grid packaging | No load on the barrel, no permanent set |
| Complex hollow shape, high volume | Metal die casting | Near-net form when geometry allows it |
| Low-volume hollow prototype | Vacuum casting | Fast shell parts before hard tooling |
One shop for the turning, the notching, the finish and the box.
16 simultaneous 5-axis centers handle angled ports, brackets and features that would need three fixtures on a 3-axis mill.
Mill-turn and dual spindle lathes cover shafts, masts and housings up to 4,000 mm long with live tooling.
First articles in days so the notch clocking and wall thickness are proven before a production run.
For hollow housings and brackets where near-net shape beats machining from solid at volume.
Silicone-tooled parts for fit checks and low-volume enclosures without hard tooling cost.
Anodizing, plating, powder coating and polishing in house, with coating thickness controlled at the print.
| Item | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum part length | 4,000 mm | Long-tube turning with steady support |
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm | ±0.0002 in on qualified features |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–3.2 μm | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm typical as machined |
| Materials | Aluminum 6061, 6063, 6082, 7075 | Also stainless, steel, copper, titanium |
| Order quantity | 1 to 10,000+ | No minimum order quantity |
| Inspection | 100% before shipment | Material, in-process and final checks |
| Reports | On request | Dimensional data with the shipment |
| Quote turnaround | 12 hours | Includes free DFM analysis |
Founded in 2011, three wholly-owned plants, 150 technicians.
Long enough to have seen extrusion dies drift, coating lines change, and prints get revised mid-run.
Achievable on qualified features when the setup and the steady support match the aspect ratio.
16 simultaneous 5-axis centers, 16 mill-turn centers, plus 4-axis and 3-axis capacity.
Backed by 100% inspection before shipment and in-process monitoring.
We tell you what will not hold before you commit tooling to it.
Not a guarantee. It is the record we plan capacity around.
12 ft extrusion, turned on dual spindle, six broached notches.
Near-net form where a machined solid would waste material.
Clocking features that decide whether the bracket fits.
Coating thickness held against the print, not guessed.
The mess is usually three problems stacked together: the extrusion die laps material and tears the surface, the paint line adds thickness that was not in the bare-tube dimension, and the part gets re-chucked for the second end. Each one is manageable alone. Together they produce masts that will not seat.
We quote diameters on the painted condition, mark lapped zones before turning, and machine both ends from one setup wherever the geometry allows.
Length is not the problem. Deflection is. A tube that long will bow under tool pressure if it is only held at the ends, so the middle is supported and the cutting load is kept low with live tooling.
On qualified features we work to ±0.005 mm (±0.0002 in). Features that sit far from a support point are reviewed in DFM before we quote the tolerance.
Milling six clocked notches means six indexes, and each index adds error. On a motor bracket that only fits one way, stacked error turns into a rejected part.
A single-stroke broaching tool cuts all six at once. Position repeats part to part, cycle time drops, and the operator is not measuring six features on every piece.
Aluminum is the common choice: 6061, 6061-T6, 6063, 6082 and 7075. We also run stainless 303, 304, 316 and 17-4PH, plus 4130 and 4140 steel when the stiffness requirement is higher.
Titanium TA1, TA2 and TC4 (Ti-6Al-4V) and Inconel are available for higher-temperature or higher-load parts.
Horizontal trays let tubes rest on each other, and a long tube takes a permanent set under its own weight. We changed to a vertical grid so each mast stands on its end and touches nothing.
That arrangement also raises the count per box, which lowers freight cost per part without adding fixtures.
Yes. A dimensioned drawing with the critical features, material, finish and coating callout is enough to quote and to build the DFM notes.
If you have a model, send it with the drawing. If the tolerances conflict with the geometry, we will flag it in the 12-hour quote response.
Quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval, and parts typically ship in 3–5 days.
There is no minimum order quantity. One prototype or a 10,000-piece run use the same quoting process.
Uploads are handled as confidential, and we sign an NDA on request before drawings are shared. We hold ISO 27001:2022 for information security.
Quality systems in place include ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016 and ISO 13485:2016.
Upload the drawing and get a quote with free DFM analysis inside 12 hours. No minimum order quantity, 100% inspection before shipment.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo MOQNDA on request
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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
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