Precision Machining

CNC machining allows manufacturers to create plastic or metal products with repeated results quickly and accurately. We have more than 250 plastic and metal CNC machining centers strategically located at our sites across North America. Our designers and engineers work together and with our clients to determine the best manufacturing methods and materials for each project. CNC machining can be preferable when working with plastics because it is more precise than injection molding and is more compatible with a wide range of materials. There are a handful of commonly used metals in CNC machining. Manufacturers consider how the part or item they are creating will be used, temperature requirements, and weight and size to determine the base material for individual projects.

CNC machines remove material from a workpiece to shape it into a final design. With CNC milling, a block of material remains stationary while tools shape or cut the workpiece. Horizontal milling machines have a spindle that is mounted horizontally. Vertical machining centers can be used for drilling and plunging cuts. A 5-axis CNC machine can move tools or workpieces in at least five directions, and it can work on five sides of a workpiece at one time.

Milling centers have moving tools that remove material from a fixed workpiece. They are often equipped with an automatic tool changer (ATC), a system that automatically changes the tools in a CNC machine without the need for human interaction. They all have a stationary workspace that secures the workpiece to minimize its movement. With milling machines, removed material automatically falls off the workpiece without interfering with the tool.

Milling and turning are different in that with a milling center, tools move around a stationary workpiece, whereas with turning centers (or CNC lathes), the machine tools remain stationary as they cut a rotating workpiece. Turning starts with a rotating bar of raw material, which can be fed into the machine manually or with an automatic bar feeder. Live tooling is when a custom tool, powered independently by small motor, is attached to the stationery lathe, essentially turning it into a milling center as well.

A waterjet cutter uses a high-pressure stream of water like a laser beam. It has the ability to cut a wide range of materials, particularly those sensitive to high temperatures. Sometimes in waterjet cutting, the water is mixed with an abrasive substance to cut hard materials.

Swiss turning, also known as Swiss machining, is a CNC machining process used to produce small parts and parts with complexity. Most CNC Swiss lathes use main and secondary spindles (which perform additional or secondary operations), and they often incorporate live tooling. Swiss machining is often used when projects require small, complex parts to be produced in mass quantities.