An O-ring groove must compress the seal enough to stop leakage while leaving room for the elastomer to spread and change with pressure and temperature. In a CNC machined part, groove depth, width, surface finish, edge condition, and the mating geometry all affect whether the seal works. A groove can measure correctly and still leak …
CNC drilling uses programmed machine motion and a rotating cutting tool to create accurately located holes in metal or plastic parts. It is fast and repeatable for through holes, blind holes, hole patterns, and thread preparation. However, drill-only quality has limits. Tight fits, corrected alignment, and fine bore finishes may require reaming or boring after …
Gears may look simple, but their teeth have to mesh at the correct position, angle, and spacing for the part to run smoothly. A small error in tooth profile or runout can cause noise, vibration, uneven wear, or poor power transmission.
Gear machining is the manufacturing process used to create the gear blank, cut the
Heat treatment is used when a metal part needs more hardness, strength, wear resistance, toughness, or dimensional stability than the material provides in its original condition. Common heat-treated parts include gears, shafts, pins, molds, tools, bearing surfaces, machine components, and high-strength brackets.
For customers ordering machined parts, the main concern is not the detailed science …
Electroplating is a process that uses electricity to deposit a thin metal coating onto another material. It is commonly used on steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, and aluminum parts when the original material needs better corrosion resistance, wear protection, electrical performance, or appearance.
A steel bracket may be zinc plated to prevent rust. A machined …
Centerless grinding is used to finish the outside diameter of round parts such as shafts, pins, rods, rollers, bushings, and valve components. It removes a small amount of material to improve diameter accuracy, roundness, straightness, and surface finish.
Unlike conventional cylindrical grinding, the workpiece is not clamped in a chuck or held between centers. It …
Surface grinding is a precision machining process used to produce flat surfaces, control part thickness, and improve flatness, parallelism, and surface finish. A rotating abrasive wheel removes small amounts of material while the workpiece moves beneath it on a reciprocating or rotary table.
The process is commonly used after CNC milling or heat treatment when …
Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a non-contact manufacturing process that removes material from an electrically conductive workpiece through a series of controlled electrical discharges. Instead of using a cutting edge, an electrical discharge machine creates sparks across a small gap between the electrode and the workpiece. Each discharge removes a microscopic amount of material.
EDM …
A CNC machined part can meet every dimensional tolerance and still fail during assembly. A small burr around a drilled hole may stop two surfaces from seating correctly. A loose burr inside a hydraulic manifold can break away and block a valve. On parts handled by operators, an untreated edge can also become a safety …
For many CNC machining projects, the material choice can be narrowed down to a small group of common metals and engineering plastics. Aluminum 6061, aluminum 7075, stainless steel 304 or 316, carbon and alloy steel, brass, POM, nylon, ABS, and polycarbonate cover many prototype and production requirements.
The difficult part is not knowing which materials …
