CNC Rapid Aluminum Alloy Prototyping Complex Design High Precision Economically And Quickly
Customer was an Australia company offering professional service and engineered solutions for fluid systems. This prototype was made to test liquid pressure and fitting before low volume production. Since big dimensions, shape stability and milling tolerance were key points.
CNC High Precsion Machining is an subtractive manufacturing (compared to Additive Manufacturing, such as 3D Printing) process using computer-controlled machines to manufacture precise and complex parts from a variety of solid plastics and metals. CNC machined parts are widely used in many industries of our daily life. Some of the key features of CNC machining include:
High Precision: CNC machining are capable of manufacturing parts with very tight tolerance and great accuracy, often within 0.01 to 0.1 mm. This level of precision is essential for many industries, including automation, defense, aerospace, medical, automotive, etc.
Excellent Flexibility: CNC machining can be programmed to produce lots of parts with different structures and shapes, from simple components and small size to complex geometries and large dimensions. This excellent flexibility has CNC machining ideal for rapid prototyping or low and high volume production.
Good Versatility: CNC machining works great with a variety of materials, including metals, plastics, composites, and wood. This makes CNC machining suitable for a wide range of applications, from aerospace and medical devices to consumer products and electronics, etc.
CNC machining usually started from coarse milling by big cutting tools to fast remove unwanted material, to fine milling by gradually smaller tools. For 3 axis CNC milling, workpiece was rotated manually and repositioned accurately to mill the part side by side, tolerance around ± 0.1mm.
One of the fast growing and wide applications of CNC machining today is Rapid Prototyping for its advantages of cheap and target materials, tight tolerance as well as usually cheap production cost, thus CNC milled prototypes deliver more reliable and economical feedback on mechanism and strength verification.
Though a variety of Additive Manufacturing techniques are used for Rapid Prototyping, CNC is still the leading Rapid Prototyping process in China for material advantages and cheap labor here. No matter big or small size, simple or complex design, mechanical or appearance verification, CNC is the competitive option.
CNC aluminum parts are widely used in many industries and applications in our daily life for its comprehensive performance and excellent practicability. Benefits of CNC machined aluminum parts:
Versatility: CNC machining works with a wide range of aluminum alloys, including series of 6061, 7075, and 2024, etc. It can also produce different kinds of shapes and features with great dimension stability, from simple holes and small slots to complex contours and large structures.
Precision: Aluminum alloy is a soft and malleable metal material, which makes it easy to be machined with high precision and tight tolerances, usually from ± 0.01 mm to ± 0.1 mm, so CNC machined aluminum parts have high repeatability and consistency, which is important for industries requiring high uniformity.
Corrosion Resistance: Aluminum alloy has excellent corrosion resistance, which makes it suitable for outdoor and marine applications that require high corrosion resistance capability.
Surface Finishing: CNC machined aluminum parts have wide surface finishing options, such as anodizing, hard anodizing, painting, powder coating, brushing, laser engraving, electropolishing, etc, which have CNC aluminum parts not only work and also look as intended as possible.
Compared with Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies for Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing, CNC Machining is a great choice for Rapid Prototypes manufacturing for its real and cheap raw materials, high precision, wide material and surface finishing options, usually economical manufacturing cost, and fast turnaround. Here are part of the benefits of CNC machined prototypes:
High Precision. Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies, such as 3D Printing, provide manufacturing tolerance usually ± 0.1 mm or worse, CNC machining can provide tolerance up to ± 0.001 mm that is much tighter than AM technologies, so CNC machined prototypes provide more reliable and precise feedback on fitting and mechanism test.
Wide Material Options. So far the material options for AM technologies are relatively limited, such as ABS, PP, PMMA, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium with all simulated material properties, while CNC machining works nearly all common solid plastics, metals, woods, composite materials, etc.
Fast Turnaround. Manufacturing complex geometry and details is the key advantage for AM technologies over CNC machining, and for the parts with simple geometry and details, CNC machining could take shorter time than AM technologies to finish the prototypes, especially for the low volume prototypes manufacturing.
How does HONKIA compare to other suppliers on price?
Compared to other Chinese suppliers, we choose not to compete on price but to offer the high level of quality, rapid response, and professional results. That’s why some customers cooperate with us for many years, compared with the price, they need a reliable partner to avoid serious losses caused by annoying after-sales service or even the trouble of finding no one.
What if I am not completely satisfied with the parts I receive?
HONKIA will free remake or amend the returned parts that you are not completely satisfied, or refund the full arrived payment, though this is rarely happened in the past. Any disputes based on a subjective or unilateral determination shall be discussed and negotiated to reach a reasonable result. Our continuing business relies on earning your confidence in our ability to meet and exceed the reasonable expectations.
