Online CNC Milling Service | CNC Lathe Live Tooling and Production Parts

Overview: How CNC Milling works?

The Basics Of CNC Mills

CNC mills are automated cutting machines using a rotating spindle-head to cut away unwanted material. CNC milling machines come in a variety of sizes and different axis configurations. They are mainly utilized to cut harder metals but can work with workpiece materials ranging from plastic and aluminum to stainless steel and titanium.

How Does CNC Milling Work?

Use a multi-point rotating tool to remove material from the workpiece.It starts by fixturing a block of metal or plastic material inside the CNC mill. Using G-code, the CNC machine is programmed to rapidly mill out parts from the block of raw material.Basic mills consist of a 3-axis system (X, Y and Z), which is still one of the most popular and widely used machining processes. In 3-axis machining, the workpiece remains fixed, and the rotating tool cuts along the x, y, and z axes. Meanwhile, most newer mills can accommodate two additional axis, 4-axis CNC machining and 5-axis CNC machining have higher versatility, and they are often used in the production of high-precision parts.

The creation of these aforementioned features requires a variety of different milling operations:

Surface milling
Face milling
Angular milling
Form milling
Profile milling
Gear milling, etc.

Machined plastic parts are left as-milled, which typically means they show visible tool marks. Some metal parts allow more finishing choices like anodizing and chromate plating. When the run is complete and your required surface finish is applied, parts are boxed and shipped shortly thereafter.

Other Benefits Of CNC Milling

CNC milling

CNC milling machines are built for precise manufacturing and repeatability which makes them perfect for rapid prototyping and low-to-high volume production runs. CNC mills can also work with a variety of materials from basic aluminum and plastics to more exotic ones like titanium — making them the ideal machine for almost any job.

Features of CNC Machining

Advantages

Rapid Turnaround

Using the latest CNC machines, PCBWay produces highly accurate, quick turn parts in as fast as 2 day. We also instantly quote CNC machined parts, cutting days off of your RFQ process.

High Precision Tolerances

Offers high-precision tolerances ranging from +/-0.001″ – 0.005″, depending on customer specs. We are the experts in making parts that are truly custom and ready to use.

Scalability

CNC Machining is perfect for prototyping and production production parts. PCBWay's massive scale can help you scale up from testing phase to production runs of 100,000 parts of more.

Custom Surface Finishes

Suitable for many different kinds of substrates, make your parts just the same as real products.

Material Selection

Choose from over 50 metal and plastic materials. CNC Machining offers a wide variety of certified materials.

Cost Saving

Low investment in tooling and preparation costs, economical for parts with simple structure.

Drawbacks

Structure Limits

Interlocking and hollowed structure is difficult to be machined with CNC.

Scale Effect

The unit cost and lead time will not be reduced as much as injection molded parts.

CNC Milling Processes

3-Axis & 5-Axis Milling •Surface finishing •Lead times from 5 days

3-axis CNC milling

The most widely used type of CNC milling machine. The full use of the X, Y, and Z directions makes a 3 Axis CNC mill useful for a wide variety of work.

4-Axis CNC machining

This type of router allows the machine to rotate on a vertical axis, moving the workpiece to introduce more continuous machining.

5-Axis CNC machining

These machines have three traditional axes as well as two additional rotary axes. A 5-axis CNC router is, therefore, able to machine 5 sides of a workpiece at in one machine without having to remove the workpiece and reset.

Get an CNC machining quote

CNC Machining Materials

Aluminum	Steel	Copper / Brass / Titanium / Zinc
2A12	201	Copper
5052	303	Brass
7075	304	Titanium(Ti)
6061	316	Zinc(Zn)
others	430	Mild steel(Low Carbon Steel)
-	-	Alloy steel
-	-	Tool steel

Plastics	Others
ABS	Bakelite
Transparent ABS	Rubber
Polycarbonate (PC)	FR4
Acrylic (PMMA)	Others
Delrin/Acetal (POM)	-
Polyethylene (PE)	-
PTFE (Teflon)	-
PEEK	-

Custom Sourced Materials

A variety of CNC machined metal and plastic part options are available for an instant online quote. If you do not see the material stock you are looking for, please choose "Custom" under the material drop-down on your quote page and submit for an expert engineering review once you have specified features, tolerances, inspection needs, and quantities required.

Our standard surface finishes

Here is a list of standard surface finishes. For custom surface finishes such as electroplating or polishing, please contact 3dcnc@pcbway.com.

As-Milled

The finish option with the quickest turnaround. Parts are left with visible tool marks and potentially sharp edges and burrs, which can be removed upon request. Surface finish is comparable to 125 uin Ra finish.

Bead Blast

Abrasive blasting, more commonly known as sandblasting, is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove surface contaminants.

Requirement	Specification
Grit	#120
Color	Uniform matte of raw material color
Part masking	Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing

Anodized (Type II Or Type III)

Type II creates a corrosion-resistant finish. Parts can be anodized in different colors—clear, black, red, and gold are most common—and is usually associated with aluminum. Type III is thicker and creates a wear-resistant layer in addition to the corrosion resistance seen with Type II.

Requirement	Specification
Grit	#120
Color	Uniform matte of raw material color
Part masking	Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing

Bead Blasting + Anodizing color or clear (type II)

Type II anodizing is mainly used to produce parts with a uniform, aesthetically pleasing surface and provides good corrosion and limited wear resistance. Parts are bead blasted to #120 grit prior to anodizing.

Requirement	Specification
Thickness	8 - 12 μm (clear), 4 - 8 μm (color)
Color	Black, clear or any RAL code or Pantone number
Part masking	Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing

Bead Blasting + Anodizing color or clear (type II)

Powder Coat

This is a process where powdered paint is sprayed onto a part which is then baked in an oven. This creates a strong, wear- and corrosion-resistant layer that is more durable than standard painting methods. A wide variety of colors are available to create the desired aesthetic.

Requirement	Specification
Thickness	18 - 72μm
Color	Black or any RAL code or Pantone number.
Part masking	Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing.

Electropolished

Electropolishing is an electrochemical process used to polish, passivate and deburr metal parts. It is useful to reduce surface roughness.

Requirement	Specification
Color	Natural metal color.
Part masking	Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing.

Brushed

Brushed or dull polished metal is metal with a unidirectional satin finish. It is produced by polishing the metal with a 120–180 grit belt or wheel then softening with an 80–120 grit greaseless compound or a medium non-woven abrasive belt or pad. Commonly brushed metals include stainless steel, aluminium and nickel.

Requirement	Specification
Surface roughness	0.8 - 1.5 μm
Grit	#80-120
Part masking	Indicate masking requirements in technical drawing.

Custom

Don’t see the finish you need? Submit an RFQ and we’ll look into a finishing process for you.

CNC General Tolerances

Unless we have agreed to other tolerances in your Quote, we will work to achieve and hold the tolerances noted below, which will vary per the primary manufacturing method you select.(eg.:Round hole 10mm, tolerance +0.01—0.03mm)

Description	General Tolerance
Distance Dimensions	For features of size (Length, width, height, diameter) and location (position, concentricity, symmetry) +/- 0.005”.
Orientation and Form Dimensions	0-12" +/- 0.005", Angularity 1/2 degree. For 24" and beyond please consult PCBWay's Manufacturing Standards.
Edge Condition	Sharp edges will be broken and deburred by default. Critical edges that must be left sharp should be noted and specified on a print.