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Five-axis simultaneous milling

Structural parts, housings and mould inserts cut from solid — up to 1,600 mm and 1,400 kg, in a single setup.

A face mill in cut: chip stream, sparks and coolant, a bright machined band opening up behind the tool.

What we do with it

Five axes simultaneous means fewer setups. A structural part with pockets, angled hole patterns and a sealing face comes off in one setup, two at most — and every setup that disappears disappears as an error source with it. Positional error between two features is not created by the machine; it is created when the part is re-clamped.

So we plan the setup sequence before quoting, not after ordering. If a tolerance stack cannot be held across two setups, you hear that before you place the order.

From model to part

  1. Manufacturability review

    STEP and drawing read against each other. We mark what is expensive and propose what can be cheaper without losing function — radii, access, tolerances that need not be tolerances.

  2. CAM and simulation

    Toolpaths simulated including holder and machine collision. The first pass on the part is never the first pass.

  3. Fixturing

    Zero-point system, milled soft jaws where needed. Fixture repeatability 0.005 mm — below that the machine accuracy buys you nothing.

  4. Roughing and finishing

    Separate tools, separate paths, with a stress-relief step for parts with high material removal. A part that moves after roughing will not hold a finishing tolerance.

  5. Measurement

    First article measured in full on the CMM, then to the inspection plan. The report ships with the parts.

Machines used

  • Five-axis machining centre, large

    Structural parts and mould inserts to 1,400 kg. The machine for anything that is no longer carried by hand.

    Travel
    1600 × 900 × 850 mm
    Axes
    5
    Units
    3
  • Five-axis machining centre, medium

    The workhorse. Housings, brackets and mid-size series parts, with twelve pallets for the night.

    Travel
    850 × 700 × 600 mm
    Axes
    5
    Units
    5
  • Five-axis precision centre

    Small parts at the tightest tolerances. 42,000 rpm for tools under 3 mm, 1.5 µm positioning accuracy.

    Travel
    500 × 450 × 400 mm
    Axes
    5
    Units
    2
  • Horizontal machining centre

    Series work with 24 pallets. Chips fall away instead of sitting in the pocket — the reason horizontals are faster in series.

    Travel
    1050 × 900 × 1000 mm
    Axes
    4
    Units
    4
See the machine park

Materials

  • Aluminium

    The default for lightweight parts and prototypes. 7075 where strength matters, 6082 for everything else.

    EN AW-6082 · EN AW-7075 · EN AW-5083 · AlSi10Mg

  • Structural and tempered steel

    42CrMo4 tempered for loaded parts, 16MnCr5 for case-hardened. Distortion in hardening is planned for, not hoped away.

    S355J2 · C45E · 42CrMo4 · 16MnCr5

  • Tool steel

    Mould inserts and fixtures. Machined in the hardened condition to 54 HRC.

    1.2343 · 1.2379 · 1.2767

  • Stainless steel

    1.4404 for medical work, 1.4542 where strength and corrosion resistance have to meet.

    1.4301 · 1.4404 · 1.4571 · 1.4542

  • Titanium

    Ti-6Al-4V for aerospace and motorsport. Low cutting speed, high coolant pressure — expensive in time, not in tooling.

    Ti-6Al-4V Grade 5 · Ti Grade 2

  • Nickel alloys

    Inconel and Hastelloy for hot sections. The material where tool life becomes the main cost line.

    Inconel 718 · Hastelloy C-276

  • Engineering plastics

    POM, PEEK, PA6G. Clamping is the real task here: the material yields where metal would stay put.

    POM-C · PEEK · PA6G · PTFE

What we hold

  • 0.005 mmTrue position
  • 0.008 mmBore
  • 0.01 mmFlatness
  • 0.4 µm RaSurface

These figures apply to aluminium and quenched-and-tempered steel at 20 °C. In titanium and nickel alloys we sit one step wider — not because the machine cannot, but because the material moves while it is cut. What is realistic on your part is something we tell you after seeing the drawing, not before.

See quality assurance

Why here

  • One setup instead of three

    Five axes simultaneous on six of ten machines. That saves time and removes the most common cause of positional error.

  • Pallet pools

    Up to 24 pallets per machine. The night runs unattended — which is why a 500-piece batch does not cost more per part here than a 200-piece one.

  • We say no

    If a tolerance cannot be held reliably on our machines, you hear it before the quote. An accepted order that ends in rework costs us both more.

Used in

Common questions

How large can my part be?

1,600 × 900 × 850 mm at up to 1,400 kg table load on the largest machine. Above that we place it — with the same inspection and the same accountability, but declared honestly as bought in.

Can you machine without a drawing?

Not from a 3D model alone. A model carries no tolerances and no surface callouts, and both drive the price. If you only have a sample, reverse engineering turns it into an inspectable drawing.

How fast is a quote?

Within 48 hours on complete documents. Complete means STEP, a drawing with tolerances, material, quantity and required date.

Do you make one-offs?

Yes, from quantity 1. On a single part the setup dominates the price — if you have geometrically related parts, quoting them together almost always pays.

What about heat treatment?

Through fixed partners, with measurement before and after hardening. Distortion is not hoped for; it is measured and planned into the sequence.

Send a drawing

STEP and PDF are enough. You get an answer on tolerance, quantity and date — not only a price.

Guided tour