CNC Turning Services | Get Lathe Turned Production Parts Prototypes

Overview: What is CNC Turning?

The Basics Of CNC Lathes

CNC turning machines are able to provide low cost parts for simple cylindrical geometries. Live tooling is available for more complex geometries and is assessed on a case by case basis.

How CNC Turning Works

Use a single-point cutting tools to remove material from the rotating workpiece. In CNC turning, the CNC machine, typically a lathe or turning machine, feeds the cutting tool in a linear motion along the surface of the rotating workpiece, removing material around the circumference until the desired diameter is achieved. Most CNC lathes consist of two axis, X and Z.

Common Applications

functional prototypes and end-use parts
parts with cylindrical features
parts with axial and radial holes, flats, grooves, and slots

Types Of CNC Turning

There are many types of CNC turning operations for CNC lathe services can be performed on a live tooling lathe in CNC turning factory, including Hard turning, Parting, Facing, Boring, Reaming, Taper turning, Drilling, Knurling, Threading, Grooving, etc., comes in varying tools, cost and set-up time.

1.Tapered turning: produce a cylindrical part of which diameter decrease from one end to another.
2.Hard turning: suited for materials with a Rockwell C hardness greater than 45, typically performed after heat treated.
3.Spherical generation: create a spherical finished surface, turning around fixed rotary axis.
4.Facing: a turning operation in which the workpiece is machined to its center.
5.Parting: create deep grooves that remove a completed or part-complete component from its parent stock.
6.Grooving: similar to parting, but only cut to a specific depth from outside or inside of workpiece.
7.Drilling: remove materials to drill holes from the inside of a workpiece with drill bits held stationary in the tail stock or tool turret of the lathe. Boring: enlarge or smooth an existing hole.
8.Knurling: cut serrated pattern onto the surface of workpiece with knurling tool, to change or enhance visual effect or hand grip.
9.Reaming: remove a small volume of materials from a drilled hole, for highly accurate diameters.
10.Threading: turn standard and non-standard screw threads, generally means single-point threading.
11.Polygonal turning: non-circular forms machining operation without interrupting the rotation of the raw material.

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.

Maximum capabilities for CNC turning

Part size limitations	Metric units	Imperial units
Maximum part diameter	431 mm	17 in
Maximum part length	990 mm	39 in
Maximum swing over the carriage	350 mm	13.7 in

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)
-	others	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)

Part size / Dimension	Tolerance	Angularity
< 12’’ (300 mm)	± .005’’ (0.125 mm)	± 0.5°
< 24’’ (600 mm)	± .010’’ (0.250 mm)	± 1.0°
< 36’’ (900 mm)	± 1/64’’ (0.400 mm)	± 1.0°