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Machining of castings — in the same building as the foundry.

CNC machining

Turning, milling and boring on cast parts. More than 30 years of experience, programmed in Fusion 360. The part never has to be shipped out and back.

Machining

Machined castings in Norway

Machined castings in Norway, not a standalone machine shop: we are where castings get finished — fifty metres from the casting machine, with no packing, no transport and no re-fixturing at somebody else’s place.

Scope

What we machine, and why

Casting gives you a tolerance. If the drawing calls for something tighter, the face has to be machined — and then machining allowance has to be added in the casting, stock that is milled or turned away afterwards.

In practice three things most often go into the CNC machine: seating faces that have to sit flat against something else, holes that need precise position or fit, and threads. A bracket bolted down in two planes and carrying a shaft typically has four faces and six holes that must hold — and the rest of the part can stay as cast.

That is exactly the judgement the design review makes: which faces must be machined, and which can be held as cast. Every face we manage to hold as cast is one operation saved per part.

We have more than 30 years of machining experience, CNC lathes, mills and boring machines, and we program in Fusion 360.

Suitability

When to put the machining with us — and when not to

If you have castings from another supplier that need machining, ask anyway. It depends on whether the part suits the machines and whether there is capacity.

Put it here when

  • The part is cast here. Then it skips a packing operation, a transport and a re-fixturing — and there is one supplier to talk to if a dimension is out.
  • The part is to be tapped and go straight into your assembly with no further work.
  • You want one point of accountability for both the casting tolerance and the machining tolerance.

Choose a dedicated machine shop when

  • The part is machined from solid with no casting at all. Shops that do only that are both faster and cheaper than we are.
  • You need simultaneous 5-axis machining of complex freeform surfaces.
  • The volume is one to ten parts. Our model is series production.

Cost driver

Machining allowance — what you pay for twice

If a cast face is to be machined, there has to be material there to take off. That is machining allowance, and it is one of the most overlooked items in a casting costing.

You pay for it twice. First as metal, because the price is built on the weight of everything that gets cast. Then as machine time, because it has to be milled or turned away again. And a third time indirectly: extra stock on a face means a heavier section, which freezes more slowly and lengthens the cycle.

So it matters how many faces carry a machining tolerance on the drawing. Five critical dimensions on a bracket is normal. Fifty is a misunderstanding — and usually inherited from a drawing originally made for machining from solid.

This is one of the concrete things the design review sorts out: which faces must be machined, which can be held as cast, and how much allowance is actually needed on the ones that are cut.

Datablad

Specifications — machining

Machining is half of what we offer, and it is the part of the business that is worst documented in public. We are fixing that — below is what we have today.

Machine park

Processes in house
Pressure die casting (aluminium and zinc), gravity die casting, CNC turning, CNC milling, boring, heat treatment, blasting
Processes we do not have
Sand casting, toolmaking, anodising, powder coating
CAM software
Autodesk Fusion 360
Number of die casting machines
Available on request
Hot or cold chamber
Available on request
Maximum shot weight
Available on request
Platen size and maximum die height
Available on request
Gravity casting stations
Available on request
Maximum mould size, gravity
Available on request
Melting furnaces and melting capacity
Available on request
Maximum turning diameter and length
Available on request
Milling work envelope
Available on request
Heat treatment furnace
Available on request
Blasting equipment
Available on request
Machining operations
CNC turning, CNC milling, boring, tapping, sawing, grinding
Machining experience
More than 30 years år
Number of axes, milling
Available on request
Heat treatment applies to
Gravity die cast aluminium parts
Heat treatment — effect
Higher tensile strength and higher ultimate strength
Blasting
In house
Anodising
Via subcontractor — aluminium only, zinc cannot be anodised
Powder coating
Via subcontractor
Finishing subcontractors
Available on request
Die ownership
The customer owns the tool. We procure it, specify it for our machines and maintain it.
Typical tooling cost
Available on request
Die life, aluminium
Available on request
Storage and insurance of customer-owned dies
Available on request

Tolerances and metrology

Tolerance grade as cast
Available on request
Tolerance grade after machining
Available on request
Tightest tolerance on a single dimension
Available on request
Documented example — critical tolerances as cast
Garden equipment bracket: bearing fit and pressure tightness held as cast, with no subsequent machining
Surface roughness as cast
Available on request
Surface roughness after blasting
Available on request
Measuring equipment
Available on request
First article inspection (FAI)
Available on request
Measurement report on delivery
Available on request
In-process control
Available on request
Pressure tightness testing
Available on request

See the machine list for the full overview, and the tolerance page for what holds as cast and what has to be machined.

Does the part need both casting and machining?

That is exactly where we are strongest. Send the drawing with the tolerances and we will tell you what holds as cast and what has to be machined.

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