Machining of castings in the same plant as the casting.

CNC machining

We finish machine cast parts in aluminium and zinc: turning, milling, boring and threading. We have more than 30 years of machining experience, and the part never has to be shipped out and back.

Send a drawing +47 69 39 20 50

Machining

Machined castings in Norway, cast and finished in one plant

Machined castings in Norway, from one plant: our castings are finished where they are cast, going straight from casting to machining with no packing and no transport to another machine shop.

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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 might, for example, have four faces and six holes that must be right, while 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, you can ask. The answer depends on whether the part suits our machines and whether we have 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. A dedicated machine shop is then usually the better choice.
You only need a few 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. A handful of critical dimensions on a bracket is common. Many more than that are often 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.

Data sheet

Specifications — machining

The table shows what we have documented about machining. Work envelopes, axes and tolerances read “Available on request” until they are published.

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
Clamping force: 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
CNC lathes: Available on request
Maximum turning diameter and length: Available on request
CNC mills: Available on request
Milling work envelope: Available on request
Boring machine: Available on request
Heat treatment furnace: Available on request
Blasting equipment: Available on request
Automation: Available on request
Machining operations: CNC turning, CNC milling, boring, tapping, sawing, grinding
Machining experience: More than 30 years
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
Tempers we run: Available on request
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
Die life, zinc: Available on request
Storage and insurance of customer-owned dies: Available on request
Shift pattern: Available on request

Tolerances and measurement

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

Does the part need both casting and machining?

Then we do both in the same plant. Send the drawing with the tolerances and we will tell you what can be held as cast and what has to be machined.

Send an enquiry

Want us to look at your part?

Send the drawing and the quantities you have in mind. We look at wall thickness, draft angles, radii and parting line before we work out a price.

Send a drawing