3-Axis Milling Services
With skilled programming, 3-axis milling is capable of producing the overwhelming majority of prismatic parts. At Jarvis Machine we’ve made substantial investments in 3 axis milling capacity and we’re ready to meet your machining needs.
Prismatic parts are those with straight surfaces, edges, or sides. Dies, brackets, housings, and mounting plates are just a few examples of the prismatic parts we can produce with 3-axis milling. When castings and forgings need flat surfaces and mounting holes, 3-axis milling is ideal for producing those too.
We can work from your CAD files, but if they’re not available that’s not a problem. If you have a concept but no drawings, our engineering team can turn your “back-of-a-napkin” sketches into finished parts. Plus, we’ll use our experience to find ways of improving performance and cutting costs.
Our 3-axis milling services are as applicable to single parts and prototypes as to quantity production. And if your parts need deburring, polishing, and engraving, (often useful for part identification,) we can do that too.
What is 3 Axis Milling?
Milling is a material removal process that uses a spinning, multi-toothed cutter. The rotation lets each tooth cut away a small slice of material. We do most of our milling on vertical machines. These hold the cutter on a vertical axis and move the workpiece underneath in X and Y axes. (If you stand facing the milling machine, or mill, X is left-right and Y is front-back.)
These two axes suffice for milling flat surfaces and sides. They are not enough though to produce features of varying depth. Picture milling pockets into a solid block of metal for an example. To produce pockets of different depths in a single set up the machine needs a third, vertical axis. This is achieved by raising and lowering the spindle in what’s called the Z-axis.
Milling machines are also produced with the cutter axis horizontal. Horizontal machines have the same three axes of motion and tend to be very rigid but are, arguably, less versatile than vertical machines.
A relatively new type of machine is the 5-axis mill. This can produce contoured surfaces, and on very complex parts may reduce the number of setups needed. We can offer 5-axis machining but it’s our experience that our 3-axis milling services satisfy the overwhelming majority of prismatic part machining requirements.
Our Maximum Part Size for 3-Axis Milling
3-Axis Milling (9 Vertical CNCs, 2 ProtoTRAKs)
CNC Max Travel: 50” x 18” x 18”
ProtoTRAK Max Travel: 38” x 20” x 17”
Why Use Jarvis Machine for 3 Axis Milling Services?
We’re machining experts with experience in producing complex geometries and working with challenging materials. We can support customers with prototype projects, with manufacturing urgently-needed spares or replacement parts, and with quantity production.
Our goal is to be more than a source of machined parts. We like to work with our customers, supplementing their in-house resources with our engineering expertise and adding value wherever we can. This often includes engineering and re-engineering parts to optimize machinability and improve performance. For our customers, this means time and money saved, and higher quality too.
If you need 3 axis machining services or more, we invite you to put us to the test. Request a Quote today and watch us roll up our sleeves and get to work on your behalf.