DEK is a leading 3 Axis CNC machining services provider in China, our high-speed, advanced CNC machines and skilled engineers ensure you will get high quality machined parts in a short time.
From prototype to mass production, whether metal or plastic, we make “German quality, Chinese price” possible. Transport to your hand in 8-13 days, 80% cheaper than your local suppliers, welcome to contact us to get a quick quote.
DEK simplifies the process of sourcing custom parts for importers around the world
With 20+ years of experience serving top-quality parts to 67k+ engineers and 2300+ companies, DEK successfully manufactured 72 million+ parts to various industries.
Our high quality 3 Axis CNC machining services and one-stop solution make sure you can get the ideal parts in the short term.
Quality 3 Axis CNC mamchining services to make you worry-Free
At DEK, we offer precision 3-axis CNC machining services for any simple or complex parts. With the experience of the top CNC machine shop, and focus on quality control, precision, material selection, fast delivery that make you worry-free.
Samples for testing are available, welcome to contact our experts today!
From a large material option to choose from, DEK focuses on engineering metals and plastics
Aluminum
Aluminum alloys have an excellent strength-to-weight ratio that makes them a perfect CNC material. It also has a high electrical and thermal conductivity and natural protection against corrosion.
It’s easy-to-machine, low cost, recyclable, non-magnetic, heat treatable, and versatile metal. We use Aluminum 6061 for general applications and 7075-T6 for aerospace applications due to its excellent strength and hardness.
It’s a general-use steel alloy with improved hardness. Besides its low chemical resistance, alloy steel offers improved toughness, fatigue, and wear resistance over mild steel.
4140 alloy steel is much stronger and harder than carbon steel as well as provides high impact resistance. It is also one of the ideal CNC materials because of its high fatigue and torsional strength.
It’s known for its exceptionally high stiffness, abrasion, and hardness. Its excellent thermal resistance makes it ideal for dies, stamps, molds, and other industrial tooling.
D2, A2, and O1 are some of the well-known tool steel alloys. Tool steel 01 is perfect for industrial knives and cutting tools because it’s an oil-hardened alloy with a high hardness of 65 HRC.
It is a low-cost material that is generally preferred because of its good mechanical properties. It offers rich machinability and weldability that make it ideal for CNC machining.
DEK uses top-grade mild steel alloys including 1018, 1045, and A36 to increase the quality of your parts. Mild steel 1018 has superior toughness and strength.
It’s known for high strength, lightweight, and ductility. Moreover, stainless steel machined parts feature excellent wear and corrosion resistance. They can be welded, machined, and polished.
Its excellent mechanical properties, good machinability, and resistance against versatile environments make it ideal for the marine and other advance industrial applications.
With excellent frictional characteristics and machinability, brass is a premium CNC material that also features an aesthetic golden appearance. DEK believes that the C360 brass alloy is the best.
It is cost-effective and comes with higher zinc content. Its soft and easy machinable nature makes it perfect for machining.
Standard ABS is the most common lightweight thermoplastic material with excellent mechanical properties and impact strength.
DEK’s ability to precision machine this low-cost engineering plastic CNC material is great for parts that require intricate details and mechanical properties. Because of its toughness, low melting temperature, and impact resistance, it is popular for prototyping.
With excellent impact strength and toughness, PC is the perfect plastic material for machining parts through 3-axis CNC. Moreover, its excellent thermal resistance and ability to be colored or transparent make it suitable for a vast library of outdoor applications.
As a transparent thermoplastic, it is ideal for highly demanding applications due to its higher resilience.
It’s a general-purpose engineering thermoplastic. Its most famous alloy, Nylon 6, offers all-around good mechanical properties and excellent chemical resistance.
This versatile, low-cost plastic is ideal for parts that require high compressive strength and friction resistance while machining to extremely tight tolerances. It is a more durable option for industrial applications.
Working with market leaders in the On-demand manufacturing industry, without the busyness and risk.
Consistently High Quality
Our use of powerful automation makes the machining of your custom parts easy by eliminating slow and antiquated processes that also lead to reduce development cycles and increase delivery speed.
Competitive Prices
In China, the competition between suppliers keeps the prices fair. Our fully optimized equipment helps us maintain a low price without sacrificing the quality and performance of your parts.
Broad Range of Capabilities
DEK's advanced machining technologies mean we can offer hundreds of processes and materials to our customers. DEK relies on machine learning algorithms to calculate the overall cost of your parts.
Higher Efficiency
Our advanced CNC machines help us achieve the ideal time of seconds to move from one operation to another. Our machines feature many pre-fitted tools that lead to rapid tool changes.
Instant Quotes
We offer instant quotes based on a CAD file without complicating the processes through long email chains. We calculate prices based on millions of orders we've previously processed.
Economy Lead Times
For your time-sensitive machining projects, DEK offers economic lead-time options. You can submit your order through our quoting system and get your parts in as little as seven days.
Quality is our top priority
“QUALITY COMES NOT FROM INSPECTION, BUT FROM IMPROVEMENT OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS.”
To DEK, Dr. Deming’s textbook remark is not a theory, but a practice we have been conducting every single day. We work on the principle that quality comes during the process of manufacturing, not after the fact.
We use advanced production technologies and strict control systems to ensure high quality. More importantly, the quality-oriented attitude has been so entrenched in the mind of every single employee.
Through the online form or send an email to austin@dekmake.com directly, and please describe your requirements in detail and attach 2D/3D drawings, then you will get our reply within 6 hours.
Yes! Other suppliers are afraid of precision parts, but we like precision parts very much. This is because we have rich experience in the production of precision mold components, the tolerance we did can reach ±0.001mm, which is impossible for 99.9% of prototype manufacturers.
Definitely! Our predecessor is precision machining shop, and 100% inspection of each part is our daily basic work. We will check the size, tolerance, color, and other details before leaving the factory. If you need an inspection report, we will send it with goods together.
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It's our honor to be their best partner
"At first, I noticed an immediate difference in product cost and lead time when I started working with DEK. With their help, we managed to reduce the production costs of my parts by up to 50%. The process of getting an order done on DEK is what you want as an engineer with limited time."
Laurent Harm
"While looking for a perfect CNC machining partner from China, only DEK was responsive enough to understand my needs and how they could be solved with the help of your advanced CNC machinery. The incredible staff at DEK convinced me with their professional answers to the point and fast response."
Karen K
Are you looking for more information or want to get an accurate quotation?
If you need a professional business partner to provide you high quality, cost-effective, timely, and risk-free manufacturing services, we are the first step towards success.
3 Axis CNC Machining Services – The Complete FAQ Article
3-axis CNC machining features the efficiency and accuracy of computer programming with the precision of lathe machines.
It helps to maintain the design consistency of parts by automating the manufacturing process.
In this article, you will know how 3-axis CNC machining is promising exceptionally cost-effective machining services.
Moreover, this article will clarify every question related to 3-axis machining by highlighting every single detail.
Table of Contents
What is 3 Axis CNC Machining?
3-axis machining is the basic CNC machine with the ability to cut workpieces in three linear axes.
It’s the most common and widely adopted by manufacturers to produce parts with common geometries.
Machining costs of 3-axis CNC are relatively low without sacrificing the quality of machining.
As there are only three aces to work with, 3-axis machining can be a design or functionality restriction for parts with complex geometries.
However, it’s not a big issue because the workpiece can be rotated, and the costs will also increase fast.
Moreover, the interesting thing about 3-axis CNC machining is that it can achieve high machining accuracy and precision to achieve tighter tolerances.
It can machine parts with complex profiles at a much higher rate and lower cost.
It’s important for you to understand that the number of CNC machine axes can determine the cutting work it can perform and with what level of accuracy, detail, and precision.
Parts that don’t require a lot of detailing and depth mostly include mechanical components that require processes like interactive operations, milling slots, automatic tasks, drilling holes, and cutting sharp edges are best suited for 3-axis CNC machining.
It may be the best option for machining your parts depending on your production volume, accuracy and finish constraints, part requirements, materials, and your holding capabilities.
What is the Difference Between 3-Axis, 4-Axis, and 5-Axis CNC Machining?
It’s important for you to understand which type of CNC machining is best for your parts manufacturing.
Making a correct choice can optimize the machining process to achieve the best part design.
The complexity and type of geometry of your part’s design reflect which type of machining it requires to achieve perfect results.
The primary difference between 3-axis, 4-axis, and 5-axis CNC machining is the complexity of the workpiece and cutting tool movement.
The complexity of your part’s geometry is directly proportional to the complexity of machining it requires.
3-Axis CNC Machining
In this most simple type of CNC machining, the workpiece remains stationary, and cutting is performed by the movement of the spindle, which can move in three linear directions:
X-axis
Y-axis
Z-axis
It is typically process parts that feature 2D or 2.5D geometry.
4-Axis CNC Machining
Its tooling mechanism is similar to 3-axis CNC machining with the addition of a rotation about the X-axis, called the A-axis.
4-axis machining enables both workpiece and tool to rotate and move simultaneously.
It eliminates any risk of human error that leads to exceptional part’s final quality.
Index 4-axis CNC Machining: It features a 4th axis that only rotates when the machine is not cutting material.
Continuous 4-Axis CNC Machining: It can cut the material at the same time as the 4th axis rotation, simultaneously.
5-Axis CNC Machining
This machining technique is the latest and technologically enhanced feature of both 2 of the 3 possible rotation axes.
There are two types of 5-axis machines, continuous 5-axis, and 3+2 axis. Continuous 5-axis machining allows rotation of two rotation axis at the same time as machining and cutting tools moving linearly in XYZ coordinates.
In 3+2 axis machining, two rotational aces operate independently of each other, which enables it to produce highly complex 3D shapes. Moreover, it is the most expensive machining of them all.
Besides its being expensive, the advantages of 5-axis CNC machining are nearly impossible to overlook.
However, 3-axis CNC machining can make feature-rich parts by achieving tighter dimensional tolerances.
With the ability to cut the most complex designs, 3-axis machining also offers an exceptional level of precision and quality.
How Does 3 Axis CNC Machining Works?
3-axis CNC machining features cutting tools that move along three separate axes to mill apart:
Up-Down
Side-to-Side
Front-Back
The three axes these CNC machines feature works together with either in a horizontal or vertical layout, which allows our engineers to create complex parts more efficiently.
The 3-axis CNC machines allow production clamps, stocks, fixtures, and more.
The width (X), length (Y), and depth (Z) axial movements of the tool through multiple dimensions involve two linear channels and a cutting head with a spindle.
There is a vast library of tool heads to choose from depending on the part’s material.
How Can 3 Axis CNC Machining be Extremely Productive?
Thanks to advanced CNC technology, 3-axis machining has come a long way in its capabilities.
3-axis CNC machines are multifunctional and designed for:
Cutting sharp edges
Milling slots
Automatic/Interactive operation
Drilling holes
In the modern world, technologically-enhanced 3-axis CNC machining is capable of processing parts that previously required 4-axis and 5-axis machines.
However, it can produce them doesn’t mean with the same level of detail or efficiency, but can cut individual features of the part separately.
Because of its being accurate, fast, cost-effective, and quality-focused, 3-axis machining is extremely productive for industrial businesses.
It still has a place in modern-day manufacturing. Moreover, is this machining suitable for your parts depends on the following:
The size of your production run
The workpiece properties
Accuracy and precision
Finish requirements
Materials costs
Stock holding capabilities
With the extensive knowledge and expertise of manufacturers, 3-axis CNC machining can still prove the most profitable choice for your business.
Most importantly, 3-axis CNC machines are designed for efficient memory usage, speed, and accuracy.
What are the Applications of 3 Axis CNC Machining?
3-axis CNC machining is built for precision work, in-depth detail, and accuracy.
However, it doesn’t deliver parts with quality, precision, engravings, drilling, and milling like 4- and 5-axis CNC machining.
3-axis CNC machining is known to be ideal for many operations and purposes, including:
Automatic & Interactive operations
Industrial
Teaching & Art
Technology research
Prototype building
Medical equipment creation
Advertising design
Aerospace products
Artificial bones
Oil & gas machine parts
Titanium creations (Practical and artistic purposes)
Medical technology
Military-grade products
Architectural frames
The precision 3-axis CNC machining is capable of processing parts with complex design to your exact specifications.
Because of its superior functionality, it is capable to efficiently and impressively produce products related to advance industrial applications.
What are the Benefits of 3 Axis CNC Machining?
It’s a digital manufacturing technology with the ability to perform precision machining on parts to achieve high-quality parts with excellent physical properties.
Due to its high level of automation, 3-axis machining is cost-efficient and perfect for medium-volume productions.
Almost every material from ABS, Delrin, and Nylon to aluminum, steel alloys, brass, and many other metals and plastics can be machined through 3-axis machining.
The following are some primary benefits of 3-axis CNC machining:
High accuracy parts with tight tolerances
Quick turnaround times
One-off custom parts & prototypes
On-demand production of custom parts
Suitable for small-to-medium production
Additionally, one of the unique things about 3-axis CNC machining is that it can serve a vast library of applications it has found over the years.
What Parts Can be Produced Through 3-Axis CNC?
With its ability to machine complex parts related to a wide range of applications, 3-axis machining can achieve the best results in different industrial situations.
3-axis CNC machining is a rare manufacturing process suitable enough to machine complex parts for space applications.
Parts for satellites require machining of space-grade materials to achieve superior accuracy, material properties, and surface treatment that is possible through 3-axis machining.
Aerospace is one of the initial industries to use 3-axis CNC machining, and parts included in props, gearbox, compressor, turbine, exhaust, shaft, and combustion chamber can be machined with enhanced accuracy.
The automotive industry mostly requires high-performance custom parts, and 3-axis machining can offer that in a cost-effective manner.
Its ability to precisely machine industrial- and space-grade metal parts with great dimensional accuracy makes it an essential choice for the product design and development industry.
Parts like enclosures that require heat dissipation and electrical insulation can be machined through 3-axis machining.
Does 3-Axis CNC Offer Precision Machining?
3-axis CNC machining features exceptional tools in its arsenal to achieve a high level of precision and accuracy by achieving tighter dimensional tolerances.
Its unique benefits and capabilities make it more suitable for precision machining.
The 3-axis CNC machines are technologically enhanced to increase their functionality, features, and value.
Its three axes are primarily responsible for maintaining the precision and accuracy of machining and shaping parts.
3-axis CNC machining continues to stay relevant, cost-effective, and efficient to this day.
It does not deny that 4-axis and 5-axis machining are the latest, but only 3-axis machining is suitable enough for many manufacturing-intensive sectors and maintains exceptional product quality, precision, and standardization.
3-axis machining makes sense when you need:
A cost-efficient machining solution
Parts with complex geometry
A turnaround time of 2-5 days
Precision can be achieved through 3-axis CNC machining, but the more complex the part’s geometry is, the longer it will take to machine and also will be more expensive.
What are the Types of CNC Machining?
The advanced CNC machines feature robotic systems with multi-tooling capabilities.
The extended and advanced functionality of these CNC machines enables them to manufacture parts precisely.
It shapes the parts by removing material using cutting tools and serves a wide range of technical and advanced applications.
CNC machining has many types, from simplest ones like 3-axis CNC machining, CNC milling, and CNC turning to complex and advance multi-axis CNC machining include Index 3+2 axis machining, Continuous 5 -axis CNC machining, and mill-turning.
What is the Difference Between 3-Axis CNC Machining and 3D Printing?
3-axis machining is standard subtractive manufacturing technology.
On the other hand, 3D printing is a common additive manufacturing process that builds parts by adding a layer of material at a time.
Unlike 3D printing, the process of machining parts through 3-axis CNC begins by removing material from a workpiece.
CNC machines feature a variety of shape rotating tools to machine parts. Moreover, 3-axis machining offers excellent repeatability, high accuracy, and a wide range of materials and surface finishes against 3D printing.
Selecting the right technology
Choosing between 3D printing and 3-axis CNC machining depends on your decision-making process.
When parts feature high complexity and topology-optimized geometries, 3-axis CNC machining is preferred.
When a fast turnaround time is critical for medium production volumes, 3-axis CNC machining is preferred.
Both manufacturing techniques are cost-effective, but 3D printing is cheaper than 3-axis CNC machining.
Moreover, there are many other reasons why 3-axis CNC machining is suitable for modern industries.
Dimensional accuracy
3-axis CNC machining offers tight tolerance and excellent repeatability while maintaining exceptional accuracy. 3D printing contains high chances of dimensional accuracy errors.
Materials
3-axis CNC machining is suitable for metals like aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, and brass and plastics like ABS, nylon, polycarbonate, and PEEK.
Model Complexity
There is a number of limitations on both sides, and some geometries are impossible to CNC machine that can be an easy task for 3D printing.
Most part profiles require rotational cutting to achieve the perfect tolerances. 3D printing has very few design and geometry restrictions compared to 3-axis CNC machining.
Manufacturing workflow
In 3-axis CNC, the first tool got selected, and then its spindle speed, cutting path, and repositioning of the part are finalized. In 3D printing, the engineers first prepare the digital file, and then the machine prints it with little human intervention.
Post-processing
A vast library of post-processes are suitable for both 3-axis machining and 3D printing that helps to improve the part’s functionality or aesthetics. The following are some of the most common post processes for both CNC and 3D printing:
CNC: Bead blasting, powder coating, type II anodizing, and type III anodizing
3D printing: Media blasting, sanding, and polishing, metal plating, micro-polishing
What are the Materials for CNC Machining?
CNC machining supports a wide range of engineering metals and plastics.
Selecting the right one is a crucial step, and the optimal material option is highly dependent on your specific requirements.
Since almost every material has its own unique properties and hardness, CNC offers different tool heads to machine all the following materials:
Metals
The primary use of CNC machining is with metals and metal alloys.
Aluminum
Stainless steel
Alloy steel
Mild steel
Tool steel
Brass
Plastics
Because of their being lightweight, plastics are used for their chemical resistance and electrical insulation properties.
ABS
PC (Polycarbonate)
Nylon
POM (Delrin)
PEEK
What are the Different Surface Finishing Options of 3-Axis CNC Machining?
Surface finishes are useful to enhance the hardness and chemical resistance of parts and also can change the part’s appearance and surface roughness.
The following are some common surface finishes offered by 3-axis CNC machining:
In short, yes! DEK is a one-stop CNC machining shop that offers 3-axis, 4-axis, and 5-axis CNC machining services for creating mechanical parts for advanced industries.
We are always happy to work with your company to engineer your parts according to your specifications.
We feature high-end CNC machines and state-of-the-art software to achieve precision and fast turnaround times for your orders.
Faster and quality products mean that your parts will always be on-hand and ready to go due to our precision engineering facility that is driven by QED (Quality, Expertise, and Delivery on Time).
Get a quick quote
We always insist on high quality and cost-effective products, contact us today to get an accurate quotation.
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