Whenever a plane or spacecraft takes flight, the aerospace industry is risking sensitive and expensive equipment as well as human life. Even a single defective part can bring all of that crashing down. Moreso than other industries, aerospace must rely on high-quality, high-performance parts that are virtually guaranteed not to fail in flight. Aerospace parts rely on precision manufacturing so that products will hold up against extremely high and low temperatures as well as varying pressures as part of their applications.

Components for the aerospace sector must also adhere to strict industry regulations, such as the AS91XX group of safety standards that covers topics like product safety and raw material quality. Regardless of these substantial requirements, manufacturers still can't sacrifice lead times as they must keep up with demand in the industry. Precision CNC machining aerospace parts gives you the quality, precision accuracy, repeatability, consistency, and throughput to meet all of these qualifications.

Improving Efficiency and Precision: Precision components for aircraft demand the highest levels of accuracy. Aerospace CNC machining delivers unparalleled precision, reducing errors and ensuring consistent quality across all parts.

Reducing Costs and Material Waste: CNC machining for aerospace minimizes material waste through efficient cutting processes, leading to cost savings without compromising quality.

Enhancing Component Durability and Performance: High-quality CNC machined aerospace parts enhance the durability and performance of aircraft, contributing to safer and more reliable aviation.

Key Materials for Machined Aerospace Components: In the aerospace industry, selecting the right materials for CNC machining is crucial due to the extreme conditions and performance demands of aircraft components. Common materials include:

• Titanium: Known for its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and ability to withstand high temperatures, titanium is ideal for critical structural parts and engine components.
• Aluminum Alloys: Widely used due to their lightweight properties, good machinability, and strength. Specific series include:
  • 2xxx Series: Alloyed with copper, offering high strength and excellent machinability, commonly used in wing and fuselage structures.
  • 6xxx Series: Combined with silicon and magnesium, providing good formability, medium strength, and corrosion resistance.
  • 7xxx Series: Contains zinc, copper, chromium, and magnesium, known for high strength, and used extensively in military aircraft.
• Stainless Steel: Offers excellent corrosion resistance and strength, suitable for high-stress components.
• High-Stress Alloys and Advanced Composites: These materials provide enhanced durability and performance, essential for parts exposed to extreme conditions.

These materials meet stringent aerospace industry standards, ensuring reliability and longevity in critical applications.

CNC machining is a highly effective manufacturing technique for numerous aerospace applications.

CNC machining has versatile applications in aviation, as the technique allows for the high degree of precision necessary to produce aircraft components. It generates uniform parts with tight tolerances, helping to ensure safety and consistent performance in parts like airplane wings, engines, seats, housings and shells, valves, and more.

While aircraft components are also subjected to extreme temperatures, changing pressures, and generally harsh environmental conditions, spacecraft applications are even more demanding. Spaceflight requires rugged, durable, mission-critical parts that can maintain their functionality despite their exposure to outerspace for potentially years at a time. Longevity, reliability, and safety are paramount, as faulty parts could destroy expensive equipment or result in the loss of life.

CNC machining is not only the ideal manufacturing process for the job, but it's also compatible with aerospace-grade materials that result in high-performance parts capable of withstanding the exit from and reentry to our atmosphere. It can create shafts, tubing, and electrical connectors as well as components for computer systems, oxygen generation, and rocket housings.