Thin-Wall Machined Aluminum Cavity

The hard part of a cavity is wall thickness. Halfway through milling, internal stress releases and a 1.5 mm wall becomes 1.2 mm — and the assembly no longer fits.

Process strategy

Blanks are stress-relieved first. Roughing leaves stock, semi-finishing removes it symmetrically, and the final pass takes one light cut. Thin regions use high-speed light cutting to reduce radial load.

Inspection

Critical walls are sampled by ultrasonic gauge or CMM; mounting faces are checked piece by piece. If the part needs a leak test, we agree the sealing face roughness at drawing review.

Process notes

Blank stress relief, roughing, semi-finishing with symmetric stock removal, finishing, deburring, cleaning, dimension and flatness inspection, surface finishing.

Applications

Sensor housings, control boxes, sealed cavities, fluid components, instrument structures.