Micro-milling

STEEC can carry out milling and micro-milling operations on complex mechanical parts whose dimensions are ever finer and tolerances ever tighter for several sectors of activity.

We perform micro-milling operations both for the production of parts, but also for the production of very high precision electrodes which allow us to carry out all micro-drilling and sinking operations in electro-erosion.

Equipped with a high-tech machine park and cutting-edge IT tools such as Alphacam® software, STEEC is able to meet specific demands and provide innovative solutions to each of its customers. 

The experience gained in other high-precision machining technologies has enabled STEEC to develop innovative milling processes that are recognized in the industrial sector.

Specializing in high-precision machining, STEEC, a labeled and certified company, makes every effort to provide a global subcontracting service offering that exceeds customer requirements.

Our entire team is at your disposal to address your issues in precision mechanics and in micro-milling.

Micro-milling is one of the technologies we implement in precision machining, alongside electro-erosion and turning.

Micro-milling of electrodes for electrical discharge machining

This is the least visible part of our milling activity, and yet one of the most crucial. electrical discharge machining, The final part can never be more precise than the electrode that produced it. The electrode leaves its imprint in negative on the material: the slightest defect in shape, radius or surface finish is found in the part.

Micro-milling is the process used to manufacture these electrodes, most often made of copper or graphite, with the fine details and sharp angles required by the geometry. We produce them in-house, which gives us control over the entire process: if a mold imprint needs to be reworked, we adjust the electrode without relying on an external supplier and without starting a whole new production timeframe.

This combined mastery of milling and electro-erosion is one of the reasons why we can process parts that neither process could handle alone.

Materials and tolerances in micro-milling

Micro-milling remains a machining process that removes material with a cutting tool. It is therefore subject to two constraints that electrical discharge machining (EDM) ignores: the cutting force and the hardness of the material.

First, there's the cutting force. On a thin or slender workpiece, the cutter pushes the material as much as it cuts it, and the workpiece flexes. This is what truly limits the process, far more than the available tool diameter. Therefore, we adapt the machining strategy, depth of cut, and clamping to the stiffness of the workpiece, and not the other way around.

Next comes hardness. Beyond a certain threshold, particularly with hardened steels and carbides, milling is no longer the right solution and we switch to...’electroerosion, who doesn't know this limit. Knowing when to change processes is part of the job.

For revolution pieces, the precision turning takes over, and the three technologies are frequently combined on the same part. The entire assembly is tested in a climate-controlled laboratory as part of our machining quality control.