An industrial equipment customer needed a custom aluminum valve body for a fluid control assembly. The housing included several connection ports, a large internal chamber and a keyed shaft bore for the internal operating component.
The individual dimensions were not the only concern. All ports and internal features had to work together after assembly. If their positions were slightly out, the customer could face connection, sealing or movement problems during testing.
|
Item |
Details |
|
Component |
Multi-port valve housing |
|
Material |
EN AW-6082 T6 aluminium |
|
Process |
Multi-axis CNC machining |
|
Inspection |
CMM and manual inspection |
|
Supply |
Prototype and low-volume production |
|
Surface |
As machined |
This valve housing has connection ports facing several directions. Each port needs to align with a mating component, while the internal chamber and upper shaft bore need to remain correctly positioned relative to each other.
The main points to control were:
● Position of the side and upper ports
● Alignment of the shaft bore and internal chamber
● Port diameters and sealing grooves
● Flatness of the front mounting face
● Wall thickness after machining the large cavity
● Burrs at internal port intersections
A large amount of material also had to be removed from the aluminium blank. Finishing all features too early could allow the part to move slightly as material stress was released.
Before machining, we reviewed the 3D model and drawing according to how the housing would be assembled.
The front mounting face, central chamber and shaft bore were used to establish a consistent datum system. This gave the machining and inspection teams the same reference throughout the project.
The housing was rough machined in stages. Extra material was left on the critical bores, sealing areas and mounting surfaces until the main cavity and ports had been opened. These features were then finished after the part had become more stable.
Where possible, related features were machined in the same setup. This reduced accumulated clamping error and helped maintain the positions between the ports, chamber and shaft bore.
The internal intersections were also deburred and checked carefully. Burr control matters on this type of component because loose material inside the flow path may affect cleanliness or interfere with internal parts.
After machining, we used CMM inspection to check the relationship between the main functional features.
The inspection covered:
● Port centre positions
● Central chamber diameter and location
● Upper shaft bore position
● Concentricity of related circular features
● Mounting-hole positions
● Flatness of the front face
Sealing grooves, depths and accessible diameters were checked with additional measuring tools.
This allowed us to confirm not only that each feature was within tolerance, but also that the ports and internal geometry were correctly positioned as one complete assembly interface.
The completed valve housing passed dimensional inspection and was released for the customer’s assembly testing.
The machining sequence, datum system and inspection points were recorded for repeat production. This means future batches can follow the same process instead of rebuilding the machining method from the beginning.
For the customer, this provides better consistency between orders and makes it easier to move from the first machined parts into regular supply.
BestPro is a CNC machining manufacturer in China, supplying custom valve bodies, manifolds, pump housings and other complex machined components based on customer drawings.
We support prototype machining, low-volume orders and repeat production in aluminium, stainless steel and engineering alloys.
If you are sourcing a custom aluminum valve body or CNC machined valve housing, send us your 2D drawing, 3D model, material requirement and expected quantity. We can review the critical features and manufacturing approach before quotation.
