A humanoid hand lives or dies on small metal parts: phalanges, tendon channels, actuator mounts. We machine them in titanium, aluminum and PEEK to ±0.005 mm on 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers. Runs start at a single prototype and scale to 10,000+ parts.
A 20-gram finger part can stop a whole integration schedule. These are the four problems we hear most.
A phalange bore that is 0.02 mm off center changes the tendon path and the finger drags. The servo draws more current, the controller faults, and the whole hand goes back on the bench. Bores and pin seats have to hold true position, not just diameter.
Thin aluminum brackets flex under repeated actuation. Clearance grows, backlash shows up in the grip, and the hand can no longer repeat a pinch position. The fix is usually a stiffer alloy and a ribbed geometry, not a tighter tolerance on the same weak design.
Force and tactile sensors sit in pockets that must match the mating surface. If the pocket floor is not flat or the wall is not square, the sensor preloads unevenly and the output curve drifts. Engineers then tune software to compensate for a machining error.
Small, deep pockets and thin walls are slow to quote and slow to cut. Weeks pass between the CAD release and a part in hand, so the team keeps testing the old revision. Late hardware pushes every downstream test to the right.
Five-axis work, in-process checks, and material choices matched to each part's load case.
A humanoid finger is a chain of small links with bores, clevis features and tendon windows on several faces. On a three-axis mill each face needs its own fixture, and every refixture adds stack-up error. Our 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers cut the bore, the pin seat and the tendon channel without releasing the part.
That matters at the sub-millimeter level. When the bore and the pin seat come from the same datum, the finger swings in the plane the designer intended. We hold ±0.005 mm on critical features and check the first article before the run continues.
Every part in the hand has a different job. A distal phalange wants low mass. A wrist adapter wants stiffness. A tendon guide wants a hard, low-friction surface. We match the alloy to the load case instead of defaulting the whole assembly to one material.
7075-T6 and Ti-6Al-4V cover most structural links. PEEK and POM work for insulating or low-friction inserts. Anodizing and hardcoat give aluminum a wear surface without adding meaningful mass, and electroless nickel suits steel pins that rub.
Use this to decide what to quote first.
| Hand component | Typical material | Process and why |
|---|---|---|
| Proximal phalange | 7075-T6 aluminum | 5-axis milling, one setup for bores and clevis |
| Distal fingertip link | Ti-6Al-4V | 5-axis milling, light finishing passes on thin walls |
| Tendon guide and pulley | 440C or 17-4PH stainless | Turn-mill, then harden and polish the groove |
| Actuator housing | 6061-T6 aluminum | 3-axis milling plus boring on a mill-turn center |
| Wrist adapter flange | 7075-T6 or 4140 steel | 5-axis milling, flatness held on the mating face |
| Sensor pocket insert | PEEK or POM | 3-axis milling, sharp corners, no coolant staining |
| Finger guard shell | Carbon fiber or 5052 | Lay-up or sheet forming, trimmed on a 3-axis mill |
One-setup cutting for phalanges, clevises and housings with compound angles. Sixteen simultaneous centers available.
Cost-effective routes for plates, brackets and pocketed covers that do not need full contour access.
Pins, shafts, tendon pulleys and threaded adapters turned and milled on 16 mill-turn centers.
First-article parts to test fit and range of motion before committing to a run.
Anodizing, plating, bead blasting and laser marking, including conductive anodizing for grounded housings.
100% inspection before shipment with reports on request, so parts arrive ready to build.
| Item | Capability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm | Held on critical features, verified per drawing |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm fine | Ra 1.6–3.2 μm as-machined where acceptable |
| Max part size | 4,000 mm | Larger work goes on the 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm travel |
| Smallest work envelope | 500 × 310 × 200 mm | Fits finger-scale parts with fine tooling |
| Rotary capacity | Ø400 mm table | Indexed and simultaneous rotation |
| Order quantity | One piece upward | Prototype runs and 10,000+ part runs |
Numbers, not adjectives.
Micron-level positional control on bores, pin seats and mating faces, checked by CMM and reported on request.
Send a model and get pricing plus manufacturability notes the same working day.
Once a design is released, cutting can begin the next day instead of the next quarter.
Standard metal and plastic parts leave the shop inside a working week.
Founded in 2011 with 150 technicians across three wholly-owned plants and 7,600 m² of floor space.
Five-axis access means small links with compound features come off the machine complete.
Small aluminum and titanium links with bores, pin seats and tendon windows cut in one setup.
Pocketed housings where bearing bores must line up with the mounting face.
Flat pocket floors and square walls so force and tactile sensors preload evenly.
Mill-turn parts that carry the hand and route tendons without galling.
We hold ±0.005 mm on critical features such as bores, pin seats and mating faces. General surfaces follow the drawing unless a tighter callout is needed.
If a feature is hard to reach or the wall is very thin, we flag it during the free DFM review and suggest a geometry change instead of promising a number we cannot repeat.
For low mass and good stiffness, 7075-T6 aluminum is the usual pick. It machines cleanly and takes hardcoat anodizing for a wear surface.
If the finger sees impact, moisture or a corrosive environment, Ti-6Al-4V is the better call. It cuts slower and costs more, so we only recommend it where the load case justifies it.
Yes, when the channel has an open end for tool entry. Five-axis access reaches around the part so the channel and the pin bore share one datum.
Fully enclosed internal passages need a different route, such as splitting the link and joining it, or casting it. We will tell you which option is realistic before you commit.
We reduce radial engagement on finishing passes and support the wall with the remaining stock. Light cuts and sharp tooling keep the deflection inside the tolerance band.
On walls under 1 mm we sometimes leave a finishing allowance on both sides and take the final passes after the part has relaxed.
There is no minimum order quantity. One part is fine, and the same program scales to 10,000+ pieces when the design is frozen.
Prototype parts usually ship in 3–5 days. If you need a fit check before a full run, we can cut a small batch first.
The pocket floor is machined flat and the walls kept square, with sharp internal corners free of tool radius where the sensor needs to seat fully.
We check the pocket depth and floor flatness on the first article. If the sensor datasheet gives a mounting torque, tell us and we will match the seat geometry to it.
Aluminum can be clear or color anodized, hardcoat anodized, or given conductive anodizing for grounded housings. Steel takes electroless nickel, zinc, black oxide or plating.
Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and laser marking are also available. Laser marking needs a minimum character height of 1.5 mm.
Uploads are handled as confidential. We can sign an NDA before you send files, and access to project data is limited to the people working on it.
We hold ISO 27001:2022 for information security, along with ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016 and ISO 13485:2016 for quality management.
Upload your model and we return pricing plus manufacturability notes within 12 hours. No minimum order, and the first article is inspected before anything ships.
12-hour quote and DFMNo minimum order100% inspection before shipmentNDA available on request
Trusted by engineers and manufacturers worldwide
Upload your 3D model or 2D drawing and get a quotation with a free DFM analysis. Maximum processing size 4,000 mm.
CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
Material: not selected Machine: not selected Post-process: not selected
