Frames, joint housings and limb links machined to ±0.005 mm, so servo bores and bearing seats line up at assembly. Send your STEP files for a quote and free DFM review within 12 hours.
Most failures on a quadruped platform show up as one of these four.
A hip housing that measures true in bare aluminum can shift once the coating builds 20–25 μm per surface. If the drawing does not account for that, the bearing bore closes up and the servo fights the frame on every step. We call out coating allowances during DFM review, before the first chip is cut.
Weight targets push designers toward 3 mm walls and hollow sections. Thin walls deflect under cutting load, so the bore comes out tapered and the bearing preload is wrong from day one. Wall thickness and fixturing get reviewed together, not after the first article fails.
A chassis that is flat on the table can warp two weeks later when residual stress releases. The robot then walks with one foot loaded heavier than the others, and gait tuning never fully fixes it. Stress-relieved stock and sequenced roughing prevent most of this.
Each gait change moves the hip mount, and a new revision means new geometry. If your supplier quotes a fresh setup and tooling every time, iteration slows to weeks per loop. Machining from stock keeps revision cost low, because nothing is cut into a mold.
Joint geometry is the whole game on a quadruped.
A robotic dog leg is a chain of tolerances. Hip bore, knee bore and foot mount all stack, and the servo has to hold position through that stack. Our approach is to establish datums on machined faces in the first operation, then carry those datums through every later setup. Bores that share an axis get cut in the same operation whenever the part fits the work envelope.
For housings that cannot be reached from one side, we use 5-axis positioning instead of re-fixturing. That removes the stacked error you get from flipping a part three times. On the 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers we run, a typical hip housing holds ±0.005 mm on bore position and Ra 0.8–1.6 μm on the bearing seat.
Every gram in the leg is a gram the servo has to accelerate and stop. Designers want pockets; machinists want wall thickness. The compromise sits in the rib layout. We keep ribs along the bending axis and thin the webs that carry little load, then check the result against your stiffness target rather than a blanket minimum wall rule.
Magnesium AZ31B and AZ91D cut weight further, but they machine differently from aluminum. Chips are fine, heat builds fast, and magnesium dust needs handling. We run these materials with the right tooling and coolant discipline, and we tell you when a part is better left in 7075 instead.
Use this to decide where machining pays off and where it does not.
| Part | Recommended process | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hip and knee housings | 5-axis machining | Coaxial bores in one setup |
| Limb links and shin tubes | 5-axis or 4-axis | Pockets plus bore alignment |
| Chassis plates | 3-axis machining | Flat parts, tight thickness control |
| Foot pads and end effectors | 3-axis or turning | Simple geometry, wear surfaces |
| Battery and PCB enclosures | 3-axis plus sheet metal | Mixed thin-wall and flat panels |
| Gearbox output shafts | Mill-turn | Turning and cross-features, one setup |
| Large body shells | 5-axis up to 4,000 mm | Angled faces without re-fixturing |
| Low-stress covers | 3D printing or vacuum casting | Machining adds cost with no gain |
Six processes cover most robotic dog hardware.
Hip and knee housings with angled faces and coaxial bores. 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers, up to 4,000 mm.
Limb links and cylindrical parts that need work on more than one face. 12 four-axis mills in the shop.
Chassis plates, foot pads and mounting brackets. 27 three-axis machines handle flat, tight-thickness parts.
Motor shafts, gearbox outputs and threaded inserts. 16 mill-turn centers combine turning with cross-features.
First-article housings and fit-check parts before you commit to a run. No minimum order quantity.
Anodizing, plating, bead blasting and laser marking, with coating allowances built into the machining dimensions.
Numbers you can check against your drawing.
| Item | Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General tolerance | ±0.005 mm (±0.0002 in) | On critical bores and seats |
| Fine finish | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm | Bearing and seal surfaces |
| Standard finish | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm | General mating faces |
| As-machined finish | Ra 1.6–3.2 μm | Non-critical surfaces |
| Maximum part size | 4,000 mm | Long chassis rails and body shells |
| Rotary table | Ø400 mm | Round and index features |
| Qualification rate | 99.99% | Parts passing final inspection |
| Inspection | 100% before shipment | Reports on request |
Six reasons engineers keep sending us robotic dog parts.
The number that decides whether a bearing seat runs true. Verified with in-process monitoring, not only at final inspection.
Enough simultaneous capacity to run your revision change without waiting behind someone else's job.
You get a price and a manufacturability review in the same pass, so the feedback lands before you order.
Production can start within 24 hours of a released order. Historical late-delivery probability sits below 2%.
One prototype for a gait test, or a full production run. The pricing structure changes, the setup does not.
Uploads are secure and confidential. An NDA is available on request before you send any geometry.
Joint housings and limb links where servo bore position drives gait repeatability.
Enclosures for control boards, IMUs and battery packs that must seal and still dissipate heat.
Design revisions between gait tests, machined from stock so no tooling is stranded.
±0.005 mm on bore position and bearing seats, with surface finish down to Ra 0.2–0.8 μm where the drawing calls for it.
General non-critical faces sit at Ra 1.6–3.2 μm. If a feature does not need tight tolerance, we say so and leave it looser to keep cost down.
7075 gives the best stiffness-to-weight ratio and is the usual choice for limb links and stressed housings. 6061-T6 machines more cleanly and costs less, which suits chassis plates and covers.
If mass is the hard constraint, magnesium AZ31B or AZ91D cuts weight further. The trade-off is corrosion protection and chip handling, both of which we manage in-house.
Yes. Hardcoat and standard anodizing build 20–25 μm per surface, which closes a bore by 40–50 μm on diameter.
During DFM review we flag any bore or thread that would fall out of tolerance after coating and adjust the pre-plate dimension before machining starts.
There is no minimum order quantity. One prototype and a 10,000+ part run both go through the same shop.
For single prototypes we machine from stock, so a design change costs you a new setup, not a new mold.
Quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of release, and parts typically ship in 3–5 days.
Historical late-delivery probability is below 2%. For pilot builds with a fixed test date, tell us the date at quote stage and we plan the schedule around it.
A STEP or IGES file, the material, the critical tolerances, and the surface finish. A 2D drawing helps where GD&T matters.
If you only have a rough model, send it anyway. We review manufacturability and tell you which features will be hard to hold before you commit.
Uploads are secure and confidential, and an NDA is available on request before you send geometry.
We hold ISO 27001:2022 for information security, alongside ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016 and ISO 13485:2016.
Every shipment gets 100% inspection: raw material check, in-process monitoring, and final inspection before it leaves.
Inspection reports are available on request. Qualification rate across shipped parts is 99.99%.
Upload a STEP file and get a price plus a free DFM review within 12 hours. No minimum order quantity, NDA on request.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo MOQ±0.005 mm
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Upload your 3D model or 2D drawing and get a quotation with a free DFM analysis. Maximum processing size 4,000 mm.
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