GreatLight turns shafts, bushings, fittings, pins and threaded parts from bar stock on 127 CNC machines, with 16 mill-turn centers for parts that need turning and milling in one setup. Tolerances to ±0.005 mm, 100% inspection before shipment.
Most of these show up after the first article is approved, not before.
A shaft turned in two operations and then milled on a separate machine picks up runout from re-chucking. If the drawing calls 0.010 mm TIR and the process stacks three setups, the second lot will not hold it. Runout is the most common reason a turned part fails incoming inspection.
Bar stock gets ordered late, a second supplier is pulled in, and the release date slides by weeks. Every extra handoff adds a week. Production lines in Georgia do not have that buffer when a change order lands on Friday.
Rolled threads on a turned pin can measure oversize on pitch diameter even when the major diameter looks right. A callout of 6g class within a few tenths needs gauging, not a caliper check. Plating adds thickness too, and the drawing may not account for it.
Medical and automotive buyers need material certs, inspection reports and traceability tied to the lot. When the shop cannot produce them, the parts sit in quarantine. Re-inspection and paperwork alone can hold a shipment for weeks.
Turning, milling, finishing and inspection under one roof, so the setup count stays low.
Most turned parts that fail are not hard to cut. They are hard to hold across setups. Our 16 mill-turn centers turn and mill in the same spindle, so a cross-hole, flat or slot does not require re-chucking on a second machine.
That matters on shafts with a keyway and a threaded end, or on valve bodies with an off-axis port. One clamping means one datum. Runout stays where the drawing puts it.
Turning to ±0.005 mm is a process question, not a machine spec. It depends on tool wear tracking, thermal stability and a gauge that reads finer than the tolerance. We run in-process checks on the floor and a final dimensional pass on CMM before parts are packed.
If a part needs a ground finish or a specific Ra, we do not ship it out and wait. Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing, polishing, anodizing, plating and laser marking all run in-house. Laser marking holds a minimum character height of 1.5 mm.
Use this to decide before you send the file.
| Part feature | Process choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Simple round shaft, one diameter | Single-spindle turning | One setup, fastest cycle |
| Shaft with keyway or cross-hole | Mill-turn center | Holds runout across both features |
| Valve body with off-axis port | Mill-turn or 5-axis | One datum, no re-chuck error |
| Long tie rod over 1,000 mm | Bar feed turning | Avoids secondary straightening |
| Thin-wall bushing | Turning with soft jaws | Controls ovality and wall thickness |
| Hardened pin over 45 HRC | Turn soft, then grind | Turning alone will not hold size |
One card, one process, one reason to use it.
Bar-fed and chucked work from Ø1 mm to Ø400 mm for shafts, pins, spacers and fittings. Roundness and concentricity controlled in the same setup where the drawing allows it.
16 mill-turn centers handle turned parts that need flats, cross-holes, slots or threads off the main axis. No second machine, no second datum.
12 four-axis mills and 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers cover prismatic features, angled faces and contoured geometry that a lathe cannot reach.
One-off turned prototypes before tooling or production release. Same machines and same inspection as the production run, so the prototype predicts the lot.
Anodizing, electroless nickel, zinc, silver and gold plating, powder coating, black oxide, bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and polishing in-house.
Material certificates, in-process CMM data and final dimensional reports on request, tied to the lot number for traceability.
Numbers from our own equipment list, not a brochure range.
| Item | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Turning diameter | Ø1 mm to Ø400 mm | Rotary table Ø400 mm available |
| Maximum part length | 4,000 mm | Bar feed and long-shaft turning |
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm (0.0002 in) | On qualified turning jobs |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm fine | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm standard |
| Materials | Steel, stainless, brass, copper | Titanium, Inconel, magnesium |
| Minimum order | One prototype | Runs to 10,000+ parts |
| Quote turnaround | 12 hours | Includes free DFM analysis |
| Production start | 24 hours after release | Subject to material stock |
Fifteen years in turning, three plants, one quality system.
Founded in 2011, GreatLight has run turned work for aerospace, automotive, medical, robotics and industrial machinery programs since before mill-turn was standard in the shop.
127 machines across three wholly-owned plants in Dongguan and Singapore. Lathes, mills, mill-turn, 5-axis and finishing equipment in the same organization.
Turning tolerance to ±0.005 mm with gauge checks run in process, not only at final inspection. Reports available on request.
Parts that pass full dimensional and visual inspection before shipment. 100% inspection, not sampling.
ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 27001:2022 cover quality, automotive, medical and information security.
From one prototype to 10,000+ part runs. No tooling charge to start, because turned parts need no mold.
Shafts, sensor housings and fittings machined to automotive drawing standards, with IATF 16949 process control and full lot traceability.
Bushings, pins, spacers and drive components turned from steel, brass and aluminum, sized for repeat assembly without hand fitting.
Turned stainless and titanium parts with documented material certificates and inspection records that hold up in a design-history review.
We turn from Ø1 mm upward. Below Ø3 mm the limiting factor is usually the gauge, not the tool, because a tolerance of ±0.005 mm on a tiny pin needs a measuring method that reads finer than the tolerance.
Send the drawing and we will say whether the feature is measurable. If it is not, we will tell you before quoting.
If the shape is mostly round and the features sit on the centerline, turning is faster and cheaper. Flats, slots and cross-holes off the axis point to a mill-turn center, which does both in one setup.
Purely prismatic parts with no round feature belong on a mill. We will suggest the cheaper route when both work.
We keep the part in one clamping wherever possible, using mill-turn centers with live tooling. When a second setup is unavoidable, we use soft jaws cut to the finished diameter so the re-chuck repeats.
Concentricity is checked in process, not only on the final part, so a drift is caught while the lot is still running.
Aluminum 6061, 6061-T6, 2024, 6082 and 7075; stainless 303, 304, 316, 316L, 17-4PH; steel 1018, 1045, 4140 and 4340; brass C36000 and C27400; titanium TC4.
Brass and free-machining stainless turn cleanest. Titanium and Inconel need slower speeds and more tool changes, which affects the quote.
Yes. Anodizing, electroless nickel, zinc, silver and gold plating, powder coating, black oxide, bead blasting, tumbling, brushing, polishing and laser marking all run in-house.
Laser marking needs a minimum character height of 1.5 mm to be legible and repeatable.
Material certificates, in-process inspection data and a final dimensional report are available on request, tied to the production lot. For automotive programs we work to the IATF 16949 process controls.
If your audit needs a specific format, send the template with the order and we will fill it in.
Quotation with a free DFM analysis comes back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of release, and parts typically ship in 3–5 days, depending on material and finishing.
Our historical late-delivery probability is below 2%. We do not promise dates we cannot hold, so the schedule is confirmed after the material check.
No minimum. We run from a single prototype to 10,000+ part runs on the same machines and the same inspection routine.
Turned parts require no tooling, so there is no reason to force a large first order.
Uploads are handled as secure and confidential. An NDA is available on request before you send files, and we hold ISO 27001:2022 for information security.
Your designs are not shared with other customers or used outside your project.
Upload a STEP or PDF and get a quote with DFM feedback within 12 hours. No minimum order quantity, 100% inspection before shipment.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo minimum orderNDA 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
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