We mill aluminum and brass keyboard cases for custom keyboard 3Ds CIA builds. Wall thickness, gasket grooves, screw bosses and plate fit are cut to your CAD, with anodizing or gold plating on the same floor.
Most failures show up after anodizing or at first assembly. Here is what we see on incoming drawings.
A 2 mm wall machined from 6061 can move 0.05–0.10 mm once the oxide layer builds. If the PCB tray and the top case were cut to the same nominal size, the seam opens. We leave stock and cut the mating faces after finishing, or move to 7075 where stiffness holds the shape.
A groove 0.2 mm too deep gives no compression and the case sounds hollow. Too shallow and the gasket pinches at the corners. The groove width, depth and corner radius have to match the gasket cord you actually bought, not the one in the render.
M2.5 threads in soft aluminum strip quickly when the boss wall is under 1.2 mm. We check boss diameter against thread depth and can add a threaded insert bore or switch the boss to brass if the design gets opened often.
Switch cutouts are usually the tightest feature on the part. If the plate is laser cut to nominal and the case pocket is milled to nominal, tolerance stacks the wrong way in the corners. We cut pockets to the plate sample or to a defined clearance.
Two things decide whether a keyboard case feels right: how the internals are cut, and how the surface is finished.
A keyboard case is mostly internal work. The PCB tray, plate pocket, gasket channel, USB-C opening and screw bosses all sit inside a part that is often 300 mm long and 15 mm tall. We rough the pocket on a three-axis mill, then finish the corner radii and the angled side walls on a five-axis center so the tool reaches the pocket floor without a long overhang.
Long, thin cases move when you take material out. We hold them on a fixture that supports the underside, not in a vise on the outer walls, and we take light finishing passes after a stress-relief pause on the roughing stock. For a 65% or TKL layout, that is usually enough to hold the tray flat within 0.05 mm across the length.
6061-T6 is the default for aluminum cases. It machines cleanly, anodizes evenly and keeps a sharp edge. 7075 gives a stiffer, higher-pitched case but costs more and is harder to anodize to a consistent color. Brass and copper weigh two to three times more and ring lower; they need bead blasting or a clear coat if you do not want fingerprints on every surface.
Finish changes dimensions, so we plan it before the first cut. Hardcoat anodizing builds 25–50 μm per surface and is not cosmetic-friendly on tight bores, so we mask or pre-size those features. For a two-tone case, we machine the second color step after the first anodize, which is slower but keeps the color break crisp. Gold plating over electroless nickel is available for accent rings, badges and weight blocks.
Pick by weight, sound and finish, not by what is left in the rack.
| Material | Typical case use | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| 6061-T6 | Most aluminum cases, plates | Anodize color shifts between lots |
| 7075 | Stiff, high-pitch cases | Harder to anodize evenly |
| 2024 | Weight blocks, stiff plates | Poor corrosion resistance bare |
| Brass C36000 | Weighted cases, accents | Heavy, needs coating or blasting |
| 304 stainless | Plates, weights, badges | Slow to cut, tool wear |
| POM / PC | Insulator plates, dampers | Thermal growth vs aluminum |
One supplier for the case, the plate, the weight and the finish.
Angled side walls, pocket floors and undercuts cut in one setup. Used on cases where a three-axis tool cannot reach the corner without a long, chattering tool.
The workhorse for trays, plates, standoffs and weight blocks. Fast cycle times on flat parts that do not need a fifth axis.
Rotary knobs, feet, spacers and threaded bosses. Mill-turn centers handle parts that need turning and cross-drilling in one program.
A machined or printed case for fit checks before you commit to a production run. Useful when the plate and PCB are still moving.
Anodizing, plating, powder coating, blasting, brushing and laser marking, with the masking planned at the drawing stage.
No minimum order quantity. One prototype and a 10,000-part run go through the same inspection steps.
Applies to aluminum, brass and stainless housings.
| Item | Standard scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case size | Up to 4,000 mm travel | Covers 40% to full-size layouts |
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm on critical fits | ±0.0002 in if you quote imperial |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm machined | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm on request |
| Threads | M2 to M8, plus inserts | Insert bores cut to your spec |
| Marking | Laser, 1.5 mm min height | Logos, layout names, serials |
| Inspection | 100% before shipment | Reports available on request |
Fifteen years in Dongguan, three plants, 127 CNC machines.
Three wholly owned plants and 7,600 m² of floor space, with 150 technicians across milling, turning and finishing.
Held on plate pockets, gasket grooves and screw bosses, checked with calibrated instruments before the part leaves the machine.
Send a STEP file and we return a quotation plus a manufacturability review within 12 hours, including the features that need a design change.
Once the drawing and finish are locked, machining can begin within 24 hours. No waiting on a batch to fill.
One prototype or a 10,000+ run. The prototype is machined on the same machines that cut the production parts.
Raw material check, in-process monitoring and final inspection. Dimension reports on request.
Two-piece tray and top case, gasket mounted, sealed after anodizing.
Dense weight with engraved logo, bead blasted, clear coated.
Plates cut to a supplied sample so cutouts matched on the first assembly.
One-off case for a fit check before a production run was released.
A STEP or Parasolid file is best. Add a 2D drawing for the fits that matter: plate pocket, gasket groove, screw boss threads and any datum you want inspected.
If the plate and PCB are still moving, send what you have and tell us which dimensions are fixed. We will flag the ones that need a decision before machining starts.
Yes, if the geometry is clean. Mesh files often need the pocket walls squared and the screw bosses rebuilt as solid features before they can be cut.
We review the model and tell you which features will be remodelled. That is part of the DFM feedback that comes with the quote.
6061-T6 is the safe default. It machines well, anodizes evenly and keeps a crisp edge on thin walls.
Choose 7075 if you want a stiffer case with a higher-pitched sound and can accept a less consistent anodize. Brass and copper are for weight and a lower tone, but they need a coating if you want to avoid fingerprints.
Type II anodizing builds roughly 10–25 μm per surface and hardcoat runs higher. That matters on bores and on any press fit.
We mask or pre-size those features so the finished part meets the drawing, not the pre-finish part.
Send the cord diameter and we will cut the groove to give the compression you want. Groove depth and width are set from the cord, not from a default.
For gasket-mounted cases, the gap between the top and bottom case matters as much as the groove. We hold that gap with a machined step or standoffs.
M2 is practical in 6061 if the boss wall is thick enough and the thread is not opened often. Below that, or in a boss that gets disassembled repeatedly, we recommend a threaded insert.
We check boss diameter against thread depth in the DFM review and tell you when an insert bore makes more sense.
There is no minimum order quantity. A group buy of 50 or 100 cases runs on the same machines as a single prototype, with the same inspection steps.
For repeat runs we keep the program and fixture, so the second batch matches the first without re-programming.
Uploads are kept confidential and we can sign an NDA before you send files. The NDA is available on request.
Files are not shared outside the project team, and finished parts ship with the drawings you supplied, not a revised internal version.
Upload a STEP file and we return pricing plus DFM notes on the features that need a decision. One prototype or a full run.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo minimum orderNDA on request
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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.
CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
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