We machine premium aluminum alloy phone stands from 6061-T6 and 7075 on 5-axis centers, holding ±0.005 mm on hinge bores, mating faces and cable slots. Anodizing, bead blasting and laser marking run in-house.
These are the four failures we see most often when a stand moves from prototype to production.
A hinge bore drilled 0.05 mm oversize feels fine on day one. Under load it wears in, and the phone tips forward while the user is typing. The fix is boring the hinge in one setup and holding ±0.005 mm on bore diameter and position.
The same anodizing bath produces three shades if the alloy temper varies. A batch of 6061 mixed with 6063 shows visible color banding under office lighting, and the customer sees it before you do.
A 12 mm slot looks generous in CAD. Add a molded USB-C overmold and a braided cable, and it jams. Users force the plug, chip the anodized edge, and return the stand.
Adhesive-backed pads debond when the stand sits in a hot delivery van. The base then scratches the desk and the unit arrives with four loose pads in the box. Press fit or recessed pockets solve this at the drawing stage.
From bar stock to anodized stand, all operations stay inside our Dongguan plant.
A phone stand looks simple until you stack the tolerances. The hinge bore, the cradle face and the cable slot all have to line up, or the phone sits at the wrong viewing angle. We machine the body on a 5-axis center so the hinge axis, base face and slot are cut without re-fixturing. That removes the datum shift that shows up when you move a part across three machines.
For 7075-T6 arms we rough, stress-relieve, then finish. Aluminum moves after heavy stock removal, and a stand that was straight on the bench can bow 0.03 mm after anodizing if the internal stress is left in. A light finish pass after relief holds the geometry.
Surface finish is where a stand stops looking like a machined block. We bead blast the body to a uniform matte, then anodize in clear, black or a matched color. Hardcoat anodizing is available for stands that see daily handling; it adds wear resistance but shifts dimensions by roughly half the coating thickness, so we account for it in the drawing.
Laser marking sits in the same building. Logos and port labels engrave after anodizing, with a minimum character height of 1.5 mm. If your logo has thin strokes below that, we will flag it during DFM rather than burn an unreadable mark.
Pick the alloy by load, finish and volume, not by habit.
| Alloy | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| 6061-T6 | General stands, tablet holders, desk accessories | Anodizes evenly, machines clean |
| 7075-T6 | Thin arms, heavy phones, high stiffness | Anodize color shifts, needs stress relief |
| 6082 | Stands needing better corrosion resistance | Slightly gummier to tap than 6061 |
| 5052 | Sheet-formed bases and bent brackets | Not for high-strength threaded joints |
| ADC12 | Die-cast bases at higher volume | Porosity can show through anodizing |
A stand rarely needs only one process. These are the ones we keep in-house.
Hinge bores, angled cradles and organic shapes cut in one setup on 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers.
Bodies, pivots, pins and threaded inserts. Mill-turn centers handle stands with round and prismatic features.
One-off stands for fit checks and trade shows, quoted and started without tooling cost.
Bead blasting, brushing, polishing, anodizing, plating and laser marking handled before shipment.
Bent steel or aluminum bases and mounting plates when a stand needs a wider footprint.
ADC12 bases for runs where casting plus finish machining beats cutting from solid.
Numbers you can check against your drawing.
| Item | Capability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm | Critical bores and mating faces |
| Finish | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm | As-machined standard, finer on request |
| Max part size | 4,000 mm | Longest travel across the machine floor |
| Order size | 1 to 10,000+ | No minimum order quantity |
| Lead time | 3–5 days | After drawing and material sign-off |
| Inspection | 100% before shipment | Reports on request |
Data points, not adjectives.
Fifteen years on aluminum, steel, titanium and plastics, with 150 technicians across 3 wholly-owned plants.
The floor includes 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers, 12 four-axis mills and 16 mill-turn centers.
Equivalent to ±0.0002 in. Held on hinge bores, bearing seats and mating faces.
Send a STEP file and we return a quote with manufacturability notes inside 12 hours.
ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 27001:2022 cover quality, automotive, medical and data security.
Raw material check, in-process monitoring and final inspection on every order before it ships.
Display and dock stands for test benches, anodized black to match equipment.
Bases and brackets that hold tablets at the operator station on a production line.
Cleanable stands for bedside monitors, machined to a smooth, crevice-free profile.
Mounting cradles for handheld pendants and control tablets on automated cells.
There is no minimum order quantity. A single machined stand for a fit check and a 10,000-piece production run both go through the same process.
For one-offs we usually cut from 6061-T6 plate and finish by hand. Above a few hundred pieces, a die-cast base can reduce cost if the geometry allows it.
6061-T6 handles most stands. It machines cleanly, anodizes evenly and costs less per kilogram.
7075-T6 makes sense when an arm is thin and carries a heavy tablet, or when stiffness matters more than finish color consistency. It machines harder and the anodized shade is less predictable.
Type II anodizing builds roughly half the coating thickness into the surface, so a 10 μm coating grows a face by about 5 μm per side.
On hinge bores and mating faces we mask or compensate in the CAM model. Hardcoat is thicker and we always account for it before the finish pass.
We work from a color chip or a Pantone reference and run a sample panel first.
Aluminum alloy and temper affect the final shade, so the same bath gives slightly different results on 6061 and 7075. Keeping one alloy per batch is the reliable way to avoid banding.
A STEP or IGES file plus a 2D drawing for tolerances and finish callouts. Native SolidWorks and Fusion files also work.
If the drawing is not ready, send the STEP anyway. Our DFM review inside 12 hours will flag thin walls, tight radii and slots that a standard connector will not pass.
Adhesive pads are the usual failure point. We prefer a shallow recessed pocket or a press-fit bore in the base.
Both hold the pad mechanically, so heat in transit does not lift it. The pocket adds one machining operation and solves a whole category of returns.
Uploads stay confidential and we sign an NDA on request before reviewing files.
Our ISO 27001:2022 certification covers how we handle customer data and drawings internally.
Quotation and DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of sign-off.
Standard parts ship in 3–5 days. Multi-operation stands with anodizing and laser marking add a step, and we will state the real date in the quote rather than promise a round number.
Upload a STEP file and we return pricing plus DFM notes 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
Material: not selected Machine: not selected Post-process: not selected
