Online CNC machining service

Customers in the US and EU can choose local or global manufacturing for CNC machined parts. Local orders are manufactured within your customs zones and offer shorter lead times (from 5 days) and faster delivery as there's no need for shipments to clear customs. Global orders generally result in longer lead times at a lower price. The best option will depend on the timing and requirements of your project.

V1 was founded by mechanical engineers and we have many more engineers and technicians on our team. Together we've written a lot of content on CNC machining over the years. You can find a selection of resources below, or you can go to our Knowledge V1 and filter on CNC Machining to read case studies, in-depth design guidelines and explanations of different surface finishes.

We've also written a complete engineering guide to CNC machining. Here you can learn how the many different types of mill and lathe work and the different materials available, so you can easily compare their advantages and limitations. You'll also learn the basic design rules for machining and the most common applications for each material and finish, so you can make the right choice every time.

We use algorithms to identify the best manufacturer in our network for your specific order, based on their proximity to you, their experience with similar parts and their current available capacity. This allows us to balance our customers' requirements for speed, cost and quality better than ever before.

The main costs associated with CNC machining can be grouped into machining time, start-up costs, material costs and feature costs. To reduce costs, you need to understand the impact of these factors on costs.

The best way to reduce machining time is to design features that can be machined quickly, for example by choosing the correct radii for inside corners, reducing cavity depth, increasing wall thickness, limiting thread length and designing holes with standard sizes.

Material costs can be reduced by considering the size of the blank required and the cost and machinability of the bulk material (softer alloys are faster to machine).

Set-up costs can be reduced by reducing the number of part rotations or repositioning required to complete the part, for example by separating geometries into multiple parts that can be assembled later.

Feature costs can be reduced by using tolerances only where absolutely necessary, removing all text and lettering and avoiding multiple surface finishes.

These tips can be found in more detail in our full guide to reducing the cost of CNC machined parts.

We use machine learning algorithms to calculate the exact cost of any machinable part directly from a CAD file, based on millions of CNC machining jobs we've completed. No more waiting for engineers to email you back, we can give you an accurate quote instantly (well, in about 5 seconds).

This means you always know the price in advance. Simply upload a CAD file to generate a quote: get an instant CNC machining quote. Our quotes are completely free, you just need to create an account so we can protect your IP.

It's so easy to use that we encourage mechanical engineers to use it all the time as they optimise their designs for cost. Whenever you've made a new design iteration, simply load both the old and the new design into our quoting tool and see if the price is different.

This technology also means that our manufacturing partners don't have to do their own machining quotes, which means less overhead for them. This makes the whole process less expensive, which translates into lower prices for our customers.

Deburring and edge breaking are standard procedures for all CNC machined parts. If there are any critical edges that need to be left sharp, these must be clearly identified in the technical drawings. Surfaces will be free from defects such as scratches, dents, stains, blemishes, hanging marks, minor defects. Surfaces indicated as critical (primary (a) side, as indicated on the technical drawing) will be free of mill steps and other marks. For the secondary (b) side, minor hanging marks and up to 2 minor defects are acceptable. A number of post-processing and finishing methods can be used to improve the surface roughness, visual properties and wear resistance of machined parts.

At V1 we offer CNC milling (3 axis, 3+2 axis and 5 axis) and turning. Milled parts can be machined up to 2000 x 1500 x 200 mm (78.7 x 59.0 x 7.8 inches) for 3/3+2 axis CNC milling. For 5-axis milling, the maximum part size is 650 x 650 x 300 mm (25.5 x 25.5 x 11.8 inches). The maximum diameter for CNC turning is 431 mm (17 inches), length 990 mm (39 inches). Recommended minimum part dimensions are approximately 0.39 x 0.39 x 0.39 inches (10 x 10 x 10mm) and the minimum feature dimension is 0.5mm.

We are limited to a maximum part size of 1000mm (39 inches) on our platform. If you need larger dimensions, you can make the request through your account manager.

We guarantee that our manufacturing partners meet ISO 2768 standards for all CNC machined parts. Parts machined in metal will follow ISO 2768-m (medium) or ISO 2768-f (fine). Plastic machined parts will be to 2768-m (medium). Geometric tolerances to ± 0004 in (0.010 mm) are possible but must be clearly stated on the technical drawings. We can achieve tighter tolerances on shafts up to H7 fits with manual quotation and occasionally tighter.