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5-Axis Drilling Service
Are you looking for a way to make complex parts with perfect holes from any angle? 5-axis machining might be just what you need! At Istar Machining, we help companies make amazing parts using this special drilling method. Let’s learn all about it!
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20+ Years
Istar Machining's years in the industry
300,000 square feet
The size of Istar Machining's factory
856 CNC machines
Our CNC equipment count
2000+ skilled workers
Istar's number of skilled machinists/operators
What is 5-Axis Drilling?
5-axis drilling is a super smart way to make holes in parts. Regular machines can only move in 3 ways (up/down, left/right, forward/back), but 5-axis machines can also turn and tilt. This means they can drill holes at any angle without having to stop and move the part.
Think of it like this: normal drilling is like using a regular drill at home where you have to keep moving your workpiece. But 5-axis drilling is like having magic hands that can hold the drill at any angle while your part stays in one spot!
Why Choose 5-Axis Instead of Regular Drilling?
Here’s why so many companies love using 5-axis drilling:
- Much Faster: Makes parts up to 60% quicker because you don’t need to keep stopping and moving things
- Super Accurate: Can make holes with ±0.001mm precision (that’s thinner than a human hair!)
- Complex Shapes: Can drill curvy holes, angled holes, and even holes that go around corners
- One-Time Setup: Finishes all drilling in one go, saving lots of time
Cool Features of 5-Axis Drilling Machines
Feature | What It Does | Why It Matters |
High-Speed Spindles | Spins up to 50,000 RPM | Makes clean, smooth holes without rough edges |
Tool Monitors | Watches drill bits for wear | Tells you when to change tools before they break |
Cooling System | Sprays coolant through the drill bit | Helps drill tough materials like titanium without overheating |
Measuring Probes | Checks parts during machining | Makes sure everything is perfect while working |
Smart Controls | Computer brain for the machine | Helps make complex shapes automatically |
What Can You Make With 5-Axis Drilling?
5-Axis drilling is perfect for many different industries:
Airplane Parts
Use it for wing pieces, engine parts, and fuel nozzles. The precision is perfect for parts that need to be light but super strong.
Medical Devices
Makes tiny holes (smaller than 1mm!) for things like bone implants and surgical tools. The clean finish is great for parts that go in the human body.
Car Parts
Perfect for engine blocks, special cooling channels, and parts for electric cars. Can drill holes at weird angles that would be impossible with regular machines.
Energy Equipment
Great for wind turbine parts and oil drilling equipment that need strong, precise holes.
Big Benefits for Your Business
Switching to 5-axis drilling can really help your company:
- Save Money: Needs 80% fewer workers to run
- Less Waste: Uses materials smarter, so you throw away less
- Less Downtime: Smart sensors tell machinists when maintenance is needed before things break
- Faster Delivery: Get parts to you much quicker
Works with Mainstream Software
Our 5-axis drilling machines work with all the popular design software:
- Mastercam
- Fusion 360
- Siemens NX
Materials and Their Best Uses
Our advanced 5-axis drilling capabilities allow us to work with a diverse range of materials, enabling the creation of complex geometries, angled holes, and intricate features with high precision. Here’s a look at the materials we commonly process:
Metals
Aluminum
Stainless Steel
Alloy Steel
Titanium
Brass
Copper
Superalloys
Aluminum
(Common Grades: 6061, 7075, 5052, 2024) is lightweight, corrosion-resistant, has excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, and offers superb machinability, making it ideal for complex 5-axis operations.
Good for:
- Complex housings and enclosures with angled ports or mounting points
- Aerospace components requiring weight savings and intricate features
- Automotive parts (e.g., engine blocks, suspension components with complex geometry)
- Jigs, fixtures, and tooling with multi-angle access points
- Heat sinks and thermal management parts with optimized, complex fin structures
- Manifolds and fluid handling blocks with intersecting angled channels
- High-speed prototypes requiring intricate details
Why customers love it: “It provides an outstanding balance of strength, weight, machinability, and cost-effectiveness. Its ease of machining allows for rapid creation of highly complex parts using 5-axis techniques, perfect for both prototyping and production.”
Stainless Steel
(Common Grades: 304, 316, 17-4 PH) offers high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and good heat resistance. While more challenging to machine than aluminum, 5-axis drilling enables complex features in durable parts.
Good for:
- Medical devices and surgical instruments requiring biocompatibility and intricate forms
- Food processing equipment with complex, hygienic designs
- Aerospace components operating in demanding environments
- Marine hardware needing corrosion resistance and strength
- Chemical processing equipment with complex internal pathways
- Components requiring high durability and precisely angled holes or features
Why customers love it: “Its superior durability and resistance to corrosion and heat make it suitable for harsh environments. 5-axis drilling allows for the creation of robust parts with complex geometries that would be difficult otherwise.”
Alloy Steel
(Common Grades: 4140, 4340) provides higher strength, toughness, and wear resistance compared to mild steel. Often heat-treatable for enhanced properties. 5-axis drilling is used for creating precise features in strong components.
Good for:
- High-stress automotive and aerospace components (e.g., gears, shafts)
- Industrial machinery parts requiring durability and complex shapes
- Tooling, molds, and dies with complex cooling channels or features
- Fixtures requiring high strength and precisely located angled holes
- Defense application components
Why customers love it: “Offers enhanced mechanical properties for demanding applications where strength and wear resistance are critical. 5-axis drilling enables precise features like oil passages or mounting points on complex surfaces of these tough materials.”
Titanium
(Common Grades: Grade 2, Grade 5 / Ti-6Al-4V) boasts an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, excellent corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility. Machining is challenging but necessary for high-performance applications often requiring 5-axis capabilities.
Good for:
- Aerospace structural components and engine parts
- Medical implants (bone screws, joint replacements) requiring complex shapes
- High-performance automotive components
- Marine applications where lightweight strength and corrosion resistance are key
- Chemical processing equipment exposed to aggressive media
Why customers love it: “Unmatched performance for weight-critical, high-temperature, corrosive, or biocompatible applications. 5-axis drilling is often essential to create the necessary intricate geometries demanded by these advanced sectors.”
Brass
(Common Alloys: C360) is known for its excellent machinability, good corrosion resistance, and electrical conductivity. It’s easily formed into complex shapes using 5-axis techniques.
Good for:
- Intricate plumbing fittings and valve components
- Electrical connectors and terminals with complex angles
- Musical instrument parts
- Decorative hardware requiring precise details
- Components needing low friction and good machinability
Why customers love it: “Extremely easy to machine, allowing for high-speed production of complex parts with fine details and excellent surface finishes using 5-axis drilling and milling.”
Copper
(Common Alloys: C101, C110) offers outstanding electrical and thermal conductivity. It’s relatively soft and requires careful machining, but 5-axis allows for complex shapes maximizing its properties.
Good for:
- Electrical components (e.g., busbars, connectors with complex routing)
- Heat exchangers and thermal management components with intricate designs
- High-performance inductors and conductive elements
- Plumbing and fluid handling where conductivity or antimicrobial properties are needed
Why customers love it: “Its superior conductivity is critical for many electrical and thermal applications. 5-axis machining enables the creation of complex geometries needed to optimize performance in these areas.”
Superalloys
(e.g., Inconel, Hastelloy, Monel) are nickel-, cobalt-, or iron-based alloys designed for extreme environments involving high temperatures, high stresses, and corrosive atmospheres. They are very difficult to machine, often necessitating advanced 5-axis techniques.
Good for:
- Gas turbine engine components (blades, combustion chambers)
- Aerospace applications requiring high-temperature strength
- Chemical and petrochemical processing equipment
- Nuclear industry components
- Oil and gas exploration tools
Why customers love it: “Provides unparalleled performance in the most extreme conditions where other metals fail. 5-axis machining is often the only way to produce the highly complex parts required for these critical applications.”
Plastics & Composites
PEEK
Delrin (Acetal/POM)
Nylon
Polycarbonate (PC)
ABS
Acrylic (PMMA)
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP)
Fiberglass (GRP / GFRP)
PEEK
(Polyether Ether Ketone) is a high-performance engineering thermoplastic known for its excellent mechanical strength, high-temperature resistance, chemical inertness, and biocompatibility.
Good for:
- Medical implants and instruments requiring sterilization and strength
- Aerospace components needing lightweight, high-temp performance
- Semiconductor handling parts (low outgassing, high purity)
- Demanding industrial applications (e.g., bearings, seals) with complex shapes
- Components requiring metal-like performance with polymer benefits
Why customers love it: “Offers exceptional performance across a wide range of demanding conditions, including high temperatures and chemical exposure. 5-axis drilling allows for intricate designs suitable for medical and aerospace use.”
Delrin (Acetal/POM)
Delrin (Acetal/POM) is an engineering thermoplastic characterized by its high stiffness, low friction, excellent dimensional stability, and good machinability.
Good for:
- Precision mechanical parts (gears, bearings, cams)
- Jigs, fixtures, and assembly aids with complex locating features
- Electrical insulators requiring tight tolerances
- Fluid handling components (valves, pump parts)
- Consumer product components needing durability and low friction
Why customers love it: “Provides a great balance of stiffness, low friction, and machinability, making it ideal for precise mechanical components. 5-axis drilling easily creates complex features and tight tolerance holes.”
Nylon
Nylon (PA) is a versatile engineering thermoplastic known for its toughness, wear resistance, and good chemical resistance. Various grades offer different properties (e.g., PA6, PA66, Glass-filled).
Good for:
- Wear pads, rollers, and bearings
- Gears and structural components requiring toughness
- Automotive engine covers and components
- Electrical connectors and housings
- Prototypes requiring functional testing under load
Why customers love it: “Offers good toughness and wear resistance at a reasonable cost. 5-axis drilling allows for complex shapes and features in functional prototypes and end-use parts.”
Polycarbonate (PC)
Polycarbonate (PC) is a strong, impact-resistant thermoplastic that is naturally transparent. It maintains rigidity up to relatively high temperatures.
Good for:
- Machine guards and protective shields with complex cutouts or mounting holes
- Optical components (lenses – though polishing is separate)
- Automotive components (headlight lenses – requires coating)
- Medical device housings requiring transparency and impact resistance
- Prototypes needing clarity and toughness
Why customers love it: “Its high impact strength and transparency are key advantages. 5-axis drilling enables precise features, holes, and cutouts on complex curved or angled surfaces.”
ABS
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) is a common thermoplastic known for its toughness, impact resistance, and ease of processing. It’s often used for prototyping and general-purpose parts.
Good for:
- Functional prototypes with complex features
- Housings and enclosures for electronic devices
- Automotive interior trim parts
- Consumer product components
- Jigs and fixtures where high strength isn’t paramount
Why customers love it: “A cost-effective and versatile material, great for prototyping complex designs using 5-axis techniques before committing to more expensive materials or tooling.”
Acrylic (PMMA)
Acrylic (PMMA) is a rigid thermoplastic known for its excellent clarity, weather resistance, and availability in various colors. It is more brittle than Polycarbonate.
Good for:
- Display cases and signage with intricate designs
- Light pipes and optical components requiring specific shapes
- Architectural models
- Fluidic manifolds (often requires polishing for clarity)
- Prototypes where high optical clarity is needed
Why customers love it: “Offers exceptional optical clarity, similar to glass but lighter and easier to machine into complex shapes using 5-axis methods, although care must be taken due to its brittleness.”
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP)
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) consists of strong carbon fibers embedded in a polymer matrix (typically epoxy). It offers an extremely high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness but is abrasive to machine.
Good for:
- Aerospace structural components and panels
- High-performance automotive bodies, chassis parts, and aerodynamic elements
- Robotics arms and end-effectors requiring stiffness and low weight
- Sporting goods (bicycle frames, racing equipment)
- Drones and UAV components
Why customers love it: “Provides ultimate lightweight strength and stiffness critical for performance applications. 5-axis drilling is essential for accurately creating complex mounting holes, trimming edges, and contouring without causing delamination in this advanced material.”
Fiberglass (GRP / GFRP)
Fiberglass (Glass Reinforced Polymer / GFRP) uses glass fibers in a polymer matrix. It offers good strength, durability, and corrosion resistance at a lower cost than CFRP, but is also abrasive to machine.
Good for:
- Automotive body panels and components
- Marine hulls and structures
- Industrial tanks and piping
- Architectural panels and features
- Electrical enclosures and insulators
Why customers love it: “A cost-effective composite solution offering good strength and environmental resistance. 5-axis drilling allows for precise shaping, trimming, and hole placement needed for assembly and integration.”
CNC Products Produced by Istar Machining
The Complete Package
When you choose Istar Machining for your CNC prototype machining, you’re getting a complete solution. We help with:
- Designing parts that work perfectly with 5-axis drilling
- Making prototypes quickly for testing
- Setting up production for any quantity you need
- Quality checking every part with precision tools
Perfect for Complex Projects
If your project has challenging requirements, 5-axis drilling shines brightest. Unlike simple CNC drilling methods, our advanced 5-axis approach handles:
- Deep holes that stay perfectly straight
- Patterns of holes at different angles
- Holes that need super-smooth finishes
- Parts that would normally need multiple setups
Get Start Today！
Ready to see how 5-axis drilling can transform your manufacturing? Contact Istar Machining today for a free consultation! We’ll show you how our precision machining services can save time, cut costs, and improve your final products.
Send Us Your Design
Upload your CAD files (like STEP or IGES format)
Get a Quick Quote
We'll tell you the price and timeline within 1 hour
We Make Your Parts
Our skilled machinists program the CNC machines
Quality Check
Every part is inspected before shipping
Safe Delivery
Your parts arrive on time, ready to use
Frequently Asked Question
Yes, for most metals! It’s faster and often cheaper. The only time you might want the others is for super-hard materials.
It’s more expensive at first, but most companies save about 40% on costs over three years because they finish parts so much faster with fewer mistakes.
We can make holes as small as 0.5mm (about the width of a strand of spaghetti) with excellent finish quality!
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