In-House Manual and CNC Machining Services
At Baillie Fabricating & Welding, we’re known for sheet metal fabrication. You may not know that we also offer CNC milling and manual machining services, blending sheet metal craftsmanship with an ever-expanding selection of manufacturing solutions.
With the ability to machine small-scale production runs and unique one-off parts, our increasingly comprehensive capabilities allow us to perform more work in-house and maintain greater control over every job’s quality and lead times.
Manual Machining Services
Not all jobs require CNC solutions. Manual machining offers accuracy, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness for one-off tasks or repair work such as drilling & tapping or slotting of holes in existing parts. Free from the setup costs of CNC, manual machining is ideal for smaller, simpler jobs.
The Baillie Fab facility currently operates two Bridgeport mills and a Colchester engine lathe.
Bridgeport manual mills
Bridgeports are versatile manual milling machines. The Bridgeport is ideal for custom one-off parts, especially those requiring significant manual intervention. We also use these manual mills for larger parts that may not fit in our CNC mini mill and for various repair jobs. The Bridgeport is capable of these manual processes:
Facing
Milling
Boring
Drilling
Reaming
Tapping
Manual lathe
Manual lathes are perfect for projects requiring basic yet precise turning operations. With the manual lathe, we can perform these processes:
OD & ID turning
Drilling & tapping
Facing
Knurling
Sanding
When manual machining makes the most sense
Because Baillie Fab accepts one-off and small-run jobs, we have frequent opportunities to leverage manual machining processes for our customers, including these examples from our shop floor:
Drilling and tapping on a large base plate. A contractor needed four corner holes drilled and tapped in a large, 1” thick base plate, which exceeded the capacity of our mini mill. Because the holes’ tolerances were not critical, we could achieve sufficient precision with the Bridgeport.
Repair work involving broken components. When a customer brought us a damaged part with a broken tap, the most time- and cost-efficient solution was to use the Bridgeport to redrill and retap the part’s holes.
Precise modifications for unique one-off parts. When a customer’s weldment required modification, manual machining provided a simple solution for carefully opening an existing slot without undertaking costly, time-consuming CNC setup.
Manual machining for oversized workpieces
The Bridgeport’s versatility was particularly evident in a recent project involving extensive keyway cutting. We were tasked with machining keyways into extraordinarily long steel shafts, measuring between 10’ to 16’ in length and up to 3” in diameter. A CNC mill couldn’t accommodate workpieces of this size, so we managed the large shafts by using both Bridgeports: one for milling operations and the other as an auxiliary support table.
This approach highlights the advantage of manual machining for handling oversized or unusually shaped workpieces when CNC machining may not be necessary or feasible.
CNC Milling Services
CNC machining offers exceptional accuracy with minimal manual intervention. At Baillie Fab, we use a CNC mini mill for small parts with intricate geometries, emphasizing low-quantity productions where consistency and precision are critical.
CNC mini mill
Our CNC mini mill provides optimum precision, making it the go-to solution for complex parts and volume-driven processes. With a decently sized work envelope and an automated tool changer, the mini mill efficiently handles parts with multiple features and tooling requirements. Our CNC mini mill supports these processes and more:
Face milling
Side milling
Drilling, tapping & thread forming
Engraving
When our in-house CNC machining services make sense
Our vetted vendor partners are on hand for CNC machining jobs our mini mill can’t handle. However, when standard machining operations are necessary post-fabrication, the mini mill sees plenty of action. Here are a few examples of our shop’s most common CNC milling applications:
Production runs and repeat orders
Parts requiring multiple operations
Parts with high-accuracy and high-precision specifications
Part marking
Baillie Fab’s Evolving CNC Machining Services
As our Pennsylvania metal fabrication shop grows and evolves, we’re committed to expanding our capabilities to provide the most comprehensive range of in-house services possible.
Our current CNC and manual machining services have already added significant value to our service options, and customers can look forward to even more CNC machining solutions in the future!
