Wexmar provides custom machined enclosures for electronics, instrumentation, sensor and defense hardware builders. At our Canastota, New York shop we produce CNC machined enclosures from solid aluminum, stainless and plastic: pocketed electronics housings, sealed sensor boxes, connector bodies and lids with gasket grooves, all machined to your drawing.
What machined enclosures do and who buys them
An enclosure protects electronics and sensors from impact, moisture, dust and electromagnetic interference, and provides mounting for boards, connectors and displays. Sheet metal and molded enclosures cover many products, but machined enclosures are chosen when the design needs thick, rigid walls, sealed joints, precise internal bosses, heat conduction to the case, or low-volume builds that do not justify mold tooling. Buyers include instrumentation and test equipment companies, electrical and connector manufacturers, medical device hardware suppliers, aerospace hardware programs and defense electronics builders.
How we machine CNC enclosures
Enclosures are machined on our six Mazak horizontal machining centers: two FH4800s, a PFH4800, a Nexus 4000-II and two Nexus 5000-II machines with pallet changers and 4th-axis rotaries. The horizontal orientation lets chips fall out of deep pockets, and the rotary indexes to each side wall so connector cutouts, mounting holes and vent features on four sides are cut in one setup to a common datum. We rough the pocket, release clamping, then finish walls and the sealing face to limit distortion in thin walls. See horizontal CNC milling.
These are 3- and 4-axis machines. We do not machine on 5-axis, and features on compound angles are handled with fixtures and extra setups we will review at quote stage. Round enclosures and cylindrical sensor housings are turned on our Mazak and Doosan CNC lathes with live tooling for side ports. See CNC turning.
Enclosure materials
- Aluminum: 6061-T6 for most enclosures, 7075 for higher strength, 5083 for marine environments.
- Stainless: 303, 304 and 316 for washdown, marine and medical service.
- Plastics: acetal, polycarbonate, ABS, Ultem and PEEK for non-conductive or RF-transparent housings.
- Others: titanium for weight-critical hardware and brass for small shielded housings.
Critical enclosure features and how we hold them
- Sealing face flatness: finished in a final pass after roughing so lids seal evenly on gaskets or O-rings.
- Gasket and O-ring grooves: width, depth and corner radii held to the gland or gasket design.
- Wall thickness: controlled for rigidity and weight, with thin-wall strategies for light enclosures.
- Connector cutouts: D-sub, circular MIL-style and custom cutouts located to the board layout.
- Internal bosses and threads: standoffs and tapped bosses positioned to the PCB hole pattern, with helical inserts where specified.
Typical tolerances and finishes
| Feature | Typical tolerance | Tighter on request |
|---|---|---|
| Overall dimensions | ±0.005 in | ±0.002 in |
| Sealing face flatness | 0.002 in | 0.001 in |
| O-ring groove width and depth | ±0.002 in | ±0.001 in |
| PCB boss position | 0.005 in | 0.002 in |
| Wall thickness | ±0.005 in | ±0.002 in |
| Milled surface finish | 63 Ra | 32 Ra |
These are typical values. Large, thin-walled enclosures may need extra stress relief or a semi-finish step, which we plan at quote stage.
Secondary operations
Anodizing (Type II and Type III), chem film for conductive EMI surfaces, powder coat, paint, silk screen marking, laser engraving and passivation are performed through qualified outside processors. We specify masking for grounding surfaces and threads. Formed sheet metal enclosures and welded boxes are not made in-house; we machine from solid. Helical inserts, press-in inserts and gasket installation are done in our shop.
Quantity patterns
Machined enclosures are often ordered in quantities where mold tooling is not justified: prototypes of 1 to 10, pilot builds of 25 to 100, and production runs of a few hundred. Pallet fixtures and our second shift support recurring releases.
Inspection
Pocket dimensions, boss positions, cutout locations and sealing face flatness are verified on our Brown & Sharpe CMMs. Grooves are checked with gages and on our Mitsubishi optical comparator, and threads with go/no-go plugs. AS9102-format first articles, CMM reports and material certs are available. See inspection and quality.
Getting a quote
Send a drawing and STEP model with material, finish, sealing requirements and quantity. You can upload a drawing for an instant estimate, and an estimator will confirm pricing. Or call (315) 400-2654. Related: housings and heat sinks.