Wexmar offers custom housing machining for OEMs that need bearing housings, gearbox cases, pump bodies, sensor housings and electronic chassis built to print. Our Canastota, New York shop combines CNC turning and 4-axis horizontal milling on one floor, so CNC machined housings with both round and prismatic features are completed under one roof.
What housings do and who buys them
A housing holds and aligns internal components. In mechanical assemblies it positions bearings, seals and gear shafts; in instruments it protects sensors and circuit boards. Because bearing bores and mounting faces set the alignment of everything inside, housing accuracy drives assembly performance. Our housing customers include power transmission and gearbox builders, pump and compressor OEMs, bearing manufacturers, instrumentation and electrical companies, medical hardware suppliers and defense build-to-print programs.
How we machine CNC housings
Prismatic housings run 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. On a horizontal, a housing can be indexed to machine opposite bearing bores in one setup, which holds line-bore alignment and parallel axes much better than flipping a part on a vertical mill. Pallet changers let the next part be loaded while the current one cuts.
Round housings, such as cartridge bearing housings, motor end bells and sensor bodies, start on our Mazak and Doosan CNC lathes. The Nexus 450-II handles larger diameters, and Y-axis live tooling adds bolt holes, flats and side ports in the same chucking. Parts that need both turned bores and milled faces often go lathe to horizontal with a datum carried between operations. See CNC milling and CNC turning.
Housing materials
- Aluminum: 6061-T6, 7075 and cast aluminum blanks supplied by the customer.
- Steel: 1018, 1045, 4140 and ductile iron bar or castings.
- Stainless: 303, 304, 316 and 17-4 PH for washdown, marine or medical service.
- Others: bronze, brass, titanium and engineered plastics.
We machine customer-supplied castings and forgings as well as bar and plate. Castings themselves are sourced through qualified outside processors if needed.
Critical housing features and how we hold them
- Bearing bore fits: bored and finished to tolerance classes such as H7, J7 or M7, measured with bore gages at multiple depths for taper and roundness.
- Bore alignment: opposing bores are machined from both sides in one horizontal setup to keep coaxiality.
- Center distance: gear shaft bores are located to the tolerance required for gear mesh, verified on CMM.
- Mounting face flatness and perpendicularity: faces are finished after roughing to release stress, then referenced to the bore axis.
- Seal and O-ring grooves: cut with form tools to the gland design.
Typical tolerances and finishes
| Feature | Typical tolerance | Tighter on request |
|---|---|---|
| Bearing bore diameter | ±0.0005 in | ±0.0003 in |
| Bore coaxiality | 0.001 in | 0.0005 in |
| Bore center distance | ±0.001 in | ±0.0005 in |
| Mounting face flatness | 0.002 in | 0.0005 in |
| Hole true position | 0.005 in | 0.002 in |
| Bearing bore finish | 32 Ra | 16 Ra |
These are typical values. Thin-wall aluminum housings may need a semi-finish and stress relief step before final bores, which we plan for at quote stage.
Secondary operations
Anodizing, chem film, powder coat, painting, plating, passivation and heat treat are performed through qualified outside processors. We handle masking instructions for bearing bores and threads so critical surfaces come back to size. Helicoil or threaded insert installation and light assembly such as bearing or seal pressing can be quoted.
Quantity patterns
Housing programs usually begin with 1 to 10 prototypes, then move into production lots of 50 to 500. For recurring demand, we run dedicated fixtures on pallets so releases go straight to the machine.
Inspection
Bore location, coaxiality and hole patterns are measured on our Brown & Sharpe CMMs, which are calibrated with NIST-traceable standards. Bore size is verified with bore gages, 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, bore fits, finish and quantity. You can upload a drawing for an instant estimate, and an estimator will confirm price and lead time. Or call (315) 400-2654. Related: machined enclosures.