Wexmar provides custom valve body machining for valve manufacturers, fluid power companies and process equipment OEMs. From our Canastota, New York shop we produce CNC machined valve bodies, bonnets, seats, stems, spools and cartridge valve housings from bar, plate, forgings and customer-supplied castings, built to your drawing.
What valve bodies do and who buys them
A valve body is the pressure-containing shell of a valve. It carries the ports, the flow passages, the seat or bore the closing element works against, and the mounting for the bonnet or actuator. Because a valve body must seal and hold pressure, its bores, seats and port threads are critical features. Buyers include industrial valve manufacturers, hydraulic and pneumatic component makers, instrumentation and analyzer companies, pump and process equipment builders, and defense programs that need build-to-print valve hardware.
How we machine CNC valve bodies
Prismatic valve bodies, such as block-style hydraulic valves, ball valve bodies, manifold-mounted valves and instrument valve blocks, 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. The rotary indexes the body so ports, bores and mounting faces on four sides are machined in one setup, keeping intersecting passages on position. Horizontal spindles clear chips from deep bores and cross passages. These are 3- and 4-axis machines, and compound-angle ports are handled with angle fixtures. See horizontal CNC milling.
Round valve bodies, cartridge housings, bonnets, seats, stems and spools run on our Mazak and Doosan CNC lathes, including the Nexus 450-II for large bodies and the Multiplex 6300Y twin-spindle for finishing both ends in one cycle. Live tooling and Y-axis add side ports and flats. Small stems, poppets and seats up to 32 mm diameter run on our Maier MLK-32 Swiss machines. See CNC turning.
Valve body materials
- Stainless: 303, 304/304L, 316/316L, 17-4 PH and Nitronic 50 for process, food and corrosive service.
- Brass and bronze: C36000 brass and leaded or aluminum bronzes for water, air, fuel and marine valves.
- Steel: 12L14, 1018, 4140 and ductile iron bar for hydraulic valve bodies.
- High-nickel alloys: Monel, Inconel and Hastelloy for chemical, oxygen and high-temperature service.
- Others: aluminum, titanium and engineered plastics such as PVDF and PEEK.
Material certs and heat-lot traceability are available, and DFARS 252.225-7009 compliant sourcing can be specified.
Critical valve body features and how we hold them
- Spool and stem bores: bored, reamed and honed where specified, measured for size, roundness and taper.
- Seats: seat angle, diameter and finish cut with form tools concentric to the bore.
- Port threads: SAE J1926, NPT, BSPP and ISO 6149 ports with concentric spot faces.
- Passage intersection: cross-drilled passages located so they break through where designed, with break-throughs deburred.
- Bonnet and actuator mounting: bolt patterns and pilot bores located to the main bore axis.
Typical tolerances and finishes
| Feature | Typical tolerance | Tighter on request |
|---|---|---|
| Spool / stem bore | ±0.0005 in | ±0.0002 in |
| Seat to bore concentricity | 0.001 in | 0.0005 in |
| Seat angle | ±0.5 degree | ±0.25 degree |
| Port true position | 0.005 in | 0.002 in |
| Threads | UN 2B / NPT | UN 3B / NPTF |
| Seat and bore finish | 32 Ra | 16 Ra or finer |
These are typical values. Very fine bore finishes and tenth-level spool bores may call for honing or lapping, which we will discuss at quote stage.
Secondary operations
Passivation, electropolish, plating, anodizing, heat treat, hard facing and cleaning for oxygen service are performed through qualified outside processors. Pressure or leak testing and valve assembly requirements should be noted on the drawing so we can plan them with you. Castings and forgings are machined when supplied, or sourced through qualified outside processors.
Quantity patterns
Valve body programs range from 1 to 10 prototypes for qualification testing to production lots of 50 to 1,000. Repeat bodies run on dedicated pallet fixtures, and small valve components run lights-out on our Swiss machines.
Inspection
Bores are measured with calibrated bore gages at several depths, port and passage positions on our Brown & Sharpe CMMs, and seat angles and profiles on our Mitsubishi optical comparator. Threads are verified with go/no-go and L1 gages. AS9102-format first articles, CMM reports, material certs and heat-lot traceability are available. See inspection and quality.
Getting a quote
Send a drawing and STEP model with material, port specs, seat details and quantity. You can upload a drawing for an instant estimate, and an estimator will confirm pricing. Or call (315) 400-2654. Related: manifolds and fittings.