5-Axis Machining.Evansville, Indiana
Parts that fit the first time start with holding them once. Five-axis machining reaches five sides of a block without moving it. Cores, cavities and electrodes come off in one setup, and every re-clamp avoided is error you never build in.
Complex surfaces in one setup?
5-axis centers
8: Mikron, Hermle, Leadwell
Mill-turn
Okuma Multus B300
Thru-spindle coolant
Across the Mikron fleet
Quality system
ISO 9001:2015
I know the part I need cut
Send the model or the print and get a price for your job.
Start a quote →I need to know if it fits your machines
The centers, the mill-turn cell and what runs with thru-spindle coolant.
See what fits →I have a part, not a model
Parts get reverse engineered, and designs start from an idea.
Start anyway →
Why us
Why cut it here?
Your part is held once
Five sides of a block without re-fixturing means less handling and a tighter stack-up. That is what makes interchangeable inserts interchangeable.
Mikron and Hermle five-axis centers
The machinists who run the cells write the programs
The programming happens on the floor, not handed down from an office that never sees the part.
Programs written in Mastercam on the floor
Electrodes never hold the queue up
Three automated graphite mills keep electrode supply ahead of the job rather than behind it.
3 automated Mikron graphite mills
What fits
A simple block is as welcome as a contoured core.
The work these cells are set up to cut.
- Cores and cavities
- Electrodes
- Interchangeable inserts
- Contoured surfaces
- Hardened and soft steel
- Outside contract work
Programs are written on the floor by the machinists who run the cells. Ask what your part should run on and you get a straight answer, including when another process suits it better.
What to expect
What you get before your work leaves.
One setup, five sides
Your block is held once, so the errors that come from re-fixturing never enter the stack-up.
Deep detail clears while it cuts
Thru-spindle coolant runs across the Mikron fleet, which is what lets deep features cut cleanly.
Inserts match cavity to cavity
Interchangeable inserts for multi-cavity molds are cut to match each other, not just to the print.
The dimensions are measured
Finished work is verified on a coordinate measuring machine, backed by optical measurement and height gauges.
Tell us what you need.
Who does it
The shop behind the work.
Dexterous has built molds in Evansville since 1979, and the second generation of the family runs it now. A tool built here comes back here for a repair, to the people who cut it.
New to this? What is 5-axis machining?
A 5-axis machining center reaches five sides of a block in a single setup. Fewer setups means less handling, less stack-up error and shorter cycle times on complex cores, cavities and electrodes. For mold work it is the difference between machining a contoured surface in one continuous operation and assembling it from compromises. Every time a part is unclamped and re-fixtured, a little more error creeps in; holding it once keeps the geometry true. That matters most on contoured surfaces, which mold work is full of. The same cells cut mold components and outside work.
Before you order
What engineers ask before sending a 5-axis job.
Do you take machining work from other shops?
Yes. Overflow machining and EDM work is welcome alongside our own tooling.
What software do you program in?
Mastercam for milling, Esprit for lathe and wire. Design work is done in Creo and SolidWorks.
Do you machine graphite as well as steel?
Yes. Three automated graphite mills cut the electrodes that feed the EDM bank. Electrode work never queues behind machining work.
Do you machine hardened tool steel?
Yes. The Mikron and Hermle cells cut hardened and soft steel with thru-spindle coolant, which is how engineering changes and repairs on heat-treated tools stay in-house.
Can you machine components for very large molds?
Yes. Molds are sized per tool, and we regularly build components for large molds even when the full tool is beyond our envelope.
Send the part, the print or the problem.
Rather talk it through?
(812) 422-8046Related: Mold Repair · Laser Welding · Wire, Hole Pop & Sinker EDM