What Is 21 Micro Milling?

21 Micro Milling is five times smoother than Blanchard Grinding. What is micro milling?

21 Micro Milling is a patented process we created that enables us to machine plates flat and parallel, and hold tolerances much tighter than Blanchard Grinding. We’re able to do this in half the time it used to take. Not only does it save our customers time, but it saves them a lot of money. 

We received the 21 Micro Milling patent in October 2019 and we already have several customers that use this process to build their dies and molds in a much shorter time. The ‘old ways’ would take the time to go in and machine the interior holes of steel plates, and machine the top and the bottom on a horizontal spindle. The result would be similar —  a fine, detailed, flat and parallel surface. We’re able to provide a surface that’s five times smoother in half the time.

This means our customers can use our steel plates to build their dies and their molds more accurately. The condition in which our plates leave our facility save our customers a lot of time during the tryout process.

We use an indicator to run across our plates and measure the flatness. It’s something you just can’t do with Blanchard Grinding — and we check every plate every time. One of the enormous advantages of 21 Micro Milling is the fact that we can machine these plates without friction heat. We don’t use coolant, and believe it or not, the plates are cool to the touch (as its being Micro Milled). 

It’s beautiful. It’s smooth. It’s accurate. It’s a steel plate that will save everybody a lot of time and money.