📋 Case Study

Electronics Enclosure Precision Aluminum Housing Optimization

Dimensional warpage > 0.12 mm after machining and unclamping, failing GD&T tolerance stack

🏗️ Project Overview

Thin-wall CNC machining of 6061-T6 aluminum enclosures for 5G base stations

🎯 Challenge

Dimensional warpage > 0.12 mm after machining and unclamping, failing GD&T tolerance stack

🔧 Design Approach

Fixture-mounted stress-relief annealing pre-machining, balanced bilateral machining sequence, and real-time deflection compensation using strain gauge feedback

📐 Design Diagram

AI-generated project design illustration

📐 Key Calculations

Deflection Coefficient

E × t³ / (12 × (1−ν²) × L³)

Result: 0.0023 mm/N

Guided clamping force calibration

Thermal Recovery Ratio

ΔT × CTE × L

Result: 0.041 mm

Accounted for in final light-pass offsets

📊 Results

Warpage reduced to 0.028 mm, 100% pass rate on position tolerance (⌀0.05 mm), setup time cut 45% via modular fixturing

💡 Lessons Learned

• •Thin-wall distortion is predictable—and correctable—with physics-based modeling
• •Clamping force must be iteratively validated, not assumed

✅ Key Takeaways

• 1Thin-wall distortion is predictable—and correctable—with physics-based modeling
• 2Clamping force must be iteratively validated, not assumed