CNC milling is often chosen for engineering-plastic components with complex, non-cylindrical geometries, including flat surfaces, pockets, slots, contours, drilled holes and features positioned across multiple faces. Multi-axis milling can produce intricate components to tight tolerances while providing considerable flexibility during prototyping and design development.
Compared with CNC turning, milling is better suited to square, rectangular, irregular or three-dimensional parts. Turning is generally faster and more efficient for rotationally symmetrical components such as bushes, sleeves, rollers and sealing rings, whereas milling provides greater freedom when a component cannot be produced by rotating the workpiece around a central axis.