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[Katharina Engelhardt]

For a mounting plate for a precision sensor (about 200 mm × 200 mm) I was going to call out a flatness of 0.05 mm, but my senior engineer says that’s overkill and will double the machining time/cost. The plate is 10 mm thick 6061‑T6. Is 0.05 actually “expensive” to hit on a standard mill, or is he just being old school? What’s a “safe” flatness for a general ground surface that won’t break the bank?

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[UlrichHartmann]

You’re not entirely wrong to be cautious. 0.05 mm flatness on a 200 × 200 mm plate is achievable, but it’s tight for a standard 3-axis mill. You’re talking extra passes, slower feeds, and possibly hand scraping or surface grinding if the machine isn’t perfectly tuned – as is quite often the case. Old school manual scraping is great.

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[John Song]

0.05 mm flatness on a 200 × 200 mm plate is achievable，For details, please refer to：https://zscncparts.com/

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[Elisa Neubauer]

For 6061‑T6 at that thickness, a flatness of 0.1 mm is usually safe and inexpensive on a standard milling setup. Grinding or lapping can bring you down to 0.05 mm if you really need it, but it will increase cycle time and scrap risk. If your sensor mounting is sensitive to tilt or warping, you can specify 0.08–0.1 mm and perform a few hand checks or surface-finish checks. Otherwise, 0.05 mm flatness is probably overkill and will cost more than it’s worth.

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