Vacuum Test Fixture Plate with 0.008mm Flatness Aluminum Seal Groove for Leak Testing Stations

This plate is the working surface of a leak test station: the part sits in a shallow pocket, an O-ring in the surrounding groove seals the cavity, and vacuum is pulled through ports drilled into the pocket floor. Every number on the drawing serves that seal. A sealing face that is 0.02 mm out of flat lets the gasket lift at one corner; a groove that is 0.05 mm deep lets the gasket bottom out and lose compression; a port that breaks into the groove instead of the pocket destroys the seal completely.

We machine the pocket, groove, ports and bolt holes from a 6061-T6 plate in one clamping, hold the sealing face to 0.008 mm flatness, and mask the face and groove during hard anodizing so the coating never changes the groove section.

1. 1Drawing and seal review. We check gasket section, groove width and depth, port location, pocket depth and clamping method, then return a marked drawing and quotation in one working day.
2. 2Material verification. Plate is checked for grade and temper, then faced square so the sealing face has a true reference.
3. 3Stress relief. The blank is stress relieved before the pocket removes material from one side only.
4. 4Pocket machining. The pocket is roughed and finished with a controlled step-over, keeping the floor flat and the walls square.
5. 5Groove machining. The O-ring groove is cut with a slot drill or a profile cutter in a single pass, with width and depth checked by pin gauge and depth micrometer.
6. 6Ports and bolt holes. Vacuum ports are drilled and deburred from the pocket side so no chip remains in the cavity, then bolt holes and counterbores are added.
7. 7Anodizing with masking. Hard anodizing is applied with the sealing face and groove masked, and the coating thickness is recorded.
8. 8Leak test and inspection. Flatness on a gauge, groove section by pin gauge, then an air decay or helium test with the rate and pressure recorded on the report.

An O-ring seals by compression, and compression is set by groove depth. If the groove is 0.05 mm shallow the gasket is over-compressed and takes a set; if it is 0.05 mm deep the gasket never touches the mating face. We cut the groove in one pass with a sharp cutter, check it with a pin gauge and a depth micrometer at four points, and keep the groove floor free of tool marks that would give the gasket a leak path. During anodizing the groove is masked, because 20 microns of coating on the groove floor is enough to change the compression by a measurable amount.

Plate size, pocket layout, groove section, port position and count, bolt pattern, material and coating are all made to your drawing. One piece is enough to start, with no tooling charge and no setup fee, and the prototype follows the same inspection and leak test plan as the batch. If a design detail would make sealing unreliable, our engineer flags it in a DFM note before production.

• NDA first. Mutual non-disclosure is signed before drawings or samples are released, covering geometry, volume and end customer.
• No public reference. Confidential plates are never used as samples, catalogue items, website photos or trade show parts.
• Dedicated area. Sensitive work runs with named operators, and programmes and fixtures are stored under a project code.
• Partner control. Anodizing suppliers receive process specifications only, never assembly drawings.

Dongguan Changxinda Precision Technology Co., Ltd has machined custom metal parts since 2008, operating four-axis and five-axis machining centres, turn-mill lathes, CNC lathes and milling machines. The plant employs 90 to 102 people under an ISO 9001:2015 quality system, serves more than 200 customers, exports 50 to 60 percent of output and records annual sales of USD 10 to 20 million. A named engineer follows every custom project, and every batch ships with a first article report.

• Confirmed dates. Prototypes 5 to 8 working days, batch orders 18 to 28 working days after drawing approval, including leak testing.
• Repeat orders skip setup. Programmes, fixtures and gauge sets stay on file.
• Reserved machine time. Blanket orders are scheduled into fixed monthly slots.
• Early warning. If material, anodizing or leak testing threatens the date, you are told before the date is missed.
• Dispatch evidence. Photos, inspection and leak reports, and packing list before shipment.

• Consumer Electronics: phone, tablet and laptop housings, heat sinks, camera brackets, VR/AR headset structural parts, smart wearable shells
• Automation & Industrial Equipment: automation fixtures, jigs, module frames, transmission sliders, motor mounts, sensor housings, conveyor line parts
• Semiconductor & Vacuum Equipment: vacuum chambers, vacuum fittings, precision equipment bases, thermal isolation and insulation parts, inspection fixtures
• Medical Devices: surgical instrument bases, diagnostic instrument housings, endoscope components, aesthetic device structural parts (medical-grade aluminum and stainless steel)
• Automotive: new energy motor housings, battery end plates, sensor brackets, lamp structural parts, tuning parts, hydraulic valve blocks
• Aerospace & UAV: aircraft structural parts, drone frames, landing gear parts, avionics instrument housings (lightweight precision parts)
• Optics & Photonics: optical lens barrels, lens mounts, light source heat sinks, camera module brackets, inspection optical benches
• Communications: 5G heat dissipation cavities, filter parts, signal adapter structural parts, telecom equipment housings
• Robotics: robot arm joint parts, robot bases, reducer housings, AGV structural parts
• Instrumentation: test equipment housings, precision gauge bases, flow meter parts, laboratory equipment accessories

Each plate is bagged with desiccant, seated in an EPE cavity tray so the sealing face cannot be touched, then sealed in a moisture barrier bag. The tray fits a five-layer export carton with part number, quantity and batch code on two sides. Sea freight ships on fumigation-free plywood pallets; neutral cartons are available.