INSACO machines fully fired technical ceramics and sapphire using diamond OD/ID and centerless grinding, surface and contour grinding, jig grinding, diamond drilling, internal and external thread grinding, and precision honing. Sequenced processes limit subsurface damage while holding ±0.0001 in routinely and near ±0.00004 in on matched fits. Multi-axis workflows and robotic cells support prototypes through production for complex, multi-feature parts others will not touch.

Reaction-bonded silicon carbide rings and components, diamond-ground OD/ID after firing for wear- and heat-resistant service

Technical ceramic sleeves and bushings with precision-bored IDs and radial ports, post-fired CNC diamond machining for tight concentricity

MACOR glass-ceramic ring with precision gear teeth, CNC machined features and finish ground

Material-removal operations performed on fully densified technical ceramics (e.g., alumina, zirconia, SiC/Si3N4) and sapphire after sintering/crystallization. Processes include OD/ID and jig grinding with diamond abrasives, diamond core drilling, precision bore honing, and hard-material 4/5-axis tooling for slots, pockets, and contours. Emphasis is on controlling sub-surface damage, micro-chipping, and residual stress through low-force parameters, rigid fixturing, and appropriate coolants (often DI water). Typical deliverables are geometry held to tenths, burr-free edges, and surfaces prepped for optical-grade lapping/polishing when required.

Post-Fired Ceramic & Sapphire Machining

Supports high volume production demands, ensuring scalability and competitive cost for large-scale orders.

Meets the needs of medium volume production, offering cost efficiency for expanding product lines.

Designed for prototyping and small batch runs, allowing for rapid iteration and testing.

Optimized for low volume production, ideal for market introduction and specialized products.

OD / ID Cylindrical Grinding uses precision cylindrical grinders to finish external (OD) and internal (ID) diameters to sub-micron accuracy. The workpiece is held between centers or in chucks while abrasive wheels traverse or plunge-feed to achieve tight roundness, concentricity and mirror finishes. Match-grind capability produces mated shaft/bore sets with controlled clearance or interference fits, supporting aerospace, medical and gauge manufacturing.

OD / ID Cylindrical Grinding

Precision Flat Surface Grinding uses abrasive wheels to create exceptionally flat and smooth surfaces on a workpiece, crucial for applications requiring tight tolerances and high surface quality.

Precision Flat Surface Grinding

Surface Grinding employs a rotating abrasive wheel to remove material from a workpiece surface, achieving excellent precision and finish. It is commonly performed on flat or contoured surfaces for final finishing and dimensional accuracy.

Surface Grinding

Centerless Thru-feed Grinding continuously feeds cylindrical workpieces between a grinding wheel and regulating wheel without the need for centers or chucks. This high-throughput process delivers precise diameters and smooth finishes, ideal for mass production.

Centerless Thru-feed Grinding

CNC Milling removes material with rotating cutters under precise multi-axis computer control, producing complex prismatic or sculpted parts with positional accuracy to ±0.005 mm and surface finishes ≤ Ra 0.4 µm. Machines span 3-axis vertical mills, 4-axis horizontals with pallet changers, and full 5-axis trunnion or gantry platforms, supporting everything from rapid prototypes to lights-out production in metals, plastics, and composites.

CNC Milling

CNC Turning uses computer-controlled lathes to rotate bar, billet, or cast blanks while single-point cutting tools remove material. The process excels at producing concentric OD/ID features, tapers, threads, grooves, and complex contours with tight positional accuracy. Modern CNC lathes support live tooling, Y-axis interpolation, sub-spindle part transfer, and bar-feed automation—enabling complete, high-volume production of precision cylindrical components in metals or plastics.

CNC Turning

Closed-loop contour and form grinding on CNC jig grinders achieving ±1 µm positional accuracy and < 0.4 µm Ra surface on hardened tool-steel cavities and punch profiles.

CNC Jig Grinding

Deep-Hole (Gun) Drilling produces very long, straight holes—typically with length-to-diameter ratios ≥ 20:1—using self-guided single-flute gun drills or BTA systems. High-pressure through-tool coolant evacuates chips while the tool and/or workpiece counter-rotate, maintaining positional accuracy and surface finish superior to conventional drilling. The process is essential for hydraulic manifolds, aerospace shafts, fuel rails, medical implants and any component requiring precise, deep bores.

Deep-Hole / Gun Drilling

Cross Drilling produces radial or compound-angle holes that intersect a primary bore in shafts, hydraulic spools, crankshafts, and tubular parts. Live-tool turrets, B-axis heads, or mill-turn sub-spindles index the workpiece so the drilling tool can penetrate the sidewall, creating intersecting oil galleries, gas ports, or balancing holes without a secondary milling setup.

Cross Drilling

Plateau honing or abrasive super-finishing of cylindrical bores to Ra ≤ 0.1 µm, taper < 2 µm and cross-hatch 40–60° for extended seal life and oil retention.

Bore Super-finishing / Micro-Honing

Honing refines geometry, surface texture, and dimensional accuracy using abrasive stones, typically in cylindrical forms (e.g., engine cylinders, hydraulic bores). This precise finishing process is vital in industries requiring tight tolerances.

Honing

Precision Ceramic & Sapphire Machining

Flat and cylindrical lapping plus optical-grade polishing for ceramics, sapphire, glass, and quartz deliver fractional-wave flatness, controlled wedge/parallelism, and finishes near 1 µin Ra. Verification uses Zygo interferometry and optical profilometry; finished surfaces are ultrasonically cleaned and Class 100 packaged at INSACO for optics, wafer carriers, precision seal faces, and vacuum-exposed hardware. Process stacks include single- and double-side flat lapping, OD/ID polish, and CMP.

Silicon carbide rings and bushings with diamond-lapped faces and controlled flatness for mechanical seals and bearings

Sapphire and fused-silica optical components including rings, manifolds, and windows, flat-lapped and polished to optical-grade surface finish

Tungsten carbide seal rings and wear parts with OD/ID grinding and two-face lapping for low-leakage sealing

Polishing / Grinding encompasses abrasive stock-removal and surface-refinement operations applied after rough machining or heat treat. Grinding with bonded-abrasive wheels (Al₂O₃, SiC, CBN, diamond) brings parts to final size, geometry, and flatness, routinely holding ±0.002 mm and roundness < 0.001 mm on hardened steels > 60 HRC. Subsequent polishing stages—belt, buff, super-finishing, micro-finishing, or lapping—reduce surface roughness to Ra 0.05 µm–0.20 µm, produce plateau finishes for bearing surfaces, or achieve mirror cosmetics before coating or plating. Coolant-flooded machines, automatic size-control gauging, and filtered oil or water emulsions ensure thermal stability and contamination-free finishes for aerospace, medical, mould-and-die, and precision fluid-power components.

Polishing / Grinding

Lapping is a precision technique producing extremely flat surfaces or tight tolerances by rubbing two surfaces with an abrasive in between. Common for optical-quality surfaces and precise mechanical parts.

Lapping

Ultrasonic Cleaning uses ultrasound and a cleaning solvent to remove contaminants from delicate or complex parts. Common in healthcare, electronics, and automotive where high cleanliness standards are vital.

Ultrasonic Cleaning

Precision Lapping & Optical-Grade Polishing

Climate-controlled inspection pairs large-envelope CMMs, video/optical metrology, interferometry (to 1/20-wave), roundness/cylindricity gauges, and laser marking within INSACO’s ISO 9001, ITAR/DDTC-registered quality system. Programs support AS9102 FAIR and PPAP, with 100% checks on critical rods and bores and SPC on production lots. Full serialization and material traceability underpin repeatable millionths-level tolerances and audit-ready data packs for aerospace, medical, and semiconductor customers.

Inspection & Quality Control (IQC) comprises the metrology, verification, and documentation activities that ensure parts conform to drawing/CAD requirements, customer specifications, and regulatory standards. IQC spans incoming, in-process, and final inspection and leverages coordinate metrology (CMMs and portable arms), laser/structured-light scanning, optical comparators and vision systems, surface-form metrology (profilometers, roundness/contour testers), nondestructive testing (NDT), and statistical process control (SPC). Results are captured in traceable reports (e.g., AS9102 FAIR, PPAP) tied to calibrated gauges and controlled environmental conditions.

Inspection & Quality Control

3D Coordinate Measurement uses coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) or other 3D metrology tools to capture precise data points on a part’s surface, essential for verifying complex geometries and alignment.

3D Coordinate Measurement

Non-contact laser or structured-light scanning capturing point clouds to ±25 µm for CAD comparison, reverse-engineering and dimensional reports.

3D Laser Scanning Inspection

Dimensional Inspection verifies that a part’s physical dimensions match design tolerances. Tools include calipers, micrometers, and CMMs, ensuring geometric accuracy of length, width, height, angles, and more.

Dimensional Inspection

AS9102 Rev D first-article inspection with ballooned drawings and FAIR Forms 1-3 for aerospace qualification of new-production parts.

First Article Inspection (AS9102)

System 22 Thread Gauging verifies that external and internal screw threads meet pitch-diameter, flank-angle, lead, and roundness requirements using GO/NO-GO gauges conforming to ASME B1.3M ‘System 22’. The method supplements CMM or vision checks with tactile gauge acceptance to ensure functional interchangeability of threaded parts in aerospace, fluid-power, and precision-instrument assemblies.

System 22 Thread Gauging

Ultrasonic Wall-Thickness Testing (UT-WT) uses pulse-echo ultrasonic transducers to measure the remaining wall of tubes, pipes, and structural components without cutting them open. The digital A-scan display and automatic velocity compensation allow rapid detection of thinning, corrosion, or eccentricity while the part remains in service or during incoming inspection.

Ultrasonic Wall-Thickness Testing

Pressure / Leak Testing pressurises a component or assembly with air, inert gas, water, or hydraulic oil to verify structural integrity and leak-rate compliance. Methods include hold-pressure decay, differential pressure, and mass-flow measurement, supporting ratings from vacuum to 70 MPa. The process complements helium mass-spectrometer tests for applications where larger or non-hermetic leakage limits apply.

Pressure / Leak Testing

Captures shot-by-shot process data and applies statistical process control to maintain CpK and PPAP quality targets in production.

Real-Time SPC

Laser Engraving uses a laser beam to etch or mark a surface, widely used for serial numbers, logos, or intricate designs. Favored for speed, precision, and non-contact marking in both industrial and creative fields.

Laser Engraving

Advanced Metrology & Quality Assurance

Early engagement aligns features and tolerances with post-fired reality: DFM/GD&T reviews, tolerance stack-ups, sapphire C-axis orientation guidance, scan-to-CAD reverse engineering, and inspection-plan development. Pilot-to-production lot management and export-control-ready documentation accelerate quoting and onboarding. Engineering support at INSACO reduces risk and cost by tuning drawings for diamond-ground manufacturability and inspection, improving yield on complex ceramic and sapphire components.

End-to-end engineering and design services including CAD/CAE modeling, finite-element analysis, tolerance stack-up, DFM/DFA feedback and fixture design. Teams leverage multi-CAD platforms and PLM integration to deliver manufacturable product designs optimized for cost, performance and assembly.

Engineering & Design Services

Formal manufacturability review with cost-driver scoring, tolerance stack-ups and redesign suggestions.

DFM Analysis

Digitises physical parts via high-resolution 3-D scanning (structured-light, laser, or CT) and reconstructs fully parametric CAD models and 2-D drawings. Workflow includes point-cloud clean-up, surfacing/solid modelling, deviation heat-map validation ≤0.05 mm, and deliverables in native and neutral formats for manufacturing or inspection.

Scan-to-CAD Reverse-Engineering Workflow

GD&T sets symbolic tolerances and controls (e.g., form, orientation, location, profile) on engineering drawings. Ensures parts are interchangeable and function correctly across diverse manufacturing setups.

Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)

Inspection Reporting documents measurement, tests, and observations, ensuring parts meet specified tolerances. Critical for traceability and compliance in regulated industries (aerospace, automotive, medical).

Inspection Reporting

Prototype-to-Production Lot Management is a service that bridges the gap between one-off prototypes and repeat production. It establishes controlled lot tracking, revision-controlled travelers, and documentation that scales from pilot runs through full-rate manufacturing. The service covers material certification capture, ERP/MES integration, SPC monitoring, and coordinated ramp-up scheduling to ensure seamless hand-off of qualified parts into production while maintaining full traceability.

Prototype-to-Production Lot Management

Finite-capacity scheduling, BOM/routing release and Kanban demand balancing inside SAP, Oracle or JobBOSS ERP systems.

ERP-Integrated Production Planning

Reverse engineering captures geometry, materials and functional intent from an existing part or assembly to recreate digital definition (CAD/MBD/drawings) or to improve/replace legacy designs. Methods include precision measurement, coordinate metrology and 3D scanning with traceable validation.

Reverse Engineering

Engineering & Manufacturing Support Services

Registration under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR §122, with the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). It authorizes a U.S. person or entity to manufacture, export, or broker defense articles, defense services, or related technical data listed on the United States Munitions List (USML), and is prerequisite to obtaining ITAR export licenses or Technical Assistance Agreements.

ITAR Registration

The design, manufacturing, and integration of high‐precision components, systems, and subsystems for commercial aircraft and military platforms, with emphasis on meeting stringent certifications such as AS9100, ITAR, and MIL‐STD. Priorities include advanced materials, rigorous quality assurance, and robust engineering to ensure reliability in mission‐critical applications.

Aerospace & Defense

INSACO Inc. manufactures high-precision ceramic and sapphire components (e.g., ceramic gyroscopic parts, sapphire tubes for infrared countermeasures, and large ceramic composites) used in aerospace and defense guidance, IRCM optical assemblies, and other mission‑critical aircraft systems; company capabilities include tight‑tolerance machining, polishing, and ITAR‑compliant processing for defense flight hardware.

The development, manufacturing, and supply of precision-engineered medical systems, devices, and critical components, including diagnostic equipment, surgical instruments, implantable devices, laboratory systems, and precision medical components. Emphasizes adherence to ISO 13485 and FDA QSR standards, traceability requirements, sterile processing, rigorous validation, and use of biocompatible materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and medical-grade polymers to ensure patient safety and clinical effectiveness across global healthcare settings.

Medical Devices & Healthcare Equipment

INSACO Inc. produces micro‑scale machined technical ceramic parts and polished sapphire components (such as biocompatible implant interfaces, surgical instrument tips, and ceramic piston/sleeve assemblies) used in medical device and healthcare equipment applications where extreme hardness, wear resistance, and sub‑micron tolerances are required.

Involves the fabrication and assembly of electronic components, semiconductor devices, printed circuit boards, and advanced microelectronics, as well as the manufacture of supporting mechanical components such as casings, enclosures, and structural parts. Cleanroom processes, ESD controls, precision machining, and adherence to industry standards (e.g., IPC, JEDEC) are critical for achieving high-density, high-performance products in mass-market, specialized, and ancillary applications.

Electronics & Semiconductors

INSACO Inc. fabricates precision sapphire and ceramic carriers, polished optical parts and semiconductor‑grade components (including sapphire wafer carriers and ceramic fixtures) employed in semiconductor manufacturing and analytical instrumentation to provide dimensional stability, contamination resistance, and tight tolerances for wafer handling and process tools.

Engineering, integration, and production of articulated, SCARA, delta, and gantry robots—plus end-of-arm tooling and safety controls—for automated welding, assembly, pick-and-place, and inspection tasks. Compliance with ISO 10218 and ANSI/RIA R15.06 ensures safe, high-throughput operation across diverse manufacturing environments.

Industrial Robotics & Automation Systems

The design and production of large‐scale machinery, automation systems, and heavy equipment for industrial applications, where reliability and performance are paramount. Adherence to ISO, ANSI, and other applicable standards supports continuous operation under high‐stress conditions, with custom‐engineered systems often required.

Industrial Machinery & Heavy Equipment

INSACO Inc. integrates automated machining and robotic handling—deploying lights‑out CNC cells, automated storage/retrieval and robotic fixturing—to deliver high‑volume, repeatable production of hard‑material parts (ceramic and sapphire) for automated assembly, pick‑and‑place, and inspection systems in industrial manufacturing.

Since 1947, INSACO Inc. has been a U.S.-based precision machining and polishing fabricator of technical ceramics, sapphire, glass and quartz. Operating a Quakertown, PA corporate/manufacturing location, INSACO machines ultra-hard materials to extremely tight tolerances (often measured in millionths of an inch), supports lights-out and robotic production, and maintains extensive metrology and traceability practices to document dimensional conformity and raw-material lot identity for high-reliability applications.

Primary corporate and manufacturing facility in Quakertown, PA. Expanded to approximately 80,000 sq ft with a dedicated 13,000 sq ft lapping and polishing area. Equipment and QA include diamond OD/ID, centerless and surface/contour grinding, jig grinding, optical- and Zygo interferometry (to 1/20‑wave), non‑contact metrology to ~0.1 µm, laser marking/serialization, ultrasonic clean and Class 100 packaging. Robotics and carousel automation support lights‑out production and repeatability for high‑reliability programs.

INSACO Corporate & Manufacturing Facility

U.S. precision machining and polishing of technical ceramics, sapphire, glass and quartz since 1947.

INSACO Inc.

High Precision Machining Of Hard Materials

Precision Ceramic & Sapphire Machining

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