Aluminum Door Lock Pocket Milling: Checking the Remaining Web
A nominal 4.0 mm remaining section falls to 3.5 mm in the adverse tolerance stack, below the example’s 3.8 mm requirement.
This application example uses public references and explicitly stated planning inputs. Figures derived from assumptions are estimates for evaluation, not measured customer results.
Production question
Does the pocket still leave the drawing’s minimum material when stock and depth stack in the unfavorable direction?
Worked calculation
Assume a local section depth of 18.0 ±0.3 mm and a pocket depth of 14.0 ±0.2 mm from the same face. Nominal remaining material is 4.0 mm, and the worst case is 17.7 − 14.2 = 3.5 mm. A hypothetical 3.8 mm minimum would be missed by 0.3 mm.
How to validate it on the shop floor
Section a sample or verify the actual internal geometry with a drawing-backed measurement. Check back wall, rib location and cylinder alignment. Recheck the depth datum after jaw or profile changes.
What to do with the result
Measure from the same finished face that locates the lock faceplate. In the sample budget, reducing the maximum depth by 0.3 mm closes the arithmetic shortfall, but that leaves zero modeled reserve at the 3.8 mm limit. Confirm whether the quoted 18 mm is a solid local section or an outside dimension crossing cavities. Evaluate the lock body and adjacent ribs on the actual cross-section before changing depth.
Practical follow-up
Would a shallower pocket be enough? It improves the web in the model, but hardware insertion and fastener engagement still have to clear. Resolve the conflict with the profile and lock drawings.
Before setting the depth on an aluminum door lock hole milling machine, confirm that the section drawing shows the local solid wall and the location of any ribs or voids.