The material carved out of a block of aluminum must go through further process in order to be a component of an actual product.
When setting an aluminum piece in the computer-operated machine called the " machining centre " its fast-rotating blade hits the aluminum. Therefore, it requires a considerable amount of force to fixate the material so as to prevent it from shaking and moving.
A freshly cut out material has a " holding mark " made at the time of fixation, as well as countless scratches made by small aluminum chips. These imperfections must be eliminated completely because if we leave them as they are, they tend to stay even after the next process such as shot blast and alumite treatment.
That is why we still need handcraftsmanship.

First, the cut out materials are examined with eyes. We chiefly check to see if there is any part requires a major correction, including a large dent or rough scratch. They rarely occur but they do.  In order to inspect every edge and every surface, we use different angles set according to the type of component.
If there is no major flaw, the material is polished with an industrial polishing pad, a sponge with fine sandpaper on one side. From our previous experience we know the vulnerable spots per component, so these spots are polished up especially carefully until they are shiny.
If a major scratch is found at the time of visual inspection, it is removed with the sandpaper.  But then, the sandpaper also leaves the marks. These marks have to be properly removed just as the scratches, or else they stay to the end.
To remove these sandpaper marks, we use sandpaper one grid finer. Then another one,  even finer grid. And this process gets repeated until the finest grid sandpaper is replaced by charcoal. In the end, a special charcoal wet with water is rubbed against the surface of the material, in order to make it smooth after the defects have been removed. Of course, hands get all black dealing with charcoal.
Sometimes, we are still not completely satisfied with the final result after all of these efforts are taken, and in such case the piece has to be sent back to the machining centre to be cut again. We go to all lengths because a great deal of time and efforts have already been spent on the single piece. If an NG item occurs, mass-production method discards it to save time and money, rather than correcting it. But our machined products require a lot of time to carve out from the material, and therefore cannot be discarded. If we cut an item, we must use it.

It is also a matter of pride and sense of duty. We could ignore a few scratches but we do not, because in the long run it determines our brand identity. There is a high quality standard that goes with the brand, and we always adhere to it.  Sometimes, we find some minor imperfections in a component after the assembly, and we take it apart and re-assembly it.
Quality control is our top priority at Balmuda design, and thus we spend more time and efforts on ensuring quality than anything else. Personally, I also handle the quality- related work most frequently. The issue concerning quality persists from beginning to end:  from the initial stage of designing, through the processing method in each manufacturing plant, to the actual on-site work discussed above and the assembly process.
And finally, the cut and polished items are sent to surface treatment. Many of Balmuda design's machined aluminum parts are treated with shot blast and alumite treatment.