If you would like to further evaluate whether your specific part machining needs are the right fit for our capabilities, we work hard to make it as easy as possible for you. We have many open channels of communication that you can choose depending upon your own personal preferences:
Although quoting machined parts, done well, is a laborious, detailed, and expensive process, we charge absolutely nothing to provide you with a firm quotation to manufacture your components. In order to do so most efficiently, below is a very general profile of our business model (to self-evaluate compatibility), and further below is a list of information that we typically must have to properly quote a new prospective client: |
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For self-evaluation of whether your specific needs are a good fit for our business model and capabilities, this profile information may be helpful;
- We specialize in high-quality, small-part CNC machining – we like to describe "shoebox-sized and smaller" for a visual, although we are capable of doing some larger, or longer parts.
- Our best-fit clients need their parts repeatedly, and regularly, to assemble their products or utilize in their services
- Our average run quantity is 50, although we can provide lots from 1 to as many as 10,000, or more. At either extreme, we may not be very competitive with some sources, in either price or delivery.
- We are not a tool and die, mold, or prototype shop. We can, and will do low quantity runs, but typically only if they have the potential to turn into regular, repeat work.
- We are not a quick-turnaround shop. We sell our capacity on a first-come, first-serve basis, and typically have a lead time approaching 30-days for an average order. We strive to keep our lead times inside of 30-days, but at times the demand exceeds our ability to expand quickly enough, and our lead times may get extended even further. If you have regular, repeat demand, inquire about our blanket order and inventory management services to eliminate this lead time hurdle.
- We are primarily a Business-To-Business (B2B) model, serving mostly commercial and industrial Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEM's) from many different industries. We provide parts and assemblies to these companies to utilize within their businesses or build their products. Our business model is not designed to provide low quantity, custom, retail-type machining requirements.
- Please feel free to inquire if you have any questions at all. We will be more than happy to discuss your needs and will be the first to say we can or cannot serve your needs with excellence. When applicable, we may also be able to refer you to additional sources.
Generally required information needed for us to provide a proper quotation;
- Company Name and Information: We need to know who and where you are. We often receive quote requests from Hotmail or Google email addresses with no company information or similar provided. Please provide the business information, location, or website, or explain your individual situation to provide us with adequate information to evaluate our compatibility.
- Drawings: Mechanical drawings or "blueprints" containing the specific details of the component(s) you need manufactured. These have come to us in every format from a sample part, to a napkin, to sophisticated three dimensional CAD solid-model files. For basic machined components, the most popular and simple is emailed Adobe ".pdf" files, but we can accept any common graphic exchange format files, picture format files, etc. Note that we can handle most CAD drawing and part file formats directly, including SolidWorks, Inventor, AutoCAD, and Pro-E files. In many of today's more complex components, it can help speed up and facilitate our quoting processes if we can receive the native CAD files, both the part model and drawing files when possible.
- Materials and Coatings, Heat Treating, etc.: Normally drawing files include material specifications and any heat treating, plating, coatings, etc. that may be required. Please provide this information for each part if not included in the drawings, or when you'd like exceptions to the drawing specifications.
- Quality Inspection Level and Reporting Desired: We can provide any level of quality assurance you require. We have customers that require essentially zero inspection and reporting beyond our standard sampling, to customers that require 100% in-process and 100% final inspection of every single dimension on a part, with 100% formal customer reporting of these dimensions. Obviously, these various levels of quality assurance come with associated costs and need to be accounted for when we quote each part. So if you know, please specify, or if you would like to discuss the various options and benefits, please inquire.
- Quantities: Please specify the batch quantities of each part that you would like us to quote to you. In our business, every operation requires a setup for each associated machine and process required. This setup cost is allocated across the batch quantity into a per-piece price. As a result, the larger the batch size, the lower the setup costs per part. We can easily quote multiple quantities for you so you can easily see and evaluate the difference.
- Frequency of Order Expectation, when known: If you know this to be a regular demand component that will be repeating with some frequency, this can be beneficial information when we are choosing a process to manufacture your parts. Likewise, if it's a one-time application, the same information is helpful and can actually lower your cost by reducing our documentation and adjusting our manufacturing approach. The most economical methods may vary substantially with actual order quantities and frequencies. It is good to have that information from the outset. Your demand needs may also fit our blanket order and/or stocking programs that may be of great value to you and your company.
- Large Digital Files: Note that almost every quote inquiry we get, particularly from our regular clients, comes to us via email. If your attached files exceed about 20Mb total size, you may have difficulty getting them through standard mail servers. If this is the case, we suggest using www.transferbigfiles.com , which you can use without even creating an account for files up to 100Mb in size.
We have found this easy and convenient. If you have any trouble or are concerned about security, just contact us, and we will send you a direct upload link via Dropbox or pCloud.
If your files are smaller than 20Mb, try emailing them directly to [email protected]. We confirm receipt very quickly, so if you do not get an email confirmation, we may not have received them, and we ask that you please follow up with us if you don't hear back from us before the end-of-business that day. - Non-Disclosure Agreements: Many of our clients are wary of intellectual property security. All of our employees are individually bound by non-disclosure employment agreements, and as an organization, we are accustomed to and have NDA's with many of our clients. If this is a concern or requirement of your organization, please feel free to email us your NDA, and we will review, complete, and return it as quickly as possible.