Capabilities: machining, sheet metal, printing, casting and finishing
Six process families under one quality system and one purchase order. This page is the map; each detail page says what the process holds, where it gets expensive, and what the drawing should call out.
Process families
Each page lists envelopes, tolerances and the design decisions that change the price.
Billet and plate to 1000 × 600 × 400 mm. Pockets, thin walls, multi-face hole patterns and sculpted surfaces, with fixture design included in the process review.
Shafts, bushings, fittings and gear blanks, with milled flats, cross holes and radial features kept in the same setup on a turn-mill centre.
Impellers, turbine-like profiles and parts with ports on angled faces. The value is one clamping instead of three, which shortens the datum chain.
Enclosures, chassis, brackets and frames to 1000 × 600 × 95 mm, formed and welded, with the same inspection route as machined parts.
SLA, SLS, FDM and metal printing for form and fit checks before machining spend, or for low-volume end use that never justifies tooling.
Anodizing AA5–AA30, hard anodizing 25–150 µm, plating, passivation, powder coating, blasting, brushing, laser engraving and heat treatment, with thickness accounted for before machining.
Where each process stops being the right answer
The table is the honest version of a capability sheet: the point at which another process is cheaper or more accurate, and what we would recommend instead.
| Process | Good fit | Switch when |
|---|---|---|
| CNC milling | 1–2,000 pcs, complex geometry, tight tolerance | Above ~2,000 pcs, a casting or a folded part wins |
| CNC turning | Round parts, Ø3–Ø200 mm, high concentricity | Part needs many off-axis features: turn-mill or milling |
| Sheet metal | Enclosures, brackets, flat parts to 95 mm formed height | Thick sections or machined sealing faces are needed |
| 3D printing | 1–50 pcs, form and fit, 1–3 day turnaround | Strength, surface finish or 0.01 mm tolerance required |
| Die casting | 1,000+ pcs, aluminium or zinc, stable design | Design still moving, or quantity below ~500 |
| Injection moulding | 1,000+ plastic parts, mould cost justified | Under a few hundred parts, machined or printed is cheaper |
Send a drawing for a quote and DFM review.
STEP, IGES, X_T, PDF or DWG up to 50 MB. Tell us quantity and finish, and the quote comes back with tolerance and process notes, not just a price.
From the shop notes
Longer answers to the questions these pages raise.