Questions, answered.

No MOQ, from 1 prototype to production.

A new part carries one-time costs that don't depend on quantity: CAM programming, machine setup and tuning with trial cuts to dial it in, a custom fixture for many geometries, and an extra blank or two of raw material for those trials. Spread over hundreds of pieces they disappear into the unit price; on a run of one or two parts they are most of the bill. Same part, higher quantity, cheaper piece.

Dialing in a new setup, programming plus trial cuts, can take a full shift before the first good part comes off. In that same shift, once it's running, we could machine dozens of parts. That is why the first piece carries a cost the hundredth one doesn't, and why the per-part price falls so steeply as quantity climbs.

Quantity moves lead time less than you'd expect, because most of the calendar goes into programming, tuning and fixturing rather than cutting. As an illustration, a run of 200 parts might take 15 days while a run of 1,000 often adds only a few days more.

Within 48 hours of receiving your files.

A 3D STEP file plus a 2D PDF with tolerances, quantity, material and finish. The STEP drives an accurate price; the PDF tells us which dimensions matter.

Yes, with one caveat each. From a 2D drawing alone the price is an estimate, confirmed once we receive the 3D model. From a 3D model alone there are no tolerance callouts, so we machine to general tolerance (ISO 2768-m). For an accurate quote and a part made exactly to your intent, send both.

Typically 10–15 business days for prototypes and 15–30 for production, confirmed on your quote. The clock starts at order confirmation. If your drawing has a gap or a contradiction, we ask rather than guess, and the clock pauses until you confirm.

Much of a lead time goes to getting material in and preparing the job, not the machining itself. Common grades we keep in stock, such as 6061 and 7075 aluminium, 304 stainless and common carbon and alloy steels, are usually ready to cut in a couple of days. A specialty alloy is sourced to order and can add a week or more (a recent order in a specialty alloy waited about nine days for stock). If your application allows a common grade, choosing one is usually both cheaper and faster.

50% deposit, 50% before shipment (full prepay under US$1,000). Paid via Wise, bank wire or local transfer, in most major currencies.

Yes, it works in your favor. A target price tells us exactly what to engineer toward, materials, process and quantity breaks. When it's close to our number, we'll often simply meet it. When we can't, we'll say so and counter with a competitive price and the reason.

Air, rail or sea, worldwide. On qualifying orders we ship DDP (delivered duty paid, to your door) to the US, Canada, UK, Europe and Australia; we confirm the right option on your quote. We handle export.

ISO 2768-m standard; down to ±0.005 mm on request. Tight tolerances are a major cost driver — the same part toleranced tight everywhere can cost up to ten times the general-tolerance version. You know what the part has to do, so mark tight tolerances only where the function needs them; we quote to the drawing as given.

As-machined Ra 1.6–3.2; Ra 0.8 on request; Ra 0.4 and below need polishing. Surface finish works the same way: as-machined is included, and each step finer adds real cost, a mirror-polished face can cost more than the machining itself. Specify fine finishes only on the faces that need them.

As-machined, bead blast, brushed, polishing, anodize (Type II & III hard), passivation, plating, and powder coat. See the Finish Library. Note: finishing runs as a batch with a minimum lot charge, so it is far more economical per part at volume than on a single piece.

Some finishes (chrome plating, nickel plating, powder coat, black oxide) are run by specialist finishing partners we coordinate for you, so you still deal with one supplier. On a small order each finish travels out as its own small batch, carrying that partner's minimum charge and freight both ways, and a specialty finish may go to a specialist further afield, adding a little to cost and lead time. We will help you reach the finish you want; it just helps to know that several different finishes across a few parts carry more of this overhead than one finish on a larger batch.

Send a photo or sample. We'll match texture and colour as closely as we can from experience — we can't guarantee an exact match — and show you a sample to confirm first.

Yes. One supplier, the whole part.

A milling tool is round, so it can't cut a dead-sharp internal corner; that corner has to be burned in by EDM, a slow and expensive process. For most applications an internal radius of R1 or R2 (a 1 or 2 mm corner radius) machines fast at no extra cost. Specify a sharp internal corner only if your use case truly needs one.