Send a 3D file and get a quote with free DFM feedback within 12 hours. We machine functional prototypes and bridge parts in aluminum, titanium, stainless and engineering plastics on 127 CNC machines, and ship in 3–5 days.
Four failures we see on incoming prototype files every week.
Thin walls deflect under clamping pressure and chatter during roughing. If the design callout sits at Ra 0.4 μm on an unsupported face, the first article arrives bowed and the mating bracket will not seat. Machining strategy has to change before the tool touches metal.
Ti-6Al-4V cuts at a fraction of aluminum speeds and work-hardens if the feed is wrong. A shop without high-pressure coolant and the right insert grade burns through three end mills on one pocket, then pushes the ship date by a week.
No datum callout, no tolerance stack, no finish spec. The shop guesses, you get a part that measures fine on the bench but fails fit-up at assembly. Every open dimension becomes a conversation two weeks late.
Most contract shops quote a 50-piece minimum for a job that needs three parts for a fit check. You either pay for 47 parts you will never use or wait while someone else decides whether your project is worth the setup.
The route we take on every prototype, whether it is one piece or a bridge run of 200.
Every upload gets a manual review within 12 hours. An engineer checks wall thickness, tool reach, corner radii, datum scheme and tolerance stack, then sends back a marked-up report with the quote. On a typical aerospace bracket we find two to four features that would drive cost or scrap if cut as drawn.
That review is free and it happens before any material is ordered. If a pocket floor needs a 0.5 mm corner radius and your drawing calls 0.2 mm, we say so and propose the change rather than quietly burning a 3 mm tool.
Complex prototypes usually need four or five sides machined. Doing that on a 3-axis mill means three setups, three datum transfers and a tolerance stack that grows with every move. Our 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers cut the part in a single setup, so the position of a hole on face four stays tied to the datum on face one.
That matters on parts with angular bosses, compound-angle flanges or contoured surfaces. We hold ±0.005 mm across the whole feature set, not just on the first face. The Ø400 mm rotary table handles parts up to 4,000 mm in the larger travel envelope.
Pick the process by geometry, material and how many parts you need next.
| Route | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| 3-axis milling | Flat plates, pockets, simple housings | Needs multiple setups on 4+ face parts |
| 5-axis machining | Contoured surfaces, angular holes, complex bosses | Higher hourly rate, worth it on tight stacks |
| Mill-turn | Shafts with cross holes and flats | Limited to round-dominant geometry |
| Vacuum casting | 10–50 cosmetic housings from one master | Not for load-bearing or high-temp parts |
| Sheet metal | Enclosures, brackets, chassis panels | Thickness steps are fixed by the blank |
| 3D printing | Form and fit checks, no load | Anisotropic strength, loose tolerances |
Six service lines that cover a prototype from blank to finished surface.
Simultaneous 5-axis work for contoured aerospace and automotive parts. One setup for multi-face geometry, ±0.005 mm across the feature set.
27 three-axis and 12 four-axis machines for plates, housings and prismatic parts where a 5-axis cycle adds no value.
16 mill-turn centers for shafts, bushings and fittings that need cross holes, flats or slots cut in the same cycle.
Functional prototypes and bridge parts from one piece upward. Material selection guidance for aluminum, titanium, stainless and engineering plastics.
Anodizing, electroless nickel, plating, powder coating, bead blasting, polishing and laser marking with 1.5 mm minimum character height.
Sheet metal fabrication for enclosures and brackets, plus die casting and vacuum casting when the geometry suits a molded route.
Numbers you can check against your part before you send the file.
| Item | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum part size | 4,000 mm | Larger travel envelope, 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm |
| Standard travel | 750 × 1,150 × 550 mm | Medium envelope for most prototypes |
| Compact travel | 500 × 500 × 450 mm | Small precision parts and fixtures |
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm | ±0.0002 in, verified on the CMM |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–3.2 μm | Fine, high and as-machined ranges |
| Aluminum | 6061, 7075, 2024, 5052 | Plus 5083, 6063, 6082, ADC12 |
| Titanium and superalloy | TC4, TA2, Inconel | Magnesium AZ31B and AZ91D available |
| Steel and stainless | 17-4PH, 316L, 4140 | 303, 304, 4130, 4340, tool steel |
Six things that decide whether the prototype arrives usable.
Three wholly-owned plants and 150 technicians. Prototype work and production runs come off the same floor, so the process that made your sample is the process that makes the batch.
Millimeter callouts hold at ±0.005 mm, or ±0.0002 in. Every lot gets raw material verification, in-process checks and a final inspection before it leaves the floor.
Send the file and get pricing plus a marked-up DFM report within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval, with parts shipping in 3–5 days.
There is no minimum order quantity. Order one piece for a fit check or 10,000 for a production run, on the same tooling and inspection plan.
Nothing ships on a sample check. Inspection reports are available on request, and the historical late-delivery probability sits below 2%.
ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 27001:2022. Uploads stay confidential and we sign an NDA on request.
Tight stacks on angular features, full traceability, no rework at assembly.
Under-hood thermal loads, thin walls, cosmetic surfaces on visible parts.
HDPE, POM, PEEK and PA machined without melting or stress cracking.
Same tooling and inspection plan from prototype through 10,000+ part runs.
Quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours of upload. Once you approve the quote and the material is in stock, production can start within 24 hours.
Typical parts ship in 3–5 days. If the geometry needs a custom fixture or the material has to be ordered, the DFM report will say so before you commit.
±0.005 mm, or ±0.0002 in, on machined features. That figure assumes the datum scheme on your drawing is workable and the feature is reachable with standard tooling.
Very deep bores, thin unsupported walls and long overhangs push the achievable number up. We flag those in the DFM report rather than quoting a tolerance we cannot verify on the CMM.
Yes. There is no minimum order quantity. One piece for a fit check is a normal order, and it runs on the same machines and inspection plan as a 10,000-part batch.
Per-part cost is higher at quantity one because setup is spread over a single unit. If you expect a production run, tell us and we will quote both stages together.
Aluminum 6061, 6061-T6, 2024, 5052, 5083, 6063, 6082, 7075 and ADC12. Stainless 303, 304, 316, 316L, 420, 440C and 17-4PH. Steel 1018, 1045, 4130, 4140, 4340 and A36.
Titanium TA1, TA2 and TC4 (Ti-6Al-4V), Inconel, magnesium AZ31B and AZ91D, plus copper and brass grades. Engineering plastics include ABS, PC, PMMA, POM, PA, PEEK, PP, HDPE and carbon fiber.
Uploads stay secure and confidential. We sign an NDA on request, and access to customer files is limited to the engineers working the job.
If you send a model without a drawing, we work from the model and list every assumption in the DFM report so you can confirm or correct it before cutting.
Use 5-axis when the part has angular holes, compound-angle faces or contoured surfaces that would need three or more setups on a 3-axis mill. Each extra setup adds datum transfer error and inspection time.
For flat plates, simple pockets and single-face housings, 3-axis is cheaper and just as accurate. The DFM report will say which route we recommend and why.
Yes, on request. Every lot goes through raw material verification, in-process monitoring and a final inspection before shipment, and the qualification rate sits at 99.99%.
For first articles we can include dimensional results against the drawing callouts. Tell us which features matter most so the report covers them.
That is the usual path. The prototype proves the geometry, then the same plants scale it to a bridge run or a production lot without re-qualifying the process.
Certifications cover ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 27001:2022, so the quality system carries through from sample to serial part.
Upload the 3D file and drawing. You get pricing, a free DFM report and a firm ship window back within 12 hours.
Quote in 12 hours100% inspectionOne piece upwardNDA on request
Trusted by engineers and manufacturers worldwide
Upload your 3D model or 2D drawing and get a quotation with a free DFM analysis. Maximum processing size 4,000 mm.
CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
Material: not selected Machine: not selected Post-process: not selected
