CNC Machining for Prototypes and Production Parts

On the overall CNC pages, the general machining accuracy described is 0.01 mm. That figure is a general statement for CNC work as a whole, not a promise for every feature on every drawing. Before ordering, confirm minimum order quantity and lead time for your drawings.

Send the drawing with units and scale stated, the material and grade, the critical dimensions and tolerances marked, and the finish required. State the quantity you need checked and the question the part must answer: fit, function or appearance. Emailed files are used only for the quotation, and non-disclosure agreements are supported.

Five industry directions have their own pages on this site, because each one pairs materials with processes in a different way. Aerospace work pairs aluminium, titanium, steel, nickel alloys, composites, ceramics and nylon with machining, laser cutting and printing for parts that must perform under extremes.

Automotive work pairs aluminium, plastics, steel, polyurethane foam and carbon fibre with machining, moulding, welding and hand lay-up for powertrain, body and interior parts. Medical work pairs stainless steel, titanium, PEEK, medical-grade silicone and ceramic with machining, moulding and grinding for instruments, implants and device components.

Industrial machinery work pairs aluminium, engineering plastics, steel, stainless steel and carbon fibre with machining, casting, moulding and welding for parts under high loads. Product development work pairs ABS, aluminium, silicone, resin and stainless steel with printing, moulding and machining for prototypes that must be tested before production.

The route a buyer follows on this site is short. First, a drawing or CAD file is sent for review, with the material, the critical dimensions, the finish and the quantity stated on it.

Second, the drawing is analysed and the order is confirmed, with confidential handling throughout and non-disclosure agreements supported. Third, the part is made by the route that fits its geometry, material and quantity.

Fourth, the part is inspected with the measuring equipment listed above, and a dimension report can be provided for the project. A buyer who sends a complete drawing at the first step — units and scale stated, tolerances marked, finish required — removes the most common cause of delay, which is a second round of questions about information the drawing should already have carried.

Changing supplier between prototype and production costs more than most buyers expect, and the cost is rarely visible in a quotation. A new supplier must read the drawing again, learn the part's critical dimensions again, agree an inspection plan again, and build trust again — and each of those steps is a chance for a misunderstanding that a continuing supplier has already resolved.

Staying with one supplier from prototype through limited runs toward production keeps the drawing history, the material decisions, the process choices and the inspection records in one place, so each new order starts from the last order's knowledge rather than from zero. That continuity is the practical reason this site lists nine service lines together: not because one supplier must do everything, but because a buyer whose part needs two or three lines should not have to coordinate them across two or three companies, with the interfaces between lines falling into the gaps between suppliers.

Continuity does not mean exclusivity, and a buyer should still compare suppliers on the checks this site recommends — material list for the part, process per feature, inspection reported. A continuing supplier that passes those checks order after order has earned the next order; a continuing supplier that stops passing them should be replaced, whatever the history. The relationship this site describes is therefore a working one, not a loyal one: stay while the checks pass, and let the checks, not habit, decide when to stay and when to move.