Technical Resources
Reference tables we use on the floor, and notes on how machining work actually gets priced. Written by the people who cut the parts — no download required, no email gate.
The Numbers We Look Up Ourselves
These are the three charts our quoting engineers keep open. If you send us a drawing, these are the standards we'll be working to unless you tell us otherwise.
CNC Machining Knowledge Base
The same references, grouped by topic — tolerances, materials, cost, finish, process and industry — so you can find the number you need without scrolling.
Use it when: you want the whole knowledge base in one place.
CNC Cost Calculator
Pick material, quantity, size, complexity, tolerance and finish for an indicative per-part range in seconds — no email gate, no download.
Use it when: you need a budget number before the drawing is done.
Speeds & Feeds Calculator
Get spindle RPM and feed rate for milling and turning in seconds. Pick a material, enter tool diameter and chip load — reference values, no signup.
Use it when: you need RPM and feed before touching the machine.
Free NDA Template
A ready-to-use mutual non-disclosure agreement for sending drawings to a machining shop. Covers 3D models, specs, quotes and process know-how.
Use it when: you need confidentiality in place before sharing a drawing.
Aluminium vs Stainless vs Titanium
Six alloys compared on 13 properties, with specific strength, real machining-time ratios and a seven-question decision guide.
Use it when: you're choosing between the three, not just within one.
CNC Machining Tolerance Chart
ISO 2768 numeric tables for all four tolerance classes, what each process can realistically hold, every GD&T symbol in one table, and the tolerance-cost curve that decides your quote.
Use it when: a drawing says "ISO 2768-m" with nothing else.
Surface Roughness Ra Chart
Ra values by process, what each step down costs, Ra vs Rz, and how to specify roughness without over-paying.
Use it when: a drawing says Ra 0.8 and you're not sure why.
Aluminium Grade Selection Chart
6061, 7075, 5052, 2024, 6063 and 2A12 compared on strength, fatigue life, machinability, weldability, anodising response and cost — plus a seven-step decision tree.
Use it when: you're deciding between 6061 and 7075.
Titanium Machining Guide
Why titanium destroys cutting tools, what speeds and feeds actually work, and the chip fire risk most guides omit.
Use it when: someone has specified Grade 5 and the shop is nervous.
Surface Finish Comparison Chart
Nine finishes side by side — anodising Type II and hardcoat, passivation, black oxide, zinc, electroless nickel, powder coat, bead blast, polishing — with thickness, hardness and salt spray hours.
Use it when: a coating is about to break one of your fits.
Aluminum CNC Machining
Grades 6061, 7075, 6082 and more — how to choose, what tolerance to expect, and anodising rules that keep aluminum parts cheap and accurate.
Use it when: the part is aluminum and you want the grade and finish right.
Swiss Machining vs CNC Turning
How a sliding-headstock lathe beats a standard lathe on small, long and high-volume turned parts — what it suits, the tolerances it holds, and the DFM calls that keep Swiss runs cheap.
Use it when: the part is small, long or needed by the thousand.
CNC Machining Electronics Enclosures
Material choice, wall-thickness and warp rules, EMI gasket grooves, threaded inserts and the tolerances that keep a machined box from becoming a scrap bin.
Use it when: you're specifying a machined aluminium or stainless enclosure.
Steel CNC Machining
1018, 1045, 4140 and more — how to hold tolerance on hardening-sensitive grades, and the pre- and post-heat-treatment sequencing that keeps parts dimensionally stable.
Use it when: the part is steel and flatness or hardness matters.
Stainless Steel CNC Machining
303, 304, 316 and 17-4 PH — work-hardening control, the feeds that stop smearing, and passivation rules that keep corrosion resistance intact.
Use it when: the part must resist corrosion without a coating.
Copper CNC Machining
C101, C110 and tellurium copper — why copper grabs the tool, the sharp-edge and low-speed setup that stops built-up edge, and where brass is the cheaper stand-in.
Use it when: the part conducts heat or current.
Free Tools — No Signup, Nothing to Download
Every one of these runs in your browser. No account, no email gate, no file upload. They are the same formulas our own engineers work to, published so you can check our numbers.
GD&T True Position & Stack-Up Calculator
Convert measured X/Y deviation into true position in diametral and radial form, add the MMC bonus, and run the same dimensions through worst-case and RSS stack-up.
Use it when: when a position callout passes on the bench and fails at assembly.
Thread & Tap Drill Chart
Metric and unified thread dimensions with tap drill sizes, computed from the ISO 68 and ASME B1.1 basic profile. The calculator handles any diameter and pitch you type in.
Use it when: before you reach for a tap and guess the drill.
ISO 286 Fits & Tolerance Grades
Standard tolerance grades IT5 to IT14 for any nominal size, exact H and h limits, and a guide to which clearance, transition or interference fit suits which job.
Use it when: when a drawing says H7/g6 and you need the actual limits.
Drilling & Tapping Calculator
Spindle speed, feed rate, removal rate and cycle time for drilling and rigid tapping, including the retract overhead a peck cycle really costs.
Use it when: when a deep hole is taking longer than the arithmetic says.
Bend Allowance & Tonnage Calculator
Bend allowance, bend deduction, flat pattern length and the press brake tonnage the job will need, using the standard air-bend formulae.
Use it when: before you cut a flat blank and find out it is 4 mm short.
Surface Roughness Converter
Convert between Ra in micrometres and microinches, RMS, Rz and the ISO N-grade numbers, and see which process reaches which finish.
Use it when: when a drawing says N7 and the shop speaks Ra.
Machining Time Estimator
Cutting time from toolpath length, plus tool changes, load and unload and setup, so you get a cycle time and a batch time rather than a cutting time.
Use it when: when a quote needs machine hours, not just feeds and speeds.
Machine Selection by Part Features
Describe the envelope, how many directions carry features and how tight the tolerance is, and see whether the part needs 3-axis, 3+2, 5-axis or mill-turn.
Use it when: before specifying an axis count the part does not need.
Material Weight Calculator
Blank weight for plate, round bar, tube and hex bar in aluminium, steel, stainless, titanium, brass and common engineering plastics.
Use it when: when you need to know what a batch of blanks actually weighs.
CNC Unit Converter
Length and tolerance, surface roughness, cutting speed, feed, mass, pressure and temperature — the conversions that come up on drawings and inspection reports.
Use it when: any time a number arrives in the wrong unit system.
Tolerance Stack-Up Calculator
Sum the ± tolerances on a chain of dimensions and see the worst-case and RSS spread at the gap before you machine — so an assembly that measures fine doesn't fail to fit.
Use it when: a stack of tolerances has to close at assembly.
Notes on Pricing, Certification and Honest Quotes
What it's actually like to work with this shop, including the parts where we're not the right answer.
How to Reduce CNC Machining Cost
Twelve design changes ranked by how much they actually move the quote — setups first, not materials. With the reasoning behind each one.
Use it when: a quote came back higher than you expected.
How CNC Machining Cost Is Calculated
What the hourly rate covers, the five lines on every quote, and the levers ranked by impact — including why 5-axis sometimes costs less overall.
Use it when: you're comparing quotes and the numbers don't add up.
We Quoted 5x Their Supplier. We Lost.
A US manufacturer's existing supplier beat us by five times. We dug into why, explained the arithmetic, and told them to stay put. What ten years of process optimisation actually buys.
Why two shops can quote the same drawing five times apart.
Why 40 Parts Cost More Per Piece Than 4,000
Programming, setup and prove-out don't scale with quantity. The full cost breakdown, plus four questions to ask any shop quoting you a small batch.
Why your prototype quote looks nothing like your production price.
We Don't Hold ISO 13485. Here's How Medical Work Happens.
A veterinary device company needed a certificate we don't have. They visited our floor, and we built an arrangement inside their own certified supply chain instead.
How uncertified machining capacity fits under a certified QMS.
CNC Machining for Medical Devices
Housings, instrument bodies, fixtures and prototypes — what to brief, which materials, and how tolerance and inspection are handled (including when a certified supplier is the safer route).
Use it when: a medical program is in prototype or validation.
Why Source CNC Machining From Shenzhen?
A shop owner's honest take — what the city actually gives you, what it doesn't, and how to vet any Shenzhen supplier in one email.
The case for and against, from someone who works here.
CNC Machining vs 3D Printing
Where the cost curves cross by quantity, material and tolerance — and a decision table for your own part.
Use it when: choosing a process for a new part.
Plastic CNC Machining Guide
POM, PEEK, PTFE, nylon and UHMW — grades, the quirks that make each one tricky, and a selection table.
Use it when: the part must be plastic, not metal.
CNC Machining Automation Parts
Fixture plates, manifold blocks, end-effector brackets — materials, the tolerances that matter, and DFM calls that keep a line running.
Use it when: you're specifying parts for an automation cell.
CNC Machined Robotics Parts
Joint housings, harmonic-drive cases, linkages — lightweight materials, thin-wall strategy and bearing-seat tolerances for millions of cycles.
Use it when: a robot part has to survive on a moving axis.
GD&T for Buyers
The six GD&T symbols that decide price and fit — and the four mistakes that cost money on real drawings.
Use it when: you specify parts but aren't a GD&T specialist.
CNC Machining Design Guide
Twelve DFM rules — wall thickness, corner radii, hole depth, threads, tolerances — that keep a machined part cheap, fast and in tolerance. With a quick-reference table.
Use it when: you're marking up a drawing and want it to machine right first time.
We Redesigned a Competitor's Part and Cut Cost 40%
Copying a part isn't engineering it. When a customer asked us to replicate a rival component, we proposed a redesign that held the same fit for far less.
Use it when: a quote on an existing part came back higher than expected.
A Drawing Missing 3 Dimensions? We Added a 30% Risk Premium.
What a shop should do when a print is incomplete — and why a transparent risk premium beats a low quote that hides the gap.
Use it when: you're not sure your drawing is complete before sending it out.
Machining for the Medical Industry
Where medical programs sit relative to our other industries — surgical instruments, diagnostic hardware and implants, and how inspection and traceability are handled.
Use it when: a medical program is moving from prototype to volume.
How We Built the Instant Quote Tool
Why we shipped a no-email-gate estimator, what it actually computes, and the trade-offs we made so a budget number appears in seconds.
Use it when: you want to know what's behind the number.
We Walked Away From a 10,000-Piece Order
When the print, the volume and the commercial terms didn't line up, we said no — and what that decision protects on every job after it.
Use it when: a quote feels too good to be true.
When a China Quote Matched a US Shop
A buyer sent us a US shop's quote and we came in level — what actually drove the number, and where offshore still wins on price.
Use it when: you're weighing a local vs offshore quote.
New from the Floor
Practical tools and straight-talk guides we've added — a printable checklist, an A–Z glossary, a quote decoder, real part photos, and honest notes on sourcing and quality.
Printable DFM Checklist
Twelve design-for-manufacture rules you can tick off before sending a drawing — with a one-page PDF to keep at your desk.
Use it when: you're about to release a drawing for quote.
CNC Machining Glossary (A–Z)
Sixty-plus terms from anodising to 5-axis, written for buyers — every entry links to the deeper guide it relates to.
Use it when: a quote or drawing uses a word you don't recognise.
How to Read a CNC Quote
Every line on a machining quote decoded — setup, programming, material, finishing, inspection — so two quotes finally compare.
Use it when: you're staring at quotes that don't add up.
Real Parts We've Machined
Aluminium, stainless, brass and plastic parts off our floor, grouped by material — no stock photos, no fake customer names.
Use it when: you want to see what the shop actually makes.
How to Work With a Chinese CNC Supplier
Seven checks before you send a drawing — real photos, quote reading, IP protection, inspection, lead times, Incoterms and after-sales.
Use it when: you're sourcing from China for the first time.
CNC vs Injection Moulding
Where the cost curves cross by quantity, and the decision table for your own part — including when moulding wins and when it doesn't.
Use it when: volumes may climb past a few thousand.
Our ISO 9001-Aligned Quality System
How we run quality on the floor without holding the certificate — seven practices, and when a certified supplier is the safer route.
Use it when: certification is on your checklist.
CNC Material Selection Guide
Twelve materials on one matrix — machinability, cost, corrosion, strength-to-weight — plus a five-question selector for aluminium, stainless, steel, titanium, brass, copper and engineering plastics. With a printable PDF.
Use it when: you're choosing the metal or plastic for a new part.
Instant Quote Tool
Upload your 2D drawing (PDF) and 3D STEP model and get an itemised reference quote in seconds — material cost from true model mass, machine time at a per-minute shop rate, setup and packaging free. Then send the files for a formal quote.
Use it when: you want a quick, transparent price before talking to sales.
CNC Machining for EV Components
How to brief machined EV parts — busbars, battery and inverter housings, liquid-cooling plates — with the material, flatness and DFM rules that keep a part from failing at the weld or the thermal interface.
Use it when: you're designing or sourcing EV powertrain parts.
CNC Machined Heat Sinks
Aluminium vs copper, fin geometry and the fin-spacing and base-flatness rules that keep a machined sink from chattering, warping or losing its thermal bond — plus the anodize trap.
Use it when: you're specifying a custom heat sink for power electronics.
Anodizing CNC Aluminum Parts
Type II vs Type III thickness, the 50/50 dimensional-growth rule that breaks tight bores, colour limits by alloy, and the three questions that stop you over-specifying hardcoat.
Use it when: an anodize call-out is about to move one of your tolerances.
Copper CNC Machining
When copper beats brass (conductivity vs machinability), the built-up-edge problem, grades C110/C145/C172, and the tolerances that actually hold on soft red metal.
Use it when: the part has to carry current or move heat.
Passivation of Stainless Steel
Why machined stainless rusts, when passivation (ASTM A967 / AMS 2700) is actually needed, and citric vs nitric — plus how we handle it through our finishing partner.
Use it when: a stainless part faces medical, food, marine or aerospace service.
Inconel & Hastelloy CNC Machining
Why nickel alloys fight the cutter, the low-speed / high-feed strategy that works, and the grades (718, 625, X, C-276) we run for aerospace, defense and energy.
Use it when: the part runs hot, corrodes, or both.
CNC Machining Supplier & Manufacturer
One supplier for milling, turning, 5-axis, prototyping and low-volume production — made in our own Shenzhen workshop, inspected under a single quality system.
Use it when: you need a supplier, not a reseller, for your program.
Custom CNC Parts
Any part machined to your drawing — any quantity, any common engineering material, with ±0.01mm precision, CMM inspection and a 24-hour quote.
Use it when: you are sending a drawing for a one-off or small batch.
Where We're Not the Right Shop
Three of the pages above are about jobs we didn't win, certificates we don't hold, and prices we couldn't beat. We publish them because the alternative is a website that says "quality, delivery, competitive pricing" — which every machine shop on earth already says.
If you're comparing quotes that don't seem to describe the same part, or you're not sure whether we're the right shop for your application, read those first. Then send us the drawing — we'll tell you straight.
Working to a standard we haven't covered?
Send the drawing and tell us what you need to hold. We'll quote it, or tell you who should.