r/engineering • u/bstoopid • 7d ago
Who are your go to suppliers for quick turnaround mechanical fabrication (US & EU)? [MECHANICAL]
I have personally used Protolabs for machining with good results. Looking for suppliers of the following services:
-machining -sheet metal -weldments -coatings
Part sizes ranging from 10 cm (4in) up to 2 meters (~80in). Quantitites 5-10 pieces. Quoting should take <5 days and items delivered in 4 weeks or less. Paying a premium for expedited work is less of a concern compared to the cost of delayed development. Thanks in advance!
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u/Ubericious Space MSc Elec Elec Eng BSc Aero FdEng 7d ago
Hubs (The Protolabs Network) a subsidiary of Protolabs - higher tolerances, better materials selection, cheaper
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u/as_a_fake 7d ago
I've used Hubs up in Canada. Typically 4-5 week turnaround for custom-machined parts in my experience.
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u/Mphineas 7d ago
Xometry has been good to me
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u/Phoenix525i Flair 6d ago
Same, I have my guys cross quote them with competition and local shops and they are always competitive for standard/economy pricing.
They can turn around some quick work too.
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u/tw_0407 5d ago
sheet metal: SendCutSend
machined: First Part. Chinese shop that will usually turn a quote in 24 hours and will reliably get your parts to you in 10-12 business days. Shipping on bigger parts might get expensive since it's coming from China but I've sourced 2m long parts from them before.
weldments: we use a local shop who can turn stuff around really quick, seems weldments are a bit tougher to find quick turn shops for, plus they're usually bigger so sourcing locally makes shipping much easier
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u/JoshyRanchy 1d ago
Mustapha's Engineering Works. ASME U and R Stamp.
Out in the Caribbean, they are the best.
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u/No_Main_227 1d ago
Local for machining usually, occasionally xometry or protolabs. Quickest is going to be if you have someone who can do it in house.
Sheet metal and 2D cutting: send cut send all the way. Xometry if you need non-standard thicknesses
I haven’t done that many welds yet, and all that I’ve done has been in house since we have a few guys that are wizards with tig.
Work with the machine shop on coatings, they probably have a preferred vendor already.
If delays are a huge concern, always fab more than you need and provide shops with more stock than they need if you’re providing stock. Almost lost 3 weeks once to a botched anodizing job, but luckily I fabricated more parts than I needed so it just ate into my spare inventory
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u/klmsa 6d ago
Quick turnaround, and no one is mentioning their local suppliers?
What the hell aren't y'all doing?
My locals would put down their family meals, kiss their kids and wife and say "I'll be back when I'm done", in order to next day some parts for me. Yeah, it's more expensive than a brokerage service, but that's for a reason. They usually have real employees and capital costs to cover. They aren't just guys with 30 year old CNC's in their garage without the appropriate gages or knowledge (I might also be one of those guys, so don't take this as me hating on the concept).
Also, Protolabs, Xometry, etc. are ISO9001...but almost none of the suppliers that actually produce the parts are. Not that 9001 is a make or break for most prototypes, but it is definitely indicative of the overall theme of quality that doesn't exist.
Anyway, they're my locals and you can't have them 😂. I've already shared them too far, and they're having to buy new equipment to manage all of the incoming jobs lol.