Submit your CAD file → DFM engineering review (same day) → itemised quote (within 24 hours) → production confirmation → fabrication → QC inspection → air freight → delivery to your Singapore facility. Typical total lead time: 7–14 business days from drawing approval to parts in hand, depending on complexity and batch size. Prototypes can move faster.
The Full Process, Step by Step
Preparing and Submitting Your Files
The quality of your submission directly determines the speed and accuracy of your quote. A complete drawing package enables same-day DFM review and a quote the next morning. An incomplete package triggers back-and-forth that adds days to the process.
- 2D profile parts (laser cutting): DXF or DWG with accurate geometry, all holes and features to final size. Include a PDF drawing with tolerance callouts, material, finish, and quantity.
- 3D formed/machined parts (bending, CNC): STEP or IGES file for geometry, plus a 2D PDF drawing with all critical dimensions, GD&T callouts, and bend angle requirements.
- Specify material grade explicitly: Write “SS316L” not “stainless steel.” Write “AL6061-T6” not “aluminium.” Ambiguous material specs default to the most common grade, which may not be what you need.
- Include surface finish requirements: If Ra or Rz values are specified, include them. If a coating or anodising is required, state the specification and colour/finish standard.
- State quantity clearly: Separate prototype quantities from production quantities if you want pricing for both tiers.
DFM Engineering Review
Before pricing is generated, our engineering team reviews your drawing for Design for Manufacturability (DFM) — the process of identifying features that may be difficult, costly, or impossible to produce as drawn, and flagging them before they become production problems.
- Tolerance audit: Are the specified tolerances achievable with the selected process and material? Tolerances tighter than the process capability without cause add cost without benefit.
- Feature geometry check: Internal corner radii too small for the bending tooling; hole diameters smaller than the material thickness; wall sections that may distort during welding.
- Material-process compatibility: Is the specified material compatible with the specified process and finish? (Example: certain aluminium alloys do not anodise uniformly.)
- Assembly-level review: If you have shared multiple related parts, we check whether they will assemble correctly as drawn.
Quotation and Approval
Following DFM review, you receive a detailed, itemised quotation. This is not a ballpark figure — it is a structured cost breakdown that reflects the actual manufacturing route your parts will take.
- Line-item pricing: Material cost, laser cutting, secondary operations (bending, welding, grinding), surface finishing, inspection, and packaging are listed separately so you can see where cost is concentrated.
- Lead time commitment: A firm production and delivery timeline, not an estimate range. This includes production time, QC, and freight transit days to Singapore.
- DFM feedback included: Any manufacturability concerns identified in Step 2 are summarised in the quote, with our recommended modification (if any) and the cost impact of proceeding as-drawn vs. modified.
- Approval process: Reply by email to confirm, or request a revision. No purchase order system, no procurement portal — direct communication.
Production and In-Process QC
Once your approval is received, your job enters the production queue. Parts are routed through the required process sequence — laser cutting, bending, welding, polishing, engraving — with in-process quality checks at each stage.
- First Article Inspection (FAI): The first completed piece is fully measured against your drawing before the batch run proceeds. Any setup deviation is corrected at piece one, not piece five hundred.
- In-process dimensional monitoring: Critical dimensions are checked periodically throughout the run to catch any process drift before it affects the full batch.
- Material traceability: Raw material used for your parts is logged by heat number against your production order, enabling full traceability from material certificate to finished part.
- Process documentation: Parameters, operator records, and in-process inspection data are retained with your job file.
Final Inspection and Documentation
Before parts are packaged, every critical dimension is verified against your drawing using CMM, optical imaging equipment, or calibrated gauges as appropriate for the feature type and tolerance.
- Full CMM dimensional report: All critical dimensions measured and recorded with nominal, actual, and deviation values.
- Surface roughness verification: Ra/Rz measurements where surface finish is specified.
- Visual and cosmetic inspection: Part marking, edge condition, surface finish appearance, and any specified cosmetic requirements.
- Documentation compilation: Material certificate, dimensional inspection report, FAI report, and certificate of conformance assembled into a shipment package.
Packaging and Delivery to Singapore
Parts are individually protected against transit damage, labelled with your part numbers and revision, and shipped via expedited air freight with door-to-door tracking. The quality documentation package is included with the shipment.
- Packaging standards: Precision parts are individually wrapped and separated, not bulk-packed. Fragile or high-value parts are foam-inlaid. Packaging is specified on your quote.
- Customs documentation: Commercial invoice, packing list, and applicable origin declarations are prepared to enable smooth customs clearance at Singapore.
- Shipment tracking: Tracking number shared at point of handover. Transit time is 3–5 business days door-to-door to Singapore facilities under normal airline capacity conditions.
- Delivery confirmation: We follow up on delivery confirmation. If a shipment issue arises in transit, we are the point of contact — not a freight broker you have never spoken to.
File Format Reference
| Format | Best For | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| DXF / DWG | 2D laser cut profiles | Must be 1:1 scale, all features to final cut size | Preferred for 2D |
| STEP (.stp) | 3D bending, CNC, complex parts | Include 2D PDF drawing with critical dims and tolerances | Preferred for 3D |
| IGES (.igs) | 3D geometry (legacy) | Acceptable but STEP is preferred for better compatibility | Acceptable |
| PDF (drawing) | Tolerance callouts, GD&T | Must accompany any 2D or 3D file; not sufficient alone | Required supplement |
| AI / SVG | Engraving artwork | For marking and engraving artwork only; not for cut geometry | Engraving only |
| JPG / PNG | Reference images | Not usable for production; attach alongside a proper CAD file | Reference only |
- ✓CAD file: DXF/DWG for 2D profiles; STEP for 3D formed or machined parts
- ✓PDF drawing: All critical dimensions, tolerances, GD&T, and notes clearly marked
- ✓Material specification: Full grade designation (e.g., SS316L, AL6061-T6, PI film 0.05mm)
- ✓Surface finish: Required Ra/Rz value, or coating type and specification
- ✓Quantity: Prototype quantity and/or production batch quantity, clearly separated
- ✓Delivery requirement: Required-by date at your Singapore facility
- ✓Documentation requirements: State upfront if FAI report, material certs, or CMM data are required
Ready to Start Your Project?
Submit your drawing package and receive a DFM-reviewed quote within 24 hours. No minimum order quantity — prototype to production, we handle both.
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