McGrath Metal, 45090 Golf Center Parkway, Indio, CA 92201
Tel: 760-895-2578 - Email: orders@mcgrathmetal.com
Small Orders: Why Some Jobs Work and Others Don’t
We are frequently contacted by small fabricators, hobbyists, artists, inventors, and small businesses seeking to have a relatively small job completed: one bracket, one sign, a prototype, or a handful of custom metal parts.
Some of these jobs are straightforward to review, quote, and manufacture. Others prove impractical; not because of who is asking, but because of the amount of work required before manufacturing can even begin.
We want to be clear about this from the outset; the size of the customer is not the issue. We are happy to work with businesses and individuals of any size, including small fabricators, artists and hobbyists producing a single piece. What determines whether a job is practical is the value and quantity of the order relative to the design assistance, shop preparation, and machine programming it requires.
Why Setup Cost Is the Real Issue
Every custom job that passes through a precision fabrication shop requires preparation, regardless of how many parts are produced. This is referred to as "set-up".
Depending on the process, set-up may include:
- Reviewing and correcting the customer’s files
- Confirming dimensions, materials, tolerances, and finishes
- Importing or redrawing the part geometry
- Preparing a machine-ready programming file
- Nesting parts onto the material
- Selecting tooling and cutting parameters
- Loading the correct material
- Setting up and programming the machine
- Cutting and inspecting the first part
- Verifying that the finished part matches the approved drawing
Much of this work takes approximately the same amount of time whether the order is for one part or one hundred.
This is not unique to McGrath Metal. It is a basic economic reality throughout laser cutting, CNC machining, forming, welding, and precision fabrication. Setup and programming are largely fixed costs. They become more economical when those costs can be distributed across a larger number of parts or an order of sufficient value.
A one-off part must carry the entire cost of preparation by itself. This is why a single small component can be disproportionately expensive compared with its physical size or the amount of material it contains.
The raw metal may be worth only a few dollars, but the material is often the least significant part of the total cost.
What Makes a Small Job More Difficult
Setup costs are usually manageable when a project is clearly and completely defined. The problem becomes more significant when the design work has not yet been completed. We regularly receive inquiries supported by:
- Incomplete drawings missing critical dimensions, angles, radii, feature locations, tolerances, or specifications
- Sketches that communicate the general idea but do not contain enough information to quote or manufacture the part
- Photographs of an existing part without dimensions
- Cardboard or paper templates that much be scanned or measured by hand.
- Verbal descriptions with no usable drawing
- CAD files that are not drawn to scale or contain open, overlapping, or duplicate geometry
- Drawings that do not identify the material, thickness, finish, or critical tolerances
- In those situations, the job requires design and detailing work before it can be accurately quoted or manufactured.
That process may involve several rounds of questions, or a meeting to understand the customer’s intentions, producing or rebuilding the drawing, sending it to the customer for review, making revisions, and obtaining approval before programming begins. This process is very time consuming.
We are happy to provide design and detailing assistance when the overall size or value of a project supports the additional cost. For a larger project, a recurring order, or a product that will eventually enter production, that investment may be entirely reasonable.
For a one-off part or very small prototype order, however, the combined cost of design, detailing, setup, and programming can easily exceed the apparent value of the part itself. That is what makes the job impractical—not the customer and often not the part.
The Difference Between a Concept and a Production Drawing
A concept drawing explains what someone generally wants.
A production drawing defines exactly what must be made.
For a precision fabrication shop to produce a part accurately, the drawing must answer the questions that affect its manufacture. Depending on the part, those questions may include:
- What material is required?
- What is the material thickness?
- What are the overall dimensions?
- Where are the holes, slots, bends, and other features located?
- What are the required diameters, radii, and angles?
- Are any dimensions particularly critical?
- What tolerances must be maintained?
- Is there a required grain direction?
- Does the part require bending, welding, grinding, or assembly?
- What surface finish or coating is required?
- Which side of the part is considered the visible face?
A rough sketch may communicate the idea perfectly well while still failing to provide the information needed to manufacture it.
When the fabrication shop must determine those details, the shop is no longer simply manufacturing the customer’s design. It is also providing design development, engineering interpretation, and detailing services.
How to Make a Small Order More Workable
The good news is that many of the factors that make a small job impractical can be addressed before the job reaches the fabrication shop.
The single most helpful step is to provide a complete, usable CAD file.
For flat laser-cut parts, we generally prefer a clean two-dimensional DXF file drawn at full 1:1 scale. We typically work in decimal-inch units, so the drawing units should be clearly identified.
Every dimension, angle, and hole location can be read directly from the file.
Along with the file, specify material type, material thickness, finish, and any tolerances that matter to how the part functions.
A complete file this way removes the design and detailing step entirely, which is usually the single biggest thing standing between a small order and a viable one.
The DXF should contain the finished part geometry and should be checked for:
- Closed contours
- Correct dimensions
- Correct hole and slot locations
- Correct radii and angles
- No duplicate or overlapping lines
- No unnecessary construction geometry
- No unsupported fonts or unconverted text
- No unintended geometry positioned away from the part
- Consistent units and scale
If the part involves bending or multiple parts and will become a 3D object, then the shop drawing needs to be produced in third angle projection. Third angle projection means all elevations or facets of the part are shown including, top down view, front view, side view, opposite side view, back view and bottom (if there are different features on the opposite side back, or bottom view)
For 3D parts, normally a program called SolidWorks or Autodesk Fusion is used to convey information on 3D objects, However, it's not always necessary. A clean two-dimensional DXF showing all the relevant elevations and views will convey the exact same information.
Can a Hand Sketch Be Used?
Sometimes. For a very simple part, a hand sketch may be sufficient, provided it includes every dimension and specification needed to reproduce the part without interpretation.
A usable sketch should be neat, legible, and fully dimensioned. It must identify the material, thickness, quantity, and any important tolerances or finishes. Dimensions should be taken from clear reference points and should not conflict with one another.
A sketch showing only the general shape is not a production drawing.
The practical test is simple: could another qualified person manufacture the part correctly from the information provided without having to telephone the customer and ask a series of additional questions?
When the answer is yes, the sketch may be sufficient. When the answer is no, additional design work will be required.
Inexpensive Ways to Produce a CAD File
You do not need an expensive professional engineering package to create a useful two-dimensional DXF file.
Two relatively affordable options are:
QCAD Professional
https://qcad.org/prestashop/en/qcad/20-qcad-professional.html
TurboCAD Designer
https://imsidesign.com/products/turbocad/turbocad-windows/turbocad-designer
Both programs are capable of producing accurate two-dimensional drawings and exporting DXF files suitable for many basic laser-cutting and fabrication projects.
The software alone, of course, does not guarantee a production-ready file. The drawing must still be created accurately, at the correct scale and in the correct units, with all required manufacturing information supplied.
Why Basic CAD Skills Are Worth Learning
For a serious small fabricator, artist, hobbyist, inventor, or business that regularly needs custom metal parts, basic CAD ability is one of the most valuable practical skills to develop.
There can be a learning curve, but producing straightforward two-dimensional drawings does not require becoming a professional engineer or mastering an advanced three-dimensional design system. With some focused effort, most people can learn to create simple profiles, place holes accurately, apply dimensions, and export a usable DXF file in a few hours.
That ability offers several advantages:
- Fabrication shops can understand the project more quickly
- Quotations can be prepared more accurately
- Design misunderstandings are reduced
- Revisions are easier to manage
- Programming costs may be reduced
- Parts can be reproduced consistently
- The customer retains an accurate digital record of the design
- Future production runs become much easier
A clear CAD file also gives a project greater authority and credibility. It shows that the design has been considered carefully and that the customer understands the distinction between a general idea and information that can be used for manufacturing.
We occasionally meet experienced tradespeople who arrive with a cardboard template with a heavy marker outline, or a rough sketch on the back of a piece of packaging. Such templates may be useful during field fitting, but they are not always sufficient for accurate quotation, programming, or repeatable production.
There is nothing inherently wrong with beginning with a cardboard template. Many good products begin that way. But the template will need to be scanned or hand measurement, all of which involves time and cost.
If someone works with metal regularly and expects outside shops to manufacture custom components, the ability to produce a proper drawing should be considered part of the process, not a value added service. The trade and the ability to produce a drawing belong together.
Design Assistance is Available, but it has Value, and its a Limited Resource.
McGrath Metal has more than 40 years of experience with general, precision, and complex fabrication processes. We are happy to share that experience with customers who want to understand the process and develop a workable project, but our time is limited, questions cannot be endless.
We can assist with design development, drawing preparation, material selection, manufacturing methods, tolerances, and other production considerations. However, that work requires professional time and must be treated as part of the cost of the project.
When a customer provides a complete drawing, we can concentrate on manufacturing.
When a customer provides only a concept, we first need to become the designer, detailer, and manufacturing consultant. That can be appropriate for a project of sufficient size or value, but it is rarely economical to provide extensive design development at no charge for a very small order.
Customers therefore have two practical options:
1. Provide complete, production-ready information so that we can quote and manufacture the part efficiently.
2. Ask us to provide the necessary design and detailing assistance, understanding that this professional time will be included in the cost.
Neither option is wrong. The difficulty arises when extensive design assistance is required but the customer expects the final cost to reflect only the size or material value of the finished part.
The Bottom Line
We welcome inquiries from businesses, fabricators, artists, inventors, and hobbyists.
A small order can be entirely workable when it is well defined and supported by complete production information. A larger order can justify more design assistance because the cost can be distributed across a greater project value or production quantity.
What usually makes a small job impractical is not its physical size. It is the amount of unanswered design work, drawing preparation, setup, and programming required before the first part can be produced.
If you are unsure whether your project is a suitable fit, or whether your drawing contains the information we need, you are welcome to contact us. We will review what you have and explain plainly whether the job is workable as submitted or what would be required to move it forward.
Customers who invest some effort in defining their parts accurately will generally receive faster answers, more reliable quotations, and more economical manufacturing.
Customers who need us to determine every detail should expect either that the project may not be practical at a small volume or that the cost will reflect the additional design and detailing work required.