Guides / Manufacturing
Material and process guides
from our shop floor.
The same questions come up on nearly every RFQ: which alloy, which process, which finish. These guides are our answers — written by engineers, based on what we actually see work in production.
/ Materials
7 min
6061 vs 7075 Aluminum — Which Grade for Which Part
The cost/strength/anodize tradeoff, and when 6061 is actually wrong.
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/ Materials
8 min
PEEK vs Ultem — When Each One Wins
Medical sterilization, transparency, high-temp, and chemical resistance compared.
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/ Process
9 min
CNC vs Vacuum Casting for 50–500 Pieces
The break-even math on tooling, lead time, and per-unit cost — with real numbers.
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/ Materials
8 min
Titanium vs 316L Stainless for Medical Devices
Cost, weight, biocompatibility, and when you genuinely need titanium.
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/ Materials
9 min
304 vs 316 Stainless — When 2% Molybdenum Matters
Food-grade, marine, medical, and pharma selection rules. When the 20% cost premium for 316 is actually worth it.
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/ Process
10 min
Sheet Metal Bend Radius Chart
Minimum bend radius by material and thickness. K-factor, springback, bend-to-feature clearance — our production floor reference.
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/ Quality
9 min
Surface Roughness Ra Guide — Values and Process Capability
ISO N-grade chart, Ra vs Rz, achievable finish by machining method, and when each finish spec is worth the cost.
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/ Finishing
10 min
Anodize Type II vs Type III Hardcoat
Thickness, hardness, color options, and cost. When Type III is worth 2-3× the price — and when Type II is the right call.
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/ Process
12 min
DFM Checklist — 24 Points We Review Before Quoting
The internal pre-quote checklist our engineers run on every drawing. Walls, radii, threads, tolerances, finish, files.
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/ Materials
9 min
Kovar vs Alloy 42 vs Invar 36 — Sealing Alloy Selection
Three controlled-expansion nickel-iron alloys, three different jobs. Which one matches your glass, ceramic, or dimensional target.
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/ Sourcing
9 min
Xometry vs China CNC — When Each Approach Wins
Xometry, Protolabs, and direct-source suppliers compared on price, lead time, IP, and support — with real per-part cost math.
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Email our engineers with your question — we've seen most of them before, and the ones we haven't, we'll research.