The questions we ask a shop before it sees your drawing

This is our own vetting set, published in full. Use it with shops we have never met, in any country. It takes a serious supplier ten minutes to answer and it tells you more than any brochure or certificate scan.

01. Machine list with model, quantity and year, and the largest part envelope you can hold with fixturing.What it tests: A count of machines tells you nothing. A list tells you whether your part fits and whether a second machine can run it if one goes down.
02. Which processes are done in house and which are subcontracted, named by process.What it tests: Subcontracting heat treatment and finishing is normal. Hiding it is not, and it is where lead times slip.
03. Inspection equipment on site, and whether calibration certificates are available.What it tests: A tolerance nobody can measure is a tolerance nobody can prove. This answer decides whether your drawing is enforceable.
04. A redacted dimensional report from a recent job, as an example of your format.What it tests: Thirty seconds of reading tells you whether reports here contain measured values or only ticks.
05. A part you already make with similar size, material and tightest tolerance, and what was difficult about it.What it tests: A specific answer means they have made it. No problem means they have not looked.
06. Typical lead time for a first order of 250 pieces in aluminium, from purchase order.What it tests: Gives you a baseline to compare, and shows whether the shop quotes from the purchase order or from drawing approval.
07. Payment terms for a first order, and the account name the payment goes to.What it tests: An account name that is not the company name is a stop signal, regardless of the price.
08. Who prepares export documents, and have you shipped to my region before.What it tests: Plenty of capable shops are domestic only. Workable if known in advance, expensive if discovered at shipment.

Send it as it stands

1. Machine list with model, quantity and year, and the largest part envelope you can hold with fixturing.

2. Which processes are done in house and which are subcontracted, named by process.

3. Inspection equipment on site, and whether calibration certificates are available.

4. A redacted dimensional report from a recent job, as an example of your format.

5. A part you already make with similar size, material and tightest tolerance, and what was difficult about it.

6. Typical lead time for a first order of 250 pieces in aluminium, from purchase order.

7. Payment terms for a first order, and the account name the payment goes to.

8. Who prepares export documents, and have you shipped to my region before.

Scoring the answers

A shop does not have to be strong at everything. It has to be strong where your risk sits.

Tight tolerance partWeight questions 3 and 4 hardest. Inspection capability is the constraint, not machining.
Large partQuestion 1 decides it. Envelope with fixturing, not table size.
First importQuestions 7 and 8. Payment and documents are where first orders actually go wrong.
Repeat productionQuestion 6 plus a follow up: what quantity would justify a dedicated fixture.

Three answers of marketing copy instead of specifics is itself an answer. The longer version is in the guide on vetting a machine shop.

Rather not run this yourself?

We run it for every shop before a brief reaches them, and the rest of the method is on how we work. Shops that want to be asked these questions can register on the partner page or write to partner at vncnc.com.

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