How to Vet a Chinese Metal-Parts Factory Without Flying There
What a real factory audit checks, the red flags that never show up in a sales brochure, and how a drawing review separates capable shops from talkers.
Read the guide →Most expensive mistakes trace back to one of two things: the wrong factory, or a drawing that was never ready. Fix both, in this order.
Before any quote is trusted: what a real audit checks, and the red flags a brochure hides.
Five changes that move a drawing from “makeable eventually” to “right first time”.
Quoting, first articles, inspection and shipping — the full engagement, step by step.
Short enough to read before your next RFQ. Specific enough to act on.
What a real factory audit checks, the red flags that never show up in a sales brochure, and how a drawing review separates capable shops from talkers.
Read the guide →The five changes that take a drawing from “makeable eventually” to “right first time” — and why fixing them in the file costs cents instead of a tooling revision.
Read the guide →What the up-front work looks like when it lands — numbers from four delivered projects:
The process decision and drawing review happened before tooling was cut.
Read the case →Wall thickness optimized, first articles accepted with zero rework.
Read the case →Sheet metal, machined parts and extrusions — vetted, inspected, consolidated as one kit.
Read the case →13 years in machining, casting and assembly — ISO 9001/14001 auditor. The same person who writes these guides reviews your drawing and walks the factory floor.
Read the guide →Machining, casting, extrusion, sheet metal — what each vetted shop runs, the tolerances they hold and what they’re verified for.
Read the guide →Send a drawing and target market — I'll recommend the process and model the landed cost before you quote a customer.