China-based engineering desk

Design the tool.
Skip the freight risk.

Stamping die and welding fixture design by people who have actually built dies — process analysis, strip layout, 3D structure and 2D drawings, delivered as files. Where a physical die, fixture or part genuinely pays, we quote it landed and state up front what we will not carry: on-site service, local certification and heavy low-value freight.

1 dayQuote turnaround
2Revision rounds included
NDABefore drawings move
50/50Source files on balance
Sample deliverable · die design
Stamping die design 4 files · digital delivery

Progressive die for a 1.2 mm CRS terminal

Process analysis and strip layout first, then DL drawings, 3D die structure and a standard-parts bill. Nothing is machined until the strip is agreed with you.

Volume200k / year
Deliverables4 files
Lead time12 days
STEP · DWG · PDF native
No pallets, no duty, no port
Price a similar job
For buyers who don't speak machine shop
RFQ in plain English DFM review included Files, not pallets Fixed price before work starts
Process

Four steps, no forwarding chains

You write the brief once. From then on you talk to one desk — the same people who scope the work, price it and chase it on the floor.

01

Describe the requirement

A short form: what you need, volumes, target budget, deadline. Attach drawings, specs or screenshots — anything you already have.

5 minutes
02

Scope & fixed quote

We review the files, flag manufacturability risks, and send one price with a lead time. No open-ended hourly billing.

Within 1 business day
03

Design in signed-off stages

Strip layout and die structure are approved before any detail drawing is cut loose. 50% at order, 40% on drawing release, balance on native source files.

10–15 days
04

Files first, metal second

Design packages arrive as STEP, DWG and PDF — nothing to clear through customs. Where a physical die or fixture is quoted, it ships DDP and never includes on-site commissioning.

No port, no duty
Capabilities

Design first. Build only where it pays.

Three of the seven are pure engineering, delivered as files — no freight, no duty, no on-site service. The rest is physical work, quoted landed, and taken only where the volume carries the transport.

Design · files only

Stamping Die Design

Process analysis, strip layout, DL drawings, 3D die structure and a standard-parts bill. Delivered in NX or STEP, 2D in DWG and PDF. Your local die shop builds from it — no shipment, no duty, no site visit.

Design · files only

Welding Fixture Design

Fixtures for MIG, TIG and spot welding: datum and clamp sequence, air clamps, quick-change pins, and a tryout checklist your builder follows. Design and drawings only — tryout support by video call.

Design · files only

Jigs & Fixtures

Drill jigs, machining fixtures and checking fixtures. Datum strategy, clamp layout and drawings an operator can follow — engineered here, built wherever you already machine.

Build · landed quote

Prototype Dies

Low-cost tooling for pre-series: laser blank, simple bend fixture, manual form tool. Quoted DDP and taken only when the tooling value carries the freight — below USD 3,000 we will design it, not ship it.

Build · landed quote

Production Stamping Dies

Progressive, transfer and manual dies for volume programmes. Quoted DDP, 60% at order, tryout documented — but no on-site commissioning, and no local certification.

Build · landed quote

Sheet Metal Fabrication

Laser cutting, bending, welding, clinching and powder coating. Volume work only: below 2,000 pcs the set-up, export clearance and freight outweigh the parts.

Build · landed quote

CNC Machining

3 to 5-axis milling, turning and grinding in aluminium, steel, stainless and plastics. Production quantities are priced landed; one-off batches are on our no-quote list.

Not sure which route fits?

Send the drawing as it is. We tell you whether this is a design job, a build job, or a job you should place locally — and price the first two.

Send the files
Example briefs

The kind of work this desk receives

Illustrative examples from the demo data set — volumes, prices and references are samples, not client records. Real references are released under NDA on request.

Send a similar job

Six sample briefs from the demo data set. Track your own brief with the reference you received when you sent the drawing.

Why Zhaohua

A buyer's desk inside the supply base

01

One quote, not a bidding war

We price the work ourselves and stand behind the number. No marketplace auction, where the lowest bid wins and the scope quietly shrinks.

02

English-first, factory-fluent

You write in English, we work in Chinese with the floor. Nothing is lost between the drawing and the machine.

03

Risks flagged before money moves

Thin walls, impossible tolerances, tooling that won't survive the volume — we say it in the quote, not after the shipment.

04

Your files stay yours

NDA before drawings circulate, no reuse of your design, and native 3D and 2D files handed back with every design or tooling job.

What the desk commits to

Numbers we hold ourselves to on every brief, from a single prototype to a production run.

Quote turnaround< 24 h
Scope changes priced in2 days
Payment structure50 / 50
Spec deviationRework or credit
Start a brief

No account needed. You get a reference number and a tracking link immediately.

Straight answers

What we don't take

Most of what we sell is engineering, delivered as files. So the no-list is mostly about physical work — and we say it on the same day, not after you have chased us for two weeks.

One-off parts, no repeat volume Under 10 pcs or under USD 2,000 per order. Set-up, export clearance and air freight cost more than the parts. Send the drawing anyway — we will tell you the minimum order that works.
Anything needed inside a week Machining, tooling and ocean freight cannot be compressed into seven days. If you need it that fast, a local shop is the honest answer.
Local certification or on-site service If the goods must be certified by a body in your country, installed on your line, commissioned on site or serviced locally, we cannot carry that obligation from here. Design it with us, build it down the road.
Anything where we would own the physical warranty Parts we cannot inspect before they leave, tooling we cannot try out with your parts in the loop, or deliveries where a defect means a flight. Those go to a supplier in your timezone.
Enquiries that only compare price If the only question is which supplier is cheapest per kilogram, we are not the right desk. We compete on drawings, tooling and repeat production, priced landed.
Heavy, low-value steel Rough parts where freight eats the labour saving — structural weldments, thick plate, bulk bar stock. The landed price lands at your local yard's anyway.

On this list, but not sure? Send the drawing and describe it honestly. We reply with either a price or the reason we are the wrong desk — either way, you hear from us within one business day.

Questions

Before you send the brief

Yes. Describe the function, the environment, the size and the volume. If a drawing is needed we quote the design work separately, and the CAD files become yours. Sketches, photos of an existing part and competitor links are all useful.

We quote against a written scope statement that comes back with the price. Anything outside that statement is a change order with its own price and schedule, agreed before work starts. You never get an invoice for work you did not approve.

You do, once the tooling is paid for. Dies, jigs and fixtures are stored at the supplier but remain your property and can be shipped to another supplier on request. Design packages are handed over in native 3D (STEP or NX) plus 2D drawings, so any die shop can pick them up.

Bank transfer or card through a payment provider, invoiced in USD. Standard terms are 50% to start and 50% before shipment, with milestone billing on larger programmes. Receipts and invoices are issued in English for your accounting.

Yes, and that is often the fastest route. Put your target price and its basis (EXW, FOB or DDP) in the form. We cost the part against material, machining, tooling, freight and duty, then answer one of three ways: we accept it, we counter with one number and the reason, or we decline and tell you what would have to change. We never accept a price we cannot hold to.

Leave it blank and we quote from the drawing — one price, with the price basis, lead time split into tooling, production and transit, and the assumptions written down. Target price is optional on every brief.

Both, but they are different products. Design packages ship nothing: process analysis, strip layout, DL drawings, 3D structure and BOM arrive as a download link, with native source files released on final payment. Physical dies, fixtures and parts are quoted DDP with the price basis stated, and always exclude on-site commissioning, local certification and duty disputes.

Because a drawing carries no freight, no duty and no site visit. A USD 3,000–8,000 die design is mostly engineering hours, delivered in two to three weeks with the cash cycle short. A USD 22,000 die carries four months of steel, machining, tryout, sea freight and a defect risk we cannot inspect from here. So we sell the thinking, and let your local shop carry the metal.

Yes — tick the NDA box in the form and we send a mutual NDA for signature before any file leaves your side. If you have your own template, upload it with the brief.

Send the drawing today. Get a written price within one business day.

One form, five minutes, no account. Design work is quoted as a fixed price per package; build work is quoted landed, with the exclusions written down.

Send a drawing