by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
You quoted the print time perfectly. The material cost is dialed in. The machine hour rate covers overhead. Then the parts come off the printer or out of the CNC, and your team spends three hours sanding, removing supports, tapping holes, and bead blasting — labor you...
by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
You quoted five days. The anodizer took twelve. Your customer is angry, your shop looks unreliable, and the margin you fought for just evaporated in expedite fees and overtime.Outsourced finishing — anodizing, plating, powder coating, passivation, heat treatment — is...
by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
Finishing is where margins quietly disappear. A shop nails the machining or printing quote, then adds a flat “finishing fee” based on gut feel. The part comes back from the coater with masking damage, color mismatch, or cure issues — and the shop eats the...
by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
Most digital manufacturers have a solid handle on quoting the primary build — machine time, material, and setup for a CNC job or 3D print. Where margins evaporate is everything that happens after the part comes off the machine: support removal, media blasting,...
by Chris Anjel | Jul 13, 2026 | Materials & Pricing, Quoting & Estimating
Every digital manufacturer knows the drill: a customer sends an RFQ for a machined part, but the real work doesn’t stop at the mill. Heat treatment, anodizing, CMM inspection, thread inserts, and sub-assembly all live downstream. If you quote them as separate...
