by Chris Anjel | Sep 9, 2026 | Uncategorized
Most digital manufacturers treat jigs and fixtures as an afterthought — quick to quote, easy to underprice. But tooling often carries hidden complexity: design iterations, specialized materials, precision machining, and inspection requirements that don’t show up...
by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
Bridge tooling fills the gap between prototype tooling and hardened production steel. It lets customers validate designs, run pilot builds, and hit market deadlines while final tooling is being cut. For shops, these jobs can be profitable recurring revenue — if you...
by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
Most shops track material and machine time down to the penny. Consumables — cutting tools, inserts, abrasives, build plates, filters, nozzles — often get lumped into a vague shop-supplies line item or ignored entirely. Over a month of production, that oversight can...
by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
Most shops can quote a production part in their sleep. Material, machine time, tooling, overhead — the variables are familiar and the process is repeatable. But when a customer asks for a custom jig, fixture, or inspection gauge, the same confidence often...
by Chris Anjel | Aug 26, 2026 | Uncategorized
Tooling costs — fixtures, jigs, custom workholding, and specialized cutting tools — are a frequent source of quoting friction. Charge the full tooling cost upfront on a small prototype order and you risk losing the job. Spread it too thin across a large production run...
