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Mail-in welding fab companies?
- Thread starter crickets
- Start date
- Replies 11
- Views 1,962
Bondo
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Location
- Bridgeton NJ
I dont think directly there is yet. I also dont think it would survive. Its 1 thing to have Xometry and several cutting services which can be done by drawings and a machine. Its another thing to have something built by hand, by the lowest bidder.
Once the Japanese finish the piece work welding robots, then that can be a thing for 100 piece orders. Until then, I highly doubt that will happen.
Once the Japanese finish the piece work welding robots, then that can be a thing for 100 piece orders. Until then, I highly doubt that will happen.
BT Fabrication
Titanium
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2019
- Location
- Ontario Canada
material is heavy and harder to move when welded into assemblies. flat cut parts are easier and smaller to ship.
Not every assembly weighs ten tons and is made out of steel
I suspect there is a lot of precision welding happening on smaller assemblies often out of lighter alloys.
Bondo
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Location
- Bridgeton NJ
You should start one, and tell us how it goes.
I didn’t go full tilt doing it but did it for awhile. You spend more time than you might think explaining how things move when welded. General public customers get ready for a ton of small odds and ends repair work.
Keep an eye on shipping charges they will eat into the costs. Fun customers are the ones shipping you a box of broken stuff with directions written on masking tape attached to the parts.
Business customers are only interested when their workers can’t do it or they need the certs you have. Some of the stuff is very challenging requiring you to build one off fixtures to hold diminsions. If you quote the job with a line cost for fixturing there is a chance you’ll get a request to ship the fixture back with the part since they paid for it. Wasn’t a fun learning experience but I did learn lot.
Not saying you can’t make it work. Good luck.
Keep an eye on shipping charges they will eat into the costs. Fun customers are the ones shipping you a box of broken stuff with directions written on masking tape attached to the parts.
Business customers are only interested when their workers can’t do it or they need the certs you have. Some of the stuff is very challenging requiring you to build one off fixtures to hold diminsions. If you quote the job with a line cost for fixturing there is a chance you’ll get a request to ship the fixture back with the part since they paid for it. Wasn’t a fun learning experience but I did learn lot.
Not saying you can’t make it work. Good luck.
memphisjed
Titanium
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2019
- Location
- Memphis
I am not one to ask about the money end...
Super specialty work like friction or clad welding I can see. Maybe exoctics like ti or high nickel parts, otherwise you have Billy Bob with a harbor freight welder to Joes fabrication to compete with-
Repair work is a wonderful area to work in sometimes, you get to see everything and learn more about building than almost anything else.
Fabrication (welding) is very low profit margin, the processing of materials (cutting, bending, drilling, painting) is where you make or loss money, so a straight send-weld-send shop concept would be very low margin. Bonus is you have unknown parts coming in, making for some of the repair world challenges, while charging fabrication cost.
I guess it could work, restricting your envelope to a limited size/material and finishing would help.
Super specialty work like friction or clad welding I can see. Maybe exoctics like ti or high nickel parts, otherwise you have Billy Bob with a harbor freight welder to Joes fabrication to compete with-
Repair work is a wonderful area to work in sometimes, you get to see everything and learn more about building than almost anything else.
Fabrication (welding) is very low profit margin, the processing of materials (cutting, bending, drilling, painting) is where you make or loss money, so a straight send-weld-send shop concept would be very low margin. Bonus is you have unknown parts coming in, making for some of the repair world challenges, while charging fabrication cost.
I guess it could work, restricting your envelope to a limited size/material and finishing would help.
We bought a shop that had a welding business dating back to the 1940s. We kept the email and phone number but abandoned the name and the welding portion of the business because we don’t seek job work.
We receive all manner of emailed RFQs for welding and brazing production parts. We have the job history and politely answer all requests with an explanation why we decline to quote. About 75% come back asking if we have the records or if we can do it one last time. We quote them 2 to 3 times the historical prices. Typical quantities range from 10 to 5000 parts. Most are odd applications. Mostly TIG, plasma and resistance welding. Some flame brazing. Lots of stainless, incolnel, copper, titanium, brass, tool steel, aluminum castings, dissimilar metals, etc. Mostly tiny to small parts.
The customers send the parts in all cases. We weld them and ship them. We no-quote all fabrication. The jobs usually ship FedEx ground. The customer pays shipping both ways.
I don’t think this work will go away. Actually, I believe there is an abundance of it. It is mostly old replacement parts that are a PITA for some OEM. The prints are typically 80s or 90s. Some are 50s. In most cases, we have far more info than the customers have. The applications require skill, equipment and exotic electrodes.
We receive all manner of emailed RFQs for welding and brazing production parts. We have the job history and politely answer all requests with an explanation why we decline to quote. About 75% come back asking if we have the records or if we can do it one last time. We quote them 2 to 3 times the historical prices. Typical quantities range from 10 to 5000 parts. Most are odd applications. Mostly TIG, plasma and resistance welding. Some flame brazing. Lots of stainless, incolnel, copper, titanium, brass, tool steel, aluminum castings, dissimilar metals, etc. Mostly tiny to small parts.
The customers send the parts in all cases. We weld them and ship them. We no-quote all fabrication. The jobs usually ship FedEx ground. The customer pays shipping both ways.
I don’t think this work will go away. Actually, I believe there is an abundance of it. It is mostly old replacement parts that are a PITA for some OEM. The prints are typically 80s or 90s. Some are 50s. In most cases, we have far more info than the customers have. The applications require skill, equipment and exotic electrodes.
Big B
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2009
- Location
- Michigan, USA
Cool story. Did you keep some of the manpower when you bought the welding shop or need to get the skills yourself to do the welding?
We kept one welder / fab guy. Good catch The rest were ready to hang up their torch. We have several people who are pretty good. I have a lot of metal joining experience and can teach.
We just got another job in today to silver solder some sort of ancient super-duty electrical contacts. Another guy showed up this week with parts for 3500 V-belt hangers that need spot welded. Go figure - I thought that would have been in China decades ago. All weird work.
We just got another job in today to silver solder some sort of ancient super-duty electrical contacts. Another guy showed up this week with parts for 3500 V-belt hangers that need spot welded. Go figure - I thought that would have been in China decades ago. All weird work.
CITIZEN F16
Titanium
- Joined
- May 2, 2021
I think once you add handling and shipping charges, it would be hard to compete with a local shop, unless you found customers out in the middle of nowhere. Are you wanting to do production and repair welding or just production? Like were I am at, the nearest weld shop is a 60-90 minute round trip, but that is the same distance to ship something other than using the post office.
I think to even give it a shot you will have to do a lot of advertising. I think most of the time out sourcing welding jobs would be sporadic for most companies. If someone had recurring production jobs they would probably quickly bring it in house. Kind of like me needing a centerless grind shop. In a little over 25 years in business I have needed one maybe a half dozen times. Never used the same one twice, no complaints on the work, they all went out of business. So 4 years from now I stumble upon a production job, small parts that need welding. I am only good with an arc welder and an idiot stick.
How will I find you in the year 2026?
I think to even give it a shot you will have to do a lot of advertising. I think most of the time out sourcing welding jobs would be sporadic for most companies. If someone had recurring production jobs they would probably quickly bring it in house. Kind of like me needing a centerless grind shop. In a little over 25 years in business I have needed one maybe a half dozen times. Never used the same one twice, no complaints on the work, they all went out of business. So 4 years from now I stumble upon a production job, small parts that need welding. I am only good with an arc welder and an idiot stick.
How will I find you in the year 2026?