Complete guide
Choosing a Machined Weldment Supplier
Two shops can both truthfully say they make machined weldments and be completely different businesses. One welds well and sends parts out to be machined. The other machines well and buys its fabrications in. A third does both, and that is the one you are looking for.
This is how to tell them apart without a two day audit.
Start with the chain
Ask one question and listen to the whole answer.
Which of these do you do in your own building: profile cutting, forming, welding, stress relief, machining, inspection, coating?
Every no is a handoff. A handoff is a truck, a queue in somebody else's shop, a second lead time and a place where accountability blurs when a part comes back wrong. You are not looking for all yes. A shop that subcontracts galvanising and radiography is normal. You are looking for welding and machining together, and for the shop to be straight about the rest.
The numbers that rule shops in or out
Ask for figures, not machine names. These are quick and decisive.
Machine travels
X, Y and Z on the largest machine that would run your part. The first thing that rules a shop out.
Table load capacity
A 4 tonne frame on a table rated for 2 tonnes is not happening.
Crane and hook height
Often the real constraint. A shop can own the machine and not be able to get the part onto it.
Oven usable size
If they stress relieve in house. Internal usable dimensions, not the building.
Largest part last year
Welded and machined. A fact rather than an aspiration, and better than any capability sheet.
Setups planned for your part
It explains the price and tells you which quote carries the tolerance risk.
Who qualifies
This is the same bar we hold shops to before we pass them an enquiry. It is published so you can hold us to it, and so you can use it on suppliers you found yourself.
We do not audit shops and we certify nobody. We record what a shop says it holds and tell you.
- Welding and machining in the same shopOr machining as a planned, routine step with a named partner. Buyers on this site are paying to avoid a handoff in the middle of the job.
- Qualified procedures and weldersWritten procedures with supporting qualification records, and welder qualifications that are current for the process, position and material.
- A machine that takes the partTable size, travels and load capacity that match the size envelope and weight you accept, with the crane capacity to get the part on and off it.
- A stress relief answerAn oven with its usable size, a vibratory process or a named subcontractor. Saying it is not needed is also an answer, as long as you say why.
- Inspection you can evidenceVisual inspection as standard and a clear statement of which non-destructive methods are in house and which are bought in, plus a dimensional report against the drawing revision.
- Response timeYou reply to buyers within 48 hours, including to say you are passing on the part.
- ConfidentialityYou sign an NDA when the buyer asks for one, before the files move.
- Honest quotingYou decline parts you cannot hold or cannot inspect rather than quote and miss the date.
Red flags
The fast quote with no questions is the one that most often turns into a re-quote later.
- Cannot give machine travels from memory or within an hour.
- Says no fixture is needed on a large frame with tight geometry.
- Has no opinion on how much machining stock to leave.
- Quotes very fast on a complex part without asking a single question.
- Certificates exist but nobody can say what the scope covers.
- Will not say which steps are subcontracted.
Go deeper
- The Questions That Separate a Weldment Shop From a Welding ShopA practical assessment for machined weldment suppliers: machine travels, crane capacity, stress relief, inspection, qualifications and the questions that reveal real capability.
- AWS D1.1, ISO 3834 and EN 1090 Explained for People Who Buy WeldmentsWhat AWS D1.1, ISO 3834 and EN 1090 each cover, which one applies to your part and market, and what to ask a supplier to show you for each.
- What a WPS Is, and Why You Should Ask to See OneThe difference between a WPS, a PQR and a welder qualification record, what a qualification range covers and the three questions to ask a weldment supplier.
- Why a Machined Weldment Takes Ten Weeks and Not ThreeA realistic breakdown of machined weldment lead time: material, cutting, fit-up, welding, stress relief queues, machining, inspection and coating, and how to compress it.
- Which Weld Inspection Method to Specify, and on Which WeldsVisual, dye penetrant, magnetic particle, ultrasonic and radiographic testing on weldments: what each method finds, what it misses and what it adds to the quote.
Questions about suppliers
What is the single most useful question to ask a weldment supplier?
Which of these steps happen in your own building: profile cutting, forming, welding, stress relief, machining, inspection, coating. Every no is a handoff, and handoffs are where schedule and accountability go missing. You are not looking for all yes, you are looking for welding and machining together and for the shop to be straight about the rest.
How do I rule shops in or out quickly?
Three numbers. Machine travels in X, Y and Z on the largest machine that would run your part, table load capacity, and crane capacity with hook height. Ask for the numbers rather than machine names. A competent shop gives them from memory, and they decide the match faster than anything else.
Is a certificate enough?
A certificate covers a scope, and the scope has limits on materials, thicknesses, processes, positions and execution classes. An ISO 3834-2 certificate does not mean a shop can weld your duplex stainless, and an EN 1090 certificate for EXC2 does not cover EXC3 work. Ask what the scope covers, not whether the certificate exists.
Do you vet suppliers for me?
No, and we say so plainly. We record what a shop tells us about its machines, its qualifications and what it subcontracts, and we pass that on with the match. Verification before a purchase order stays with you, because it belongs inside your quality system and not inside ours.
Is a large shop safer than a small one?
No. A small shop that makes parts exactly like yours every week will often beat a large one where your part is an oddity. Size matters for capacity and for machine and crane envelope, not for competence.
Or let us do the matching
Send the drawing and we put it in front of up to 3 shops that already answer most of these well. You still run your own checks. Free for buyers, reply within 24 business hours.