Quality Stainless Steel Manufacturers

[Paul Thomas]

Does anyone know of quality stainless steel manufacturers (or a good starting point to look) that can produce small steel items (3-4x2-3 box-shaped, that will have hinges and clasps) with potential custom printed/engraved designs or leather inserts in relatively low sample quantities?

My gut says something like this is a "USA" thing, but who cares what my gut says if someone has real experience...

Thanks!

 

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[Sovereign]

You are looking for stainless steel 'fabricators', i think (SS manufacturers are those which actually produce the material).
Maybe even sheet-metal workers?

USA thing - you can get it in USA, but just as well in EU.
You might want to find a company which does more than just manufacture parts, as it sounds like you will need assembly as well, and maybe sourcing?

Search for prototyping & low volume production companies.

What's the volume? 100's or 1000's?

 

[Michael Moore]

Manufactures produce metal products ie, box section, angle section, plate and pipe sections etc
You need a fabrication shop, Google ur local area for the different types
Find a local one if its small numbers if for larger numbers then u need a shop with high production capacity eg laser cutters cnc press machinery etc
Youtube does good videos on these topics, Cnc manufacturing etc
U need big order numbers to keep costs low
If its a soon to be bespoke unit and u think the Foreign producers(Chinese or Indian etc) wont copy no matter what they sign or tell u then here endith lesson one

 

[David Young]

At last a subject I have some expertise on. The term stainless steel covers a range of different grades. It would therefore be worth doing some back ground reading to ensure you spec the correct grade of steel. As a general guide the higher the total alloy content the more expensive. Some applications can be satisfied with the 200 series steels which are Ni free and therefore cheaper than the 300 series.

Happy to help but would need more information on the application and how you intend to make. Depending on the design and application - plating is also an option work considering.

 

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[million$$$smile]

Just Google stainless steel fabricators in your area. You shouldn't have a problem finding one. The problem will be finding one that will create a small quantity for you without charging an exorbitant fee. Do you have CAD drawings or a prototype of some sort in another material? If not, you would want drawings to present for quotes.

Seems like a common size, have you checked on finding something already on the market that you can use, perhaps even in another material for the prototype?

 

[Paul Thomas]

Thanks all for the responses! Extremely helpful, and I've picked up bits of knowledge on each. Overall I think I need to get drawings done, determine the manufacturer, the steel alloy and if I want plated or not.

You are looking for stainless steel 'fabricators', i think (SS manufacturers are those which actually produce the material).
......
What's the volume? 100's or 1000's?

Thanks! While it sounds elementary this is a "new thing" for me that I've learned that theres a diff between manufacturers and fabricators. In terms of volume, definitely in the 100s to start out, as low as possible.

At last a subject I have some expertise on. The term stainless steel covers a range of different grades. It would therefore be worth doing some back ground reading to ensure you spec the correct grade of steel. As a general guide the higher the total alloy content the more expensive. Some applications can be satisfied with the 200 series steels which are Ni free and therefore cheaper than the 300 series.

Happy to help but would need more information on the application and how you intend to make. Depending on the design and application - plating is also an option work considering.

Awesome post! Thank you. I did not know there was so much to learn about steel. You made me think about the plating option for my situation - it is likely much cheaper, but lower quality. I do however think the grade can be lower given the application of the product (its more of a decorative item). I may take you up on your offer to help more with a PM!

Just Google stainless steel fabricators in your area. You shouldn't have a problem finding one. The problem will be finding one that will create a small quantity for you without charging an exorbitant fee. Do you have CAD drawings or a prototype of some sort in another material? If not, you would want drawings to present for quotes.

Seems like a common size, have you checked on finding something already on the market that you can use, perhaps even in another material for the prototype?

Thanks - I'm going to look in my area. I think you're right, that will be my issue. Regarding your tip for drawings/prototype, I do not have any, but need to get a couple ready which should be fairly easy.

 

[David Young]

A good place to start is to see what similar products, or products used in a similar way are made from. This is some times marked on the item or on the instructions- a legal requirement in many countries now for recycling purposes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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[Walter Hay]

You can find fabricators in the US by searching www.thomasnet.com/.
If you have the product made in the US it will probably be cheaper to use stainless steel rather than have sheet metal plated. Plating costs in the US are sky high compared to costs in Asian countries.

It should be noted that if the product is to be handled frequently some types of plating will rapidly wear off.

Products very similar to what you have described are already made in Asia, and it might pay you to explore the possibility of finding something close to what you require. Search for Cigarette Boxes for example and you might find a manufacturer capable of making something to your exact specifications.

Beware of the traders listed as manufacturers on the big B2B sites. You will be wasting your time with them, not only because of their higher prices, but they rarely have the influence needed to have their suppliers do OEM products.

Walter

 

[Evil_Jester]

I'm a manufacturing engineer/cost estimator at my fab shop. We don't do stainless but I could tell you ways to keep the costs down. First of all, you need cad drawings. Next, small parts in general can still be very expensive. Be aware of the amount of labor hours it takes to do the part. Material cost is relatively cheap. My shop charges anywhere from $60 to $75 per labor hour. If your part takes 1 hour to laser cut, 1 hour for drilling holes, 1 hour for bending, 1 hour for assembly, 1 hour for engraving, that's 5 hours x ~$60 = $300 per part for labor hours. Add on 50 bucks material = $350 total. Factor in shipping. So lets say $375 for one part. Now the company adds on a sales cost so they make a profit. Your part could cost 500 bucks.

Also, find a company that can do everything turnkey. They more companies you have to outsource to, the higher the cost.

Lastly, get quotes from as many companies as you like. Pick the best one

 

[Paul Thomas]

I'm a manufacturing engineer/cost estimator at my fab shop. We don't do stainless but I could tell you ways to keep the costs down. First of all, you need cad drawings. Next, small parts in general can still be very expensive. Be aware of the amount of labor hours it takes to do the part. Material cost is relatively cheap. My shop charges anywhere from $60 to $75 per labor hour. If your part takes 1 hour to laser cut, 1 hour for drilling holes, 1 hour for bending, 1 hour for assembly, 1 hour for engraving, that's 5 hours x ~$60 = $300 per part for labor hours. Add on 50 bucks material = $350 total. Factor in shipping. So lets say $375 for one part. Now the company adds on a sales cost so they make a profit. Your part could cost 500 bucks.

Also, find a company that can do everything turnkey. They more companies you have to outsource to, the higher the cost.

Lastly, get quotes from as many companies as you like. Pick the best one

This is a great perspective - thank you.

However - I'm talking small pieces, the size of a 2x3 box, maybe a little bigger. I know your numbers of illustrative, but I'd hope they are not for my particular case!

Thanks again.

 

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[AgainstAllOdds]

I'd go with China. Specify the exact grade of stainless steel, and then get a sample made.

If it's a small box, then the mould shouldn't be crazy expensive. Maybe $500 for a sample.

Here's a snapshot of who imports stainless steel sheets (as in: who uses them): http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/hs92/722090/

China, India, or Thailand seem like the top choice. U.S. imports a lot, but I doubt the costs will be competitive.

And honestly, quality isn't that big of an issue for products that are made out of a mould. So if this is one of those products, I'd look at one of those three countries.

 

[Sovereign]

China?!

Maybe it's just what i've seen lately, but i wouldn't go to china for steel parts...
Oh wait... Exactly what i'm doing at the moment

OP, Look, i don't know what your application is, but if it requires accuracy and low volumes you won't get far.
On the other hand If you can live with +-0.5 (even +-1) mm mismatches and require low price, then go with China.
However... SS quality might be poor and you thus might get some corrosion.

Also when you choose materials make sure you don't get electro-chemical corrosion.


p.s.: if you need CAD work or engineering advice PM me

 

[#nowhere]

Hi Paul Thomas,

I'm with a big corporation which makes parts for the end product out of stainless steel in china with a manufacturer. It's a circular part of a bigger "machine" and it has to be within small tolerances and centric.

-The centering is miserable (quality management in manufacturing:miserable)
-The chinese guys don't manage to get shit done regarding to quality and tolerances. Every part is a bit "different", which makes it hard2say if in the assembly process the part will suffice or not.

-It's a big chinese steel manufacturer, no small rural chinese manufacturer. Quantities are big.

To sum it up:

Standards just aren't the same as in good old europe or USA. Admit it.
If your part is uncritical to tolerances: go for it, as sovereign says. But if it has to be totally exact: forget it.

(Small advice: the tolerance-critic parts are manufactured in Europe or USA, by all big players. Worked for a few in different industries.)

No Joke: But today there are several possibilities for surface refinement. One of them is foliation. The techniques and looks get better and better. And the ground material can be of a much less quality and lower price. The handling and manual work needed for foliation can be made in e.g. China.

just my 2 cents.

Highly interested in your decision and the outcome at the end!

Kind regards

 

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[Walter Hay]

Hi Paul Thomas,

I'm with a big corporation which makes parts for the end product out of stainless steel in china with a manufacturer. It's a circular part of a bigger "machine" and it has to be within small tolerances and centric.

-The centering is miserable (quality management in manufacturing:miserable)
-The chinese guys don't manage to get shit done regarding to quality and tolerances. Every part is a bit "different", which makes it hard2say if in the assembly process the part will suffice or not.

-It's a big chinese steel manufacturer, no small rural chinese manufacturer. Quantities are big.

To sum it up:

Standards just aren't the same as in good old europe or USA. Admit it.
If your part is uncritical to tolerances: go for it, as sovereign says. But if it has to be totally exact: forget it.

(Small advice: the tolerance-critic parts are manufactured in Europe or USA, by all big players. Worked for a few in different industries.)

No Joke: But today there are several possibilities for surface refinement. One of them is foliation. The techniques and looks get better and better. And the ground material can be of a much less quality and lower price. The handling and manual work needed for foliation can be made in e.g. China.

just my 2 cents.

Highly interested in your decision and the outcome at the end!

Kind regards

Foliation has been around for centuries. Think gold leaf covering church adornments.

There is a potential problem with foliation, and that is that if the substrate preparation is not excellent, and that substrate happens to be mild steel, underlying corrosion can lift the surface layer, creating a bubble effect.

Plating is more reliable in low cost items because prior to plating the item is chemically processed to remove corrosion and contaminants.

One of my import company's best suppliers was a small company in Malaysia who had their own mold making and stamping equipment as well as their own electroplating facility. Tolerances were tight and were never a problem. There are many companies in China who do the same.

Don't be scared off by stories of poor quality. When I started importing from China I got better quality, better service, faster delivery and much lower costs than I had previously from local manufacturers.

The US costs mentioned by Evil_Jester would send most people straight to China.

It seems that most replies have been from people who don't understand how simple the OP's requirement is.

Walter

 

[Ravens_Shadow]

Look for a local machine shop, most likely your best bet. I know of a good shop in South Carolina that I used to work at, we made bearings for M1 Abrahms tanks, wire feeders for welders, and other various products. We didn't assemble anything though, we shipped orders out after fabrication.

Also, if you manage to find somewhere to make you these boxes, stick a magnet to it. If the magnet sticks to the steel, they're shorting you and its not true stainless steel and will rust due to high iron content.

 

[Walter Hay]

Look for a local machine shop, most likely your best bet. I know of a good shop in South Carolina that I used to work at, we made bearings for M1 Abrahms tanks, wire feeders for welders, and other various products. We didn't assemble anything though, we shipped orders out after fabrication.

Also, if you manage to find somewhere to make you these boxes, stick a magnet to it. If the magnet sticks to the steel, they're shorting you and its not true stainless steel and will rust due to high iron content.

That's not a fail safe test. Ferritic stainless steels are generally magnetic.

Out of interest I did a quick search and found a number of manufacturers in China who make similar items using tinplate. They would be capable of making them from stainless steel, but it would be difficult to negotiate a small MOQ unless they happen to use SS already. One of them says they have 500 moulds available for buyers' use, so there is a good chance you can get something very close to the OP's required size without having to pay for a mould. By the way, in tinplate the cost should not be more than 75c. Without the latch it would be about 20c or 30c less than that.

Walter

 

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[#nowhere]

Foliation has been around for centuries. Think gold leaf covering church adornments.

There is a potential problem with foliation, and that is that if the substrate preparation is not excellent, and that substrate happens to be mild steel, underlying corrosion can lift the surface layer, creating a bubble effect.

Plating is more reliable in low cost items because prior to plating the item is chemically processed to remove corrosion and contaminants.

One of my import company's best suppliers was a small company in Malaysia who had their own mold making and stamping equipment as well as their own electroplating facility. Tolerances were tight and were never a problem. There are many companies in China who do the same.

Don't be scared off by stories of poor quality. When I started importing from China I got better quality, better service, faster delivery and much lower costs than I had previously from local manufacturers.

The US costs mentioned by Evil_Jester would send most people straight to China.

It seems that most replies have been from people who don't understand how simple the OP's requirement is.

Walter

Of course you're right, walter, as every time...

Forgot to mention, that the product I mentioned has to be a precise one. If you just need an easy to make, no tolerances to think over-product then china is the right answer.

Thanks, Walter!

 

[Walter Hay]

Of course you're right, walter, as every time...

Forgot to mention, that the product I mentioned has to be a precise one. If you just need an easy to make, no tolerances to think over-product then china is the right answer.

Thanks, Walter!

You are right about the lack of precision in China. Some get it right but others don't. I once ordered products requiring a small hole to be stamped in a metal part in a location where a small tolerance would be permissible, but some of the items had the hole so far out that it was ridiculous.

The products were shipped to me. Fortunately my long term relationship with that supplier made it possible for me to have the batch re-made at no cost to me. In the new batch the holes were consistently in the right place.

The worker who got it so wrong was fired. The part fitted in a jig that made it virtually impossible to get the hole in the wrong place but the jig had opened up slightly and he hadn't bothered to correct it. I guess he went back to planting rice back home.

Walter

 

[caezlar]

tell me detailed information, I can find the best, in China.

 

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