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Manufacturing notes from the shop floor

Practical articles on CNC machining, stamping, welding, tool & die, and how to design parts that don't blow up your budget. Written by the people running the machines at our Jacksonville, FL shop.

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Sourcing · Latest

CNC Machining in Jacksonville, FL: A Buyer’s Guide for 2026

How to source CNC parts in North Florida without paying for shipping mistakes, long lead times, or programming you didn’t need. Written for engineers, buyers, and shop owners.

April 21, 2026 · 9 min readRead the guide

Tooling

Tool & Die Shops Near Me: How to Actually Evaluate One

Five questions that separate a real tool & die shop from a CNC shop that owns a press. Maintenance plans, EDM capability, die history, hardness, and steel sourcing.

April 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Welding

MIG vs TIG vs Stick Welding: When to Use Each (Honestly)

A working welder’s breakdown of which process actually fits your part — by material, thickness, fit-up, cosmetics, and what failure looks like in the field.

March 17, 2026 · 8 min read

DFM

The DFM Checklist We Wish Every Customer Sent With Their Drawings

32 things we check before quoting a part. Wall thickness, draft, fillets, tolerance stack-up, threads, datums, and the silent killers that turn $200 parts into $2,000 parts.

February 25, 2026 · 11 min read

EDM

Wire EDM vs Sinker EDM: Which One Your Tool Steel Part Needs

Through-cuts vs blind cavities, surface finish, electrode cost, and the hybrid sequences real die and mold builders use. A buyer’s guide.

April 29, 2026 · 6 min read

Sourcing

How to Read a CNC Quote: Setup, Cycle Time, and Margin Explained

A line-by-line breakdown so you can compare CNC quotes apples-to-apples and spot the shop that’s about to lose money on your job (which usually means a bad part).

April 24, 2026 · 7 min read

Finishing

Anodizing, Plating, and Powder Coating: A Buyer’s Guide to Surface Finishes

Type II vs Type III anodize, electroless nickel, black oxide, powder coat, and passivation — with dimensional growth and what to actually put on the drawing.

April 14, 2026 · 7 min read

Operations

Lights-Out CNC: When It Saves You Money and When It Burns Cash

Bar feeders, pallet changers, probing, and the math of unattended CNC. When lights-out doubles capacity for free — and the parts you should never run that way.

March 29, 2026 · 8 min read