We do not provide design services. You are responsible for submitting 2D and 3D CAD drawings, and we can then provide a Design for Manufacturing review upon receiving your order.

In order to provide an accurate and timely quote, we only accept 3D CAD files in STL, STEP or IGES format. 2D drawings with reference dimensions must be in PDF format. We must receive complete manufacturing information as part of this technical documentation. Informal communication via Whatsapp, Skype, email, etc., will not be considered as admissible for manufacturing purposes.

In most cases, we respond within 24 hours of receiving an RFQ.

Yes, customer-supplied material is fine so long as it fits with our machine capabilities.

We of course will sign and adhere to any non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement. We also have a strict policy within our factory that no photographs are ever allowed of a customer’s product without express permission. Ultimately we rely on our reputation of working with hundreds of thousands of unique designs over many years and never allowing any proprietary information to be disclosed to a third party.

Although direct comparisons are difficult, Step Rapid’s prices will be typically 35-45% less for all our service fields, including rapid prototyping, CNC machining, mold making and injection molding when compared to suppliers in North America and Europe. As compared to Chinese suppliers, we choose to not to compete on price but to offer the highest levels of quality, rapid response and professional results.

Lead times are quoted in calendar days. As per our Terms and Conditions, quoted lead times commence only after completion and confirmation of design for manufacturing review and the beginning of actual production.

Quality parts can be made in as little as two weeks if you provide us with complete 2D and 3D CAD models. More complex parts requiring or other special features will take longer. Request a quote to get more accurate lead times based on your project. As for shipping, most of our shipments are via air freight, which can take a few days from China to Europe or North America.

There is not a given set of tolerances that fits all processes and materials. In every case, the final tolerances on your part will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to: Part size Design geometry The number, type and size of features Material(s) Surface finish Manufacturing process Once your order is confirmed, we will review your design and provide a design for manufacturing review, pointing out any areas where we may not be able to achieve your desired tolerances. It’s helpful if you can specify which areas in your design have critical tolerances that must be met and which can be slightly modified if needed to reduce time and costs involved. Here are some general tolerance guidelines: General tolerances for CNC machining in metal and plastic Plastic injection molding tolerances Reference charts for CNC metals and plastic injection molding materials General tolerance for metal 3D printing is +/- 0.5mm Shrinkage rate of +/- 0.15% is to be expected for vacuum casting All manufacturing and technical specifications need to be clearly specified in the 2D drawings in order to be followed.

Once your order is confirmed, we will perform a full Design for Manufacturing (DFM) review to point out any issues that our engineers feel may affect the quality of your parts. All incoming materials are inspected and verified with a suite of testing equipment. Final inspection reports before shipment. We have the ability to share inspection data with you in real-time so we can work together to address any quality issues you may have during production.

We offer a wide variety of finishing services to achieve almost any look and feel on your parts. We offer treatments for metal, texturing for plastic injection mold tools, painting for metal and plastic, and many more. You can also learn how to specify the surface texture you want in this blog.

Yes. We offer a special vapor polishing service to achieve high transparency for your clear plastic parts.

No, we do not insure deliveries. However, you are free to use your own insurance.

There is no single answer to this question but a few rules apply. For customers in Australia, new CHAFTA regulations allow for a progressive roll-out of duty-free import into Australia. Import duties vary widely between countries, and are dependent on the type of good being imported. Most countries in the world conform to the international Harmonized System (HS) codes that categorize virtually all commercial trade goods.

Our standard terms are Ex Works (EXW) for rapid prototyping and regular production orders. This means the customer is responsible for shipping, customs clearance and all other associated fees once the goods have left our premises. For express shipments, we use Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU), which means that the client is responsible for paying import duty when the goods arrive to your destination.

Yes. However, we must explain that our tooling is manufactured to be compliant with our Modular Unit Dies (MUD). This means they are a uniform base size, so the customer must be prepared to receive tools in that size to fit into their own machines.

We guarantee our materials and workmanship based on the terms of the initial order and the information provided by you. Any disputes based on a subjective determination shall be brought to the attention of management who will act in good faith to provide you with complete satisfaction. Our continuing business relies on earning your confidence in our ability to meet and exceed any reasonable expectations.

Rapid prototyping customers must pay in advance for the first three orders, after which we will consider giving 30 days credit. Except in very special cases, all tooling orders require a 50% deposit in advance. Typically the balance must be paid after T1 approval of samples.

Step Rapid accepts payment in two ways: Bank to bank wire transfer. Step Rapid has accounts in Shenzhen, China. We can send you a PayPal invoice and you can use your PayPal account or credit card to pay.