# Sheet Metal Fabrication Sourcing from China: Pricing & Supplier Guide > Sheet metal fabrication sourcing guide: what drives the price, MOQ and volume economics, laser vs stamping crossover, supplier evaluation and QC documentation. https://www.sinbo-machining.com/sourcing/sheet-metal-fabrication --- ## On This Page - Why Source Sheet Metal from China - No Tooling to Amortise - Fast Turnaround - Full Process Chain - What Actually Drives the Price - Volume Economics: Laser vs. Stamping - Evaluating a Supplier Before You Commit - Ask what the tolerances actually are - Find out who does the finishing - Ask for the DFM note before asking for the price - Check the inspection report format - Establish what happens on a deviation - Quality Documentation Worth Specifying - Logistics and Classification - Common Buyer Concerns - The quote is not the landed cost - Quality varies between batches - My drawing cannot be manufactured - Intellectual property protection - Time zone and communication - How to Write an RFQ That Gets an Accurate Quote - FAQ - Get a Sheet Metal Quote # Sheet Metal Fabrication Sourcing from China Sheet metal is one of the easiest processes to quote and one of the easiest to quote badly. A part that is perfectly manufacturable can be priced three ways by three suppliers, because nobody agreed on material grade, bend allowance or what "finished" means. This guide covers what actually drives the price, where the volume crossover sits, and what to check before you commit. ## Why Source Sheet Metal from China Sheet metal fabrication is a low-capital, high-skill-density process: the machines are cheap relative to the value they create, and the competitive advantage sits in operating them well — nesting, bend sequencing, minimising setups. That combination is why the Pearl River Delta and the wider Yangtze River Delta cluster have absorbed so much of the world's sheet metal work. ### No Tooling to Amortise Laser cutting and bending carry no die cost. That makes prototyping and design iteration nearly free, and it is the main reason sheet metal is chosen over stamping for low-volume work. ### Fast Turnaround With no tooling queue, a prototype can move from drawing to shipped part inside a week. Design-for-manufacture feedback loops get short enough to actually be useful. ### Full Process Chain Cutting, bending, welding, coating and assembly are all available in one region, so a part does not have to travel between five subcontractors before it is finished. ## What Actually Drives the Price Six components, in descending order of impact. Ask any supplier for a per-feature breakdown rather than a single figure — it makes an unreasonable quote visible instead of merely disappointing. | Cost Driver | Share of Part Price (Low Volume) | What Changes It | Material | 30–50% | Grade and thickness. Stainless is several times cold rolled steel per kg; aluminium sits between. | Laser cutting | 20–35% | Cut perimeter, pierce count, thickness, sheet utilisation from nesting. | Bending | 10–25% | Bend count and how many distinct angles require a tooling change. | Welding | 0–30% | Weld length, whether it is structural or cosmetic, and the fixturing it needs. | Surface treatment | 5–20% | Powder coating is usually modest; galvanizing and anodizing cost more and add lead time. | Setup and overhead | Falls with volume | Programme, fixturing, inspection. At one piece this dominates; at 500 pieces it is marginal. The practical consequence: at low volume, material and setup dominate, so material grade specification is where you get the biggest lever. At high volume, cutting efficiency and nesting dominate, so sheet utilisation matters more than the quoted price per kilogram. ## Volume Economics: Laser vs. Stamping The most consequential sourcing decision on a sheet metal part is often not which supplier, but which process. The crossover depends on geometry, not only on volume. | Quantity | Dominant Cost | Recommended Route | Reason | 1–10 pieces | Setup | Laser cut & bend | A die would cost more than the entire order. | 10–50 pieces | Setup + material | Laser cut & bend | Design changes are still likely; keep them free. | 50–500 pieces | Depends on geometry | Ask for both quotes | Simple flat shapes cross over early; complex 3D formed parts do not. | 500–5,000 pieces | Unit cost | Progressive die stamping | Die cost is amortised and repeatability becomes measurable. | Above 5,000 pieces | Unit cost + consistency | Stamping, with an audit | Part-to-part variation becomes your real risk, not price. ## Evaluating a Supplier Before You Commit 1 ### Ask what the tolerances actually are A supplier who states a cut tolerance, a bend tolerance and a hole position tolerance has thought about production. One who says "to your drawing requirement" for everything has not, or is hiding that the requirement is tight. 2 ### Find out who does the finishing In-house coating and subcontracted coating are both normal. What matters is whether the same partner factory is used on reorders, because batch-to-batch colour matching depends entirely on that. 3 ### Ask for the DFM note before asking for the price A supplier that reads the drawing and returns questions about bend sequence and hole placement is protecting both parties. One that returns a price in an hour without reading the drawing is quoting the flat pattern, not the part. 4 ### Check the inspection report format Ask for a sample report before ordering. A report that lists only nominal dimensions proves nothing. What you want is measured values, the characteristic each maps to, the instrument, and the date. 5 ### Establish what happens on a deviation Agree in writing which characteristics are critical, what deviation is acceptable, and that the supplier reports rather than ships around it. This is the difference between a supplier managing your quality and a supplier managing their liability. ## Quality Documentation Worth Specifying | Document | When To Require It | What To Check | First Article Inspection report | First batch of any new part | Measured values against drawing tolerance, characteristic names, instrument, date. | EN 10204 3.1 certificate | Steel and aluminium, always if contractual | Heat number must match the sheet used, not just be a valid certificate. | Coating thickness record | Any coated part with a specification | Minimum and maximum film thickness, and on which faces. | Weld procedure or welder qualification | Pressure-tight or safety-critical welds | Method, joint type, and whether the requirement is cosmetic or structural. | Packing and marking record | Repeat orders where mix-ups are costly | Part number, revision, quantity, and whether parts are separated by revision. ## Logistics and Classification Fabricated sheet metal parts generally fall under HS 7326 (other articles of iron or steel) or HS 8302 (base metal mountings, fittings) depending on what the part actually is. Classification is not something to guess: it changes with the function of the part, not its material, and the duty rate follows it. - Confirm the code before you commit — a broker's guess and a manufacturer's guess are both worthless if they differ. - Duty rates change and are specific to destination and origin. Verify the current rate for your HS code and market at the time of ordering rather than relying on a figure from a web page, including this one. - Packing affects damage more than freight cost. Thin panels need interleaving and corner protection; a crate that is too large for the part count is a common hidden cost. - Air freight is for samples, not batches. It moves cost per kilogram by roughly an order of magnitude and rarely makes sense above a few hundred parts. ## Common Buyer Concerns 1 ### The quote is not the landed cost Request an itemised breakdown: material, cutting, forming, welding, finishing, packing, tooling if any, and inland logistics. A quote that omits packing or inland freight is not comparable to one that includes them. 2 ### Quality varies between batches This is a process-control question, not a supplier-choice question. Ask what is measured during production rather than only at the end, and whether first articles are approved before the balance is released. 3 ### My drawing cannot be manufactured It usually can, but something will change: a radius will grow, a hole will move, or a finish will be added. Find out which, before the order, rather than after the first article. See the design guideline pages in our wiki for the rules that drive this. 4 ### Intellectual property protection Your part may be unique to your market. Confidentiality agreements, drawings marked as proprietary, and a named project contact are the practical minimums. 5 ### Time zone and communication Assign one contact who owns the project end to end, and agree how often you will hear from them. Most sourcing disputes are actually communication failures discovered late. ## How to Write an RFQ That Gets an Accurate Quote 1- Send a 2D drawing (DXF, DWG or PDF) with material grade and thickness stated explicitly. 1- Mark bend lines and angles, including which way each one bends. This is the single most common cause of a slow or wrong quote. 1- State weld requirements as cosmetic, structural or pressure-tight. These are not interchangeable and the price difference is large. 1- Name the surface treatment by standard and colour, not just "coated". 1- Mark the cosmetic face on both views. 1- Give quantities split by stage — prototype, first production batch, and steady-state. 1- Flag anything critical: sealing surfaces, flatness callouts, datum-critical holes, appearance-critical faces. A drawing that answers the seven questions above typically returns three comparable quotes in a day. One that answers none of them returns six quotes that cannot be compared. ## FAQ What is the minimum order quantity for custom sheet metal parts? There is no tooling requirement, so one piece is a legitimate order. Most suppliers will quote from one piece, though at very low quantities the per-part price is dominated by setup rather than material. The economics change shape around 50 to 500 pieces depending on complexity: above that, progressive die stamping usually becomes cheaper per part. What drives the price of a sheet metal part? Six things, in descending order of impact: material and thickness, cut perimeter and pierce count, number of bends, weld length, surface treatment, and quantity. Material is usually 30-50 percent of the part price at low volume and much less at high volume, where setup amortises. Ask for a per-feature breakdown rather than a single figure, because it makes an unreasonable quote visible. How do I compare a laser-cut quote against a stamping quote? Compare on total landed cost at your actual volume, not on unit price. Stamping carries a die cost amortised only at volume; laser cutting carries no tooling but a higher unit cost. Below roughly 50 pieces the die dominates and laser wins outright. Between 50 and 500 it depends on geometry — simple flat shapes favour stamping earlier. Above 500 stamping normally wins on unit price and further on repeatability. Should I ask for material certificates with the parts? Yes, and specify EN 10204 3.1 in the purchase order rather than requesting it afterwards. For steel and aluminium it is standard and usually free. It matters most where the certificate is a contractual requirement. Verify that the certificate references the heat number on the actual sheet you received. What documentation should a supplier provide with first articles? A first article inspection report showing the dimensions actually checked against the drawing, the measurement method and the instrument used. A dimensional report listing only nominal dimensions is worthless. Also expect material certificates, and a note of any deviation or concession — a supplier who reports deviations promptly is telling you something important. How do I avoid paying twice for the same part? Order a first article and approve it physically before releasing the balance. Agree in the purchase order what counts as an acceptable deviation on which characteristics, and put the inspection report format in writing. This is the single most effective protection against a batch that arrives after you have committed to your customer. What information do I need to get an accurate sheet metal quote? A 2D drawing with material grade, thickness, bend angles and directions, weld details, surface treatment, and the quantity split between prototype and production. Mark the cosmetic face. If the part has a sealing surface or a tight flatness callout, say so explicitly, because that changes the process and the price. What are the common reasons a sheet metal quote comes back too high? In order of frequency: missing material specification; geometry below the process minimum that triggers a DFM review; surface treatment specified without a colour standard; quantities split across several variants so setup repeats; and a 3D-only file that requires the supplier to reverse-engineer the flat pattern. All five are fixed by a clearer RFQ, not by a different supplier. ## Get a Sheet Metal Quote Send a 2D drawing with material, thickness and quantity. We return a DFM note and an itemised quotation within one working day — material, cutting, forming, welding, finishing and packing shown separately. [Contact Us ](https://www.sinbo-machining.com/contact)