Frequently Asked Questions

MOQ depends on the process, not on a company-wide policy. These are our typical starting points:

• CNC machining and sheet metal fabrication — from 1 piece. We quote single prototypes routinely.
• Injection molding — trial shots are kept to about 5–10 pieces. Fewer for large parts, more for very small ones. Production MOQ is typically 500 pieces and we will not go below 100 pieces.
• Die casting — trial shots also about 5–10 pieces. Production MOQ is typically 500 pieces, generally not below 100 pieces.
• Sand casting — because the pattern is made in wood, MOQ is the most flexible: as low as 50 pieces. Trial quantity is 2–5 pieces.
• Gravity casting (permanent mould / metal mould) — a metal tool has to be cut, so MOQ is higher than sand casting: from 200 pieces. Trial quantity is 2–5 pieces.

Sand and gravity castings are rarely used for very small, lightweight parts, which is why their trial quantities are lower.

If your quantity sits below the usual range, send it anyway — we will tell you whether the process is economical at your volume, or whether a different process is cheaper.

These are two separate things, and we would rather be precise about it:

• Design review — free. We examine your design for manufacturability. Where we see something that will cause problems, we tell you what we would change and discuss the options against your design intent. You keep that feedback whether or not you place an order.
• A formal DFM report — a paid service. A written, structured DFM report is a deliverable we charge for. Ask us for a quotation and a scope before it is produced.
• The quotation turnaround is one working day. It is counted from the moment we receive your complete drawings and specification, and it is one working day — so the clock does not run at weekends or on public holidays. That is the turnaround for the itemized quotation, not for the paid DFM report.

• The mold belongs to you. Tooling ownership sits with the customer.
• The tooling cost is a one-off purchase. You pay for the tool once; it is not amortised into the unit price.
• If the cooperation ends, a one-time design fee of 30% of the total mold price applies.
• That fee is not in your quotation. It only arises if you take the tool away. If production continues with us, it never applies.

We state this here rather than leaving it in the fine print, because it is one of the first questions a new buyer asks us.

The grade is chosen from your part's appearance requirements, the plastic, and your production volume. Our standard range:

P20 is the minimum we use — we do not quote softer grades. If you have a specific grade in mind for your own standard, tell us and we will confirm whether we can work to it.

Terms differ by whether tooling is involved:

Payment is by T/T. For small amounts we can accept credit card or PayPal, but the processing fees are materially higher and are borne by the customer.

The delivery commitment is written into the PO as a penalty clause:

• Penalty: 0.5% of the order value per day of delay, capped at 5%.
• Trigger: breaching the delivery date stated in the contract.
• Delivery dates are counted in working days — not calendar days.
• Excluded from the count: public holidays, customer-requested design changes, and force majeure. If any of these occur, the delivery date is renegotiated or extended.

This is a PO term, not a marketing statement — the remedy is defined before the problem happens rather than negotiated after it.

Yes. We recommend it before shipment, and if you want to look at the job during production as well, we support that too. The cost is yours.

On what happens when something is wrong:

• We issue a QC report before samples or mass production is shipped, so in practice problems are usually found during our own inspection. When we find one, we tell you and agree on the fix.
• Rework or remake applies whenever the parts do not meet the drawing requirements.
• Refund is the remedy of last resort — it applies where repeated rework or remaking still fails to produce conforming product.

Yes, before drawings are exchanged. We can sign your NDA.

We do not currently keep a standard NDA template of our own, so if you would rather use ours than yours, tell us and we will work one out with you. The signing entity is Shanghai Qualix Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

A practical note: we usually do not need to see your finished product to quote a part. A marked-up drawing with the product context removed is normally enough for a first pass.

We work on three terms:

• EXW — ex works
• FOB — free on board
• DAP — delivered at place

We do not quote DDP by default. Which term is cheapest for you depends on your freight forwarder, your country and whether you already have a customs broker — tell us which one you want and we will quote against it. Duties and local clearance sit with the buyer on EXW, FOB and DAP alike.

• Period: 6 months, counted from the date you receive the goods.
• Covers: material defects, dimensions out of tolerance, cosmetic / appearance defects, and structural or metallurgical defects.
• Remedy: we repair or remake, at our cost.
• Not covered: damage caused by misuse, goods held beyond their shelf life, or improper storage.

We would rather state the exclusions than claim a warranty with no boundaries. If you have a customer-facing warranty obligation longer than six months, tell us at the quotation stage so it can be addressed in the terms.

It depends on when the deviation is found, and we handle both directions — not only our own measurements:

1. Before shipment. If our own measurement data shows a deviation from the controlled drawing, we rework or remake the parts. This is the normal case, because we measure before packing.
2. After shipment. If you measure a deviation from the controlled drawing after delivery, we first establish whether the discrepancy comes from our measurement or from yours. If it is confirmed to be ours, we rework or remake — on the same terms.

We do not treat a customer-side measurement as an automatic dispute. If our measurement and yours disagree, the first question is which one is wrong, and that question gets answered with data rather than assertion.

• 2D drawing with tolerances is enough to quote and manufacture for most sheet metal, casting and CNC work.
• Injection molding and die casting need a 3D model — STEP or STP preferred, IGES and STL accepted — because the tool cannot be cut from a drawing alone.
• We generally do not offer a modelling service. If you only have a 2D drawing, a rough sketch or an idea, we can give you a rough estimate, but it is a rough reference figure rather than a firm quotation.
• If you want us to model it: USD 200 per part, varying with complexity. We will tell you the figure for your specific part before starting.

Telling you this up front is more useful than letting you send a sketch and then discover the tooling cannot start from it.