Production
Low and Medium Volume Sheet Metal Production
Most sheet metal work does not fit the extremes. It is not a single prototype and it is not a million pieces a year on hard tooling. It is somewhere between fifty and five thousand parts a year, released in batches, with revisions along the way. That middle is where MJM lives, and it is a harder problem than either end.
High volume shops are built around long runs and will price a 200 piece order to discourage it. Prototype shops will take the order and struggle to hold the tolerance on part 180. We are set up to run the middle repeatably, because most of our 600 plus customers are ordering exactly that.
Run Sizes
Where the Economics Change
Cost per piece does not fall smoothly. It steps down at the points where a different manufacturing approach becomes worth it.
1 to 25 Pieces
Prototype and first article. Laser cut and formed directly from your model with no tooling. Setup is most of the cost here, which is why the tenth part is dramatically cheaper than the first. Good for design validation and field trials. See prototyping.
25 to 250 Pieces
Low volume production. Nesting gets efficient, forming setups get amortized across a real batch, and fixturing starts to pay for itself on welded assemblies. This is the most common order size we see.
250 to 2,500 Pieces
Medium volume. Dedicated weld fixtures, optimized nests, and process documentation make the difference. Piece price drops meaningfully and repeatability improves because the process is locked rather than rebuilt each time.
2,500 and Up
Higher volume production runs on released schedules. At this point the conversation shifts to blanket orders, material buys, and stocking rather than individual POs.
Scheduling
Blanket Orders and Releases
If you order the same parts repeatedly, ordering them one PO at a time is the expensive way to do it. A blanket order commits to an annual quantity and releases against it on a schedule you control.
You get the price of the full annual quantity instead of the batch price, without paying for the whole year up front or finding floor space for it. We buy material against the commitment, which insulates you from spot market swings, and we can hold finished goods and ship on your call off.
Annual Pricing
Priced on total committed quantity, released in the sizes you actually need.
Material Coverage
We buy to the commitment, which stabilizes cost and removes mill lead time from your critical path.
Stocking and Call Off
We hold finished inventory and ship against your release, so the working capital stays on our balance sheet instead of yours.
Kanban and Min Max
For steady runners, we can run to a simple replenishment signal instead of a purchase order every cycle.
Cost Drivers
What Actually Moves Piece Price
Quantity is only one variable, and often not the biggest one. At low and medium volume, these matter more than most engineers expect.
Setup Count
Every bend, every weld setup, and every secondary operation carries a setup. Reducing the number of distinct operations does more at 100 pieces than shaving material.
Material Utilization
Part geometry determines how tightly a nest packs. Small changes to an outline can meaningfully change how many parts come off a sheet.
Tolerance
Tight tolerances are not free. Calling out a precision tolerance where a standard one would work adds inspection and scrap. Our tolerance standards show what we hold as a matter of course.
Fixturing
On welded assemblies, a fixture is a real cost that pays back across the run. Below roughly 25 pieces it usually does not. Above 100 it almost always does.
Hardware and Finish
Pressed hardware and finishing are often a larger share of piece price than the cutting and forming.
Revision Stability
A design that changes mid run scraps material and resets setups. Freezing the print before release is the cheapest cost reduction available.
More on this in our cost drivers breakdown and DFM guide.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as low or medium volume?
In practice, anywhere from a handful of parts to a few thousand a year. That range is where sheet metal fabrication beats stamping, because there is no hard tooling to pay for and no minimum run to justify it. Below that we are in prototyping. Well above it, hard tooling may be the cheaper answer, and we will say so.
Why is my per-piece price higher at low volume?
Setup and programming are fixed costs. The same laser program, press brake setup, weld fixture and first article inspection are required whether the order is 25 pieces or 2,500, and that cost divides across the quantity you order. It is not a penalty for ordering small, it is arithmetic, and it is why quantity breaks look the way they do.
Can we place a blanket order with scheduled releases?
Yes, and for repeat parts it is usually the best move you can make. We run the full quantity through one setup, you get the price of the larger order, and we release parts on the schedule you need instead of you carrying a year of inventory. Blanket orders also protect your lead time when the shop is busy.
Will you hold material for our parts?
Yes, on established programs. Holding material means we are not waiting on a mill or a service center when your release comes in, which is often the difference between a two-week and a six-week lead time. Talk to us about which parts justify it, because it does not make sense on everything.
Do we have to requalify if we scale from 25 pieces to 2,500?
No. Same lasers, same press brakes, same operators, same inspection equipment, same flat pattern. That continuity is the reason to run prototype, pilot and production through one shop. The part that passed first article at 25 pieces is made the same way at 2,500.
Do you store our fixtures and check gauges?
Yes. Weld fixtures, check templates, profile gauges and 3D printed checking aids built for your parts stay here and get pulled for every release. That is part of why a repeat order runs faster and more consistently than a first order, and it stays with your job at no storage charge.
What is your typical lead time on a production release?
It depends on quantity, finishing and material availability, so we quote it rather than publish a number we would have to hedge. Quotes go out in 24 to 48 hours with a real date on them. Cutting, forming, welding, hardware, marking and inspection all happen in one 37,000 sq ft building in Miami Gardens, so nothing sits in freight between operations. Fabrication runs two shifts, and we add a third when volume calls for it, so a tight date is usually a scheduling question rather than a capacity one.
Next Step
Send Us a Print
Email your drawing package to sales@mjmmfg.com or call (305) 620-2020. Send STEP or DXF files with a dimensioned PDF and we will come back with pricing, lead time, and any manufacturability notes worth flagging before you release the design.
MJM Manufacturing, Inc. — 5205 NW 161 Street, Miami Gardens, FL 33014. CAGE Code 0YLX1.