Machined Parts by Industry: What Each Sector Asks For
The same 6061 bracket is a different job for a robot maker, a boat builder and a lab. What changes is the paperwork, the finish, the cleanliness and the volume. This page sets out what each sector usually brings to an RFQ.
Parts, materials and documents below are typical for each sector, not a list of past jobs.
Sectors at a glance
Typical materials and the documents buyers in each sector usually ask for. Use it as a starting point for the RFQ, then add what your own quality system requires.
| Sector | Typical materials | Documents usually asked for |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial equipment and automation | 6061 aluminium, mild steel, 1045 and 4140 steel, POM | Certificate of conformity, dimensional report on fitted features |
| Automotive aftermarket | 6061 and 7075 aluminium, 4140 steel, 304 stainless | First article report, material certificate on load bearing parts |
| Electronics enclosures and thermal parts | 6061 and 6063 aluminium, C110 copper | Dimensional report on mating faces, coating thickness where tolerance is tight |
| Architectural and furniture hardware | C360 brass, 304 and 316 stainless, 6063 aluminium | Certificate of conformity, finish sample approval |
| Marine and outdoor | 316L stainless, titanium grade 2, aluminium bronze, 5052 aluminium | Material certificate, passivation record on stainless |
| Robotics and motion | 6061 and 7075 aluminium, 4140 steel, 17-4PH stainless, POM | Dimensional report on bearing seats and hole positions |
| Energy, valves and fluid handling | 316L stainless, 4140 steel, C360 brass, 17-4PH stainless | Material certificate with heat number, pressure test record when tested, first article report |
| Laboratory and device parts | 6061 aluminium, 304 and 316L stainless, PEEK, POM | Material certificate, dimensional report, cleaning and packing instructions |
| Semiconductor and vacuum equipment | 6061 aluminium, 316L stainless, PEEK | Dimensional report, cleaning and packing record, material certificate |
Sector by sector
The parts each sector buys most often, and the one or two things that decide whether a batch is accepted.
- Industrial equipment and automation
- Typical parts: Machine frames, guards, jigs, fixtures, gripper fingers, spacers, shafts and spare parts for production lines.
Often one off or small batch spare parts made from a worn sample. Fixtures and jigs need flatness and hole position more than tight size tolerance. - Automotive aftermarket
- Typical parts: Brackets, adapters, pulleys, spacers, billet housings, suspension and engine accessories.
Cosmetic finish matters as much as dimensions: anodise colour, bead blast texture and machining marks on visible faces. Agree a reference sample for colour. - Electronics enclosures and thermal parts
- Typical parts: Milled housings, front panels, heat sinks, shielding covers, connector brackets.
Flatness of the sealing and thermal faces, anodise growth on fitted features and masking for grounding points. Cosmetic criteria belong in writing. - Architectural and furniture hardware
- Typical parts: Hinges, connectors, handles, standoffs, cable fittings, decorative trim.
Batch to batch finish consistency is the usual quality issue. Brushed, polished and PVD finishes are normally subcontracted, so name the finish and the reference. - Marine and outdoor
- Typical parts: Deck and rigging fittings, pump parts, shafts, brackets, flanges.
Material is chosen for corrosion first. Avoid mixing metals that form a galvanic couple in salt water, and specify passivation on machined stainless. - Robotics and motion
- Typical parts: Joint housings, motor mounts, end effectors, linear guide carriages, bearing seats.
Bearing fits (H7 and tighter), true position between bore patterns and weight. Positional tolerances on related features usually cost less than tight linear ones. - Energy, valves and fluid handling
- Typical parts: Valve bodies, manifolds, flanges, pump impellers and housings, fittings.
Port threads (NPT, BSPP, metric), sealing face finish and cross drilled passages. If a pressure test applies, say who performs it and to which standard. - Laboratory and device parts
- Typical parts: Instrument housings, fixtures, sample holders, optical mounts, non implant device components.
No implants and no sterile packaging. Regulatory responsibility stays with the device owner, so name the documents your quality system needs from a supplier. - Semiconductor and vacuum equipment
- Typical parts: Chamber parts, wafer handling fixtures, manifolds, brackets, insulators.
Cleanliness, surface finish on vacuum faces and double bagging after cleaning. Cleanroom grade cleaning is a specialist step, so ask who does it.
Sector guides: automation equipment parts, automotive aftermarket, aluminium enclosures, medical device components and semiconductor equipment parts.
What changes from one sector to the next
The machining is often the same. These five things are not, and they decide which shop fits and what the quote includes.
- PaperworkA spare bracket ships with a certificate of conformity. A valve body ships with a material certificate, a first article report and sometimes a pressure test record. Name the documents in the RFQ, because each one is work that sits in the price.
- TraceabilitySome sectors need the material heat number to follow the part from the bar to the shipment. That has to be planned before the stock is bought.
- Cosmetic standardConsumer facing parts are rejected for marks that an industrial buyer would never see. Write the cosmetic criteria down and agree a reference sample.
- CleanlinessHydraulic, vacuum and lab parts often need a defined cleaning step and packing that keeps them clean. Standard export packing is oiled and wrapped, which is the opposite.
- Volume patternSpare parts arrive as one offs, aftermarket parts as batches of a few hundred, equipment parts as repeat orders. The volume decides which machines and shops make sense.
Which documents to request and how to read them: quality documents for machined parts and first article inspection. Packing for the trip: export packing.
Regulated sectors: who carries the responsibility
In medical, aerospace, pressure equipment and similar regulated work, the regulatory responsibility stays with the company that puts the product on the market. A machine shop supplies parts to your drawing and your purchase order, with the documents you ask for. Whether those parts and documents satisfy a regulation is decided by your own quality system.
So the RFQ has to say what the supplier must provide: the quality documents, the traceability, any special process approvals and any audit rights. A quality management standard from the ISO 9000 family describes how a supplier runs its system. It is not a statement about your part, so ask for the evidence that matters to it.
How the sector shapes the match
We read the sector from the RFQ and the documents it asks for, after process and material. A part that needs a material certificate with heat traceability goes to shops that already supply one, and a cosmetic part to shops that already work to written cosmetic criteria.
The process side is on the processes page, the material side on the materials page and the numbers a drawing is quoted against on the standards page.
Questions about sectors
Do you match parts for every industry?
We match machined parts for industrial, automotive aftermarket, electronics, architectural, marine, robotics, energy, laboratory and semiconductor equipment work. We do not match implants or parts that must be delivered in sterile packaging.
Can shops in Vietnam supply the quality documents my industry needs?
Many can supply a material certificate, a first article report and a dimensional report. Some sectors need more, such as a specific quality system or a pressure test. Name every document in the RFQ and we only match shops that already produce them.
Is a certificate of conformity enough?
For non critical parts it often is. It is a declaration, not evidence, because it carries no measurements. Where a dimension or material is functional, ask for a dimensional report or a material certificate as well.
How should parts for clean applications be packed?
State the cleaning method, the packing (for example double bagged after cleaning) and whether rust preventive oil is allowed. Without that, parts are packed for sea freight, which usually means oil and paper.
Tell us the sector in the RFQ
Name the documents, finish and packing your sector needs, and we match up to 3 shops in Vietnam that already work that way. You hear from us within 24 business hours.