Category sourcing
Sourcing CNC machining from Taiwan
Motor mounts, gimbal frames, landing gear, arm clamps, payload housings, and the brackets that hold everything together — a drone contains more machined aluminum than most people expect, and it is the part of the build most sensitive to whether the shop actually reads your drawing.
Tell us what you are looking for and we will identify Taiwan-based manufacturers whose capabilities match and introduce you directly, usually within two business days. There is no charge to submit a request.
The cheapest quote is usually quoting a different part
Machining feels like the most transparent thing you can buy. You have a 3D model, the geometry is unambiguous, and quotes come back quickly. But a model is not a specification, and the gap between the two is where the price differences live.
Tolerances are the first. A model carries nominal dimensions; it does not say which of them matter. If you do not supply a drawing with toleranced features, the shop applies its own general tolerance — and a quote against a loose default is cheaper than a quote against the bearing fit you actually needed. Call out the handful of critical dimensions explicitly. On most drone parts it genuinely is a handful: a bearing bore, a motor bolt pattern, a mating face. Everything else can be general.
Surface finish and treatment is the second, and on a UAV it is rarely cosmetic. Anodizing is corrosion protection and wear resistance as much as color, and Type II and Type III (hard anodize) are different processes with different costs and different thickness build-up — which matters if the feature is a fit. Say whether a finish is functional or appearance-critical, because they are inspected differently.
Material is the third, and it is where weight-driven designs get expensive quietly. 6061 is the general-purpose default; 7075 is significantly stronger and is what highly loaded or weight-critical parts often move to, at higher material cost and with different corrosion behavior. Titanium and magnesium show up on weight-critical work and change both cost and lead time substantially. If you have specified a material because a datasheet suggested it rather than because the part needs it, say so — a shop can often propose a cheaper equivalent.
Taiwan's machining base is deep and unusually well matched to this work. It is among the world's largest machine tool exporters, and central Taiwan — Taichung in particular — holds one of the densest concentrations of machine tool manufacturers anywhere, with the component suppliers and skilled labor that go with it. The same cluster serves bicycles, medical devices, and semiconductor equipment: all tolerance-sensitive, all accustomed to small and mid-sized runs rather than only mass production. Prototype-to-production in the same shop is a normal expectation there, which is what an iterating UAV program needs.
What to specify when you send us a request
- 3D model and a drawing — STEP for geometry, plus a 2D drawing carrying tolerances, datums, and any GD&T. The model alone is not a specification, and this is the single biggest cause of non-comparable quotes.
- Critical dimensions — which features actually matter and to what tolerance. Bearing bores, bolt patterns, and mating faces usually do; most other surfaces do not, and saying so keeps the price honest.
- Material and temper — for example 6061-T6 or 7075-T6, or say what the part must do and let the shop propose. Note any restriction on material origin or the need for mill certificates.
- Surface finish — as-machined, bead blast, anodize (Type II or Type III), chromate, or paint, plus color if it matters and whether any surface is masked. Say whether the finish is functional or appearance-critical.
- Quantity and repeat expectation — how many now, and whether this is a one-off, a recurring batch, or heading to production. This changes fixturing decisions and therefore price per part.
- Machine requirements — if you know the part needs 5-axis, live tooling, or turning rather than milling, say so; if you do not, the geometry will tell the shop.
- Threads and inserts — thread specs, and whether you need threaded inserts installed. Small parts in aluminum frequently want inserts, and it is easier to quote up front than to add later.
- Inspection requirements — first article inspection, a dimensional report, CMM data, or material certificates. Say which, and whether you need it on every batch.
- Assembly and secondary operations — deburring standard, pressing bearings, installing hardware, marking or serialization.
- Lead time — when you need the first parts and when production would follow.
Where machined parts sit on compliance
A machined bracket carries no firmware, stores no data, and has no network path, so it is not among the equipment NDAA §848 names — flight controllers, radios and data-transmission devices, cameras and gimbals, ground control systems, and operating software. Of everything we source, this is the category least likely to be where a compliance review runs into trouble, though that is a statement about probability rather than an exemption.
Two things still come up. The first is material origin and certification. If your program's bill-of-materials rules reach raw stock, or your customer requires mill certificates traceable to the heat lot, that is a documentation requirement on the shop and it belongs in the first message rather than the first inspection. Some Drone Dominance Program (DDP) phases and some primes' supplier standards do reach that far.
The second is your drawing. Sending geometry for a defense-related part is a technical data transfer, and depending on your jurisdiction and the nature of the part it may carry export-control obligations of its own — before anything is manufactured. That is your call to make rather than ours, but it is worth making deliberately rather than by attaching a file. If the part is sensitive, tell us and we will handle the introduction accordingly.
What happens after you submit
We review every sourcing request — typically within two business days — and screen it against the U.S., EU, UN, UK, Japanese, and Australian restricted-party lists we subscribe to before we contact anyone. Requests that clear are matched to manufacturers whose capabilities fit, and we make a direct introduction — from that point the conversation is between you and the manufacturer. We are not a broker, we hold no inventory, and we do not handle payment or logistics. An introduction is a qualified starting point for your own diligence, not a compliance determination.
Other categories we source
Propulsion & power
Electronics & control
Frequently asked questions
I only have a STEP file, no drawing. Is that enough?
Enough to get a quote, not enough to get the part you have in mind. Without a drawing the shop applies its own general tolerance and its own judgment about finish, so quotes come back cheap and comparable to each other but not necessarily to your requirement. If producing a full drawing is not practical, at minimum list the two or three critical dimensions and their tolerances in the request — that closes most of the gap.
6061 or 7075?
6061 is the general-purpose default and is fine for most brackets and housings. 7075 is considerably stronger and tends to appear on highly loaded or weight-critical parts, at higher material cost and with different corrosion behavior — which is why it is usually anodized. If you picked one from a datasheet rather than from a load case, say so in the request; a shop can often suggest an equivalent that machines more easily or costs less.
Can the same shop do prototypes and production?
Often, and it is worth asking early, because it saves requalifying a part later. The trade is that fixturing and process choices sensible for a handful of parts are not always the ones you would choose for a repeating batch, so tell the shop where you expect to end up even if you are only ordering a few now. That is also the honest way to ask about price at volume rather than being quoted prototype rates forever.
Do you charge buyers to submit a sourcing request?
No. Submitting a request and receiving an introduction is free for buyers.
What information is screened?
Every inquiry is checked against the U.S., EU, UN, UK, Japanese, and Australian sanctions and restricted-party lists we subscribe to, along with jurisdiction checks, before we contact any manufacturer.
Do you handle the transaction?
No. We make a direct introduction and step out. Your procurement relationship is directly with the manufacturer.