Our integrated team provides turnkey prototyping and production services, including: machining, metal fabrication, casting, injection molding, and much more. With quality finishing options we make it easy to get the parts you need without chasing down multiple vendors.

As an Industrial Designer, I've done my share of prototyping by hand and I know what it takes to produce this level of quality. The folks at Firsthand Fab are the real deal!

Evan Reese
Co-Owner / Industrial Designer
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CNC Machining

Production Capabilities

With over a hundred 3-axis and a dozen 5­-axis CNC machines along with CNC lathes, wire cut EDM, and sink/plunge EDM machines, we can create precisions parts from a wide variety of materials

Materials In Stock

  • AL 6061, 7075, 5052, 2014, 2024
  • Steel 4130, 4140, A36, 4330, 01
  • Stainless 303, 304, 316, 410, 416
  • Magnesium
  • Copper C101
  • Brass 260, C360
  • Plastics, including: ABS, ABS UL94V0, Delrin, Nylon, PTFE, PC, and PMMA

Finishing & Post Process

  • Media blasting, brushing, and polishing
  • Powder coating
  • Chrome Plating
  • Passivation
  • Vapor deposition (PVD)
  • Laser etching
  • Tapping
  • CMM quality control
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Sheet Metal

Cut, Bend, Weld, and Finish

Our full line of sheet metal prototype and production capabilities include: large format laser cutting, a turret punch press, CNC bending, riveting, tapping, and welding.

Stamping

Hydraulic and mechanical presses ranging from 45T to 250T allow us to draw with or without custom tools depending on design.

Materials In Stock

  • Aluminum 5052
  • Steel 301 304 303/SGCC, SPCC, SECC, SPHC
  • Common tube sizes available in AL and steel

Finishing

  • Brushing and polishing
  • Powder coating and painting
  • Anodizing, zinc ­plating, Black oxide, e­-coating, UV coating
  • Passivation
  • Electroplating (chroming and others)
  • Graphics application (silkscreening, pad printing, laser etching)
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Vacuum Casting

Production Capabilities

Whether you’re looking for single, multi-cavity, or overmolded parts, Firsthand Fab is able to create highly detailed molds in rigid ABS-like or soft rubber material options.

Materials In Stock

  • With a wide variety of polyurethane options, we can create parts that are ABS-like, rubber-like (A40 – A90 durometers available), crystal clear similar to PMMA or PC, nylon-like, or foggy with a milky appearance
  • Leveraging hard tools, we also cast low durometer, silicone parts

Finishing & Post Process

  • From matte to satin to gloss – we can achieve a wide variety of textures in mold
  • Color matching is available for most materials
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Injection Molding

Production Capabilities

Looking to produce 10K or 100K plastic parts but only need 1,000 to start? Firsthand is here to help. Our tooling modifications are affordable and our lead times are solid. 

Rapid Tooling

We are able to create high quality and cost-effective rapid tools with short lead times. Firsthand Fab has made and shipped precision molds and parts as large as car bumpers.

Materials In Stock

  • Multiple varieties of ABS, polystyrene, polycarbonate, nylon, and polypropylene
  • For custom applications, we can special order most materials through our suppliers in the US and overseas

Finishing & Post Process

  • Degating  
  • Deflashing  
  • Cleaning  
  • Painting
  • Plating
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3D Printing

Production Capabilities

With various bed sizes available and a variety of materials to choose from, our SLA and SLS printers can handle most jobs; however, with our efficient CNC process you may want to consider machining your plastic parts. Firsthand is always happy to quote both options.

Materials In Stock

  • ABS (white)
  • Resin (white and clear)
  • Nylon and Nylon 12 (white or grey)
  • Glass-filled Nylon (30%)

Finishing & Post Process

Depending on material selection, many 3D printed parts can be hand finished and painted to match a variety of appearances from matte to gloss in the color of your choice.

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Appearance Models

Firsthand creates expertly crafted appearance models that show off your design vision. Combining our wide array of processes and materials, we’re able to achieve convincing parts with attractive lead times and prices.

Common process

  • CNC plastic and metal parts
  • Vacuum casting
  • Hand-finishing (sanding, brushing, polishing, etc.)
  • Threaded inserts for assembly
  • Painting and texturing
  • Graphics application (silkscreening, pad printing, hydrographics)
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Finishing

With a wide variety of finishing services offered in­-house, Firsthand Fab is able to serve as a one-stop shop on just about any job. No matter the desired properties or appearance of the coating, the experts at Firsthand can help you get the perfect finish.

Overview

Color Matching – Looking to use a specific color or metallic finish? Send us a sample and using Pantone or R.A.L (European standard) we are able to get it right the first time.

Texture – Want your prototype parts to feel like the real thing? Whether casting or machining, our finishing team can make your part look and feel like a production part with mock mold textures and soft touch applications.

Rubber / Elastomer – Need some flexibility? Firsthand has the ability to mold almost any durometer.

Samples – Not sure exactly what finish you’re looking for? We have samples available by request.

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Select Finishing Options

  • Anodizing
  • Painting
  • E­-coating
  • Chrome plating
  • Passivation
  • Zinc plating
  • Black oxide
  • Polishing
  • Media blasting
  • Powder coating
  • UV Coating
  • Electroplating
  • Vapor polishing
  • Vapor deposition
  • Silkscreening
  • Pad printing
  • Laser etching

Discuss your project
with a real person

512-790-3055 START A PROJECT