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How Early Collaboration Helps Control Sheet Metal Costs

Anyone who works in purchasing knows that a sheet metal quote can raise questions that aren’t always obvious from the print alone. A part may look straightforward, the drawings may be complete, and the material callouts may all appear reasonable. But when you understand the entire scope of the project (ie. how all these individual parts are being used together) from a manufacturing standpoint, small details in the design can have a meaningful impact on price, lead time, and production efficiency.

At Nu-Way Industries, we recently reviewed an enclosure assembly that demonstrates how much those details matter. The enclosure was roughly desktop-sized and made from about six sheet metal components. At first glance, it looked like a routine sheet metal assembly. But once our team reviewed how the components would be cut and nested, the cost drivers became clearer. Every part called for a different material thickness, and one unfolded component consumed nearly an entire sheet of material on its own. If more of the parts had shared a common gauge, some of the smaller ones may have nested into that unused sheet area instead of leaving it as scrap.

To be clear, that doesn’t mean the design was wrong. Each material choice may have made sense on its own, especially from a performance standpoint. But from the fabrication side, those choices limited nesting opportunities and created material waste that the individual component prints didn’t fully show.

That’s why it helps to bring your manufacturing partner into the conversation early. When Nu-Way understands what the part needs to do and engineering has room to weigh in, there may be practical ways to improve cost, yield, or lead time before the project moves into production.

Where a Manufacturing Partner Can Help You Spot Hidden Cost Drivers

When Nu-Way reviews a project for quoting, our team looks at how the part will move through production, including material usage, nesting, outside processing, sourcing, and scheduling. That manufacturing perspective can reveal cost drivers that may not have been obvious during design or purchasing.

Material Yield Adds Up Across an Assembly

In many cases, the material cost isn’t limited to the metal inside the finished part’s perimeter. The sheet metal quote also has to account for the material consumed to make the part, including the skeleton, cutouts, and leftover areas that may not be usable once the part is cut.

That unused material is where the assembly-level view can make a difference. If six related parts all use different gauges, the shop is essentially working with six separate material requirements. But when several of those parts can share a common material thickness, there may be room to nest them together more efficiently and reduce the amount of unused material.

Not every material callout can or should be changed. Some thicknesses are selected for strength, fit, or performance. But when the reason is less clear, it’s worth asking the question before the quote is finalized or the PO is placed. If the design intent allows for a common gauge, a different sheet size, or a small adjustment to how parts are grouped, the result may be a lower-cost, more efficient production path.

Outside Processing Can Carry Minimum Charges

Some sheet metal quote surprises come from what happens after the parts are fabricated. If a part needs wet paint, plating, anodizing, or passivation, Nu-Way typically sends that work to a specialized outside vendor, which is common for many job shops. That outside processing has to be included in the quote, and on small orders, the pricing can look disproportionate to its size or complexity.

Those vendors often charge a minimum lot fee to set up and run a batch. On a small order, that minimum gets absorbed by just a few parts. Ten small plated brackets, for example, may come back much higher than expected on a per-piece basis because those ten pieces are carrying the entire finishing minimum on their own.

This is one place where grouping related parts can help. When several parts need the same finish, they may be able to move through production and outside processing as a family, spreading the minimum charge across a larger run instead of applying it to one small batch. Capturing that benefit usually takes a small adjustment on the purchasing side. The related parts need to be ordered and processed as a set, rather than as separate one-off POs, so the fabrication partner can manage the finishing as a single lot.

Material Availability Can Change the Best Approach

Raw material pricing and availability have been changing quickly, which makes early conversations more important during quoting and planning. Steel, aluminum, copper, and stainless have all seen price movement, and some materials that used to be easy to source are now harder to get on a predictable timeline. When a service center is out of a given material, filling the order may mean waiting on the mill, which can push lead times beyond what the buyer expected when the RFQ package went out.

That uncertainty is worth surfacing early, because there are often options once everyone understands the tradeoffs. If the specified material is expensive or hard to source, the next question is whether the part really needs that exact material to do its job. Could a different grade work? Is there a more available thickness? If the print calls for aluminum, would powder-coated steel still hold up in the application? While those are engineering decisions, Nu-Way can help raise the question before cost or lead time becomes the only thing left to react to.

Once the material choice is clear, the next step is to discuss timing. When material is scarce or a project requires a larger commitment buy, the customer and manufacturer may need to talk through how that material will be secured. In some cases, locking in price and availability calls for a firmer purchasing commitment up front, so the material can be purchased, scheduled, and held for the work ahead. Getting those conversations on the table early gives everyone room to weigh cost, availability, and timing before the order is locked in.

Better Sheet Metal Quotes Start With Better Conversations

None of this is about second-guessing the design or adding steps to an already busy process. A print can be complete and correct and still leave room to improve how the part is produced. Purchasing, engineering, and your fabrication partner each see the project from a different angle, and the earlier those perspectives come together, the more options everyone has to manage cost, yield, and lead time.

That’s the real value of treating a manufacturing partner as an extension of your own team rather than another name on a bid list. The work still gets built to print. It just gets built with fewer surprises.

Ready to talk through your next project? Get in touch with the Nu-Way team to request a quote.

The Sheet Metal RFQ Checklist: 10 Ways to Get Faster, More Accurate Quotes

Anyone who works in purchasing knows how quickly a sheet metal RFQ can turn into a chain of follow-up questions. One vendor needs a missing drawing, another asks for a 3D file, and someone else wants to know whether the annual volume will be released all at once, monthly, or in smaller production runs. Before long, you’re tracking down answers from engineering, forwarding updates to multiple vendors, and trying to keep the quote timeline from slipping.

That kind of back-and-forth usually doesn’t happen because someone dropped the ball. Buyers are often working with parts they didn’t design, files they may not control, and deadlines they didn’t set. But the more complete and organized the RFQ package is from the start, the easier it is for your sheet metal fabrication partner to understand the scope, ask better questions, and return a quote that reflects the real project.

At Nu-Way Industries, we assembled this checklist to make that process easier. It outlines the information that gives sheet metal fabricators a clearer picture of the project, helping buyers reduce back-and-forth, compare quotes more confidently, and avoid eleventh-hour surprises.

What to Include in Your Sheet Metal RFQ Package

Not every RFQ will require every item below, and not every buyer will have access to all of this information. And that’s okay. Nu-Way can and does quote projects with less information, but the more detail that’s available up front, the easier it is for us to improve the quality and speed of the quote. The goal here isn’t to spend time creating the perfect RFQ package, but rather to know what to aim for and who to loop in when something’s missing. Here are 10 things that, in our experience, can make the biggest difference in how fast and accurately a sheet metal fabrication partner can quote your project.

#1: Include 3D CAD Files and PDF Drawings

3D files increase quoting speed. When an estimator can load a model directly, they can spend less time interpreting flat drawings or manually working through dimensions and bend calculations from scratch. That difference adds up quickly, especially on weldments and multi-component assemblies, where the geometry becomes more complex.

We recommend including 3D CAD files for everything when possible, along with PDF drawings for all levels of the assembly, not just the top-level drawing. The model helps the estimator understand the geometry and fitup, while the drawings provide important details such as tolerances, notes, finishes, revisions, and component-level requirements. And if you don’t have access to the CAD files yourself, it’s worth finding out who in your organization does, so they can be included with the package or made available to the vendor if needed.

#2: Provide a Digital Bill of Materials

A structured bill of materials (we recommend an Excel spreadsheet) helps the vendor understand the full scope of what you need quoted, especially on complex assemblies with multiple subcomponents. Without a clear BOM, your manufacturing partner has to piece together the project scope from the drawings alone. This can slow the RFQ process down and increase the chances of something being missed or misinterpreted.

#3: Clarify Material and Finishing Specifications

If your sheet metal parts have specific material requirements or require powder coating, plating, anodizing, or wet paint, it helps to include that information in the original RFQ package. These details are sometimes handled separately from the drawings, but when they’re missing from the quote package, one of two things usually happens: the vendor has to ask (which adds delay) or make an assumption (which adds risk).

#4: Share Specialty Item Sources

If the assembly includes specialty hardware, fasteners, springs, or other components that aren’t widely available, include the name of the supplier you typically use. You don’t need to share pricing, just the source. That gives your manufacturing partner a clear starting point, so they don’t have to spend time tracking down who makes a particular item (and delaying your quote).

#5: Define Release Quantities and Cadence

While estimated annual usage (EAU) is helpful because it tells your manufacturing partner the size of the opportunity for the year, most sheet metal fabricators don’t quote as if they’ll run the full annual quantity at once. Material costs are too volatile to buy a year’s worth of raw material up front, shops may not have the capacity to run that volume in a single production cycle, and chances are you don’t have the warehouse space to receive it all in one shipment anyway.

What’s especially useful for your sheet metal fabrication partner is the release quantity, meaning how many pieces you expect to order per purchase order, and the cadence, meaning how frequently those orders or shipments will occur. Without that information, the vendor has to estimate both, and the quote you get back will be based on their best guess rather than your actual plan. If you’re starting with a prototype run before scaling to full production, it’s worth flagging that up front, too, since it changes how the work is scheduled and priced.

#6: Include an Engineering Point of Contact

When technical questions come up during the quoting process, the fastest path to an answer is a direct line to someone on your engineering team. Including that person’s name and contact information in the RFQ package means that when your manufacturing partner has a question about a missing drawing, a critical-to-quality feature, or a tolerance called out to several decimal places, they can go straight to a technical resource instead of relaying questions back and forth through the buyer.

There’s a second benefit here, too. When the vendor understands what a part actually does and how it functions, they can quote more accurately and may be able to suggest alternative approaches that reduce cost. Without that context, they’re pricing the geometry on the drawing without knowing what matters most.

#7: Share Documentation and Quality Requirements Up Front

Here’s a scenario we’ve run into before: Nu-Way completes a quote, it looks competitive, and the buyer agrees to the lead time. Then, later in the process, the buyer mentions they’ll need a Level 3 PPAP, or Production Part Approval Process, with the first-piece submission. That kind of quality documentation requires significant administrative work and has to be factored into both the price and the timeline. It’s not something that can be pulled together at the last minute when parts are already manufactured and sitting on the shipping dock.

If your project has documentation or quality requirements, such as PPAP, first-article inspection, or certifications, it pays to include them in the sheet metal RFQ. When your fabrication partner has that information from the start, the quote reflects the full scope of the work, and nobody is scrambling at the end to catch up.

#8: Ask About In-House Capabilities

Before sending your RFQ to a list of vendors, it’s worth asking a simple question: do they have the manufacturing and finishing capabilities your project requires in-house, or will they need to subcontract part of the work? The answer can have a direct impact on both pricing and lead time for sheet metal parts. A vendor who has to send parts out for plating or another secondary process may need more time, and that outside processing can also affect the final price.

When that information surfaces in the quote rather than before it, the buyer may have already spent weeks waiting on a response that was never going to be the right fit. Asking the question early gives vendors who can’t meet the requirements a chance to say so up front, and it helps the buyer avoid spending time on quotes that won’t work.

#9: Consider Sharing a Target Price

Target pricing isn’t always straightforward, and we understand why buyers can be hesitant to share it. After all, it can feel like showing your hand, especially if you’re worried a vendor will build their quote around that number instead of giving you their most competitive price. It can also create a practical challenge if too many vendors decide the target isn’t a fit, and you still need to collect a certain number of bids.

But here’s what we see from the quoting side: without a target price, a fabricator can spend days putting together a detailed quote for a complex assembly, only to find out the number was never close. An experienced estimator can often look at a target and know within minutes whether the raw material cost alone makes the project a non-starter. That kind of early clarity saves time for everyone involved.

Think of it like a job posting with no salary range. You probably wouldn’t invest the time to apply without some idea of whether the compensation was in the right ballpark. Target pricing gives your fabrication partner the same kind of context. Even a general range can be enough to determine whether it makes sense to invest the time in a full quote.

#10: Aim for Realistic Quote Deadlines

We know there’s often pressure on the procurement side to get quotes back quickly, and we understand that timelines aren’t always yours to set. But when a large or complex sheet metal RFQ comes in with a turnaround time of a day or two, many fabricators won’t be able to review it thoroughly enough to return a confident, accurate quote. Some may pass on the opportunity entirely.

If the goal is to get responses that are thorough, competitive, and easy to compare, a timeline that reflects the scope of the RFQ can make a meaningful difference.

Better RFQs Make Better Quotes

It’s easy to look at a list like this and think it adds steps to an already busy process. But the alternative is often more time spent fielding the same clarifying questions from multiple vendors, chasing down specs and drawings after the fact, and trying to compare quotes that were each built on different assumptions.

When the RFQ package is more complete from the start, everyone spends less time filling in the blanks later. Your fabrication partner can quote around the real scope of the project, and you get responses that are easier to compare, easier to trust, and less likely to come with surprises.

Ready to put this checklist to work? Get in touch with the Nu-Way team to request a quote or talk through your next project.

How Steve Elliott Is Helping Nu-Way Build Systems That Scale

Nu-Way Industries had previously tried to migrate from its legacy Meridian file management system to SolidWorks PDM. The earlier attempts had failed, as the challenge was bigger than switching software. Engineering records had to be migrated, data structures mapped, and workflows, user permissions, and CAD integration aligned, all without disrupting daily operations across Nu-Way’s precision sheet metal manufacturing environment. Before that was done, keeping engineering and production aligned on current revisions was a more manual process, increasing the risk that a part could be built from an outdated revision.

That changed when Steve Elliott, now Nu-Way’s Vice President of Engineering & Estimating, took ownership of the project. He led the system architecture, executed the full data migration across engineering records, and stabilized the platform after launch. The result was a reliable, scalable document management platform that remains Nu-Way’s standard today.

For Elliott, the project reflects a broader pattern across his time with the company: replacing improvisation with systems that scale.

“The better, more economical decision, and the one with the least amount of resistance, was to switch to the SolidWorks PDM vault system,” Elliott said. “Since we were already a heavy user of SolidWorks, it was an easy decision to go through with that.”

Seven years later, the impact is clear. “We’re now seven years into using it, and in the seven years that it’s been running, we’ve never had a catastrophic failure of the vault system,” he said. “It’s common use and common practice here at Nu-Way. Nobody thinks about the old system that much anymore.”

A Career Built on the Shop Floor

Elliott has spent nearly 25 years in precision sheet metal manufacturing, including 21 years at Nu-Way Industries. Over that time, his role has steadily expanded from Industrial Engineer to Industrial Engineering Manager, New Product Development Engineering Manager, and now Vice President of Engineering & Estimating.

That progression gave him a detailed view of how engineering decisions show up on the shop floor.

“Being hands-on all these years has been the biggest teacher,” Elliott said. “I got to spend a lot more time out on the floor in the first 15 years of my career, seeing things done in fabrication firsthand. All of that has been incredibly helpful where I’m at today.”

Earlier in his career, Elliott led the setup and optimization of high-volume assembly lines, including workflow design, line balancing, tooling, fixtures, and detailed work instructions. He supported large-scale production programs such as heavy copper busbar battery rack assemblies, helping enable throughput of up to 18 units per day using properly balanced production lines and tooling.

He also established dedicated assembly cells for complex precision sheet metal programs, including stainless steel oven door production and Department of Defense (DoD)-related builds, and engineered a robotic handling system for aluminum motorcycle fuel tanks that automated the internal sealing process.

That hands-on foundation continues to shape how he leads today. He understands that scalable systems must be practical, usable, and grounded in the realities of production.

As his responsibilities have expanded, so has the nature of the work. “Now it’s about assigning the right tasks to the right people who are qualified to do those projects,” Elliott said. “Learning to delegate and trust has been another transition, and so has helping others develop where there is opportunity for them to grow.”

A Standards-First Leadership Style

In his current role, Elliott is focused on bringing more structure to the decisions that shape a job before it reaches production.

He is driving the development of standardized work across engineering and estimating, with an emphasis on improving consistency, accuracy, and scalability. That initiative includes formalizing documentation, procedures, and onboarding materials so the organization relies less on tribal knowledge and more on shared processes.

The effort also connects directly to downstream performance. Elliott is aligning engineering methods and estimating practices with cost, scheduling, production performance, and ERP execution, including improved integration with Epicor.

For those changes to hold, the people closest to the process have to be involved in shaping and maintaining them.

“I prioritize open communication with my team, ensuring managers are informed, involved, and part of the decision-making process to drive better outcomes,” Elliott said.

That approach gives standardization a practical purpose. It creates clearer ownership across the leadership team and gives the people doing the work a stake in how it gets done.

Using Technology to Strengthen the System

Elliott is also applying that systems mindset to Nu-Way’s estimating platform and internal technology. He is leading enhancements to Paperless Parts to better reflect Nu-Way’s manufacturing processes, cost structures, and quoting inputs, including faster, more accurate raw material pricing updates.

For Elliott, the value is not simply moving from paper to digital. It is about reducing ambiguity and improving the consistency of the decisions that shape cost, capacity, and competitiveness.

“With analog quoting systems, you’re really using interpretation,” Elliott said. “And with interpretation in human beings comes various answers. Paperless helps pull some of the ambiguity out of quoting.”

That clarity matters because estimating decisions affect the entire operation. A quoted rate has to be competitive, but it also has to reflect what the company can realistically produce.

“It’s forcing a revisit to core estimating functions and making sure we have a dialed-in estimating rate that remains competitive among our competitors,” Elliott said. “Everybody has a personal objective, but you have to keep the company in the front of mind. We won’t be competitive if we constantly cut rates in half.”

Similarly, Elliott is using AI-assisted code generation to support development inside Paperless Parts’ P3L scripting environment, allowing the team to iterate on system improvements more quickly and reduce reliance on external programming resources. He is also applying AI to documentation-heavy work, including SOP development, technical communication summaries, and knowledge capture across engineering and estimating.

For Elliott, the value of AI is practical because it gives teams another way to improve internal systems, capture information more efficiently, and solve problems faster without being limited by traditional technical barriers.

“I’m not a programmer. I’m an engineer,” Elliott said. “The advent of AI has been a huge lift for a non-programmer like me. It has made many things possible that I could only get done through contracted services before.”

That includes writing scripts for SolidWorks PDM automation, creating tools to help process large customer drawing packages, and modifying Paperless Parts code more efficiently.

“What really started to knock down obstacles to improving software and workflows was having AI help me understand the programming side,” Elliott said. “Now I’m building my own scripts, building my own executables, and modifying P3L code.”

Building for Scale

Looking ahead, the next stage of improvement is stronger integration across engineering, estimating, and production. That means continued investment in technology and automation, faster and more reliable quoting, better data, and more standardized processes.

It also means building an organization where teams take greater ownership and collaborate across fewer silos. After helping analyze company-wide employee feedback, Elliott has focused early efforts on documentation, training, and cross-functional understanding.

“I expect leaders and teams to take full responsibility for their work, follow through on commitments, and step up to challenges even when they fall outside their traditional roles,” he said.

The goal is a more scalable operation, with systems that support better decisions closer to the work.

If you’re looking for a precision sheet metal manufacturing partner for a new program or existing product, Nu-Way’s team is ready to help. Contact us to discuss your project needs.

Why Your RFQ Should Include More Than Just a Drawing

Buyers, here’s a question: Could you use some time back in your day? Between sending out RFQs, waiting for responses, and juggling timelines, the answer is probably yes. If you aren’t already doing so, one of the simplest ways to speed up the quoting process is to include the 3D CAD file with the drawing.

The Role of 3D CAD Files in Modern Quoting

If you’re already providing your manufacturing partners with a drawing, why does the 3D CAD file matter so much? It comes down to speed, as the 3D file fundamentally changes how fast a supplier can turn your RFQ around.

For decades, estimators manually interpreted every dimension, every spec, and every note from a drawing before they could even start quoting. They relied on spreadsheets and custom calculators to work through the numbers, making it a methodical and very manual process. Modern quoting software has changed that. Today, the software can analyze part geometry directly from the 3D file and automatically determine:

– Part features (such as holes, countersinks, and counterbores)
– Sheet metal flat patterns and blank sizes
– Part volumes
– Types of manufacturing operations

With the software handling the setup, estimators can jump straight into evaluating cost and manufacturability instead of spending time on manual calculations. Think of the 3D file as a force multiplier. For example, rather than manually calculating the total number of inches in a perimeter that resembles Rhode Island’s coastline, the software figures it out instantly. The drawing and 3D model work in unison: while the 3D file builds up the geometry, the drawing communicates specs, tolerances, and design intent. It’s the one-two punch that gets the quote done faster.

What a Missing 3D CAD File Actually Costs You

Without the 3D model, estimators have to manually interpret the drawing and approximate the information that software could otherwise extract automatically. It still gets done, but it takes longer, which means your quote takes longer to come back.

The bigger issue, however, is what happens downstream. If a supplier wins the order and the buyer didn’t provide a 3D file, their engineering team often has to recreate the 3D model from the drawing before production can even begin. That’s time on the supplier’s side, which you feel in the form of longer lead times.

Recreating the model is also where real risk enters the picture. Think about a part with 200 dimensions. When a manufacturing partner has to recreate that model from only your drawing, every single measurement is entered manually. Across 200 entries, it’s almost inevitable that someone will miskey a number. And if that mistake doesn’t get caught before production, you could end up with a thousand parts that don’t meet spec. What started as a missing file turns into rejected parts, quality teams getting involved on both sides, discrepant material reports (DMRs), credits, rework, and a whole lot of back-and-forth that really didn’t need to happen.

There’s also a less obvious benefit to including the 3D file: it acts as a built-in cross-check. There have been plenty of cases where a customer’s 3D model didn’t match their own drawing. When both are included, that discrepancy is caught early rather than showing up on the production floor. The two files should be in sync with each other, not conflicting, and having both in hand is what makes that verification possible.

What to Include in Your RFQ Package

A strong RFQ package includes a STEP file (the universal 3D CAD format) and the drawing. That’s the baseline, and for most parts, it’s all a supplier needs to get moving quickly.

For assemblies or weldments, the best approach is to export the top-level assembly as a STEP file, include the corresponding drawings, and package everything into a ZIP file or a shared folder. Most CAD software can export assembly STEPs that include all child-component geometry, so suppliers can analyze the full assembly without requesting each piece individually. Nu-Way can also accept (and it’s preferred) if the customer sends native Solidworks files using the “Pack n’ Go” feature which makes it simple to gather up those files.

The good news is that your facility almost certainly already has these files since manual drafting of these drawings seldom happens today. Instead, the part gets drawn in 3D, and the software converts it to a drawing. It’s always going from that workflow, never the other way around.

In other words, the 3D CAD file exists. It’s just a matter of including it. In most cases, all you may have to do is ask engineering.

Make Including 3D Files the New Routine

As technology continues to advance, this process is becoming the new normal across the manufacturing industry. In fact, many OEMs have been including 3D files in the quoting process for many years now. They know that better RFQ data leads to faster quotes, faster order processing, reduced lead times, fewer errors, and less back-and-forth.

If you want to streamline the RFQ process and help prevent downstream quality headaches in your manufacturing operation, including the 3D model along with the part drawing is one of the simplest ways to do so. It means faster response times from your manufacturing partners and a more efficient timeline from quote to production.Put it into practice. Send us your next RFQ with the drawing and the 3D file, and see the difference it makes. Request a quote from Nu-Way Industries.

Supporting the Data Center Industry Boom With Custom Metal Components

Data centers are driving one of the biggest manufacturing booms our nation has seen in years. As businesses and individuals lean further into AI and cloud computing, global data center capacity is expected to double by 2030, with nearly 100 gigawatts of new capacity coming online.

Most headlines focus on the technology inside these facilities. Less visible is the physical infrastructure that makes it all possible. From cooling systems to backup generators to server infrastructure, all of it relies on enclosures, racks, control cabinets, and other precision sheet metal components.

Nu-Way Industries has been fabricating these types of components for decades. As demand for data center infrastructure accelerates, that experience matters.

Where Nu-Way Fits in the Supply Chain

Nu-Way Industries plays a role in the data center supply chain, even if our name never appears on the finished equipment inside those buildings. Instead, our company supports the tier-one suppliers responsible for delivering the systems that power and protect modern data centers.

Those companies design and integrate everything from server infrastructure to cooling equipment and backup power systems. To manufacture those systems at scale, they rely on fabrication partners capable of producing the custom metal components that support their designs.

As a precision metal fabrication partner, Nu-Way works behind the scenes to help those suppliers deliver reliable systems while keeping demanding project timelines on track. In many cases, these suppliers need fabrication partners who can quote quickly and keep production moving without delay.

What Nu-Way Fabricates for The Data Center Industry

While the components used in data center infrastructure vary widely, they share a common set of requirements: precision, durability, and reliable production at scale.

At Nu-Way, we fabricate a range of custom metal components for tier one suppliers, including:

– Server racks and enclosures
– Control cabinets
– Generator enclosures and housings
– Heavy base weldments for backup generators, designed for forklift placement onto concrete pads

And because everything is handled under one roof, these aren’t partial assemblies waiting on additional components or processing steps from other vendors. With precision sheet metal forming, welding, powder coating, and electromechanical assembly all in-house, our team delivers finished components ready for integration, helping suppliers streamline their own production processes.

Why Nu-Way Is Built for This Moment

The data center boom may be new, but many of the components it relies on are not. Nu-Way has spent decades fabricating enclosures, racks, and control cabinets for industries that laid the groundwork for today’s infrastructure, including telecom, power generation, and server systems.

That history has practical value. After years of working across these industries, Nu-Way’s team has seen countless design configurations. That experience allows us to fabricate to exact specifications or recommend alternatives that achieve the same result at lower cost. When a supplier needs to scale from prototype to hundreds or thousands of units, the capacity is already in place.

If you’re looking for a precision metal fabrication partner who understands the data center industry, Nu-Way is ready to help. Reach out to discuss your next project.

The Hidden Costs of Off-the-Shelf Sheet Metal Enclosures

When it’s time to build enclosures, is your team’s go-to process opening a catalog and ordering an off-the-shelf option?

For prototyping, that makes perfect sense. But when volume kicks in, that same decision could be costing you more than you realize.

Nu-Way Industries is a custom sheet metal enclosure fabrication partner that helps OEMs move from high-priced catalog boxes into value-driven custom enclosures. With precision sheet metal forming, electromechanical assembly, and in-house powder coating under one roof, Nu-Way delivers custom sheet metal enclosures that arrive ready to load, eliminating the modifications, wasted material, and hidden costs that come with catalog enclosures at scale.

Catalog Boxes Have Their Place

When you’re instructed to “hurry up and make a prototype,” that’s what you do. And there’s typically no faster or more cost-effective way of doing so than purchasing a few simple off-the-shelf catalog boxes. At this stage, it can be difficult to justify the cost of custom sheet metal box in small quantities. But once the design is finalized and volume ramps up, those off-the-shelf options suddenly get expensive. Even with a volume discount, those catalog sheet metal enclosures are often far more expensive than a custom-fabricated solution.

It’s not just the cost of the box itself that drives expense, but also the time required to get it ready for use. Before catalog enclosures can be loaded, someone must spend time drilling holes, adding lances, installing studs, and making whatever other adjustments are needed to prepare it for assembly. That labor adds up, but because it’s happening on the production floor rather than in the purchasing process, it’s easy to overlook.

Unless buyers are given this context and visibility into potential savings, they’ll often continue sourcing what they always have. That’s why production teams must communicate what’s actually involved: “We do a lot of work to this catalog box before we can even load it.” When buyers understand the full picture, they can start asking the right questions and exploring sheet metal fabrication services that eliminate that hidden labor.

The True Cost of “Close Enough”

When selecting sheet metal enclosures from a catalog, you’re limited to what’s available. One option is too short, another is too shallow, and you end up with an oversized enclosure simply because it’s the closest available fit. Add to that all the labor involved in modifying each box before it’s ready for assembly, and the true cost of “close enough” comes into focus.

Wasted Material

A larger box means more material, and more material means higher per-unit costs. A custom fabricator looks at what’s actually going inside the enclosure and right-sizes it accordingly. In some cases, that means questioning design choices that were only made because of catalog limitations. Does the enclosure really need a double door, or would a single door with one hinge and one lock do the job for less?

Wasted Space

Oversized enclosures take up more room on the production floor, in storage, and at the final installation site. In industries where space is already at a premium, that footprint matters.

Shipping and Logistics

Larger boxes mean fewer units per pallet, which means more pallets, more shipments, and higher transportation costs. Reducing the enclosure size to fit actual needs creates a domino effect that goes well beyond the unit price.

Backplanes and Internal Components

Many catalog enclosures can be ordered with or without backplanes, but those backplanes typically arrive as blank pieces of sheet metal with no features. OEMs are then left to remove and modify them to accommodate mounting points, wiring, and internal components.

With custom fabrication, those features are built into the sheet metal backplane from the start, ensuring proper fit and alignment.

Door Modifications

Doors on catalog enclosures often require additional customization. Cutouts for windows, switches, indicator lights, or HMI panels are rarely included, forcing teams to modify doors after purchase.

A custom fabricator can incorporate these features directly into the door design, improving consistency and ensuring everything is positioned exactly where it needs to be.

What Custom Fabrication Delivers

When you work with a custom fabricator, the enclosure arrives ready to load. Every hole, lance, stud, and fastener is already in place, eliminating the modification work that eats up time on your production floor.

But the benefits go beyond labor savings. A custom fabricator asks questions that a catalog never will: What’s your end use? Do you really need all this space? Would a single door work instead of a double? These conversations lead to right-sized enclosures that reduce material costs and simplify the final product.

Working with a partner like Nu-Way Industries means accessing multiple capabilities under one roof:

– Precision sheet metal fabrication services
– In-house powder coating, including custom colors to match your brand
– Electromechanical assembly and integration

That means fewer vendor handoffs, faster turnaround, and a finished sheet metal enclosure that’s ready to go the moment it arrives. When you hit that tipping point where modifying off-the-shelf units just isn’t worth it anymore, Nu-Way is ready to help. We’ll look at what’s going in the box, ask the right questions, and build a solution that fits.