Automotive Industry
A car program runs on dates. A part that lands two weeks late stops a build. A part that drifts out of tolerance starts a warranty claim you cannot close.
CNC machining, 3D printing, injection molding and sheet metal. Interior trim, under-bonnet housings, drivetrain parts and EV hardware. One supplier from A-sample to pilot build.
Parts we make
Some are seen. Most are not. A dashboard is judged by eye, a gearbox cover by whether it leaks. Both have to be right the first time, because a car is assembled, not reworked.
Milled or molded. Cut-outs for vents, screens and switches that line up on the first try, not the third.
Optical PC and PMMA, machined and polished or molded. No flow marks, no haze, no yellowing.
Air boxes, covers and brackets in PA66-GF30 or aluminium. Heat, oil, vibration and salt spray.
Sealed, flat and stiff. Machined or folded, with the sealing groove cut in one setup.
Cooling channels, bearing bores and connector faces. Leak tested before they leave the building.
Stamped, formed or machined. Stiff where it has to be, light everywhere else.
Housings, covers and shift forks. Bores and bearing seats held to ±0.01 mm so the shaft sits true.
Line-side tooling printed or machined in days, so the build does not wait on a fixture.
Not on the list? Most automotive work is custom. Send the file and we will tell you if it is a fit.
Why YiguProto
Price matters, but nobody remembers a cheap part that stopped a build. Here is what we hold ourselves to.
A car program runs on gate dates. We quote the date we can hold, not the date that wins the order. If it slips, you hear it early.
Part 1 and part 5,000 measure the same. That is what keeps an assembly line running and a warranty claim closed.
Every drawing revision is logged. If the CAD changes on Tuesday, Friday's parts match the new revision, and we can prove it.
Control plan, PFMEA, MSA, capability data and FAI. The package your quality engineer needs, not a folder of PDFs.
Grain, gloss and colour matched to a signed master under D65 light. A dashboard is judged by eye, not by caliper.
Print the concept, machine the show-car part, mold the production trim, fold the battery tray. Same files, same engineer.
01CNC Machining
Machining is where automotive precision starts. Engine covers, gearbox housings, suspension mounts, EV cooling plates. Anything that has to fit, seal or spin.
No tooling, no minimum run. Change the CAD on Monday and cut a new part on Tuesday, which is exactly what a program in development needs.
Cylinder heads, covers and housings with angled faces and deep pockets. One setup keeps the bore and the mounting face in the same datum.
5-axis machining →Shafts, bushings, hubs and pistons. Diameters held to ±0.01 mm, with threads and grooves gauged, not guessed.
CNC turning →Sharp internal corners, fine slots and hardened tool steel. Also clean cut-offs on already heat-treated parts.
Wire EDM →Flatness and Ra after heat treat. Seal faces, valve seats and bearing bores that must not leak or rumble.
CNC grinding →| Material | Why automotive uses it | What we machine from it |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminium 6061-T6 | Machines fast, anodizes evenly, good strength-to-weight | Housings, covers, brackets |
| Aluminium 7075-T6 | High strength, resists bending under load | Suspension arms, mounts, adapters |
| Aluminium 6082 / 6063 | Cheap extruded stock, good corrosion resistance | Frames, rails, structural parts |
| Steel 4340 / 5140 | Tough, fatigue resistant, heat treatable | Shafts, gears, drivetrain parts |
| Stainless 304 / 17-4PH | Corrosion resistance, strength after ageing | Exhaust flanges, sensor bodies, fittings |
| Cast iron G3000 | Damping and wear resistance, stable when hot | Brake parts, housings, test blocks |
| Brass / bronze C93200 | Low friction, good bearing properties | Bushings, bearing cages, fittings |
| POM, PA66-GF30, PEEK | Low friction, stiff, holds shape when hot | Gears, insulators, under-bonnet parts |
Send STEP plus a 2D drawing with GD&T. Price and any drawing questions come back within 24 hours.
023D Printing
A car program spends years in clay and CAD before the first steel tool is cut. Printing is how you check a shape, a fit or a bracket without waiting for tooling.
Interior trim, ducts, brackets, jigs. Print it, bolt it on, and find the mistake while it costs an hour instead of a week.
Smooth, fine detail, clear or opaque. Show-car trim, lens mock-ups and texture samples.
SLA printing →Tough PA12 with no support marks. Ducts, clips, brackets and 50 to 500 unit bridge runs.
SLS printing →AlSi10Mg and 316L. Lightweight brackets and merged assemblies that machining cannot reach.
Metal printing →Cheap, stiff and fast. Jigs, checking fixtures and line-side tooling nobody photographs.
FDM printing →| Process | Material | Accuracy | Automotive use |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLA | Tough / clear resin | ±0.1 mm | Show trim, lens mock-ups, texture samples |
| DLP | High-detail resin | ±0.05 mm | Small clips, fine connector bodies |
| SLS | PA12, PA11, TPU | ±0.3 mm or ±0.3% | Clips, ducts, brackets, covers |
| MJF | PA12, PA12 glass bead | ±0.3 mm | Batch housings, 50–500 units |
| SLM | AlSi10Mg, 316L | ±0.1 mm | Lightweight brackets, heat sinks |
| Silicone casting | PU resin (ABS / PP like) | ±0.2 mm | Show-car bumpers, trim, 20–50 parts |
03Injection Molding
Molding is how a car gets its interior. Dashboards, door cards, pillar trim, clips and connectors. Millions of the same part, all the same.
The tool is the cost. Once it exists, the part is cheap and identical. So the job is to get the tool right before it is cut, because changing it later costs weeks you do not have.
Aluminium tool in 10 to 15 days for 500 to 5,000 parts. Keeps a pre-production build moving.
Rapid tooling →Hardened steel, hot runner, tight process windows. ±0.02 mm on fits, no flash on a visible edge.
Precision molding →Hard shell, soft touch. Sealed seams and grips without assembly, glue or a second part.
2K molding →Metal threads, bushes and contacts molded in place. No pull-out, no secondary assembly step.
Insert molding →| Plastic | Why automotive uses it | Typical part |
|---|---|---|
| ABS | Cheap, tough, paints and plates well | Interior trim, grilles, housings |
| PC/ABS | Heat resistant, good impact, class-A finish | Dashboards, pillar trim, consoles |
| PC | Transparent, impact resistant, dimensionally stable | Headlight lenses, light guides |
| PA66 + 30% GF | Stiff, heat resistant, resists oil and fuel | Under-bonnet brackets, air boxes |
| PP + T20 | Chemical resistant, low cost, living hinge | Battery covers, flaps, reservoirs |
| POM | Low friction, stable in humidity | Gears, clips, window mechanisms |
| TPU / TPE | Soft, grippy, flexible at low temperature | Seals, mats, soft-touch rings |
| PBT / PPS | Dimensionally stable, electrical grade | Connectors, sensor bodies |
Tooling and part price are quoted separately, so you can see what the mold actually costs.
04Sheet Metal
A car body is folded steel and aluminium. Sheet metal is the cheapest way to make something big, thin and stiff.
We cut, bend, punch and weld, then coat it. Good for battery enclosures, brackets, heat shields and mounting plates.
Any outline, any hole pattern, no tooling. Burr-free edges on 0.5 to 6 mm sheet.
Laser cutting →Repeatable bend angles, with bend relief planned so the part closes without a gap at the corner.
CNC bending →Above a few thousand parts, a stamping tool beats laser cutting on piece price and cycle time.
Metal stamping →Laser and spot weld, rivets, PEM inserts. Then powder coat, paint or e-coat to match the assembly.
Welding & assembly →| Material | Thickness range | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminium 5052 | 0.5–3.0 mm | Brackets, covers, trays |
| Aluminium 6061 | 0.8–4.0 mm | Mounting plates, structural parts |
| Aluminium 3003 | 0.5–2.5 mm | Heat shields, battery covers |
| Cold rolled steel (SPCC) | 0.5–3.0 mm | Brackets, chassis parts |
| Hot rolled steel (Q235) | 1.0–6.0 mm | Frames, mounts, heavy brackets |
| Stainless 304 | 0.5–3.0 mm | Exhaust shields, exterior trim |
| Galvanized steel (SECC) | 0.5–2.0 mm | Enclosures, underbody parts |
| Copper / brass | 0.3–2.0 mm | Busbars, contacts, terminals |
Send a DXF or STEP file. Flat patterns and bend notes come back with the quote.
Choose the right process
Most car programs use more than one. Pick by stage and volume, not by habit. This table is the short version.
| Your situation | Best first choice | Why | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concept stage, need a shape to hold | 3D printing (SLA or MJF) | No tooling. Change the file, print again. | 1–3 days |
| Show-car part that must look real | CNC + paint or anodize | Real material, real finish, no tool. | 5–9 days |
| Pre-production build, 50 to 500 | CNC or bridge tooling | No hard tool commitment yet. | 7–15 days |
| Interior trim at 5,000 and up | Injection molding | Tool cost spreads thin. Same part every time. | 25–40 days incl. tool |
| Battery tray or enclosure | Sheet metal | Big, flat, stiff and cheap to change. | 5–10 days |
| Gearbox or motor housing | 5-axis machining | Bores and faces cut in one datum. | 5–10 days |
| Soft-touch knob or grip | 2K molding | Two materials, one part, no assembly. | 30–45 days incl. tool |
Send the drawing and the volume. We will tell you which of the four is cheapest for that part, and why.
Specifications
The numbers engineers and buyers ask for first. If your drawing needs something outside these ranges, ask. Some of it we can still do, and we will say so rather than guess.
| Process | Tolerance | Min. wall | Surface finish | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-axis CNC machining | ±0.01 mm critical / ±0.05 mm standard | 0.8 mm | Ra 0.4–1.6 µm | 3–7 days |
| CNC turning | ±0.01 mm on diameter | 0.8 mm | Ra 0.8–1.6 µm | 3–7 days |
| 3D printing (SLA / DLP) | ±0.1 mm | 0.6 mm | Ra 1.6 µm after polish | 1–3 days |
| 3D printing (SLS / MJF) | ±0.3 mm or ±0.3% | 0.8 mm | Matte, slightly grainy | 2–5 days |
| Metal 3D printing (SLM) | ±0.1 mm | 0.4 mm | As built, then machined | 5–10 days |
| Injection molding | ±0.02 mm critical / ±0.1 mm standard | 0.6 mm | SPI A1–B3 | 25–40 days |
| Sheet metal | ±0.1 mm | 0.5 mm | Painted, powder coated, e-coat | 5–10 days |
Lead times start from approved DFM and, for molding, from approved tool design. Tolerances are quoted per feature, so tell us which dimensions carry the fit.
Quality & documentation
The part is half the delivery. The other half is the evidence that it is right, in a format your quality engineer can file without asking twice.
Control plan, PFMEA, MSA and capability data. Level 3 package as standard when your program needs it.
First article on every new tool and every drawing revision. Critical dimensions measured on a CMM, not a caliper.
Cpk tracked on the features that matter, with the data to show the process is in control, not just in tolerance.
Mill certs with heat number, matched to the parts. Every batch traceable back to the coil or billet it came from.
Grain, gloss and colour approved against a signed master. Every batch compared under D65 light before it ships.
Every revision logged, every deviation reported. If something goes wrong, you get a root cause, not an excuse.
Our scope
Automotive buyers get burned by suppliers who say yes to everything and then miss the gate date. So here is the honest line, before you send a drawing package.
If your program needs any of the four on the right, tell us at RFQ. We will point you at the right kind of supplier instead of eating your launch window.
How a project runs
Car programs move in sample rounds. Each one answers a single question. We are set up to move with you, and to hand over clean files at every gate.
Tolerance, material, draft, gate position. Back in 24 hours with questions, not silence.
Printed and machined parts, 5 to 20 pieces. Fast, rough, cheap to change.
CNC or bridge tooling, real material, real finish. 20 to 100 pieces, FAI included.
Production tool, PPAP run, capability check, then scheduled shipments with lot traceability.
STEP, IGES, X_T, DXF, or a PDF with GD&T. Tell us the material, the finish, the annual volume and the date you need it. You get price, lead time and drawing questions, usually the same business day.
FAQ