Prototype sheet metal fabrication in Bengaluru, minimum order one
Shabari Metal Products fabricates sheet metal prototypes at its Bengaluru factory: the minimum order is one piece, and prototype runs are quoted the same way as production orders. Because laser cutting and press brake bending need no dies, a prototype made by those processes carries no tooling cost, and it runs on the same machines and through the same QC inspection as the repeat batch that follows it. If no drawing exists, we produce one from a sketch or a sample part.
Minimum order: one prototype, quoted like a production order
The minimum order at Shabari Metal Products is one prototype, and prototype runs are quoted the same way as production orders — there is no separate commercial track to move off when the design is proven. The drawing that ran as a single piece is the drawing that later runs as a repeat batch, quoted on the same basis. Work spans single prototypes through to repeat high-volume contract manufacturing, for customers in electrical, electronics, medical, industrial equipment, automation and robotics, and commercial infrastructure. Send the file with the quantity marked — one is a valid quantity — and our engineering desk reviews drawings and responds within 24 business hours. Prototype orders come out of the same Bengaluru factory that runs production: fiber laser cutting, CNC punching, CNC press brake bending, welding, finishing, assembly and inspection on one site.
Why a sheet metal prototype carries no die cost
This is general process economics before it is anything about one shop. Pressed parts are defined by a die: a block of tooling cut for one geometry, one material and one thickness. The die is a capital cost, and on a quantity of one it is the entire cost. Laser cutting and press brake bending work differently. The laser cuts whatever geometry the file contains, and a CNC press brake forms bends with standard tooling already on the machine, so a one-off costs material, machine time and setup — nothing amortised. That is the whole reason a single sheet metal prototype is economically sensible. At Shabari Metal Products both processes run in house: fiber laser cutting holding ±0.1mm with clean dross-free edges that need no secondary finishing before bending or welding, and CNC press brake bending with repeatable bend angles and consistent radii.
The prototype runs on the machines that will run production
A prototype is only useful evidence if the production parts are made the same way. As general guidance: a sample produced in a dedicated prototyping bureau, or approximated by CNC machining or 3D printing, proves the geometry but not the process. Springback, bend allowance, weld distortion and coating build are properties of the process, so they all shift when the real process takes over, and the first production batch quietly becomes a second prototype. Here the prototype and the repeat batch run on the same machines in the same factory. Cutting, punching, bending, welding, powder coating, zinc plating, brushed stainless finishing and assembly are all in house, and a separate in-house QC team runs dimensional inspection on every batch before dispatch — a batch of one included. The sample you approve was made by the process that will make the order, which is what an approved sample is for.
No CAD yet? A sketch or a sample part is enough
Send DXF, DWG, STEP or PDF. If you only have a sketch or a sample part, we can work from that too and produce the drawing for you — a common starting point in prototype work, where the part often exists as a hand-made original or a worn-out component before it exists as CAD. Our engineering desk reviews drawings and responds within 24 business hours, and the questions raised at that stage — bend sequence, whether holes sit far enough from bend lines, which faces are cosmetic — are cheapest to settle before anything is cut. Material can be supplied with mill test certificates on request. Materials worked in house: CRCA, hot-rolled mild steel, GI, SS 304, SS 316, aluminium alloys and copper sheet.
- Accepted: DXF, DWG, STEP, PDF, a sketch, or a physical sample part
- Drawing produced for you when none exists
- Engineering desk response: within 24 business hours
- Mill test certificates available on request
What to put on a prototype drawing
General drafting guidance, not a list of this shop's requirements. A prototype drawing has a different job from a production drawing: it exists to answer questions, so state which questions. Mark the dimensions that are genuinely critical and leave the rest to general tolerance — a blanket tight tolerance raises the price of every feature without telling anyone what matters. State material grade and gauge explicitly rather than leaving them to be inferred. If the prototype is a fit check, say so; if a finish will be judged, name the finish and the cosmetic faces. And note the production quantity you expect, even roughly, because a feature that is cheap as a laser profile at quantity one may want to become a punched or pressed feature at volume, and it is better designed with that in mind from the start.
- Material grade and gauge stated on the drawing, not assumed
- Critical dimensions marked; everything else on general tolerance
- Inside bend radius at least equal to material thickness on mild steel
- Dimension from one datum so tolerance does not stack
- State the finish, the cosmetic faces, and the expected production quantity
Prove the design before committing press tooling
The economics of low volume sheet metal follow directly from the tooling question. Laser cutting and bending cover quantity one to modest batches with no die cost; pressing pays a tooling cost up front and wins only once volume amortises it. The sensible sequence, as general guidance, is to prove the design with laser-cut and bent prototypes, fit them into the real assembly, freeze the drawing, and only then commit a die — a die is cut for one geometry, and changes to hardened steel are expensive. That whole path runs under one roof here, from a single prototype through low-volume batches to press work up to 500T. Shabari Metal Products has fabricated sheet metal in Bengaluru since 2006 under proprietor Sathish Kumar P, is MSME registered, and has ISO 9001 certification in progress — not yet held. We supply customers across Bengaluru, Karnataka and the rest of India, and produce export-quality work for overseas shipment.
- Minimum order: one prototype, quoted the same way as a production order
- Quotation: engineering desk responds within 24 business hours
- Factory: No 197 & 196 Shabari, 1st Cross Road, Achappa Layout, Shrinketh Layout, Singapura, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560090, in the wider Abbigere locality
- Contact: +91 99453 80273 or +91 97424 04052, sales@shabarimetals.in, GSTIN 29BKEPS6457E1ZQ
Common questions
Can I order a single sheet metal prototype in Bangalore?
Yes. The minimum order at Shabari Metal Products is one prototype, and prototype runs are quoted the same way as production orders. Send DXF, DWG, STEP or PDF files, or a sketch or a sample part the drawing can be produced from, and the engineering desk responds within 24 business hours. The part is cut, formed, welded, finished and inspected at the company's factory in Singapura, Bengaluru.
Do sheet metal prototypes need tooling?
Laser-cut and press-brake-bent prototypes need no dedicated tooling: the laser cuts geometry straight from the file and a CNC press brake forms bends with standard tools, so a one-off carries no die cost. Only pressed features — deep draws, embossed ribs, formed louvres — need a die, and general practice is to prove the design in laser-cut and bent form before committing one. At Shabari Metal Products in Bengaluru, prototype orders run this way as standard.
Will production parts match the approved prototype?
At Shabari Metal Products the prototype runs on the same machines, in the same Bengaluru factory, as the repeat batch that follows, and a separate in-house QC team runs dimensional inspection on every batch before dispatch. That is the general argument for prototyping with the shop that will run production: springback, bend allowance and weld distortion are properties of the process, so a sample made by a different process only proves the geometry.
What is low volume sheet metal fabrication?
Low volume sheet metal fabrication is production in quantities too small to justify press tooling — from one piece to modest repeat batches — made instead by laser cutting and CNC bending, which carry no die cost. Shabari Metal Products in Bengaluru handles single prototypes through to repeat high-volume contract manufacturing, quoted the same way at every quantity, so low-volume work runs on the same machines and through the same batch inspection as production.
How do I get a sheet metal prototype made without a CAD drawing?
Send a sketch or a sample part: Shabari Metal Products can work from either and produce the drawing for you, then fabricate the prototype from it at its Bengaluru factory. If you do have files, DXF, DWG, STEP and PDF are all accepted. The engineering desk reviews what you send and responds within 24 business hours. Contact +91 99453 80273 or sales@shabarimetals.in.
Plan your fabrication order
Prepare the specifications that help us review your drawings and quote accurately.
Send us your drawing
Send a DXF, DWG, STEP or PDF — or a sample part if there is no drawing. Our engineering desk reviews drawings and responds within 24 business hours.