FAQ
You can securely pay on our website using any major credit card. Payments are processed through an encrypted, PCI-compliant payment system. Card details are never stored on our servers, and are not accessible to us.
We also accept PayPal; however, it carries a transaction fee. When possible, we appreciate payment directly through our website.
Verified payment is required before work begins. The full quoted amount must be paid prior to the start of machining.
Yes. We love our troops and veterans. We have much to thank them for. Both our veterans and active service military personnel can enjoy our exclusive military pricing. To qualify, please send us a copy of your Military ID, Veteran ID, or DD form 214. Once we verify your service, we will give you a personal discount code that will unlock your pricing. Please do not share your code. It is exclusive to you and will not work for someone else.
If you are a full time student in a STEM field, you can qualify for our academic pricing. The part you need must be strictly intended for an academic purpose: your thesis, your research, your science project, or similar academic or classroom activity that benefits education in general. It cannot be a part for your personal use. To qualify, please supply enrollment verification from your registrar and a detailed description of your academic work.
If you are a STEM teacher, or even a teaching assistant, and you need parts for classroom use, as in to use them to aid teach something in your official curriculum, please bring employment verification that shows classes you are teaching, and you too can benefit from academic pricing.
We prioritize documented, technical communication over real-time calls. This reduces errors, protects customer confidentiality, and keeps production running without interruption. Initial inquiries are handled through our chat box, contact form, or email. Once a project is active, and if phone consultation is needed, customers are given direct points of contact.
We use a shared inbox system. Please write to katya.ironworks@gmail.com and your concerns will be delivered directly to management.
We are located in central Iowa. We are a production-focused machine shop operating in a controlled manufacturing environment. For safety, intellectual property protection, and uninterrupted production, we do not accept unscheduled calls or walk-in visits, and we do not operate a public storefront. All project inquiries are handled in writing through our contact form, chat box, or by email. Written inquiries allow us to review prints, tolerances, materials, and schedules without interrupting active machining operations. This ensures accurate communication, proper documentation, and equal attention to every customer. Approved customers and vendors receive direct contact details and visit arrangements if and when required.
No.
Consumer replacement parts are mass-produced in very high volumes, often using cost-optimized materials and processes. A one-off part made in a U.S. machine shop cannot compete with that pricing.
What we can do is manufacture a higher-quality replacement using premium materials and proper machining practices, intended for durability rather than minimum cost. This is appropriate when the original part is unavailable, repeatedly failing, or when performance and longevity matter more than upfront price.
If your priority is the lowest possible cost, the OEM part is almost always the right choice.
No. We do not machine customer-furnished materials. All materials used in our shop are sourced from vetted suppliers with documented specifications and traceability. This ensures known alloy composition, machinability, safety for personnel, and protection of our equipment. Unknown or improperly sourced materials can pose risks ranging from tool damage and poor part quality to health and regulatory concerns. If you have a specific material requirement, we are happy to source the correct certified material on your behalf.
No. We do not run customer-supplied G-code. G-code is machine-, controller-, tooling-, and configuration-specific. Programs written outside our shop cannot account for our exact machines, tooling libraries, fixtures, offsets, safety parameters, or control logic. For safety, quality, and liability reasons, all programs are to be generated, verified, and approved internally. Running externally generated code presents unacceptable risk to equipment, personnel, and customer parts.
We are happy to review written quotes from other professional machine shops for comparable scope. Pricing can only be evaluated when materials, tolerances, quantities, lead time, and inspection requirements are equivalent. We do not match informal estimates or opinions. Our quotes are based on machining time, materials, tooling, inspection requirements, and overhead. Our pricing is competitive and reflects the value of professional, commercial manufacturing.
Yes. We offer quantity-based pricing.
Single-part orders have the highest per-part cost because they include all setup, programming, and machine configuration. As quantities increase, those fixed costs are spread across more parts, reducing the per-part price.
Quantity discounts taper off once setup costs are fully amortized. Beyond that point, pricing is driven primarily by material, machine time, and consumables, and additional quantity does not significantly reduce unit cost.
Achievable tolerance depends on material, geometry, and process. Our machining and inspection capabilities allow us to measure features down to 0.0001″, with metrology resolution to 0.00005″. For stable, easily machinable materials and appropriate part geometry, typical machined tolerances of ±0.001″ are achievable. Material stability matters. Some materials, such as precipitation-hardening steels, are dimensionally stable and hold tight tolerances well. Others, such as many plastics, can move after machining and cannot reliably hold the same tolerances.
Please note that tighter tolerances increase cost. Specifying tolerances tighter than functionally required increases machining time, inspection effort, and price, without improving performance. We recommend specifying the loosest tolerances that meet your functional requirements.
We do not accept customer furnished tooling. Tooling selection and qualification are integral to our machining process and quality control. All tooling used in our shop is professionally selected, qualified, and maintained internally to ensure compatibility, quality, and safe operation. This ensures known tool geometry, condition, coatings, and compatibility with our machines and processes.