Laser-Cut Parts
Custom Marine Components: Laser-Cut Stainless and Aluminum
Brackets, mounts, backing plates and hardware plates in 316L and 5052, cut and finished to your print.
Custom marine brackets, mounts and backing plates are laser-cut from 316 or 316L stainless and 5052-H32 aluminum, the sheet grades drawn for salt. 316 carries 2-3% molybdenum for chloride resistance. For the cut profile, the quote states the tolerance used. Passivation specified per ASTM A967 on the print, or anodize on aluminum, is quoted with the part. Send the print or a new sample part for a quote in 24-48 hours, one piece or a production run.
Updated October 2026
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Commercial work only. We don’t quote firearms, DoD, ITAR, or EAR-controlled parts.
What counts as a marine component here
A marine component on this page is a flat or bent sheet part that lives around salt water: an electronics or transducer mount, a bracket for a light bar or antenna, a hatch hinge plate, a rail base plate, a backing plate behind a deck fitting, or a switch panel for a helm. It is cut to a print, formed if the print shows a bend, tapped or fitted with hardware if called out, finished as written, inspected and shipped. It is not a hull part and not a structural member: the print rules what the part is, and the quote covers making it to that print, not the design of the boat it goes on.
These parts are ordered in ones and fives more often than hundreds. A refit needs one bracket that is no longer a catalog item; an installer needs six identical mounts for a run of the same boat model; a fabricator wants blanks cut so only the welding is left. The laser-cut parts hub covers how a cut blank, a bend, a tapped hole and a finish are quoted as one order; this page covers what changes when the part will see salt.
Stainless for salt: 316 and 316L, not 304
The grade for chloride exposure is 316, and the welded version is 316L. Wikipedia’s 316L page (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_316L_stainless_steel) gives the alloy 2-3% molybdenum and states that the addition "provides greater corrosion resistance than 304, with respect to localized corrosive attack by chlorides"; it lists marine applications among the common uses and describes 316L as the low carbon version of 316. 304 is fine indoors and costs less, but a bracket bolted to a deck or a mount inside a bilge is drawn in 316 or 316L. The two grades are compared at length on laser-cut stainless: 304 vs 316.
A word like "marine" on a request is not a specification; the grade is. Name the material and thickness on the print, as in "316L per ASTM A240, 0.125 in", and the quote is for that sheet. Laser-cut 316 edges may show gold or blue heat tint. The machined-bar side of the grade is on the 316 stainless page, and the general laser sheet page is laser-cut stainless steel.
Aluminum for salt: 5052-H32, and 5083 when the print says so
5052-H32 is the aluminum sheet most marine brackets and panels are drawn in, because it bends well and holds up in spray. Its corrosion resistance comes from the magnesium content that makes it a 5xxx alloy in the Aluminum Association’s designation system. A mount with two tight flanges is usually drawn in 5052 rather than 6061, which is covered on laser-cut aluminum. The inside radius is quoted as drawn, with a note if it won’t form.
5083 is the heavier-duty sibling and is quoted when the print calls for it. Wikipedia’s 5083 page (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5083_aluminium_alloy) gives it 4.0-4.9% magnesium, describes it as "highly resistant to attack by seawater and industrial chemicals," lists shipbuilding among its applications, and notes it "is not recommended for use in temperatures in excess of 65 °C." Whichever grade is drawn, the print carries alloy, temper and thickness ("5052-H32, 0.125 in"), and a plain print note about isolating the part from dissimilar metals, a nylon washer or an isolating pad at the fasteners, is written by the buyer as a note, not decided at the quote.
Finishes for marine parts and how to write them
Passivation changes nothing you can see on a stainless marine part. ASTM A967/A967M (store.astm.org/a0967_a0967m-25.html), the Standard Specification for Chemical Passivation Treatments for Stainless Steel Parts, covers immersion in nitric acid solutions, immersion in citric acid solution and electrochemical treatment, with the tests that go with each. It removes free iron picked up in cutting and handling so the chromium oxide layer re-forms. Name passivation per ASTM A967 on the print; name citric or nitric only if your spec requires one. It is quoted with the part; the passivation page covers the callout.
A finish called out on the print is quoted with the part. For aluminum, anodize or powder coat is written by type and color. A print that names a #4 brushed face on stainless should also carry an arrow for grain direction relative to the part’s long edge. How each finish treats a laser-cut edge is on laser-cut finishing, and the site-wide finish hub is CNC surface finishes.
Tolerances that matter on a marine bracket
Hole position matters more than profile on almost every marine part, because the holes have to land on existing fastener holes in a deck, a rail or a transducer body. The profile tolerance used is stated on the quote; a bend adds its own allowance, and a part with two tapped holes that must match a bought fitting should carry a position tolerance on those holes, not a general note. Anything tighter than the cut can hold is a machined feature and is quoted as one on the same order; see laser-cut, tapped and machined as one order and the laser-cut tolerances page.
Every part is inspected against your print before it ships, the finish against its callout included, with bare threads where the print masked them. If a part doesn’t match the print, it’s remade or credited. A part that misses a callout does not ship.
What to send, from a full print to a new sample part
A DXF or STEP of the profile plus a PDF print that names the grade, temper, thickness, finish and general tolerance is the ideal package, and any file type is accepted. What file to send for laser cutting covers what a good drawing includes. If there is no drawing, send a dimensioned sketch or photos with a ruler in frame; the CAD work is then quoted as its own line, and the quote lists anything that is missing. A fully dimensioned 2D PDF is quoted without a CAD line. If there is a new sample part, send it. Send a new part, not the worn one. Wear changes the sizes that matter. The sample ships back with the parts. A part remade from a sample is what the reverse engineering page describes, and the get a custom part made page walks the no-CAD route end to end.
One bracket is a normal order and so is fifty. Related parts here are laser-cut brackets and mounts for the general family and the custom machined brackets page when the part is thick enough to mill instead. Start at the quote form: a person reads the print, the quote comes back in 24-48 hours, lead time quoted per job with rush available, and every part is inspected before it ships.
Questions
Before you send a job.
01 Can you make one custom stainless marine bracket from a corroded original?
Yes. Send photos with a ruler in frame plus the dimensions that matter, or a new sample part rather than the corroded one; drawing it up is quoted as its own line, and the quote lists anything still missing. The part is drawn in 316L unless you specify otherwise, cut to the profile, finished as called out and inspected against the dimensions you supplied. One piece is a normal order. The reverse engineering page covers how a sample becomes a print.
02 Should a marine bracket be 316 or 316L?
Either resists chlorides; 316L is the low-carbon version of 316 and is the grade to write if the part will be welded, because low carbon limits sensitization at the weld. For a bolted bracket, mount or backing plate that is never welded, 316 is the usual callout. Both take the same passivation callout. See 304 vs 316 for the full comparison.
03 Is 5052 aluminum good enough for saltwater parts?
5052-H32 is the sheet grade most aluminum marine brackets and panels are drawn in; its published corrosion resistance comes from its magnesium content. 5083 carries more magnesium and is listed for shipbuilding, and is quoted when the print names it. Write the alloy, temper and thickness on the print; the quote covers that sheet, and anodize or powder coat is added as a callout.
04 How should a polish be written on the print for a stainless marine part?
By number, with the face it goes on. A #4 brushed face has a grain, so mark the grain direction with an arrow; a #8 mirror has none. Passivation per ASTM A967 can be called out after a polish. The passivation page covers that callout.
05 Do I need to worry about stainless hardware on an aluminum bracket?
That is a design decision for the print, not something the quote decides. Many marine prints carry a note calling for isolation between dissimilar metals at the fasteners, such as a nylon washer or an isolating pad, and if your print carries one, the quote follows it. If your print says nothing, the part is made as drawn. Send the assembly context if you want the quote to flag a callout the print seems to be missing.
06 How are marine components inspected before they ship?
Against your print, every part, before it ships: the profile, hole positions, thickness, bends and tapped holes, and the finish against its callout, with bare threads where the print masked them. A part that misses a callout does not ship.
Related
Where to go next.
Laser-cut parts hub
Cut, formed, hardware, finish and inspection as one order.
View →Get a quote
Send the print, sketch or a new sample part; a reply in 24-48 hours.
View →Laser-cut stainless steel
304 and 316 sheet, passivated as the print calls out.
View →Laser-cut brackets and mounts
The general bracket family, flat and bent.
View →Get Started
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