Answer
What to Send to Get a Fixture Built to Print
The models, prints and callouts that get a fixture quoted in 24-48 hours and built without a second round of questions.
To get a fixture built to print, send a STEP of the assembly and of each machined detail, PDF prints with datums and tolerances per ASME Y14.5, a hardware BOM with part numbers for dowel pins, bushings, clamps and locating pins, the production part’s model and print if the fixture locates or checks it, the quantity and the finish. Any file type is accepted at /quote/; STEP plus PDF is ideal. A person quotes it in 24-48 hours. Standard lead time is 4-6 weeks, rush 1-2 weeks.
Updated September 2026
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The minimum set: models, prints, hardware, part data, quantity, finish
Six things get a fixture quoted. First, a STEP of the assembled fixture and of every machined detail. Second, a PDF print for each detail and the assembly with datums and tolerances per ASME Y14.5; the standard page at asme.org/codes-standards/find-codes-standards/y14-5-dimensioning-tolerancing describes Y14.5-2018 (reaffirmed 2024) as establishing the "symbols, rules, definitions, requirements, defaults, and recommended practices" for geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. Third, a hardware bill of materials with part numbers for dowel pins, bushings, clamps and locating pins.
Fourth, the production part’s model and print whenever the fixture locates or checks that part. Fifth, the quantity: one fixture is a normal order, and duplicates for a second line or a spare are quoted on the same print. Sixth, the finish, specified on the print and quoted with the fixture. File guidance at /upload-step-file-cnc-quote/ applies to fixtures too, and the hub at /parts/fixtures/ shows what those files turn into.
The callouts that decide the build
Dowel holes come first, because they set how the details stack. The usual scheme is one dowel hole pressed and the second slipped. Wikipedia’s reamer article at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reamer gives the working figure: reamed holes hold "tolerances of -0/+0.02 mm (.0008 in)", tight enough to press a locating dowel in one part while "other holes, reamed slightly larger in other parts, will fit these pins accurately". Call the fit out on the print, not just the hole size. List the pins on the BOM by ASME B18.8.2 part number.
Then the base: flatness on the locating face and parallelism to the mounting face. Then true position on the locating pin and bushing pattern. Then a surface finish callout on the faces the part sits on. Then hardness on wear details: Hudson Tool Steel’s D2 data at hudsontoolsteel.com/technical-data/steelD2 gives 58-60 HRC from a 500-550 °F temper and 62-64 HRC from 300-350 °F; A2 reaches about 60-62 HRC on Cincinnati Tool Steel’s chart at cintool.com/documents/air_hardening/a2.pdf. Write the range, such as "A2, 58-60 HRC", on the detail print. Callouts are explained at /cnc-machining-tolerances/.
Material callouts: cast tooling plate, 6061 plate, steel
Cast aluminum tooling plate is the default base because it arrives flat. Vista Metals’ ATP-5 data sheet at public.vistametals.com/products/atp-5-precision-tooling-plate.pdf guarantees flatness of 0.005 in or better on plate over 0.500 in thick, a gauge tolerance of ±0.005 in (±0.127 mm) and a 20 RMS maximum surface. Alcoa’s MIC6 brochure, hosted by Yarde Metals at yarde.com/docs/products/mic-6_brochure.pdf, gives 0.005 in for 3/4 in and over and 0.015 in for 1/4 to 5/8 in plate. "MIC-6 or ATP-5" on the print keeps the quote open to either.
Rolled 6061-T6 plate is right for risers, brackets, clamp arms and any detail machined all over; the grade page is /materials/aluminum-6061/. Steel goes where the fixture takes load or heat: 1018 or 4140 for weld fixture bases and heavy clamp details, A2 or D2 for the pins, nets and blocks that touch the part every cycle. The plates and workholding at /parts/fixtures-fixture-plates/ follow the same logic.
Assembly, marking and finish: say it on the print
State whether the fixture ships assembled and pinned or as loose details. Assembled and pinned means the details are doweled, bolted and located to the assembly print before inspection and the fixture arrives ready to mount; loose means each detail is inspected against its own print and the buyer assembles. An assembly print should carry the checked dimensions of the finished stack, such as pin-to-pin distance and net height, so inspection has targets.
Marking is a note on the print: part number, revision and fixture number, engraved or stamped where the print shows. A finish called out on the print is quoted with the part. Clear or black anodize is common on aluminum bases, and hardened pins that must hold size are left bare. /cnc-surface-finishes/ explains what each finish does to a dimension.
When there is no fixture drawing yet
Send the production part’s model and print, plus a marked-up sketch or photos showing how the part must be held and which features must be checked or left clear. Mark the datum faces, the load direction, where a clamp may touch, and the mounting pattern it goes on. The quote lists what is missing before anything is priced, so nothing is guessed. The no-CAD route at /get-a-custom-part-made/ covers the same idea for any part.
Two other pages help before the drawing exists. If it is not yet clear whether the job is a fixture at all, /check-fixture-vs-gauge/ separates a single-feature gauge from a fixture that locates the whole part. If the fixture is for a new part number and the question is who to send it to, /who-makes-custom-check-fixtures/ walks through that buy from the first email to the inspected fixture.
A checklist you can copy, and what happens after you send it
Copy this into the quote form notes: STEP of the assembly; STEP of each detail; PDF print per detail and assembly with datums and tolerances; hardware BOM with part numbers; production part model and print; quantity; finish; assembled or loose; marking text and location; hardness on wear details; dowel fits called out; any mounting pattern to match. Upload it at /quote/: any file type, STEP plus PDF ideal. A person replies in 24-48 hours; the steps from there are on /how-to-order-cnc-parts/.
The finished fixture is inspected against its prints before it ships. Hardness verification can be arranged and quoted when the print requires it; it is not routine. Standard lead time is 4-6 weeks. Rush 1-2 weeks applies to machined parts with no secondary operations. Heat treat, grinding, EDM and finishing add time, and the quote gives the real date. Lead time starts at order approval. Put your need date in the part description and the quote answers it. /fixture-lead-time/ explains what fills the weeks, and /custom-fixture-cost/ lists what drives the price.
Questions
Before you send a job.
01 What files do I need to send to get a fixture quoted?
A STEP of the assembly and of each machined detail, a PDF print for each with datums and tolerances, a hardware BOM with part numbers, and the production part’s model and print if the fixture locates or checks it. Any file type at /quote/; STEP plus PDF is ideal.
02 What should a fixture drawing include?
Datums on the locating faces, flatness on the base and parallelism to the mounting face, true position on the pin and bushing pattern, dowel fits (one pressed, one slipped), surface finish on locating faces, hardness on wear details such as "A2, 58-60 HRC", material by grade, finish, marking and assembly.
03 Can I order a fixture without a fixture drawing?
Send the production part’s model and print with a marked-up sketch or photos of how the part must be held, where clamps may touch, which features must be checked or left clear, and the mounting pattern. The quote lists what is missing before anything is priced.
04 What material should I call out for the fixture base?
MIC-6 or ATP-5 cast tooling plate for anything that must arrive flat: Vista Metals guarantees ATP-5 within 0.005 in on plate over 0.500 in thick, and Alcoa lists MIC6 at 0.005 in for 3/4 in and over. 1018 or 4140 for weld bases, A2 or D2 hardened for wear details.
05 How long does a custom fixture take?
Standard lead time is 4-6 weeks from an approved quote, rush 1-2 weeks, and the quote comes back in 24-48 hours. A complete package, prints with datums and fits called out and a BOM with part numbers, keeps a fixture on the standard schedule. See /fixture-lead-time/.
Related
Where to go next.
Custom fixtures
Check, holding, assembly and weld fixtures built to print.
View →Fixture lead time
Rush 1-2 weeks, standard 4-6, extended 6-8, and what decides which.
View →What file to send
STEP, PDF and what a complete print carries.
View →Get a quote
Any file type; STEP + PDF ideal. A person replies in 24-48 hours.
View →Get Started
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