Drawing & Engineering Service
We can draw it, but we recommend you supply your own drawings: from USD 1,000 and 10 days or more, with complex builds up to a year.
- Capability: we do have in-house drawing and engineering capability. We build to your drawing, and can produce one if you need us to.
- Starting fee: normally from USD 1,000, quoted case by case after we review the product’s difficulty.
- Why it costs what it does: drawing is mostly communication — loads, interfaces, tolerances, cleaning method, revisions — and that engineering time is expensive.
- Timing: 10 days or more for a typical drawing. Complex products can take six months to a year, depending on how much development the design needs.
- Our recommendation: have the drawing made on your side. It is faster and cheaper on almost every project.
- What you receive: a dimensioned PDF drawing and a rendered view. CAD source files are not released.
- Tolerances: ISO 2768 unless a feature is marked; laser cutting holds +/- 0.1 mm.
The short answer
Most buyers who contact us are procurement staff, operations managers or owners. They know what job the trolley has to do, but their company does not employ anyone who can produce a sheet-metal fabrication drawing. We understand that. We do have drawing capability — but it is neither quick nor cheap, and we would rather tell you that up front than discover it three weeks into a project. Drawing work normally starts from USD 1,000 and takes 10 days or more. A genuinely complex product — mechanisms, tight interfaces, something that has to seal or align with equipment you already own — can take six months to a year of development. The fee is quoted case by case after we see the product. Our honest advice: have the drawing produced locally, or by a designer on your side, then send it to us. You will get a faster quotation and a shorter lead time.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need drawings before contacting you? | Ideally yes. A dimensioned drawing or CAD file is the fastest route. If you only have a sketch or a photo, we can still talk — but turning it into a production drawing is a quoted service. |
| Is drawing work free? | No. It normally starts from USD 1,000 and is quoted case by case after we see the product. |
| Do I get the CAD file? | No. You receive a PDF drawing and a rendered view for approval. Source files stay with us. |
| How long does it take? | 10 days or more for a typical drawing. Complex products can take six months to a year; we confirm the timeline before you commit. |
| What happens after I approve? | First article in 15-20 days after the drawing is approved, then production. Minimum 50 units, or 10 for large or heavy builds. |
Why we recommend your own drawing
We looked at our own enquiries. Of the buyers we spoke to, only one worked in design or engineering. The rest were procurement staff, company owners, operations managers and sourcing agents.
That is worth stating plainly, because it explains why so many projects start with a photograph, a hand sketch or an AI-generated image instead of a DXF file. A supplier asks for CAD, the buyer’s company does not employ anyone who can make it, and the conversation stalls.
Our earlier answer to that was to draw everything ourselves. In practice it did not work well. A drawing is not a sketch: it has to settle load paths, tube diameters, bend radii, weld sequence, tolerances and interfaces, and every one of those is a question that has to go back and forth with the buyer. That communication is the real cost, not the CAD hours. On a straightforward frame it is still 10 days or more; on a multi-part assembly it can run six months to a year.
So we changed the advice. If you can get a drawing made on your side — a local designer, an engineer in your group, or the person who specified the equipment the trolley will interface with — do that. It is faster and cheaper. We will build exactly to it. If you genuinely cannot, we can do the drawing, and we will quote the fee and the timeline before any work starts.
What you can send us
All of these are useful if we are quoting the drawing work. None of them need to be technical. If you already have a dimensioned drawing, send that instead — it removes the whole drawing stage from the critical path.
| What you send | What we take from it | Add this if you can |
|---|---|---|
| Photographs of the trolley you use now | Overall form, wheel layout, how it is loaded | Something in frame for scale: a pallet, a box, a person |
| A hand sketch | Dimensions, proportions, what goes where | Any numbers you already know: height, length, load |
| A competitor’s product page | The starting point you want improved on | What you would change about it, and why |
| An AI-generated image | The intent: style, feel, general arrangement | The real load, and where it will be used |
| An existing cart you want copied | Everything measurable, if you can ship it to us | Which part of it you actually dislike |
| A list of requirements | Often the most useful item on this page | Aisle width, load, wheel type, cleaning method |
A note on AI-generated images
AI images are welcome here. They are good at communicating what you have in mind, and that is genuinely useful — misaligned intent is expensive to discover later.
What they cannot do is substitute for engineering, and it helps to know exactly where the gap is before we start:
- The apparent proportions will not match manufacturing reality. A rendered frame often shows tube diameters and bend radii that cannot be formed as drawn.
- There are no material callouts. We need to know the environment to choose between mild steel, stainless and aluminium.
- Load paths are not shown. Where the weight actually goes decides tube diameter, wall thickness and gusset placement — see platform trolleys for how we frame a deck.
- Joints that look solid in a render may be un-weldable in that sequence, or impossible to hold flat once welded.
So: send the AI image, and tell us the three things it cannot tell us — the real load, the floor it runs on, and how it gets cleaned. It is a good brief. It is not a drawing, and the gap between the two is exactly what the drawing fee and the 10-plus-day timeline cover.
What the drawing service costs
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Starting fee | Normally from USD 1,000, quoted case by case after we review the product |
| Typical time | 10 days or more for a dimensioned drawing |
| Complex products | Six months to a year, depending on how much development the design needs |
| Why it is not cheap | Most of the work is communication: clarifying loads, interfaces, tolerances and revisions with your team |
| Quoted before we start | Yes — you see the fee and the timeline and approve both before any drawing work begins |
| You receive | A dimensioned PDF drawing and a rendered view of the finished item |
| CAD source files | Not released |
| Our recommendation | Supply your own drawing. It removes the fee and the waiting. |
About the CAD files
We do not hand over editable source files on any drawing project. This surprises people occasionally, so it is better said here than discovered later.
What you receive in every case is a dimensioned PDF drawing and, where useful, a rendered view of the finished item. That is everything required to review whether the thing we intend to build is the thing you are expecting. It is also the document that becomes the inspection reference — unit one is checked against it.
The engineering behind that drawing is how we protect the work we put in before you have committed to an order. If you need the source file for your own records or for another supplier to build from, tell us early and we will discuss it — but do not assume it is included.
How it runs
| Step | What happens | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. You send the drawing, or the concept | Your own CAD/DXF and dimensioned drawing, or photos, sketch, competitor link, AI render or requirements list | You |
| 2. We quote the drawing work | We assess the product, tell you the fee and the timeline, and you approve both before any drawing starts | Us |
| 3. We ask the questions | Load, floor surface, aisle width, cleaning method, what goes on each level | Both |
| 4. We produce the drawing | Dimensioned PDF plus rendered view | Us |
| 5. You review and revise | Changes discussed against what is actually buildable, and priced if they change the work | Both |
| 6. Drawing is approved | This version becomes the reference for quotation and inspection | You |
| 7. Quotation issued | Unit price, MOQ, tooling if any, packing and terms | Us |
| 8. First article | 15-20 days from drawing approval | Us |
| 9. You confirm unit one | Physically, or from our inspection report and photographs | You |
| 10. Production | Batch runs to the approved drawing | Us |
Confidentiality is not something you have to ask for twice — how we protect your drawings and data explains the routine. We do not show customer products in our marketing without permission, and we do not reuse or share your drawings with other customers.
What it costs overall
The drawing fee covers the engineering work and is quoted separately from unit pricing, before we start. There is no blanket rate: we set it case by case from the product’s difficulty, and we do not promise to absorb it into the unit price. You see the number and the timeline, then decide.
The production numbers that follow are standard across our work: minimum 50 units, or 10 for large and heavy builds, and first article in 15-20 days after the drawing is approved. Both are set out in more detail in MOQ, lead time and repeat orders, and line by line in how to read one of our quotations.
Questions people ask
I have nothing but a photograph. Is that enough?
It is enough to start a conversation, not to build from. If you need us to turn it into a fabrication drawing, that is a quoted service from USD 1,000 and 10 days or more. If you can get a drawing made locally first, you will save both.
Why does drawing cost so much when the trolley itself is simple?
The cost is communication, not CAD time. Loads, floor, aisle width, cleaning method, interfaces and tolerances all have to be settled with you before we can draw, and each round of questions takes days. That is why even a straightforward frame starts at USD 1,000 and 10 days.
Is USD 1,000 the final price?
No. It is the normal starting point. The actual fee is quoted case by case after we see the product, before any work begins. Complex assemblies cost more, and we tell you the number so nothing arrives as a surprise later.
How long will the drawing take?
10 days or more for a typical build. Complex products can take six months to a year, depending on difficulty. We confirm the timeline before you commit.
Can the drawing fee be deducted from my production order?
We do not promise a deduction. The fee is quoted on its own, case by case, and agreed before work starts.
Can I take the drawing to another supplier?
You receive a dimensioned PDF you can use for your own records and internal review. We do not release editable source files. If sharing with another fabricator is a requirement, raise it at the start and we will tell you what is possible.
Who owns what we create together?
Designs we create for your product are treated as yours for the purpose of making your product. We do not sell or show them to other customers. The mechanics are in how we protect your drawings and data.
How is the fee decided?
By the product’s difficulty, not by a rate card. A single welded frame with standard wheels sits near the starting point; mechanisms, close-fitting parts, sealed joints or interfaces with your own equipment push both the fee and the timeline up. We tell you the number in the first reply.
Send us the idea
You do not need us to tell you what job this trolley has to do — you already know. What you need is a drawing. If you have one, send it and we will quote the build directly.
If you do not, we recommend getting one made on your side. If that is not possible, send the photo, the sketch, the link, or twelve words describing the problem, and we will tell you in the first reply what the drawing work will cost and how long it will take — case by case, before anything starts.
