Collaborative Design Service and DFM Engineering Support
Early Engineering Collaboration
METCO’s Collaborative Design Services begin long before fabrication starts. When customers share 3D CAD assemblies, STEP files, engineering drawings, or even conceptual sketches, Jordon Hilyer works directly with their engineering and project teams to evaluate functionality, manufacturability, cost drivers, and production requirements. As a result, potential challenges can be identified and addressed early, when changes are faster, less expensive, and easier to implement.
Furthermore, early collaboration helps customers make informed decisions regarding material selection, fabrication methods, assembly strategies, tolerances, and overall manufacturing readiness. By combining customer product knowledge with METCO’s fabrication expertise, Jordon helps transform concepts into practical, production-ready solutions that support quality, lead time, and cost objectives. [
Throughout the project lifecycle, Jordon Hilyer serves as a single engineering resource for customers, guiding projects from concept development through detailed fabrication documentation. He reviews designs for functionality, performs Design for Manufacturability (DFM) analyses, identifies opportunities for cost optimization, manages customer change orders, develops fabrication-ready drawings, and presents engineering recommendations to stakeholders. In addition, he helps customers evaluate fabrication risks, assembly considerations, and production efficiencies before parts reach the shop floor.
Consequently, METCO’s Collaborative Design Services reduce uncertainty, improve communication, and accelerate the path from concept to production. Whether the project involves a simple fabricated component or a complex welded machined assembly, Jordon works closely with customers to ensure every design aligns with real-world manufacturing requirements and long-term production success.
New Product Onboarding and Launch
Prototype to Production Support
Moving a new product from prototype to production takes more than a good CAD model. David Chadd brings hands-on fabrication experience directly into that process. He has operated press brakes, turret punches, and fiber lasers, and he has also programmed the same equipment. That deep experience allows him to know whether a design works on a computer and determine how the shop will actually cut, form, and fabricate it.
During new product onboarding, David evaluates bend geometry, tooling access, cut features, material behavior, part handling, and fabrication sequence before those details create problems on the floor. He understands what the operator and programmer will face because he has done both jobs. By identifying those issues early, METCO can help customers reduce rework, control costs, avoid unnecessary delays, and prepare a design for real-world fabrication.
That hands-on experience matters even more when a customer moves from prototype fabrication into repeat production. A prototype may prove that the shop can make the part once, but production demands a process that can make it consistently, efficiently, and to the required quality. David Chadd brings an operator’s and programmer’s perspective to new product onboarding, prototype development, design for manufacturability, and production launch support.
He looks at more than whether METCO can make the part. He considers how the team will cut it, form it, handle it, fabricate it, inspect it, and repeat the process as production quantities increase. That practical experience helps connect engineering intent with what actually happens on the shop floor. As a result, METCO can help customers catch manufacturing issues earlier and move new products from prototype to production with a fabrication process built for repeatable results.
Quality and Success begins in Engineering Sales
As METCO’s Sales Engineer and Estimator, Antony Sanchez takes customer calls and reviews RFQs with more than price in mind. He works directly with Laurence Richardson, President of METCO, to identify metal fabrication projects where the customer and METCO can build a strong, mutually beneficial manufacturing relationship. Antony applies his mechanical engineering background and more than 20 years of experience with the nation’s largest metal service center company to evaluate each opportunity from a practical manufacturing perspective.
As a result, he looks beyond the print to consider material selection, tolerances, fabrication methods, assembly requirements, fit, function, and production readiness. Early attention to these manufacturing details can reduce rework, improve first-pass quality, prevent unnecessary engineering changes, and create more consistent production results especially i.e. for industrial equipment fabrication.
More importantly, quality starts long before the first part reaches the shop floor. When Antony sees an opportunity to help a manufacturer or OEM improve manufacturability, control cost, reduce production risk, or simplify assembly, he brings the right people into the conversation early. Then, METCO and the customer can work through potential problems before those problems affect quality, lead time, or production schedules.
That collaborative approach helps customers move from RFQ and design review into fabrication and production with fewer surprises. Ultimately, the goal is not simply to win one purchase order. The goal is to forge manufacturing partnerships where better communication, practical engineering input, reliable quality, and continuous collaboration put both the customer and METCO on a track for long-term success.