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Machine shops & CNC

Machine shop marketing that shows every machine, material and tolerance

Machine shop marketing works when a buyer can check your shop without calling. Buyers shortlist CNC shops on machines and envelopes, materials, tolerances, certifications and the secondary ops that finish the part. We put each one on a page, in numbers, so your shop makes the short list and gets the drawing.

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Sheet 101, Won on Secondary Ops: REV A as said beside REV F released Two-panel drawing. Left, REV A as said: RFI 26-118 for an electronics housing assembly, drawn in top and side view with balloons for its nine drawing notes. A note table compares your shop with Competitor B. Notes 1 to 4, the first-order notes (plate, five-axis machining, AS9100D, CMM first article), are said by both. Notes 5 to 9, the second-order ops (Type III hard anodize, thread inserts, EMI gasket and connector plate, UID mark to MIL-STD-130, leak test), are not said by you; Competitor B says 5 to 8 and neither says the leak test. A gauge shows you at 4 of 9 and Competitor B at 8, against a shortlist cut of 7. Stamp: RFI closed, not shortlisted; you never see the RFQ. Right, REV F released: a plan of your floor as found, with the anodize line, assembly bench, laser marker by the CMM and the leak-test stand behind the tool crib, each captured in the Blueprint and given a page a buyer checks. The same RFI rerun: all nine notes said, you 9 of 9, Competitor B 8, stamped shortlisted. Illustration; shops invented. REV A · AS SAID RFI 26-118 · ISSUED REV F · RELEASED RFI 26-118 · RERUN FIG. 1 · ELECTRONICS HOUSING ASSY · RFI 26-118 SIDE 2 8 5 6 7 9 NO DRAWING NOTE YOU COMP B 01 6061-T651 PLATE SAID SAID 02 5-AXIS ±0.001 IN SAID SAID 03 AS9100D SAID SAID 04 CMM · AS9102 FAI SAID SAID 05 HARD ANODIZE TYPE III NOT SAID SAID 06 THREAD INSERTS NOT SAID SAID 07 EMI GASKET + PLATE NOT SAID SAID 08 UID MARK MIL-STD-130 NOT SAID SAID 09 LEAK TEST (PREFERRED) NOT SAID NOT FOUND 1-4 FIRST-ORDER · 5-9 SECOND-ORDER (SHADED) WHAT THE BUYER CAN READ · NOTES SAID, OF 9 · ILLUSTRATION 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 YOU COMP B 04 08 SHORTLIST CUT 7 RFI CLOSEDNOT SHORTLISTED YOU NEVER SEE THE RFQ. NOBODY CALLS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR ANODIZER. REV E · AS FOUND ON YOUR FLOOR · PLAN 5-AXIS CMM LASER MARK TOOL CRIB ANODIZE LINE ASSY BENCH LEAK TEST STAND 5 6 7 8 9 BLUEPRINT RECORD → PAGES A BUYER CHECKS · EXAMPLE 05 /hard-anodize-type-iii 06 /thread-insert-installation 07 /emi-gasket-sub-assembly 08 /uid-marking-mil-std-130 09 /leak-testing NO DRAWING NOTE YOU COMP B 01 6061-T651 PLATE SAID SAID 02 5-AXIS ±0.001 IN SAID SAID 03 AS9100D SAID SAID 04 CMM · AS9102 FAI SAID SAID 05 HARD ANODIZE TYPE III SAID SAID 06 THREAD INSERTS SAID SAID 07 EMI GASKET + PLATE SAID SAID 08 UID MARK MIL-STD-130 SAID SAID 09 LEAK TEST (PREFERRED) SAID NOT FOUND 1-4 FIRST-ORDER · 5-9 SECOND-ORDER (SHADED) WHAT THE BUYER CAN READ · NOTES SAID, OF 9 · ILLUSTRATION 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 YOU COMP B 09 08 SHORTLIST CUT 7 SHORTLISTEDRFQ TO FOLLOW NOTE 9 LEAK TEST: NOW YOU SAY IT. COMP B STILL DOESN'T. PRICE AND LEAD TIME WIN ORDERS. TIED ON NOTES 1-4. NOTES 5-9 INK ONLY FOR COMPETITOR B. CUT AT 7. EVERY OP YOU RUN, IN INK. SAME RFI, RERUN: YOU 09, COMPETITOR B 08. GENERAL NOTES 1. ILLUSTRATION. BOTH SHOPS AND RFI 26-118 ARE INVENTED. SCORES ARE NOT MEASURED. 2. NOTES 1-4 GET YOU READ. NOTES 5-9, THE SECOND-ORDER OPS, DECIDE WHO GETS THE RFQ. 3. THE BUYERS BLUEPRINT IS PAID ONBOARDING. INK GETS YOU SHORTLISTED, NOT THE ORDER. TITLE WON ON SECONDARY OPS ILLUSTRATION · INVENTED COMPANIES (.TEST) SHEET101 REVF SCALE NTS · DRN IM INDUSTRIAL MARKETING

Won on Secondary Ops

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Where you sit on the ladder

Most machine shops are Tier 3, making parts to print for Tier 1 and Tier 2 buyers. Complete assemblies move you to Tier 2. A shop can be Tier 3 to an aerospace Tier 1 and Tier 1 to a machine builder.

  1. OP 10

    Your buyer: Tier 1-2 suppliers

    Purchasing and quality send drawings.

  2. OP 20

    You: Tier 3

    Parts to print, plus the ops that finish them.

  3. OP 30

    Your suppliers: Tier 4-5

    Bar, plate, castings, forgings.

What buyers check in a five-minute screen

Buyers check six things in about five minutes per shop, then send the RFQ to the two or three that said enough.

  • Machines with envelopes

    Make, model, axes and travels.

  • Materials you run

    Alloys, plastics and exotics, by name.

  • Tolerances in numbers

    By feature, with the inspection that proves them.

  • Registrations their customer requires

    AS9100, ISO 13485, ITAR: held or not, and the scope.

  • Secondary ops

    Passivation, inserts, assembly, marking, test.

  • Quote turnaround

    How fast a drawing becomes a price.

What machine shop sites say vs what wins

Numbers win because a buyer can check them. Illustrative patterns:

What sites usually sayWhat wins
Capability'Precision CNC machining'A page per machine family, with travels
Tolerance'Tight tolerances'Tolerances by feature, and the CMM
Quality'Quality is our priority'Registrations with scope
FinishingNothingEvery secondary op, in-house or managed

Equipment pages and the tie-breaker

Equipment pages get you through the screen. Secondary ops break the tie when two shops match on specs.

SEO for CNC shops

SEO for CNC shops means a page for each search a buyer types, such as 'Swiss turning 316L' or 'large 5-axis aluminum'. AI assistants draw on the same pages: state your envelopes and they repeat them, leave them out and they guess.

Machine shop advertising

Machine shop advertising pays when the ad lands on the page that answers the search: a five-axis page for a five-axis search. We build that page before we buy the click.

Ops you send out still count

Ops you send out count as capability when your site names them. Your heat treater, plating house, test lab and tooling distributor, listed as managed ops, show the buyer you own the whole part.

Examples across manufacturing markets

One invented shop per market, each on a .test domain.

  • Twin Ledge Precision (invented)

    Aerospace, twinledge.test: titanium housings, travels per machine.

  • Oxbow Swiss Turning (invented)

    Medical device, oxbowswiss.test: implant parts, passivation as a named op.

  • Bittern Hill Machine (invented)

    Energy, bitternhill.test: valve bodies, table size and weight limits.

  • Pewter Pond Machining (invented)

    Automation, pewterpond.test: fixture plates, quote turnaround stated.

What IKE maps for you here

IKE, our Industrial Knowledge Engine, maps your machines, materials and managed ops to the parts Tier 1 and Tier 2 buyers send. It learns your shop, then your competitors, then your markets.

What your Blueprint captures here

The paid Buyers Blueprint captures every machine, envelope, material and op from your website, documents, team meetings and an on-site visit. Nothing is published until you confirm it.

Short stories for machine shops

Each takes a few minutes and ends with three checks you can run on your own site.

How we do it

Related

Questions

How do machine shops get new customers?

By being findable and checkable. Buyers search or ask AI for the job, screen a few sites and send RFQs to the shops that said enough. Referrals check your site too.

What should a machine shop website include?

A page per capability: machines with envelopes, materials, tolerances, certifications, secondary ops, industries served and an RFQ path with drawing upload.

Do CNC shops need SEO?

Yes, if you want work from buyers who don't know you yet. They search by process, material and part family.

Put every machine on the page

Start with the free Buyer's-Eye Audit: write the RFQ you most want to win, and we'll show you where a buyer would shortlist you or drop you. Every program starts with the paid Buyers Blueprint, your first month with us, led by Matt Barden.

Get your free Buyer's-Eye Audit Start your Blueprint