What we do

The machine is bought. The part is quoted. Now someone has to make it cut.

That someone is usually your best setter, who is already flat out. We take the programming, the fixturing and the proving off your floor — and hand back a process your people own.

Talk to us See the rates

Four things, done properly

CAM programming

Toolpaths for the parts that eat a week of setups.

Milling and turning — prismatic, 3+2 and full 5-axis, turning and mill-turn, one-off or a family. We program off-site in your post and your standards, so what lands on the control is something your setter recognises — not something they have to unpick. Everything is simulated against the machine, holders and fixture before it leaves us, then proved on your machine with your setter stood there.

Machines we program

3-axis and 3+2
5-axis simultaneous
Turning
Mill-turn and sub-spindle

CAD and CAM

SolidWorks
Inventor
Mastercam
hyperMILL
Fusion 360
ESPRIT
STEP / Parasolid

CNC turnkey

New machine earning, from concept to cutting.

Workholding, tooling, programs, proving and documentation — the whole path from a bare machine to a repeatable first-off. Proving loops back into programming until the first-off passes; that iteration is part of the job, not an overrun. You get a process your people can run on Monday, not a demo that only works when we're stood next to it.

Includes

Fixture and tooling design
Programs, simulated and proved
First-off sign-off
Setup documentation

Training

Your people own the process afterwards.

On your machines, on your parts, with the post you actually run. Generic courses teach the software. We teach your team to get a good part out of your shop — and for eligible shops, grant funding can cover up to half of it.

Format

On-site, up to six people
Your machines and your parts
CAD, CAM and setter-level

Fixture design & build

Designed here, cut here, proved on your machine.

Workholding designed against the part and built in our Suffolk workshop. Quoted fixed-price per fixture so you know the number before we cut metal, and proved on your machine before we call it done.

How it's priced

Design drawn from your hours
Build quoted fixed-price
Proving as an on-site day

How an engagement runs

You buy a block of hours up front. We draw them down as we use them and send you a statement each month showing what went where. Prepaying is what reserves your on-site dates and holds your rate for the year.

Phase 1
Off-site
Programming, fixture design, process planning. Done off-site by our CAM team, so the work carries on while your machines keep running. Billed from your block as it's used.
Phase 2
On-site
Setup, proving, first-off and handover — in your shop, by someone who runs a shop. Booked as whole days and agreed before anyone travels. Anything proving throws up goes back to Phase 1 and comes back the same day while we're with you.
After
Yours
The programs, fixtures and documentation for your parts are yours outright, with the reasoning written down so your people can change them. No locked posts, no dependency, no retainer you can't get out of.

Rates, published

You should not have to sit through a discovery call to find out what an hour costs. Blocks are valid for twelve months and the rate drops as the block grows.

Entry

£125/hr

Hours: 20
Block price: £2,500 ex VAT
On-site day: £1,000 ex VAT

One awkward part, or a first job to see how we work together.

Standard

£115/hr

Hours: 60
Block price: £6,900 ex VAT
On-site day: £920 ex VAT

A family of parts, or a new machine you need earning sooner.

Saves £10/hr against entry

Programme

£105/hr

Hours: 120
Block price: £12,600 ex VAT
On-site day: £840 ex VAT

A full turnkey, or ongoing work across the shop through the year.

Saves £20/hr against entry

Ex-VAT. All figures exclude VAT, which is added where applicable.

Twelve months. Hours are valid for a year from purchase. Anything unused after that expires. Top up whenever.

On-site days. 8 hours at your block rate, one day minimum, drawn from the same block — so a day of proving uses 8 of your hours.

Moving a day. Move or cancel a booked on-site day with five working days’ notice and it costs nothing — the hours stay in your block. At shorter notice, the only charge is travel we’ve already paid for and can’t get back.

Travel. We travel from Suffolk. Travel time comes out of your block like any other hour. Mileage and accommodation are charged at cost, quoted and agreed before anyone sets off.

What we need from you

A job goes wrong when it starts with half the picture. This is what a programmer needs before touching a toolpath.

Material and stock
Grade and condition, and how it arrives — billet, bar, casting, forging or near-net. This drives every other decision, so it comes first.
Models and drawings
Native or STEP, plus the drawing with the tolerances that actually matter.
Your post
The post processor you run, so the code lands right the first time. If your reseller won't release it, sample NC output gets us most of the way.
Machine and tooling
What it's running on — travels, spindle, control — what's in the carousel or turret, and what you can get hold of.
Workholding and datums
What you already own, and how your shop sets work offsets and tools. Fitting your conventions beats inventing ours.
Quantities, timing and inspection
One-off, batch or repeating, and what has to be proved at first article. It changes the whole approach.
Someone to ask
One person who can answer a question the same day. We'll do the same for you.

Send us one part you would rather not quote.

Send the model and the drawing. We will come back within two working days with how we would approach it, roughly how many hours it takes, and whether we are the right people for it — before you commit to anything.

Your models and drawings stay between us, and we will sign your NDA before you send anything if you would rather.

Or directlycontact@zapworxconsulting.com