The fixture your line needs, on the bench this week
Every shop has that job held together by a clamp, a shim, and an operator's patience. We design and build the proper fixture for it — engineered around your actual part, delivered in days, at a price that doesn't need a capital request.
Why printed fixtures changed the math
A machined aluminum fixture means a drawing, a PO, a queue at the tool room, and a number with a comma in it. A printed fixture designed by an engineer does the same positioning job for most applications — assembly, drilling, alignment, inspection — for a fraction of the cost and lead time. That changes what's worth fixturing: jobs that never justified proper tooling suddenly do, and when the part revs, the fixture revs with it instead of becoming scrap.
What we build for Michiana shops
- Assembly jigs — hold parts in exact relation so every unit goes together the same way, without the "hold it just so" step.
- Drill & cut guides — repeatable hole patterns and trim lines on parts, panels, and extrusions without layout time.
- Welding & bonding fixtures — position, clamp, and control heat-prone assemblies (with metal inserts where the sparks fly).
- Inspection gauges & nests — go/no-go gauges and CMM nests that make checking a part a two-second operation.
- Soft jaws & workholding — custom vise jaws and clamping blocks shaped to your exact part, so odd geometry stops being a workholding problem.
- Organization & ergonomics — shadow boards, kitting trays, torque-tool holders, and the aids your best operator keeps improvising from cardboard.
Built around your real part, not a guess
Send your part's CAD, or just hand us the physical workpiece — we measure it and design the fixture against reality, including the dings and draft angles drawings never mention. First article goes on your bench fast; your operators find its weaknesses; the next version arrives days later. When a fixture earns its keep, extra copies for every station cost little, because the design work is already paid for. And if your fixture project uncovers a part-design problem, that's a thing we fix too.
An hour from most of Michiana's plants
RV and trailer suppliers around Elkhart and Goshen, machine shops in Mishawaka and Plymouth, food and ag processors from Warsaw to LaPorte — the shop at 746 S Arnold St Suite 8 in South Bend is a short drive from all of it. Bring the part, talk to the engineer who'll design the fixture, and skip three weeks of email.
Fixture questions, answered
Are 3D printed jigs and fixtures durable enough for production use?
For most assembly, inspection, and positioning work — yes. Printed in tough materials like PETG, ABS, or carbon-fiber nylon, fixtures survive daily shop use for years. Where a surface genuinely needs steel hardness, we design around inserts or recommend machining for that face only.
How much does a custom jig or fixture cost?
Typically a fraction of a machined-aluminum equivalent — many useful fixtures land in the low hundreds including design time, and repeat copies cost far less. Every fixture is quoted exactly, within one business day.
How fast can we get a fixture made?
Simple fixtures are often designed and printed within the week. Because iteration is cheap, we can put version one on your bench fast, let your operators beat on it, and fold their feedback into version two days later.
Can you design the fixture from our part, or do we need drawings?
Bring or ship us the workpiece — that is enough. We measure it and design the jig around the real part. If you have CAD for your part, even better: send the file and we design against it directly.
What kinds of shop aids do you build?
Assembly jigs, drill and cut guides, alignment and welding fixtures, inspection go/no-go gauges, CMM and measurement nests, soft jaws, tool organizers and shadow boards, machine guards, and one-off ergonomic aids operators dream up. If it makes a repetitive job faster or more repeatable, it qualifies.