How It Works

From CAD file to loading dock, with nothing in between for you to manage

Getting a machined part in America usually means two days of machining buried in three weeks of quoting, emailing, and waiting. We built Praetore to delete the three weeks. Here is exactly what happens when you order.

01

Upload your files

STEP or Parasolid for geometry. A PDF drawing if you have callouts — GD&T, threads, critical dimensions. Don't have a drawing? Fine. For most parts the model plus a note is enough, and we'll flag anything ambiguous before it costs you time.

While you're still on the page, we check the part for manufacturability: thin walls, deep pockets, unreachable features, callouts that need special tooling. If something will slow your part down or drive the price up, you hear it now — not in an email four days from now.

02

Get a firm price

Our pricing engine reads your geometry, plans the machining, and prices the job against the actual rates and machines of the shops that will run it. A machinist reviews anything the engine isn't sure about.

The number you see is the number you pay. It isn't a placeholder that gets 'revised after engineering review,' and it isn't an auction where shops bid on your job while you wait. Material, setup, finishing, and inspection are in the price.

03

Lock a ship date

Pick Standard (5–7 business days), Fast (3 business days), or Rush (72 hours). The date on your order confirmation is a commitment backed by machine-hours we've already reserved — not an estimate backed by hope.

This is the part nobody else does. We contract committed capacity at our partner shops every week, so when you book a Rush order, a spindle is actually waiting for it. If we miss your date, our guarantee applies — see the guarantee page for exactly what that means.

04

We run production

Machining, finishing, inspection, packaging, freight — coordinated by us, across our network, under one order. You get status updates that mean something: material cut, parts off the machine, at anodize, inspected, shipped.

You never chase a vendor. If a finisher is backed up, that's our problem to solve before it becomes yours — usually by re-routing inside the network. One counterparty, one invoice, one company accountable for the outcome.

The Difference

Same part. Two very different months.

The usual way

  • Day 1 — email five shops for quotes
  • Day 4 — two reply; one asks for a drawing
  • Day 9 — quotes in; pick one, send a PO
  • Day 12 — shop schedules the job for next week
  • Day 19 — parts machined, sent out for anodize
  • Day 26 — back from anodize, boxed, shipped
  • Day 28 — parts in hand

With Praetore

  • Minute 1 — upload part, see DFM feedback
  • Minute 8 — firm price on screen, three speed tiers
  • Minute 10 — order booked against reserved capacity
  • Day 2 — parts off the machine, into finishing
  • Day 4 — inspected, packed, shipped
  • Day 5 — parts in hand, date kept

Questions

The things engineers actually ask us

What file formats do you take?

STEP (.step/.stp) is best. We also take Parasolid, IGES, SLDPRT, and STL, plus PDF, DXF, and DWG drawings. Quoting several parts at once? Send a BOM as CSV or Excel with the files.

What if my part is outside your fast envelope?

Submit it anyway. Parts inside the envelope get instant pricing and guaranteed dates. Everything else goes to our sourcing team, who find and manage the right American supplier — castings, molding, gears, exotic alloys, full assemblies. It takes longer than minutes, but you still deal with exactly one company.

Who actually makes my parts?

Vetted, U.S.-based machine shops in the Praetore network — shops we've audited, contracted committed capacity with, and measure on every job. Praetore is the counterparty on your order and owns the outcome, including quality.

Do you sign NDAs? Is my IP safe?

Yes — yours or ours, your choice. Files are shared with network shops only under their standing confidentiality obligations and never used for anything except making your parts.

What about inspection and documentation?

Every order is inspected against your drawing before it ships. FAI reports, dimensional reports, and material certs are available on any order — select them when you book.

Is there a minimum order?

No minimum quantity — one piece is a real order. Minimum order value is $150, which covers setup on a single simple part.

The fastest way to understand it is to price a part

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