Guides for hi-fi brands sourcing machined and finished audio parts.https://hifimfg.com/https://hifimfg.com/blog/emi-shielding-audio-enclosures/https://hifimfg.com/blog/emi-shielding-audio-enclosures/Seams, gaps and gaskets decide whether a metal box shields anything. Anodize is an insulator, aperture length beats area, and what to put on a drawing.Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/tube-amp-chassis-manufacturing/https://hifimfg.com/blog/tube-amp-chassis-manufacturing/Valve amps run hot, weigh a lot and put mains voltage on an exposed top plate. Material, thickness, socket cutouts, ventilation and the safety points.Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/connector-panel-cutouts-audio/https://hifimfg.com/blog/connector-panel-cutouts-audio/A working reference for connector panel cutouts on an audio chassis, plus the panel thickness limits and positioning rules that decide whether parts fit.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/transformer-mounting-chassis/https://hifimfg.com/blog/transformer-mounting-chassis/A mains transformer is the heaviest thing in the box and the loudest source of hum. Bolt patterns, plate thickness, the shorted turn problem and callouts.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/chassis-resonance-damping/https://hifimfg.com/blog/chassis-resonance-damping/Thin panels ring, flat faces radiate and a transformer excites both. Ribs, mass, constrained layer damping, and which of them a machine shop can deliver.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/anodizing-colour-match-hifi/https://hifimfg.com/blog/anodizing-colour-match-hifi/Why the faceplate and the knob come back different shades of black, what controls anodize colour, and how to write a spec a finisher can repeat next year.Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/sheet-metal-covers-audio-dfm/https://hifimfg.com/blog/sheet-metal-covers-audio-dfm/Bend radius, bend allowance, minimum flange length and why a folded box is never square. What a press brake can hold and how to draw around its limits.Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/audio-chassis-cost/https://hifimfg.com/blog/audio-chassis-cost/What you actually pay for in an audio chassis: billet versus extrusion, the finish line, engraving, and why 30 units cost so much more per piece than 300.Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/speaker-terminals-binding-posts/https://hifimfg.com/blog/speaker-terminals-binding-posts/Binding post spacing, anti-rotation, plate thickness and the plating choices that decide whether a terminal still turns cleanly after five years of use.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/surface-roughness-cosmetic-faces/https://hifimfg.com/blog/surface-roughness-cosmetic-faces/Surface roughness numbers are useful on a sealing face and misleading on a cosmetic one. What Ra measures, what it misses and what to specify instead.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/moq-lead-time-audio-parts/https://hifimfg.com/blog/moq-lead-time-audio-parts/Why finishing sets the minimum order rather than machining, where the weeks actually go in a twelve week quote, and how a small brand plans around both.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/cnc-volume-knob-manufacturing/https://hifimfg.com/blog/cnc-volume-knob-manufacturing/Billet aluminum or brass, knurl or flute, set screw or collet: what each choice does to the cost of a machined volume knob and to how it feels in the hand.Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/tolerance-stack-basics-audio/https://hifimfg.com/blog/tolerance-stack-basics-audio/Worst case against statistical stacking, why chained dimensions cost money, and how to choose datums so the features a customer sees stay under control.Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/quoting-cosmetic-machining-work/https://hifimfg.com/blog/quoting-cosmetic-machining-work/Cosmetic work looks like ordinary machining and prices nothing like it. The lines a general job shop leaves out, and how to put a number on appearance risk.Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/finishing-in-house-or-outsource/https://hifimfg.com/blog/finishing-in-house-or-outsource/The case for and against an in house line, what a managed finisher relationship needs instead, and the volume at which the arithmetic actually changes.Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/turntable-platter-machining/https://hifimfg.com/blog/turntable-platter-machining/Flatness, runout, dynamic balance and material choice on a machined platter, plus the drawing callouts that separate a usable quote from an expensive guess.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/qualifying-audio-rfqs/https://hifimfg.com/blog/qualifying-audio-rfqs/Hi-fi work has good customers and expensive ones, and the drawing usually tells you which. The signals that separate a repeat account from a rejected batch.Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/selling-finishing-capability/https://hifimfg.com/blog/selling-finishing-capability/Every shop website says precision and quality. What buyers of cosmetic parts actually look for, and the specific proof that separates you from the machine list.Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/choosing-a-shop-for-audio-parts/https://hifimfg.com/blog/choosing-a-shop-for-audio-parts/The questions that separate a shop that can make your faceplate from one that can make it twice. What to ask, what to send and what to check on arrival.Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/aluminium-alloys-for-anodized-audio-parts/https://hifimfg.com/blog/aluminium-alloys-for-anodized-audio-parts/6061, 6063, 6060 and 5052 all anodize differently. What each one does to colour, clarity and machining, and why mixing two alloys in one product causes trouble.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/brushed-finish-audio-panels/https://hifimfg.com/blog/brushed-finish-audio-panels/Grit number, grain direction, dry versus wet brushing and why the grain has to continue across two parts. The callouts that make a brushed panel repeatable.Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/bead-blasting-audio-enclosures/https://hifimfg.com/blog/bead-blasting-audio-enclosures/Glass bead, aluminum oxide and grit size all change how an enclosure looks after anodize. How to specify a blast finish so batch two matches batch one.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/engraving-vs-silkscreen-audio-panels/https://hifimfg.com/blog/engraving-vs-silkscreen-audio-panels/Five ways to put a logo and channel labels on a front panel, what each costs, how each survives ten years of use and when in the process each one happens.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/brass-and-copper-audio-parts/https://hifimfg.com/blog/brass-and-copper-audio-parts/Brass knobs, copper trim and bronze feet look superb and tarnish fast. Alloys, lacquers, plating and the drawing notes that stop a batch ageing on the shelf.Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/low-volume-anodizing-minimum-order/https://hifimfg.com/blog/low-volume-anodizing-minimum-order/Anodizers price by rack and by tank time, not by piece. What that means for a boutique audio run and six practical ways to keep a small batch affordable.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/billet-extrusion-sheet-chassis/https://hifimfg.com/blog/billet-extrusion-sheet-chassis/The three ways to make an audio enclosure, what each one really costs at 30 units and at 300, and how to mix them without the finish giving the joint away.Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/heatsink-extrusion-amplifier-chassis/https://hifimfg.com/blog/heatsink-extrusion-amplifier-chassis/Fin geometry, thermal resistance ratings, extrusion tolerances and the secondary machining that turns a length of raw profile into a chassis side panel.Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/rack-panel-dimensions-19-inch/https://hifimfg.com/blog/rack-panel-dimensions-19-inch/EIA-310 panel widths, 1U to 6U heights, mounting hole positions and the clearances that stop a beautifully machined panel from fouling the rack rails.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/headphone-cup-manufacturing/https://hifimfg.com/blog/headphone-cup-manufacturing/Mirrored parts, acoustic chamber tolerances, gimbal fits and why a pair of headphone cups is one part number with two halves, and not two part numbers.Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/drawing-callouts-cosmetic-faces/https://hifimfg.com/blog/drawing-callouts-cosmetic-faces/A cosmetic face is a specification, not an assumption. The notation, the zones and the criteria that make appearance something a shop can quote and measure.Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/panel-gaps-audio-enclosures/https://hifimfg.com/blog/panel-gaps-audio-enclosures/Gap is a system property, not a part property. How tolerance stacks up across a chassis, and the design choices that make a gap look deliberate, not accidental.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/isolation-feet-spikes-machining/https://hifimfg.com/blog/isolation-feet-spikes-machining/Feet are the cheapest part of a hi-fi product to get wrong. Thread choice, levelling range, tip design, damping inserts and how to stop them marking furniture.Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/first-article-inspection-cosmetic-parts/https://hifimfg.com/blog/first-article-inspection-cosmetic-parts/A standard FAI measures dimensions. On an audio part that is half the job. What to ask for, how to judge it and what to write down so batch two matches.Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://hifimfg.com/blog/packing-finished-audio-parts/https://hifimfg.com/blog/packing-finished-audio-parts/Most cosmetic rejects are created after the part was made. Protective film, interleaving, tray design and the packing clauses worth putting in the order.Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT