From progressive die stamping and deep draw to laser cut, formed, and robotically welded assemblies. Hole and form features held to plus minus 0.05 mm. One accountable owner from drawing to your US dock. India first, more regions as your volume grows.
VIA INDIGOS is a US contract manufacturing company that runs sheet metal stamping programs in India, as one accountable owner from drawing to US dock. Stamping, forming, laser, and welding sit under one program, with PPAP Level 3 on every part.
If you have ever sourced stampings or sheet metal parts from anywhere in the world, you know the routine. Email at 9 in the morning. No reply. Email again at 4. Maybe an answer Tuesday. We built VIA INDIGOS so the fifth email never lands. Because one missed handoff on a stamping program can cost you three weeks of production line downtime.
If you have ever sourced stampings or sheet metal parts from anywhere in the world, you know the routine. Most buyers spend their week chasing updates instead of doing their real work. We built VIA INDIGOS to give that time back. Most stamping programs need CNC machining, welding, and surface finishing to get to your dock, and we run the whole chain under one owner. 40+ sheet metal partner facilities across 22+ Indian cities, part of a 470+ facility audited partner network. Press capacity from 60 to 1000 tonnes across the network. One owner on your program from drawing intake through US dock delivery. Whether your monthly volume is 2,000 pieces or 200,000, we set up the program the same way.
I walk the press floor before a single PO is placed. We check press tonnage against the part footprint, coil feed and straightener setup, die condition, and the lab that will run your material and dimensional checks. We pick partners who run welding, finishing, and CNC secondary under their own roof, on their own QA team, on their own clock. One roof, one floor, one accountable team for the full sheet metal chain. DFM happens before a die is cut. T0, T1, and T2 validation gates come with photographic evidence, dimensional data, and a written verdict from our quality lead. Boots on the ground, every step of the way.
My team runs weekly checks on die wear, hit count, burr height, and weld quality. We track SPC on critical dimensions, salt spray results on every finished lot, and lot to lot consistency on form and hole position. We send you a status report every Friday that covers WIP, inspection results, tooling health, and shipping milestones. Container loading photos reach your inbox before the seal goes on. Every lot carries a traceability ID from coil to your receiving dock. Nothing ships until the dimensional report and the finish report both show green. We do not wait for you to ask. We report because that is how a stamping program should run.
Most contract manufacturers worldwide drop the ball at the handoff between two teams. We hold every one. Ten real stages, drawing to your dock. No sub-step skipped, no handoff left to chance.
A stamped part is only as good as the press, the die, and the steps after the press. Most shops hand you loose blanks and call it done. Three controls separate a stamping program that ships clean from one that ships you a reject report.
We do not stop at loose stampings. Brackets, frames, and weldments come welded to your drawing, to AWS D1.3 on sheet and AWS D1.1 on structural over 3 mm. Robotic cells hold the weld in the same spot lot to lot. Every weld map is inspected and signed before the part moves to finishing.
Zinc plating, hot dip galvanizing, powder coat, anodizing, and e-coat run at the same partner, on the same clock. We pull salt spray panels on every finish lot, ASTM B117, and hold the report in the PPAP package. A finish that fails at 96 hours never reaches your dock.
T0 strip layout and bench check. T1 first article off the die. T2 production sign off. Each gate carries a checklist, photos of the die and the part, and the sample side by side with the print. A die that runs without a gate review is a die that drifts at hit 240,000. We catch it on the bench, not on your line. Dimensional and finish reports run on every production lot before it ships.
Most India sourcing is run from a laptop in Cincinnati. Ours is not. Our team is physically present at partner facilities for die tryouts, T1 first samples, weld and finish sign offs, and production launches. When something slips, we see it before you do. When quality holds, we have the photo evidence to prove it.
22+ Indian manufacturing cities. 40+ qualified sheet metal partner facilities. Real people on the floor making sure your drawing becomes a part that passes PPAP the first time.
22+ cities. 40+ audited sheet metal partners across progressive die stamping, deep draw, press brake, laser, and welding. Hover any marker to see partner count and what runs there.
22+ cities · 40+ sheet metal partners · 60T to 1000T press range
Progressive die stamping, deep draw, and blanking are the stamping. Press brake bending, laser cutting, and roll forming are the sheet metal fabrication that finishes the part. All of it runs through one VIA INDIGOS playbook. One owner from drawing to dock. One status update every Friday. One India network of 40 plus audited partner facilities behind every program.
The workhorse for brackets, clips, terminals, heat shields, and reinforcements. A multi-station strip turns coil into a finished part on one press, one hit per cycle. Tolerances from plus minus 0.10 mm down to plus minus 0.05 mm on critical holes and forms.
For enclosures, housings, shells, cans, and cups drawn from flat blank in multiple stages. Wall thinning, draw ratio, and blank holder force all controlled to hold form without splits or wrinkles. CRCA, stainless, and aluminium readily drawn.
Flat blanks, washers, gussets, laminations, and shim stock cut clean to print. Tight burr control and square edges off the die. Single hit or compound die depending on volume and feature count.
Brackets, channels, enclosures, and chassis bent on CNC press brakes with back gauge control. Bend deduction and spring back compensated in the program so the angle holds lot to lot. Short tooling lead and fast turn for low to mid volume.
Prototypes, low volume, and complex profiles cut from flat sheet with no tooling. Fiber laser for thin and mid gauge, plasma for heavy plate. A quick path from drawing to first part when volume does not justify a die.
Progressive die vs deep draw vs press brake vs laser and bend vs roll forming. Five honest comparisons, not marketing claims. Use this to short list before you send the drawing.
High volume, tight repeatability, recurring demand.
Shells, enclosures, cans, housings.
Brackets, low volume, fast turn, prototypes.
Prototypes, complex profiles, no tooling.
Long constant profiles, channels, rails.
Not sure which fits? Send the drawing and we recommend the right process for your geometry, volume, and tolerance, and quote both options where it makes sense.
We weld stamped assemblies to AWS D1.1 and D1.3 using MIG, TIG, spot, and robotic cells, every joint held in a fixture so it sits the same way each lot and inspected before it ships. The full weld process chart, materials, and thickness ranges live on our fabrication page.
See the full welding rangeWe coordinate zinc, hot dip galvanize, powder coat, anodize, passivation, and more through partner finishers, holding every batch to a salt spray target per ASTM B117 and filing the report in the PPAP package. The full finish chart with specs and salt spray targets lives on our surface finishing page.
See the full finish chartThree gates, three sign offs, photo evidence at every step. We do not move a die forward unless the gate before it is closed. A progressive die that runs without a gate review is a die that drifts at hit 200,000, and we would rather catch it on the bench than on your line.
The die is built, sharpened, and inspected on the bench. Strip layout checked back to the flat pattern. Die clearance, station alignment, and punch to die fit all signed off before the first hit.
The first parts off the die. Full dimensional report on every callout, hole position and bend angle on a CMM. Burr height and edge condition checked. Formability confirmed with no cracks or thinning past spec. Report to you before the next run.
PPAP Level 3 package complete. PSW signed by the buyer. Capability studies on critical features above Cpk 1.67. Lot traceability live to the coil. Production releases only after the buyer has the full PPAP package in hand.
A stamping program that runs across two countries, three suppliers, and a dozen handoffs is going to break unless someone owns every step. Below is what your program looks like under one VIA INDIGOS owner, end to end.
If a metric does not have an owner, a target, and a data source, it is not a metric. Below is the scoreboard we run on every stamping program, refreshed weekly, surfaced in your Friday status email.
The right material is half the part. We stamp the common cold rolled, hot rolled, coated, stainless, and aluminium grades, plus spring steel and copper alloys for contacts and busbars, on progressive, compound, and deep draw dies. Below is the working range. A mill test certificate travels with every coil so the heat number traces back to the part.
| Material | Common grades | Gauge range | Key properties | Typical parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRCA cold rolled | IS 513 CR, SAE 1008 / 1010 | 0.5 to 4 mm | Draws and bends clean, holds a tight radius | Brackets, clips, deep drawn shells |
| Hot rolled and HRPO | IS 2062, SAE 1011 | 1.6 to 12 mm | Strength on thick blanks and reinforcements | Reinforcements, structural stampings |
| Galvanized GI / GA | ASTM A653, IS 277 | 0.5 to 3 mm | Pre-coated, skips the post-plate step | Outdoor brackets, stamped panels |
| Stainless steel | SS 304, 316, 430 | 0.5 to 6 mm | Takes heat and corrosion in service | Heat shields, clamps, fuel straps |
| Aluminium | 5052, 6061, 1100 | 0.5 to 6 mm | Light and formable, good for covers | Shields, covers, heat sinks |
| Spring steel | SAE 1074, 1095, 65Mn | 0.2 to 3 mm | Springs back true, holds a temper | Clips, shims, retainers, springs |
| Brass and copper | C26000, C11000 | 0.3 to 4 mm | Conducts well, resists corrosion | Terminals, busbars, contacts |
Other grades and tempers stamped on request. Gauge range depends on press tonnage and form complexity. We confirm material, temper, and coating during DFM review before quote, and the mill test certificate goes in the PPAP file.
A part can pass every dimensional check and still cost too much to ship. Sheet metal is light but bulky, so freight is set by volume, not weight. We look at the part and the pack together, before the die is cut, so the same part fills more of the container and clears customs faster.
Upload your drawings. We review, run DFM, and return a full landed cost breakdown with tooling timeline and PPAP scope. You get one contact from intake to ship.
Every industry has its own certs, its own regulatory pressure, its own drawing conventions. The handoff discipline stays the same. What changes is the technical documentation that moves with the part.
Where time and cost leak out of a stamping run, and the moves that take them back out. Part consolidation, fewer setups, and the handoffs that usually slow a job down.
Read the post →A plain look at how metal gets cut, formed, and joined. Blanking, bending, deep draw, and welding, and when each one is the right call for the part in front of you.
Read the post →Every field note we have published on stamping, tooling, finishing, and getting parts from an India press to your dock.
Browse the blog →Plain English answers, written for procurement and engineering teams who want a real number, not a brochure. Last reviewed by Mandeep Singh in May 2026.
A progressive die for a part under 2 mm runs 10 to 16 weeks from PO to T1 first sample, depending on station count, material, and finishing package. A simple compound or blanking die can land in 6 to 8 weeks. Press brake and laser need no production die, so a first article off a CNC brake or laser can land in 1 to 3 weeks.
If your competitor is quoting you 4 weeks tooling on a progressive die, ask whether that includes T1 dimensional, T2 PPAP, and the CMM report. It usually does not.
PPAP Level 3 means we send the buyer the full Production Part Approval Process package: signed PSW, design records, dimensional report on every callout, material test reports on the coil, capability studies with Cpk on critical features, MSA on the inspection method, control plan, PFMEA, and the appearance approval report when finish is a callout.
Production does not release until the buyer has the package in hand and the PSW is signed. That is the discipline. No PPAP, no shipping.
The everyday sheet steels and non ferrous grades: CRCA cold rolled, hot rolled and HRPO, galvanized GI and galvannealed GA, stainless 304, 316, and 430, aluminium 5052 and 6061, spring steel, brass, and copper. Coil and sheet sourced to ASTM A1011, A653, A480, or your callout.
Stamping runs 0.5 to 6 mm on most progressive and compound dies. Press brake and laser handle heavier sheet up to 12 mm on steel. Tell us the grade and gauge and we confirm formability during DFM review.
For progressive die programs, our partners typically run 5,000 piece minimums per release, with annual volume that justifies the die. Below that, a compound die, press brake, or laser route makes more sense.
For laser and press brake work, we run as low as 25 pieces per lot, no production tooling required. Tell us the part and we tell you the floor.
T0. Die built, sharpened, inspected on the bench. Strip layout vs CAD flat pattern. Die clearance and station check. Photos archived.
T1. First parts off the die. Full dimensional report. Hole position and bend angle on a CMM. Burr and edge check. Buyer engineering call before T2.
T2. Production sign off. PPAP Level 3 package complete. PSW signed by the buyer. Cpk above 1.67 on critical features. MSA on the inspection method. Lot traceability to the coil. Production releases only after the buyer has the full package.
Default is FOB Nhava Sheva or CIF US West Coast. We offer DDP on request with a logistics markup that we disclose up front. Inbound preferences are Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York, Newark, and Chicago, with alternates only when they improve lead time or cost.
For programs with US warehouse pull, we hold inventory and ship JIT to your dock. Storage and handling fees on a published rate card.
You do. Tooling ownership transfers to the buyer on full payment, in writing, with a tooling passport that documents die set ID, hit count, refurb history, and storage location. We hold the die at our partner facility on a bailment basis, available for inspection or transfer at any time.
If you want to move programs in 18 months, the die is yours. We do not lock dies to facilities or hold them hostage.
Send us your drawings. You get a full landed cost breakdown, a tooling timeline, the recommended stamping route, and a PPAP scope. One contact from intake to ship. No commitment required.
30 minutes · no obligation · bring your drawings
Three working templates we use on every sheet metal program. PPAP checklist. Tooling Gantt template. Supplier audit checklist. Yours to keep, even if we never work together.
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