
FAQs
What You Need to Know About ACE
Simple, honest answers that reflect how we work and what we deliver.
At ACE Metal Crafts Company, we believe clarity builds trust. These FAQs give you a straightforward look at our capabilities, processes, materials, and culture.
If you need details that are not covered here, our team is always ready to help.
Frequently asked questions
ACE fabricates, machines, and finishes stainless-steel components and assemblies for OEMs in food, pharmaceutical, packaging, and industrial markets. We specialize in sanitary stainless fabrication, precision machining, contract assembly, and value engineering from prototype to production.
ACE integrates fabrication, machining, finishing, and contract assembly under one coordinated workflow. ERP-driven scheduling, sanitary expertise, precision capability, and multi-discipline assembly deliver consistent quality and ready-to-run systems.
Our work supports systems that require sanitary washdown, cleanability, and tight tolerances.
Food processing
Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical
Packaging and automation
Environmental and industrial equipment
Specialty stainless equipment
Yes. More than 50 percent of our current business is outside Illinois. We support customers throughout the Midwest and across the United States by applying our experience in complex stainless fabrication, machining, and assembly to deliver consistent quality and on-time performance.
We support multi-material integration through welding, forming, and assembly workflows.
Stainless Steel
Mild Steel
Aluminum
Yes. ACE holds an ASME U Stamp Certificate of Authorization, allowing us to design and manufacture pressure vessels and custom systems in accordance with the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.
No. We support everything from single prototypes to thousands of parts with the same level of quality and consistency.
Lead times vary based on project complexity, material availability, and the mix of fabrication, machining, finishing, and assembly required. During quoting, we provide a project-specific lead-time estimate and maintain schedule visibility through our ERP-driven workflow.
Yes. For projects with aggressive timelines, we evaluate workflow sequencing, material availability, and department capacity to meet critical deadlines. When needed, we split shipments or stage delivery to keep projects moving while remaining aligned to schedule requirements.
Yes. We manufacture brackets, laser-cut components, rolled and formed parts, and complex weldments including frames, vessels, manifolds, and sanitary assemblies.
We find solutions for components near or beyond these ranges.
Up to 40 plus feet long
10-ton crane capacity
8 ft by 30 ft door
Large-bed machining support
TIG welding
MIG welding
Pulsed TIG
Pulsed MIG
Laser welding
Fronius CMT
Orbital TIG for sanitary tubing
Purge welding for hygienic applications
Yes. Using our tube laser, orbital TIG systems, purge welding processes, and sanitary polishing capabilities, we fabricate custom stainless-steel manifolds to customer designs and specifications.
Controlled weld sequencing
Heat management techniques
Precision fixturing
In-process inspection
Yes. Fabrication, machining, and finishing are integrated under one workflow for alignment and repeatability.
Yes. ACE provides precision forming using CNC press brakes with 3D controls, hydraulic clamping, and automatic crowning. Capabilities include:
Long-length bends
Tight tolerance forming
Conical forms
Complex profiles
Sanitary transitions
Equipment ranges from 48 to 320 tons.
Yes. ACE rolls stainless cylinders, cones, hoppers, transitions, and curved components. Rolling capability includes:
Davi Max 3022 roll
16 gauge by 50 inches
1/4 inch by 2 feet
Stainless panels
Frames and structural components
Cones and transitions
Cylinders and rolled sections
Housings
Sanitary components
Hoppers
Small tanks
CNC-controlled press brakes
Automatic crowning
5-axis back gauges
3D controls
Precision tooling
Dynamic sheet supports
Yes. We support 3A Dairy, food-grade, and pharmaceutical requirements and integrate forming and rolling with sanitary welding and polishing.
Yes. We provide mechanical polishing, weld blending, tube and pipe polishing, cosmetic finishing, grain matching, and Ra verification.
2B
Commercial #4
3A Dairy
#4 Sanitary
Bead-blast finishes
Custom Ra finishes
Multiple finishing stations
25 ft by 40 ft bead-blast room
53 inch wide-belt sanding
Twin-belt systems
Mechanical polishing
Sanitary polishing
Chemical cleaning
Automated deburring
Yes. We routinely achieve 32 Ra or better, commercial finishes, mirror finishes, and custom Ra values. We verify Ra using profilometers.
Yes. Our bead room provides consistent cosmetic and sanitary bead-blast finishes with controlled media selection and pressure.
Standardized procedures
Controlled tooling and media
In-process Ra checks
Repeatable workflows across finishing stations
ACE provides flat laser cutting, tube and structural laser cutting, and waterjet cutting. These processes support stainless fabrication, structural assemblies, sanitary systems, and thick-plate applications up to 8 inches.
Yes. ACE uses a Mitsubishi 6kW fiber laser with a 60 inch by 120 inch bed and automated material tower. Capacity includes:
Mild steel up to 1 inch
Stainless steel up to 5/8 inch with nitrogen clean cut
Aluminum up to 1/2 inch
CAD/CAM nesting ensures material optimization and precision.
Yes. Our Mazak FabriGear 220 Fiber tube laser processes:
Round tube up to 8⅝ inches
Square tube up to 6 inches
Lengths up to 26 feet
Tube
Pipe
Angle
Channel
I-beam
Capabilities include bevel cutting, weld prep, slots, tabs, holes, notches, and tapping up to 1/2 inch or M12. Automatic load and unload support consistent accuracy.
Yes. ACE uses an OMAX 80X waterjet with a 72 inch by 144 inch bed and a 60,000 PSI pump. We cut materials up to 8 inches thick. Cold cutting eliminates heat distortion and is ideal for thick plate and specialty alloys.
CNC turning
CNC milling
Dual-spindle machines
Live tooling
Robotic loading
Vertical and horizontal milling
3 plus 1 axis machining
High-pressure coolant
In-process probing
300 Series stainless steel
400 Series stainless steel
17-4 PH
Aluminum 6061
Carbon steel
Titanium
Aluminum bronze
Engineering plastics
Other materials as required
Turning:
Up to 16 inches diameter
Up to 57 inches length
Milling:
Up to 84 inches length
84 by 40 inch bed
600 pound max part weight
Mastercam
High-pressure coolant
In-process probing
Robotic loading
Bar-feed systems
DMG Mori equipment
Okuma equipment
Mazak equipment
Haas equipment
±0.0005 inch
Flatness greater than 0.005 inch
Parallelism greater than 0.005 inch
Perpendicularity greater than 0.002 inch
TIR greater than 0.003 inch
Concentricity to 0.0003 inch
Straightness greater than 0.003 inch
16 Ra
Mirror finishes
Custom surface finishes
Prototype machining
Short-run machining
Annual quantities from 5 to 1000 units
Blanket-order machining programs
Polishing
Welding
Assembly
Plating
Design-for-manufacturability
Prototype development
A build-to-print service integrating fabrication, machining, finishing, and assembly to deliver ready-to-run systems with predictable schedules and fewer handoffs.
Sub-assemblies
Mechanical assemblies
Electro-mechanical systems
Stainless process equipment
Modular systems
Skid-based systems
Build-to-print assemblies
Yes. We assemble modular kits, grouped components, and organized part sets to streamline installation.
Yes. We build enclosures, frames, skids, and structures using stainless steel and compatible materials.
Yes. We assemble conveyors, wiring, pneumatics, sensors, scales, motors, and safety components.
Functional testing
FAT testing
Pre-ship inspection
Dry fitting
Traceability
Documentation
We use an ERP-driven system that synchronizes fabrication, machining, finishing, and assembly.
Reduced purchase orders
Reduced receiving labor
Simplified accounting
Lower inventory handling
Dedicated assembly bays
Validation stations
High-bay cranes
Lift tables
Ergonomic stations
Controlled staging
Custom crating
Yes. We support JIT programs and simplified ordering for repeat builds.
Yes. ACE fabricates and machines stainless-steel frame weldments up to 40 plus feet long and up to 6 inch diameter or square tube. We meet sanitary washdown requirements through controlled welding, machining alignment, and surface finishing processes tailored to food, pharmaceutical, and cleanable environments.

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