Guides / Process

Packing and Shipping Machined Parts to a Fab or Test Floor

September 24, 2026

A part can be machined correctly, cleaned properly and then arrive contaminated, scratched or bent because nobody specified what happened after the final inspection. Packing is the step buyers leave out of the RFQ most often, and it is entirely avoidable.

The levels, in plain terms

Level	What it means	When to use it
Industrial	Wrapped, boxed, oil film acceptable	Frames, covers, brackets that will be cleaned before use
Degreased and bagged	Cleaned, dried, single sealed bag	General machined hardware going into an assembly area
Degreased and double bagged	Inner bag sealed after final clean, outer bag removed at the airlock	Most cleanroom bound hardware
Cleanroom cleaned and packed	Cleaned, dried and packed under controlled conditions, with a packing record	Wafer facing, vacuum and gas wetted parts

Name the level in words rather than with a class number. A class describes a room, and your part only passes through one.

What goes wrong between the shop and the dock

Fingerprints after the last clean. Skin oils are a real contamination source on vacuum hardware. The rule is that nobody touches the part bare handed after the final rinse, and that includes the person packing it.

The wrong bag. Some polymer bags shed particles or carry additives that transfer to the part. Ask what material the shop uses. Anti static bags are normal for ESD sensitive hardware, and they are not the same as ordinary packing film.

No desiccant on a long sea leg. Two weeks in a container with a temperature swing puts water on everything inside it. A desiccant pack and a moisture indicator card cost almost nothing.

Sharp features against the bag. A milled edge will cut film in transit. Edge protectors or a foam insert solve it, and the part arrives in a sealed bag rather than an open one.

A part that moves inside its box. Foam that locates the part is the difference between a plate that arrives flat and one that arrives bent at the corner.

Crates built for the shelf, not the part. Large weldments and frames need a crate with a defined lifting method. Write down whether a forklift or a crane will handle it at your end.

Export paperwork is part of the packing

For a shipment leaving Vietnam the shop or its forwarder produces the commercial invoice, the packing list and the certificate of origin when one is needed. A shop that has only ever delivered domestically will need a forwarder for your first shipment, and that is workable as long as it is priced and scheduled rather than discovered in the final week. Ask during the audit, as covered in twenty questions to ask a machine shop.

Two details worth fixing early: the harmonised system code you want used, and whether the commercial invoice should show a value you are comfortable with for customs. Both are cheap to agree and expensive to correct after a shipment is booked.

What to put on the drawing

The packing level, in words
Whether bare handed contact is permitted after the final clean
Bag material requirements, including anti static where it applies
Desiccant and moisture indicator requirements
Marking on the outer box: part number, revision, lot, quantity
Lifting and handling instructions for anything heavy
Whether a packing record travels with the shipment

Receiving inspection closes the loop

Agree what you check on arrival before the first shipment, not after a dispute. Photographs of the packed part are a small requirement that settles most arguments about whether damage happened in the shop or in transit, and most shops will provide them without adding cost.

The cleaning side of this chain is covered in what cleanroom machining actually requires, and the way packing shows up in a quote is in where the weeks go on a machined part.

If you want quotes where the packing level is priced rather than assumed, send the RFQ with the level stated, or start from the RFQ template.

Frequently asked questions

Who decides the packing level, us or the shop?

You do, and it belongs on the drawing or in the purchase order. Left unsaid, each shop assumes a different level and the cheapest quote is simply the one that assumed the least work.

Is vacuum sealing better than double bagging?

Not automatically. Vacuum sealing can press the bag against sharp features and abrade a finished surface. Double bagging with the inner bag sealed in a clean area is the normal answer for cleanroom hardware.

What causes most transit damage on precision parts?

Parts moving inside their own box. A heavy plate in a loose carton becomes a hammer. Foam that locates the part, and a box sized to the part rather than to the shelf, prevents most of it.

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More on process

All guides and the sourcing glossary.