IP Protection & NDA

How customer designs, tooling and data are handled · Updated 2026-10-08

How CHX Metal protects customer drawings and data: NDAs on request, no design reuse, tooling ownership in the quotation, limited access, no sub-contracting. Engineering teams review drawings and return manufacturability feedback within 24 hours.

For most engineering teams the first question about an overseas supplier is not price. It is what happens to the drawings. This page sets out, concretely, how CHX Metal handles customer designs, tooling and data — so you can decide whether to send a CAD file before you send a purchase order.

1. Drawings are used to make your parts, and nothing else

A drawing or 3D model you send us is used to quote and manufacture your parts. We do not copy your design into a catalogue, do not offer it to other customers, and do not use it as a portfolio piece or in marketing material without your written permission.

2. NDA before you send anything

We sign customer NDAs, and we can also provide our own mutual NDA if your legal team prefers a template to review. If the paperwork is not in place yet, send a simplified drawing for a first estimate and hold the full model until the agreement is signed — we are used to working in that order.

3. Tooling and fixtures belong to you

Where a project requires dedicated tooling — a custom form tool, a matched fixture, a soft-jaw set — ownership is stated in the quotation. Unless the quotation says otherwise, tooling made and paid for on your project is your property, and it will be either held for your repeat orders or released to you on request.

4. Access is limited to the people who make the part

Your files reach the engineering and production staff working on your order. They are not circulated to unrelated departments, and they are not posted on shop-floor boards. Shop-floor documentation carries the minimum information needed to make and inspect the part.

5. No unapproved sub-contracting

When a process is outside our own capability — a specialised heat treatment, for example — it is placed with a qualified supplier and, where your agreement requires it, only with your prior written approval. Your drawing is passed on only to the extent the sub-contractor needs in order to carry out that process.

6. Files, retention and deletion

Project files are held in our engineering system for as long as the project and its traceability records require. On written request we will delete the design files we hold for your project, subject to the records we are obliged to keep for quality and traceability purposes. Tell us at the start if your policy requires a shorter retention period than ours.

7. No branding of your product

Parts are supplied without any supplier marking unless you specify it. We do not photograph customer parts for public use, and we do not name customers on this website or in proposals without consent.

What we need from you

• A completed NDA, or a note telling us to issue ours
• Any customer-specific requirements — marking, packaging, documentation, retention period
• The contact who should receive engineering questions, so design detail stays inside the agreed channel

Frequently asked questions

Will you sign our NDA template?

Yes. Send your template and we will review, sign and return it. If anything in it needs discussion — for example a retention period we cannot meet operationally — we will say so before signing rather than agree and quietly fall short.

Can a first quotation be given without a full CAD file?

Usually yes. A dimensioned sketch, a PDF drawing or a simplified model is often enough to give indicative pricing. The exact quotation follows a proper drawing review.

Do you make parts for competing customers in the same product category?

We machine parts across several industries and may work for more than one customer in a category. We do not share one customer’s design, drawing or process information with another, and we do not manufacture a copied version of a customer’s part for anyone else.

Who owns the tooling?

Ownership is stated in the quotation. Unless agreed otherwise, dedicated tooling made and paid for on your project is your property and is held for your repeat orders or released on request.

Can I audit how my files are handled?

We will answer specific questions about where your files are stored, who can reach them and how long they are kept, and we will put those answers in writing. If you need a formal on-site audit as part of supplier qualification, raise it during the RFQ so it can be planned.

Shenzhen Changhexin Precision Hardware Co., Ltd. (CHX Metal) · Shajing Street, Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China · ISO 9001:2015 (NOA198428) · ISO 14001:2015 (NOA2100184)

Information on this page is for reference only and does not constitute a contractual commitment; confidentiality obligations apply only under a signed agreement.