Upland Fab FAQ

Check out some of our most popular asked Questions

At Upland Fab we have an outstanding Quality Management System implementation that assures our customers that Upland Fab provides the highest quality product(s) and service(s) to meet all of our customers' exact requirements across the full life cycle of all projects; from composite machining materials, concepts, production to final check.

Below are some frequently asked questions here at Upland Fab, if you still have questions that need to be answered, please contact us today!

For more FAQ's on Machining and Capabilities please use the drop-down menu below.

General

How long has Upland Fab been in business?

Upland Fab was founded in 1970 by Guy and Virginia Johns and has been in continuous operation, under family ownership, ever since.

Where is Upland Fab located?

Upland Fab is located in Ontario, California, approximately thirty-five miles east of downtown Los Angeles, near the Ontario International Airport.

How large is Upland Fab's manufacturing facility?

Upland Fab owns and occupies a 12,000 square foot building with modern manufacturing facilities and plenty of room for future expansion.

Is Upland Fab certified to ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100 Rev D?

Yes, Upland Fab is certified to ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100 Rev D by International Standards Authority, Inc. View a list of all our certifications here.

Plastics Machining

Does Upland Fab machine metals?

Although Upland Fab specializes in machining and assembling plastic materials, we machine aluminum when required as a part of our assembly services. We also assemble metallic hardware (pins, inserts, etc.) into our finished components at Upland Fab.

What are the advantages of plastic machining over plastic molding?

Machining plastic offers several distinct advantages over molding for low volume production including: zero upfront tooling costs, drastically reduced lead-times and very close tolerances. Plastic machining is perfect for R&D, prototypes, and low volume production.

What are the advantages of plastic machining over 3D Printing?

Plastic machining is far more cost-effective for multiple prototype pieces, and rigid parts from the actual specified engineering material can be obtained for application testing purposes. Much closer tolerances can be held in plastic machining as well.

Does Upland Fab machine carbon fiber composite materials?

Yes. Upland Fab offers superior knowledge and expertise in the machining of carbon fiber and other composite materials. Lockheed Martin has approved Upland Fab for carbon fiber machining for the F/A-22 Raptor program.

Capabilities

Does Upland Fab offer 5-axis machining capabilities?

Yes. Upland Fab offers 5-axis CNC milling for your complex machining requirements, supported by our sophisticated CAM software for cost-effective programming and production.

What is the maximum machining envelope at Upland Fab?

Upland Fab can mill parts up to 60" x 30" and turn up to 15" diameter x 21" length. Larger parts can be accommodated depending on geometry.

What is DPD/MBD Approval?

DPD stands for Digital Product Definition and MBD stands for Model Based Definition. Both are processes for manufacturing parts to electronic models with minimal and sometimes no 2D drawings. Upland Fab has created processes that have been audited by multiple Aerospace customers for controlling, verifying, and manufacturing to these models with full compliance to customer requirements.