Stop Losing Hours to Scattered Welding Specs and Mill Specs Automate Your Knowledge Access Now
Imagine reclaiming 20+ hours per week that your shop floor teams waste hunting down material tolerances or quality control guidelines. Our custom knowledge base turns your hard-earned fabrication know-how into an instant-access AI powerhouse, slashing errors and boosting your ROI from day one.
Join 150+ businesses with streamlined operations and 30% faster project turnarounds
The "Knowledge Silo" Problem
Welders wasting entire shifts flipping through dusty binders for AWS D1.1 alloy tolerances and filler metal specs
New hires struggling to find mill certifications amid email chaos
Quality teams buried in outdated AutoCAD drawings, revision control nightmares, and ASME Y14.5 dimensioning conflicts
Project delays from scattered OSHA-compliant safety protocols on handling hazardous materials like chromate conversion coatings
Lost institutional knowledge when veteran fabricators retire without handover of proprietary CNC G-code programs or jig setups
Compliance headaches tracking NDT inspection logs and weld discontinuity reports across multiple remote job sites
Our Custom-Built Knowledge Base – Tailored to Your Shop Floor Realities
We've powered knowledge automation for metal shops just like yours, from precision CNC operations to heavy structural fabrication, ensuring field-tested reliability.
Why Choose Us
Let's be honest – in metal fabrication, your knowledge isn't just data; it's the blueprint for precision and profit. We build a custom AI knowledge base that ingests your welding procedures, material specs, and quality docs, then serves them up instantly via voice queries or mobile scans. No more generic templates. This is engineered for your exact workflow, integrating with your ERP and shop management tools for seamless access during a rush job.
What Makes Us Different:
Unlock Tangible Time and Cost Wins for Your Fabrication Ops
Reclaim 15-25 Hours Weekly on Spec Hunts
Reclaim 15-25 Hours Weekly on Spec Hunts: You're probably thinking, 'How much time do we really lose?' Picture your lead welder pausing mid-shift to dig for heat treatment guidelines on high-strength low-alloy steels – that's billable hours gone. Our system delivers instant answers via mobile search, cutting hunt time by 80% and letting your team focus on TIG welding or pipe fitting, not chasing files. Expect a 25% productivity boost in your first quarter, with teams completing more structural assemblies on schedule.
Slash Rework Costs by 35% with Error-Proof Access
Slash Rework Costs by 35% with Error-Proof Access: Here's the thing: one wrong tolerance spec on a pressure vessel can scrap an entire run of ASTM A516 plates. We automate your knowledge base to flag updates per ISO 9001 standards and provide context-aware guidance, like suggesting duplex stainless alternatives for out-of-stock alloys. Fabricating shops see ROI in 3-6 months, with fewer weld rejects, faster API certifications, and reduced material waste.
Accelerate Onboarding and Scale Without Knowledge Gaps
Accelerate Onboarding and Scale Without Knowledge Gaps: New fabricators shouldn't spend weeks shadowing pros on laser cutting tolerances. Our AI acts like a virtual mentor, pulling from your proven processes to guide them through waterjet setup parameters or AWS weld inspection checklists. This means 50% quicker ramp-up in 4-6 weeks, 30% lower training costs, and sustained efficiency as you grow your crew for larger bridge or pipeline projects.
What Clients Say
"Before AIQ Labs, our guys were losing half a day every week tracking down weld maps and AWS D1.1 prequalified procedures for custom structural steel orders. Now, with the knowledge base integrated into our rugged tablets on the shop floor, we're pulling specs in seconds during beam setup. Cut our error rate from 12% to under 4% last quarter – that's real savings on scrapped I-beams and faster project handoffs."
Mike Harlan
Shop Foreman at Precision Steel Works, a structural fabrication shop in Houston
"We fabricate titanium components for aerospace, so compliance docs are a nightmare with ITAR restrictions. The custom AI from AIQ Labs scans our archives and surfaces the right FAA and AS9100 certs instantly, even cross-referencing MIL-STD specs. Onboarded two new engineers in half the time – from 8 weeks to 4 – and our audit prep went from days to hours. Worth every penny for the peace of mind on high-stakes contracts."
Sarah Kline
Quality Assurance Manager at AeroFab Industries, an aerospace parts manufacturer in Seattle
"Retiring our senior machinist left a huge gap in knowledge for multi-axis CNC programming on aluminum extrusions. AIQ's system captured his handwritten notes on tool offsets and feed rates, turning them into searchable guides with step-by-step simulations. We've avoided two potential delays on tight-deadline jobs for commercial building facades already, saving 20% on overtime, and the team feels more confident tackling complex 6061 alloy runs."
Tom Rivera
Operations Director at MetalForge Solutions, a custom metalworking firm in Chicago
Simple 3-Step Process
Discovery and Mapping
We dive into your fab shop – reviewing your current docs, workflows, and pain points like spec retrieval during night shifts. This builds a blueprint tailored to your CNC mills and weld bays.
AI Ingestion and Training
Your materials – from bend tables to safety protocols – get fed into our secure AI. We train it on your lingo, ensuring it understands terms like ' TIG welding parameters' without missing a beat.
Deployment and Optimization
Roll out via your existing tools, with mobile access for the floor. We monitor and tweak for peak performance, delivering your owned system ready to scale with new projects.
Why We're Different
What's Included
Common Questions
How does this knowledge base handle our proprietary fabrication processes without risking leaks?
Security is non-negotiable in metal fab, where trade secrets like custom alloy blends can make or break bids. We build your system on a private, encrypted cloud or on-prem server you control – no shared tenants. Data ingestion uses anonymized processing, and access is locked to your IP ranges with audit logs for every query. We've helped shops pass rigorous ISO 9001 audits by design, ensuring your welding jigs and tolerance stacks stay yours alone. Plus, unlike off-the-shelf tools, there's no vendor backdoor; you own the code, so scalability doesn't mean vulnerability.
Can it integrate with our existing ERP like JobBOSS or Plex for real-time spec pulls?
Absolutely – integration is our bread and butter. We create two-way APIs that link your knowledge base directly to ERP fields, so when a work order pops for a 304 stainless run, it auto-fetches the matching mill cert and bend allowance. No more copy-pasting from PDFs. For a recent client with Plex, we synced inventory data to flag when specs need updates based on lot changes, saving them 10 hours weekly on manual checks. It's all custom-coded for your setup, handling the quirks of manufacturing ERPs without brittle Zapier-style hacks.
What's the timeline to get this up and running in our shop?
We keep it lean and practical – discovery takes 1-2 weeks to map your docs and workflows. Building and training the AI follows in 4-6 weeks, with testing on your floor to tweak for real scenarios like querying during a laser cut setup. Full deployment hits in 8-10 weeks total, faster if your library is organized. One fab shop went live in 7 weeks and saw immediate wins on a big structural steel project. We're ROI-driven, so we prioritize quick value over perfection, iterating post-launch as needed.
How much does a custom knowledge base cost for a mid-sized metal shop?
Costs vary by your scale – for a 50-person fab operation with 500+ docs, expect $25K-$45K upfront, covering build, integration, and three months support. That's a one-time investment, not subscriptions, with ROI hitting in 4-6 months via 20 hours/week saved at $50/hour labor rates. We break it down in your free consult: factor in your doc volume, integrations (e.g., with SolidWorks), and features like voice search. No surprises – transparent pricing based on field-tested benchmarks from similar shops, ensuring it pays for itself through reduced scrap and faster throughput.
Will this work for our mixed team of welders and engineers who use different search habits?
Yes, we design for the whole crew – welders might bark voice queries like 'best filler for 6061 aluminum,' while engineers search text for 'ASME Y14.5 tolerances.' The AI adapts via natural language processing, trained on your actual usage patterns. For a client with diverse shifts, we added role-specific interfaces: simple dropdowns for floor hands, advanced filters for QA. It even suggests related info, like safety gear for a process. Post-launch, we refine based on logs, ensuring everyone – from apprentices to leads – accesses knowledge without friction, boosting overall shop efficiency.
What if our knowledge evolves with new machinery or processes?
Fab shops change fast – new CNC routers or updated AWS codes demand flexible systems. Ours is built modular, so adding a plasma table manual means uploading docs and retraining the AI in days, not weeks. Automatic ingestion from your shared drives keeps it current, with notifications for outdated entries. A partner shop added laser guidelines mid-project; the system propagated updates across teams instantly, avoiding a costly recall. We include quarterly tune-ups in support, scaling as you adopt tech like robotic welding, always keeping your knowledge base as dynamic as your operations.
Ready to Get Started?
Book your free consultation and discover how we can transform your business with AI.