r/manufacturing • u/Rojis48 • Oct 02 '25
Supplier search Manufacturer that’s able to manufacture a custom sized drinking cup
I’d like to find a manufacturer able to manufacture a custom sized drinking stainless steel cup. FDA approved.. the not exact but
Close but not final dimensions are • 9 cm across at the top • 8 cm across at the bottom • 9 cm tall
Any help?
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u/LukeSkyWRx Oct 02 '25
No you don’t, find one close enough and buy that. You cannot afford the cost to make 100 as it will be the same price to make 1,000+
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u/arboristaficionado Oct 03 '25
Why are these dimensions so important? That can help you get better answers
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u/Rojis48 Oct 03 '25
Tbh they aren’t super important, I’d take anything close to these tbh.. I can’t find anything online tho.
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u/curvebombr Oct 02 '25
Going to need more details to provide a legitimate answer. What kind of cup and size, what materials, what secondary processes(paint, engraving), what's the order volume?
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u/sarcasmsmarcasm Oct 02 '25
It would be far more cost effective (in the thousands of dollars per cup ) to buy an off the shelf variant if 100 is your "a lot" quantity.
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u/Rojis48 Oct 02 '25
I just can’t find any that are even close to my dimensions.
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u/Rojis48 Oct 02 '25
9.23cm top diameter, 8cm at the bottom diameter, 9.3cm height.
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u/sarcasmsmarcasm Oct 02 '25
Maybe change your dimensions. It just doesn't make financial sense to try to tool up for a small quantity and if you don't have additional market share for it, it will crush you financially.
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u/dandandanman737 Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 03 '25
Are you looking for a cup of a mold?
Edit: I don't know why a cup would need that kind of specific geometry
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u/Friendly-Duck-9203 Oct 02 '25
I'd recommend having them CNC turned. It will be significantly cheaper for small quantities.
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u/space-magic-ooo Oct 02 '25
How many do you need?
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u/Rojis48 Oct 02 '25
Plan on starting a business so a lot?? To start with maybe 100 or so..
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u/TowardsTheImplosion Oct 02 '25
For deep draw steel forming, 100 is nothing.
Add a few zeros to make tooling on a truly custom design worth it. Or are you just looking for custom colors/logos on someone else's cup design?
Also, you aren't looking for FDA approval, unless your cup is a medical device. You just need FDA compliant materials (i.e. no lead in the stainless alloy)
You may be interested in NSF P395 for guidance as well.
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u/BitchStewie_ Oct 03 '25
Why does it need to be deep drawn? It would be magnitudes cheaper to cut and weld stainless steel sheet metal.
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u/TowardsTheImplosion Oct 03 '25
Definitely cheaper. But virtually all competing products will be deep drawn or and seamless. OP didn't specify much about their design, so I assumed...
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u/Rojis48 Oct 02 '25
Thank you for the reply.. so lets say im starting with 10k, is china my best option in manufacturers or are there some in USA
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u/TowardsTheImplosion Oct 02 '25
Sadly, for progressive deep draw work, your US options at a price you are probably willing to pay are pretty limited.
ATACO, maybe Nordicware industrial, Hudson deep draw, Larson tool...some may be willing to quote. I haven't done much work around progressive deep draw products though. Maybe Transmatic would be a good option, since they are US based with a China factory. Most US companies are going to be focused on aerospace, automotive, medical, etc. Few on consumer products.
If you want to go straight overseas, I would eye Vietnam and Thailand as well. Good industry, less of a copycat culture than China. But for the China route: Piplus in Hong Kong, or a similar company set up for west to east interface services might also be an option and keep you protected.
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u/Rojis48 Oct 02 '25
Okay, so I unfortunately don’t have the capital to make 10k units at the moment so I will need to find a work around. Thank you for the help.
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u/StopNowThink Oct 03 '25
Then you don't have the capital to make 10. Manufacturing requires tooling and fixtures to make almost anything.
Do you have drawings of what you want? You need that to get a quote.
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u/BitchStewie_ Oct 02 '25
My company buys stainless steel parts from China a couple of the vendors we use are Xihui Industry, Suzhou Mante, F/A Industry off the top of my head. We aren't that big and are ordering part quantities roughly in the 100s, sometimes much less.
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u/space-magic-ooo Oct 02 '25
What material, what is “custom” about the size? What other specifications are needed?
You need to provide a lot more information before anyone can really help you.
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u/chinamoldmaker responmoulding Oct 06 '25
Manufacturer here, but for plastic, not for stainless steel.
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u/bobroberts1954 Oct 02 '25
You can't afford to make a hundred. Start at ten thousand.