A metal service centre built around the order, not the RFQ
EXA Metals is an industrial metal service centre in Bengaluru. We stock certified aluminium plate, cut it to the size you order, check every lot before it is sold, and put the material's history on the part. Steel and stainless are supplied to order with the same traceability.
Below: why traceable metal matters, what we can cut, how we test, and how you pay.
In 2023 a small UK parts distributor was found to have sold thousands of CFM56 jet-engine parts with forged release certificates. The metal looked right; the paperwork looked right; airlines on three continents had to pull engines. It was caught when one maintenance shop noticed a certificate did not match its records — not by any system. The lesson is the industry’s open problem: a part’s identity lives on paper that anyone can copy, and nobody at the point of receipt can check it against the source. EXA is built so that check is one scan.
Critical industries need traceable metal
- Aerospace: AS9100 and EASA Part-145 require raw material that is traceable to its manufacturer.
- Nuclear: the heat number must stay on the item or its records (ASME Section III, AERB).
- India: every delivery of aeronautical stores needs a DGAQA release note.
- Boeing, Rolls-Royce and GE demand traceability to an approved mill.
lost by NASA, over USD 700 m. The aluminium came with falsified test results (Sapa Profiles, US).
jet engine parts sold with forged certificates (AOG Technics, UK, 2019 to 2023).
checked by the US Navy after a foundry falsified steel test results for three decades (Bradken).
Korean reactors offline in 2013 after certificates for 7,682 parts were forged.
In each case the certificates were falsified and the organisations receiving the metal could not check them against the source.
- Metal typically reaches a buyer after three or four vendors in the chain; the final certificate is usually provided by the last one.
- Manufacturers report quality variation within the same grade and are compelled to import.
- Mills sell by the tonne, with minimums from 7 tonnes; duty of 8.25% and 18% IGST are paid up front; programmes approve the mill, so the buyer carries the burden of tracing material back from a trader.
with EXA, from stock in Bengaluru
importing today
if one lot is rejected
Shorter lead times make manufacturers more competitive: cash is cycled faster and machining schedules hold.
Capability and terms
Cutting
Straight cuts only (band saw, guillotine shear). No plasma, laser or waterjet — profile work is referred out.
Tolerance. Sawn length and width −0 / +2 mm; tighter on request with a milling pass (quoted).
| equipment | capability |
|---|---|
| Band saw BS-1 | aluminium plate and block to 150 mm; steel plate to 100 mm (when steel is stocked) |
| Guillotine shear GS-1 | aluminium sheet to 8 mm; mild steel sheet to 6 mm |
| Dot-peen marker DP-1 | lot code at goods-in; piece code and QR on every part we cut |
| Verification bench | handheld XRF (PMI), eddy-current conductivity meter (%IACS), Brinell/Rockwell hardness tester, calibrated measuring tools |
Testing
Before any lot is sold, in-house: mill-certificate match (stencil, dimensions, weight), PMI by handheld XRF against the certificate chemistry, eddy-current conductivity (temper), hardness (temper), visual. A lot that fails is quarantined and cannot be sold.
Partner lab. Partner NABL-accredited laboratory, Bengaluru (to be named at launch): tensile (YS, UTS, A%), chemistry by OES, ultrasonic testing for plate. 2–3 working days. Ordered per lot as a priced service; the report names the lab and is attached to every piece from the lot.
Metals and grades
Aluminium: 5083-H111, 6061-T651, 6082-T651, 7075-T651 plate; 6061-T6 and 5052-H32 sheet; 6061-T6 and 7075-T651 bar — see materials. Programme-certified 7050 / 2024 / AMS material: ask.
Steel and stainless: IS 2062 E250 plate, sheet and flat bar; EN24 and EN19 round bar; 304L and 316L plate, sheet and bar; 17-4 PH round bar. Enabled in this demo with sample lots; at launch: two or three IS 2062 grade/quality combinations (expected E250 BR and E350 B0/C, 6–25 mm) stocked with the same traceability; other grades quoted to order from BIS-marked mills.
Payment terms
| tier | terms |
|---|---|
| Pay-and-go | UPI, card or net-banking at checkout. Published price. Anyone. |
| Bank transfer | Order held until credited; price firm for 24 hours from quote. |
| 30-day credit | GSTIN-registered buyers after three paid orders, through a partner NBFC / invoice-discounting line — terms are with the financier, EXA is paid on dispatch. (P2: partner not yet signed.) |
| PSU and prime POs | Case by case, on their terms. |
Prices are quoted ex-GST with GST shown; a firm price holds for 24 hours. Order minimum ₹1,500.00.