Category: Improving Operations
Considerations for Selecting a Subassembly Manufacturing Partner
Top 10 Tips for Choosing the Right Machine Shop for Subassembly Manufacturing Imagine planning a major kitchen renovation: you wouldn’t hire someone who’s great at carpentry but has no clue how to handle plumbing or electrical work. You need a subassembly manufacturing crew that not only understands each individual task but also knows how to…
Streamlining Production Schedules
Just as NFL football coaches have a game plan prior to a rival match-up, you must similarly plan with your machine shop by assembling a production schedule for your parts manufacturing. Streamlining production schedules between a manufacturer and a machine shop requires coordinated planning, efficient communication, and process alignment. Here are some practical steps both…
When to Consider Multi-Step Processes for Manufacturing Metal Parts
Multi-Step Processes for Manufacturing Complex Metal Parts If you are afraid of escalators, you should take steps to avoid them. However, manufacturers should never be afraid to incorporate multi-step processing for metal parts. Consider multi-step processing for metal parts under the following conditions: Multi-step processing is ideal when dealing with complex geometries, critical tolerances, challenging…
Deciding When It’s Best to Use Horizontal Milling
When is horizontal milling preferred over other forms of machining metal parts? Costs, time, size and materials all play a part in selecting horizontal milling as the primary machining process. Consider the following points before deciding on the best manufacturing process. Multi-Axis Machining: Horizontal milling allows for multiple sides of a workpiece to be machined…
Four Key Activities to Take with your Machine Shop when Launching New Products
As an experienced manufacturer, you work with parts manufacturers and vendors to bring the latest and greatest products to the market. Production manufacturers such as machine shops should take into mind many planning activities before any milling, turning, drilling, routing or other machining happens. Knowing the following considerations to avoid pitfalls will make your next…
5 Ways Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) Benefits Manufacturers
The last thing manufacturers want to think about when making complex products with many intricate parts is how they will manage the inventory required to build their final assemblies. Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) becomes an essential benefit when producing complex machine assemblies. For decades machine shops have offered managed inventory to simplify the manufacturing and assembly…
Keys to Streamline Parts Supply Chain
Four Ways to Enhance the Supply Chain for Precision Machined Components Having a machine shop supplier that consistently delivers precision machined CNC Swiss lathe turned and milled components when required at competitive prices is key to a high-functioning organization. But how does an organization best integrate systematic practices into its processes for an efficient…
Six Benefits of Using a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)
What are some benefits of using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) ? Machining complex CNC Swiss screw machine turned parts and CNC vertical and horizontal milled parts to tighter tolerances improves as manufacturing technology advances. Computerized processing and metrology allow for more complex parts and faster manufacturing. When contract manufacturing job shops are required to…
Five Advantages of Swiss-Style Machining
There are no shortcuts when using CNC Swiss-screw machines for manufacturing complex parts. Planning every step is essential to ensure quality is part of the process. This extra up-front work is ultimately worth the time and effort. Below are five advantages of machining with a Swiss style machine. Advantages of Swiss-Style Machining Speed &…
Machined Parts: Four Ways to Reduce Costs
Smart and profitable businesses continually look for ways to: lower the cost of doing business, improve product quality and reduce defects, all while increasing efficiency and reducing waste. If 2020 has you considering ways to reduce costs and improve manufacturing profitability, it is time to consider the cost of your machined parts. Process, Materials, Equipment,…