Custom Machining

A “custom machined” part generally refers to piece-parts, or component parts which are custom machined to a customer’s specific requirements.   Generally the customer’s requirements are conveyed by a detailed drawing along with additional notations.    Shown below is an example of a custom machined part.

 

Custom machined parts are typically purchased for one or more of the following reasons:

•  The part is not available as a catalog or off-the-shelf item

•  The part has special requirements

•  The volume of parts needed is too low to justify other forms of fabrication

•  A formed, cast, or molded part would not have an adequate level of precision or strength

•  The parts are needed very quickly

Depending on the part’s shape and requirements custom machined parts might be made on a lathe, a milling machine, a stamping press, a press-brake, a precision shear, or machined on a myriad of other types of precision equipment. In many cases a custom machined part might pass through many of the operations listed before being finished. Although custom machined parts are typically more expensive than a mass-produced method, quite often the higher price is justified due to the fact that custom machined parts are generally more accurate, offer higher strength and/or integrity and can be made much faster than most other methods.

Today most custom machined parts are made on equipment known as CNC machines. CNC is an acronym for Computer Numerical Control. Modern CNC machines are amazingly fast, accurate and dependable.   Over the years CNC machines have become so commonplace that for the most part they have become a commodity machine. It is not uncommon to find CNC machines in shops all around the world.

CNC Industries in Fort Wayne, Indiana specializes in machining performance-critical custom machined parts primarily for Aerospace , Defense and Industrial customers.   Many of their customers are large international companies.   Due to the critical nature of the parts and their very stringent requirements, making component parts for this class of customers is very demanding.   Vast amounts of information must be managed.   In many cases, overlooking even one piece of information could spell disaster for both the supplier and the customer. It is for this reason that CNC Industries has developed a proprietary Distributed ERP II (Enterprise Resource Planning) System. (see wikipedia reference: ERP)

CNC Industries’ Distributed ERP System consists of custom designed software and is distributed throughout the shop via Thin-Clients at every work station. The primary goals of the system are to:

•  Make all needed information available to everyone in the company in real-time

•  Insure that no obsolete material is in circulation

•  Collect and disseminate all job-related data in real-time

•  Provide management with vast amounts of information in easy-to-use formats

•  Make sure the right things happen at the right time

Modern Machine Shop magazine sites the following in an article titled: More Than Just Machining  “How a shop manages information is something Boeing takes into consideration when evaluating potential suppliers.”

At CNC Industries, they wholeheartedly agree that information management is crucial to a company’s success.   Their information system has saved them countless hours as well as made a significant improvement in On-time Delivery and Superior Quality performance.

For more information on CNC Machining…