There comes a time when standard industrial products do not
fit the needs for manufacturing. Whether custom sizes or materials or even
entirely reworked industrial equipment are required, most companies will find
themselves in the position that they need to order the fabrication of
industrial products. There are many factors to consider when shopping for
unique equipment solutions, and we will take the time to touch on them in this
article.
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| Industrial Equipment Desing |
The right firm to utilize for custom work is typically those
companies that are suppliers of industrial products that also have extensive
machining capabilities on site. These suppliers have the knowledge of a wide
range of industrial equipment, as well as the ability to alter existing stock
to match customer specifications. Let us take a look at some specifics for the
best custom work solutions.
Batch Sizes And Machining Technology
Reworking is typically a labor-intensive project for a small
batch size. For this reason, many machine shops charge a premium when they have
to set their production tools to create just a handful of items. In order to
find a cost effective solution, it pays to shop around between different
suppliers who are willing to provide small batch sizes on reworked Industrial Equipment Design or entirely new products without overcharging. This is oftentimes
achievable by going through the same suppliers who typically provide industrial
products and can offer customized work as a service to maintain good relations.
This fact should remain true whether a company is in a bind for just one
reworked piece to repair machinery or even an entirely redesigned and reworked
system for delivery.
One way to find a company that can offer small batch sizes
on all types of work without charging a premium is to locate machine shops that
utilize computer numerical control (CNC) programmable machinery. CNC devices
are capable of being programmed to run batch jobs through instructional blueprints,
like CAD drawings. They can then run the fabrication process on as few or as
many pieces as necessary. In addition, the saved blueprints allow that machine
shop to come back and manufacture more pieces easily and even utilize that
knowledge for other custom jobs. Overall, CNC machining will lower
manufacturing costs to keep the price of ordered industrial products in small
batches more reasonable.
While there are plenty of craftsman in small shops that can
create amazing works with hand tooling methods, CNC devices also offer
reproducible precision. For a larger custom order with strict requirements,
these machine shops will provide the fast, high quality service you need.
Custom Products And Reworked Industrial Equipment
Another aspect of the right shop to service batch work needs
is the ability to perform both the fabrication of entirely new products as well
as being able to rework and modify existing industrial equipment. Having both
options is critical for finding the right solution to a problem. Some issues
require a simple rework of machinery components, and others might call for a
totally new replacement part.
For this reason, suppliers are often a good choice since
they have a large inventory of existing products to work from as a basis for
reworking or new fabrications. Modifying the current inventory to a different
size or shape will be much less expensive and time consuming than starting from
scratch. When ordering reworked systems, many standard items can go into its
creation to limit the amount of new parts.
The Design Process
By definition, custom work always requires a degree of
redesign and engineering. Not every company has the personnel or capability to
perform large scale designs, drafting, or engineering and architectural work necessary
to fix a problem or to create tailored solutions. Therefore, going through a
company that is capable of performing the design process eliminates the need
for a middle man to create a design and then contract out the actual
fabrication.
Design is vital to a high quality final product. Even on a
small order, such as a few tooling balls made from unique materials, precision
and design separates professional machine shop work from amateur tinkering.
Documentation of the entire process allows products to be duplicated and goes a
long way towards building a knowledge base for future work.
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