The Importance of Precision Manufacturing

Precision manufacturing is an advanced industrial method of manufacturing processes and techniques, such as precision metal cutting and tooling, that produces identical high-precision parts and components for assembly into a larger product. More than just a trend, precision manufacturing allows for a collaborative interdisciplinary process among OEMs and fabrication shops to ensure quality management practices, a higher level of traceability, and better lead times for manufacturers closer to home.

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Industries

Precision manufacturing supports such industries as medical, aerospace, pharmaceutical, medical, electronics, food service, telecommunications, IT and computers, maritime, among others. It is critical to the automotive industry. Just consider how many precision manufactured components are necessary to assemble one car? Hint: all those parts are not made on site.

To manufacture with precision, such techniques and methods are introduced into the design and production of essential equipment, tools, technology, and hardware used in fabrication. With these advances in technology, tighter tolerances are now achieved with higher levels of process control compared to just a few decades ago.

CAD & CAM Programs

To achieve precision in the manufacture of so many complex parts, fabrication shops rely on CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) programs utilizing CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machines capable of manufacturing parts that meet exact product dimensions with accuracy time and again. CNC machine processes can be completed with lathes, drill presses, grinders, milling, shearing, stamping, high-speed robotics, and laser cutters among others.

Importance of Precision Manufacturing

However, precision manufacturing is not simply the making of small parts for a larger product with advanced technology. It is in effect, an ecosystem of underlying quality control and quality management processes. It is not just the manufacture of parts and components with precision, but a continuous process derived from precision engineering that encompasses the entire design, performance and structure of the manufacturing process&#;precision machining and tooling, precision metal cutting, metrology, precision planning, and so on.

Traceability

Beyond increased process control, precision manufacturing also provides for a greater degree of traceability in manufacturing processes. This is especially important for industries producing medical devices or automotive parts and assemblies. Traceability tracks every part from the time it is received as a raw material to when it is shipped from the factory as a finished product. Increased traceability enables suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers to have verifiable records that can improve processes or rapidly trace a defective part or product during manufacturing to reduce the waste of material and time, or downstream to easily identify and limit consumer recalls.

Improved Value

As precision manufacturing is a continuous process that allows OEMs to improve manufacturing systems and integrate technology, it is also helping to increase the value of products&#;in quality, at a reduced cost, and produced in less time. In doing so, precision manufacturing is allowing OEMs to regain the share of the market that was moved offshore to Asia many years ago.

Less Lead Time

Offshoring production and supply chains of parts and components have resulted in lost time and a waste of resources and energy. Trends are moving faster than supply chains. One of the driving forces and a key advantage for OEMs in precision manufacturing is the reduction in lead time to fabricate components and parts for domestic manufacturers. It also reduces other hidden procurement costs often overlooked in offshoring.

Manufacturing parts and components in Asia can take considerable time, sometimes up to a year or more. The entire procurement process cuts into a manufacturer&#;s profit margin. The products manufactured may be less in actual cost, but the time invested in the procurement of those products is far more than once thought.

When including the time invested for staff who must monitor the entire acquisition, manufacture, shipping and receiving process; the added cost of acquisition for increased inventory levels to protect against lengthy lead times required to receive products; and tying up capital to meet the advanced payments terms of overseas manufacturers versus the lower capital requirements if terms were with a domestic OEM; the cost of procurement adds, on average, a 27% increase in expenses separate from the cost of the manufacture and shipping of the product. The cut in lead time provided by precision manufacturing can help offset the hidden expenses of procurement.

No matter the industry&#;medical, aerospace or automotive&#;the time advantage from supplying parts in a few days versus a few months or greater has placed precision manufacturing OEMs in a position to save their domestic manufacturing partners millions in supply chain costs.

More than just a trend, precision manufacturing is a collaborative approach to processes and technologies. It provides a competitive advantage for OEMs and also ensures all aspects of manufacturing produces consistent quality results.

If you&#;re looking for a reliable precision manufacturing company contact Quest-Tech today. We have the equipment, employees and expertise to quickly transfer your designs into a quality finished product.

Precision manufacturing is one of the biggest advances in manufacturing in recent times.

Unlike some of the other trends in the industry, precision manufacturing has the potential to completely revolutionize how a range of industries operate, allowing to cut costs while simultaneously increasing efficiency, tightening tolerances, and providing a more reliable way of producing parts.

The technology has shaped a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, and medicine, and as more companies discover opportunities for using it, precision manufacturing might become even more prominent than it is today.

But why is precision manufacturing so effective? And how can it help you make better products?

To answer these questions and to provide a better understanding of how the technology can be used, let&#;s look at some of the biggest advantages that it can offer when creating your products.

Impeccable Precision

As the name itself implies, precision manufacturing technology allows producing parts and products with an accuracy that&#;s hard to match by most other methods.

Entire industries have made leaps forward because of it, as precision manufacturing enabled companies to produce parts with very tight tolerances in fields where even the slightest deviation was not an option.

And even if you aren&#;t creating products in industries where you need absolute accuracy, it&#;s still essential to have a reliable and affordable method for production that can provide you with the same copy of a design every single time.

The technology also has excellent options for automation, utilizing precision machining technology to reduce the need for manual labor and minimize the chances of human error, which further adds to the precision and accuracy of the approach.

In fact, CNC machining large parts is also not out of the question, as savvy engineers can use the technology to produce larger products, further expanding the capabilities and applications of the technology.

Fast Turnaround

Because of advanced software capabilities that modern precision manufacturing uses, the turnaround time has been significantly reduced, as the combination of software and machining solutions have made going from a design to a finished product a much simpler and more manageable process.

Using advanced design and manufacturing tools, manual work can be significantly reduced. That means that the design process that used to take months to complete can now be achieved in months or even weeks, completely changing how companies approach production and map out their product launch schedule.

The automated processes use CNC machining technology to perform repetitive tasks with impeccable accuracy each time, producing parts with tight tolerances, and ensuring that the components remain consistent even when doing larger runs.

Once everything is set up, you can use precision manufacturing to produce large amounts of products quickly, as the machines require little supervision and can work automatically, replicating the same model over and over again round the clock.

Lower Costs

Manufacturing parts with tight tolerances is a costly process. That&#;s especially true in some of the more demanding industries that require impeccable precision with every single part that is produced.

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However, with advances in precision manufacturing technology, even tight tolerances have become much more affordable, allowing companies to achieve much better results for the same or even lower price than they would have to pay ten or twenty years ago.

Using CNC machining technology has a range of advantages that allow cutting costs at various stages of the development process.

Advanced software makes designing the part and ensuring its structural integrity much easier, not only because of advances in the technology itself but also because it&#;s now possible to quickly produce prototypes that can be tested out and tweaked based on the findings.

What&#;s more, precision manufacturing requires less manual labor, which means that there are fewer people involved in the project, and many repetitive tasks can be automated on a large scale. This also allows precision manufacturing companies to offer more competitive prices and provide more flexibility to their clients, further increasing the popularity of this type of manufacturing.

Because of the same automation, human error probability is also reduced, meaning less costly mistakes that could potentially inflate the budget with additional expenses.

Finally, the CNC machining technology itself works in a way that produces minimal waste. Because of that, material requirements are lowered, passing on the savings to the clients, and providing the opportunity to use a broader range of more expensive materials in the production process.

Easier Testing & Prototyping

Testing is an integral part of launching any successful product. No matter how well-crafted the initial design, in most cases, at least some changes and tweaks will be required to ensure consistent performance and the necessary durability.

And unfortunately, with some production methods, that can be a hassle, with prototype production taking a long time, being limited in the types of materials that can be used, and inflating costs to the point that it becomes unpractical.

Luckily, none of these problems arise when using precision manufacturing technology.

It offers flexible product development opportunities and enables companies to explore various niches and options for their products, quickly producing prototypes using a range of materials and allowing to test their performance without any restrictions.

The rapid prototyping capabilities are one of the biggest selling points for the CNC machining technology, as it not only has low tooling costs, which provides more flexibility but also significantly cuts down on waiting times.

Instead of the prototype serving as a mere concept, it can be produced to be fully functional and using the necessary materials, including metal prototyping. Because of that, if the tests prove it is a viable product, then full-scale production can begin almost immediately, saving the company time and allowing it to take advantage of the favorable circumstances as soon as possible.

As you can imagine, having a ready-to-go and fully functional prototype that you can use in action can make for a much more convincing pitch to your investors or stakeholders, making selling the product much easier than if you simply had a concept that served as little more than a placeholder.

Wide Range of Materials

Precision manufacturing is used to produce both standalone parts, as well as various components of machinery or products, which is why it&#;s not surprising that a wide range of materials is necessary depending on the industry, the requirements for the product, and practical considerations such as the budget.

Luckily, the technology is quite flexible and enables the production of parts from various materials, which is why it&#;s used both in high-tech industries and in the development of consumer-level products.

But what types of materials can you use?

Well, stainless steel is an always popular option, as it provides additional durability and resistance to various environmental factors. However, it has drawbacks as well &#; depending on the finishes, the qualities of the part can be significantly altered, and the price of production will also vary on the grade of the materials that are used.

For some of the most challenging products and parts, titanium can offer unmatched durability and resistance, being relatively light while having incredible strength properties. But once again, the biggest drawback is the high cost, as well as the additional challenges that come with trying to machine it.

When you need a light-weight option that&#;s easier to manage and more affordable, you can&#;t go wrong with aluminum, which is actually becoming more popular than steel because of the range of benefits that it can offer.

If you opt for an experienced manufacturing company like 3ERP, the technicians can ensure that the parts produced using aluminum will be consistent, meet tight tolerance requirements, and have the necessary performance capabilities.

Basic and engineered plastics can also be useful, as they are easy to modify and affordable, which is why it is widely used not only in consumer-level parts production but also in more high-tech fields like medical devices or aerospace.

And with engineered plastics, you can get some of the same qualities of steel and other more expensive materials at a lower cost, which has made it a growingly popular option in a range of industries.

Some of the other materials that are popular when using precision manufacturing technology include copper, brass, and steel, just to name a few. Still, different variations of the elements listed above are not uncommon.

The bottom line is that with precision manufacturing, an experienced services provider can take almost any project and make it a reality while meeting strict tolerances, managing client budgets, and ensuring that the production deadlines are met.

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