A Guide to Choosing the Right High-Precision Machining Services Provider

High-precision machining is crucial for aerospace, automotive, and medical industries, where parts require tight tolerances. These precise components are essential for the safe and effective performance of aircraft, vehicles, medical devices, and other products. Though other methods exist to produce components, few can match the accuracy needed for these precision parts. When selecting a CNC machining partner, manufacturers should carefully consider several factors to ensure they choose the right vendor for their needs.

Choosing the Best Partner for High-Precision Machining 

Choosing a partner for machining services involves much deliberation, but sufficient thought must go into this selection. For example, manufacturers should look at a machine shop’s areas of expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and quality control practices. Attention should also be paid to how quickly a machine shop produces and delivers parts to where they’re needed and what engineering or design services they offer in-house, if any. Additionally, the vendor’s customer service should offer sufficient support when necessary. Making an informed decision may require research, but finding a partner that best matches a manufacturer’s needs is worth it.

When picking a high-precision machining provider, consider a vendor’s: 

• Capabilities: High-end, state-of-the-art equipment and expertise are necessary for high-precision machining projects; a machine shop must have the ability and the tools to produce the necessary parts.
• Certifications: These are often relevant to certain capabilities or geared towards specific industries; for example, ISO 9001 certification ensures the provider has a quality management system, while the AS9100 standard is specific for the aerospace and defense sectors.   
• Customer service: While it won’t directly reflect on the quality of a machine shop’s work, companies with good customer service will be much easier to work with and will tend to come up with more advantageous solutions.  
• Lead times: The time it takes a machine shop to produce and deliver an order matters to most product manufacturers, especially if they need to meet strict production deadlines.
• Location: The distance of a part manufacturer to the facility where a product is assembled can affect the speed of production; generally speaking, choosing a domestic vendor will result in fewer delays.
• Price: The cheapest option isn’t always the best, so cost should be weighed against a vendor’s capabilities to ensure good value.
• Quality: An outsourced high-precision machining provider should have a reputation for doing quality work, so asking about previous work and references will help ascertain whether a vendor is up to the job.

Weighing these factors, a manufacturer must identify the most important for their application. For example, when cost and speed are primary motivators, a vendor’s pricing, location, and lead times are more important in any decision. In contrast, when accuracy and durability are more important, such aspects as equipment capabilities, engineering expertise, industry certifications, and quality might carry more weight. For these reasons, it’s essential to carefully consider any potential CNC machining provider to ensure they meet the needs of the project.   

Considerations for Outsourcing High-Precision Machining Projects

By asking the right questions, manufacturers can ascertain which high-precision machining vendor best fits their particular application. For specific jobs, one provider may be the best, while another vendor may prove better for another project requiring different capabilities. Often, a proven provider can recommend a suitable vendor for any secondary tasks for which they don’t have capabilities.

Many precision machining facilities specializing in specific projects will be aware of other shops that focus on other areas, which they can recommend. It thus makes sense to ask a trusted vendor for advice, even if they cannot do the job themselves. Certain high-precision machining services might concentrate on prototyping, while others concentrate on high-volume production. Some machine shops may even have capabilities that a manufacturer is unaware of, so it’s important to ask.

Component complexity also influences decisions regarding third-party vendors. Certain CNC technology offers better accuracy, so engaging a vendor with equipment that achieves tighter tolerances might be necessary. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to a vendor’s certifications and reputation among product manufacturers for producing quality parts.

Budgets and timelines are central factors in any business. Service providers must work within a manufacturer’s budget and deliver the goods on time. Yet some manufacturers can be flexible regarding lead times, with a provider able to lower costs if there’s less time pressure. However, higher prices will likely accompany stricter deadlines, so weighing the cost against production schedules is best. Recognizing the following factors will help when picking a vendor.

Expertise

Skill plus knowledge leads to expertise, though experience often augments these traits. That’s why a high-precision machining provider that’s been in business for many years is more likely to be more competent and provide better services, as they’ve already developed a reputation for reliability. While newer companies may have cutting-edge equipment, they’re unlikely to achieve the needed results if they don’t have a workforce with the right skills. This should extend beyond just the machining process to allow consideration of a vendor’s expertise in areas like customer service or order fulfillment.  

Equipment Capabilities

The key to choosing the right high-precision machining provider comes down to the capabilities of their equipment. Specialized machinery is necessary to achieve the close tolerances needed to make components with high precision. Machining services may feature automation, CNC machines with multiple axes, EDM (electrical discharge machining) machines, and other equipment, though capabilities may also include secondary services like assembly and finishing.

Methods used for high-precision machining include: 

• Waterjet cutting: For materials sensitive to higher temperatures, high-pressure waterjets for cutting enable a machinist to fabricate bevels, elaborate corners, perforated holes, and other complex geometrical structures.
• Rotary transfer machining: These machines can efficiently produce larger orders and handle big batches of both simpler and more complex components.
• Multi-axis CNC machining: By controlling the paths of multiple machine tools, these CNC machines can operate on four, five, or even more axes simultaneously, providing high-precision machining on parts to meet highly close tolerances and form them into complex geometries.
• CNC turning: Rotating a workpiece against a stationary cutting tool, computer-programmed turning operations can realize incredibly close tolerances and form complex features that include cylindrical components.
• CNC milling: Using CNC technology, this high-precision machining operation programs tool paths with CNC milling equipment to ensure consistent and accurate production.
• Laser cutting: Focusing a laser to cut through materials results in smoother edges, while the accuracy of this method allows for high-precision machining of complex shapes that conventional machines are unable to attain.
• EDM: Using electrical discharge, this subtractive process removes material from workpieces to form highly precise parts with complex geometries.

High-precision machining providers often focus on specific industries like the aerospace, defense, electronics, and medical sectors.

Material Knowledge

Regardless of the focus of a high-precision machining vendor, understanding the material’s properties with which a part is to be made is imperative. A precision machine shop should intimately understand the characteristics of not only the material out of which a part is to be made. The provider should also have general knowledge about the pros and cons of other materials. A good CNC machine company should recommend the best material for specific applications. They should also be aware of potential production issues with the materials they use and know how to address them if they arise.

Secondary Services

While a vendor’s primary services are most important, other services they offer may help a manufacturer streamline production. For this reason, it’s a good idea to inquire about a machine shop’s secondary capabilities.

Some secondary services high-precision machining companies might offer include: 

• Assembly: Some machine shops have assembly capabilities, from installing simple components to assembling complete systems.
• Finishing: Finishing processes offered might include bead blasting, coating, high-energy centrifugal deburring, grinding, magnetic spinning, manual deburring, painting, plating, thermal deburring, and vibratory tumbling; these processes can augment material properties to make parts more durable or to withstand harsh conditions.  
• Inventory management: While not part of a machine shop’s core responsibilities, certain partners can produce components in a manner that ensures manufacturers have enough parts on hand. This reduces costs, production time, and waste, making order fulfillment more accurate and organized.

Even if a service isn’t listed, many precision machine shops offer excellent secondary services through partnerships with other vendors.

Quality Control 

Controlling quality is critical in high-precision machining operations. While CNC technology generally provides a means to make parts consistently and quickly, every machining service should use robust quality control methods. A key aspect of the quality management process involves inspecting finished components for accuracy.

Basic inspection techniques a machining vendor should perform include:  

• Visual inspections to identify defective parts
• Regular quality checks during production
• In-process inspections to measure tolerances
• Guidelines for correcting production defects and errors
• Final inspections prior to delivery
• Documentation and tracking of any fabrication issues

No service provider will perform perfectly every time, so it’s also important for a CNC machine shop to provide at least satisfactory customer service.

Customer Service

Enquiring about a precision machining facility’s customer service can reveal a lot about the company. Interactions should concentrate on building customer relationships, generally looking for a product manufacturer’s interests first. Even if the provider doesn’t have a dedicated customer service department, those who interact with customers should know the vendor’s capabilities and be able to explain these clearly. To develop and preserve relationships successfully, customers should come first, with conversations focusing on customer needs and how the machine shop can help provide for these needs rather than centering on sales.

Certifications

High-precision machining services should ideally be certified by one or more organizations that apply strict international standards to their work. These certifications provide a window into a precision machining company’s expertise, showing that a vendor is principled and pays attention to quality. As intimated earlier, certifications like ISO 9001 and AS9100 show that a business has a quality management system and is dedicated to constantly improving its services.

ISO 9001 is globally recognized as a general standard for quality management. This standard helps high-precision machining companies initiate, employ, and sustain a quality management system while promoting continuous improvement. This certification involves establishing processes to control quality, providing guidance to help resolve customer issues, optimizing processes to improve efficiency, and continuously developing their quality management system.

The AS9100 standard is used in the aerospace and defense sectors, building upon the quality management guidelines from ISO 9001. This standard certifies the best precision machine shops in these industries, providing a good benchmark for the vendor’s production of quality components. A high-precision machining provider that meets AS9100 requirements will usually offer better-quality products and superior service.

The Staub Difference for High-Precision Machining

For nearly fifty years, Staub Precision Machine Inc. has performed high-precision machining operations for some of the largest manufacturers in the aerospace sector and other industries, requiring the tightest tolerances. Our focus on customer collaboration and AS9100 certification shows our commitment to quality work. To learn more about our services, contact the high-precision machining experts at Staub and let us show you how we can make a difference for your next project.