Choosing the right partner for your metal project can be a perplexing process&#;unless you know the right questions to ask.
Throughout the metal manufacturing process you&#;ll come up against many choices, but the most important is choosing a reliable metal parts manufacturer. Deciding between prospective fabricators can feel overwhelming at times because you want to make the right choice the first time to avoid costly delays&#;and get to work developing a strong relationship that allows you to succeed together.
Metal fabrication is essential in industries from construction and equipment manufacturing to agriculture and aerospace. The best manufacturing partner will offer not just the technical and engineering capabilities but also cost-effectiveness, high-quality production, professional systems, streamlined logistics, and excellent communication.
We&#;ve pulled together a list of 10 critical questions to ask as you&#;re considering where to manufacture your metal parts.
What to Consider When Looking for Metal Parts Manufacturers Innovative Metal Manufacturing TechnologiesIt&#;s an exciting time to be in the business of manufacturing metals. We&#;ve seen great strides in automation and computer-aided manufacturing, including innovations like CNC machining. CNC (computer numerical control) is the automation of machine instruments through the use of computers which have been programmed to execute any number of commands. Integrating this type of manufacturing increases productivity and efficiency over the long run.
You Ask: What manufacturing technology does your company have access to?
A Sustainable Approach to Metal Parts ManufacturingThe manufacturing industry is experiencing a seismic shift thanks to artificial-intelligence-powered manufacturing systems. Part of this shift involves making metal manufacturing more sustainable, which reduces environmental impact. New processing methods eliminate the need for toxic solvents and materials, and consume far less energy than typical processing methods&#;along with improving efficiency.
You Ask: What percentage of the product will be made with sustainable materials?
Experience in Metal Parts ManufacturingA qualified metal fabricator will have plenty of experience in making the exact type of products you need. Look for a fabricator who has years&#;or, better, decades&#;of experience in your industry and an excellent track record with customers.
You Ask: Which industries and clients have you worked with in the past? What examples or references can you provide?
Core Capabilities and Machinery ListEach metal part and product requires a different fabrication approach, process, and specialized equipment. For instance, sheet metal fabrication requires lathe, grinding, and drilling machines, while metal extrusions call for extruders. In metal stamping, which calls for raised (or sometimes flat) shapes in metal, a turret-like punching press is required.
You Ask: How will your specialized metal fabrication equipment improve my final product?
Customization in Metal ManufacturingOne of the biggest decisions to make in metal manufacturing projects is whether to go with off-the-shelf components or custom metal fabrication solutions. Custom fabrication services allow you to go beyond the store-bought to create a customized, high-quality fit for your application, with optimized designs and tailor-made solutions.
You Ask: What is the timeline for a custom metal fabricated product? What processes do you use to create custom metal parts?
Reputation for Quality in the Manufacturing IndustryYou&#;re dedicated to producing top-quality products, and that means you&#;ll need to find a manufacturer with a reputation for quality standards to match your own. The first thing to look for are certifications that demonstrate quality processes and top-quality criteria&#;for instance, ISO certification, which indicates an internationally recognized seal of approval for the company&#;s quality standards processes.
You Ask: How do you measure and track quality performance?
Time-Sensitive SolutionsDoes the manufacturer in question have the capability to handle your project size and complexity within the time frame you have designated? Most projects are time-sensitive, and the best partner will be committed to manufacturing high-quality, cost-effective, time-sensitive solutions.
Question to ask your manufacturer: What&#;s the turnaround time for manufacturing projects similar in scope?
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In-House Expertise in Metal ManufacturingOften, metal products producers will specialize in a particular type of fabrication. Look for companies with in-house expertise, engineers, and designers equipped to handle your specific metal manufacturing needs.
You Ask: Take us through the production process&#;which parts of the process can be completed on site and which will need to be outsourced?
One-Stop Shop for Metal Parts ManufacturingAs you&#;re likely discovering, the research process for finding the best metal parts manufacturer can be quite time consuming. What other services can the potential manufacturing partner provide so you can use them for more than one project, rather than starting from scratch with researching various new vendors?
You Ask: What are your metal manufacturing specialties outside the scope of this particular project?
Impeccable Customer ServiceEven the highest-tech equipment can&#;t make up for disappointing customer service. The best metal parts manufacturing partners will have well-trained, experienced engineers and project managers ready to answer your questions and guide you through the process.
You Ask: Will I have a dedicated point of contact to keep me updated on project timelines and other milestones on my project?
Looking for the best metal parts manufacturers?As your metal parts experts, The Federal Group specializes in metal fabrication. The best products start with the best parts&#;and the best parts start with engineers at the top of their fields. Our expert team is knowledgeable about the latest materials, manufacturing capabilities, and processes. If you&#;re looking for a reliable metal parts manufacturer, we just might be a perfect fit.
Contact us to get started on a free quote for your metal fabrication project today.
Stands for American Iron and Steel Institute. The institute serves as the voice of the North American steel industry. AISI numbers are used to categorize metals by alloy type and carbon content, and they do it with four digits. The first two digits of an AISI number refer to the alloy type, and the second two digits refer to carbon content.
A metal made by combining two or more metallic elements. An alloy typically possesses qualities different from those of the components used to create it.
Stands for American Society for Metals. ASM International is the world&#;s largest association of metal material engineers and scientists. The association engages and connects materials professionals and their organizations to the resources necessary to solve problems, improve outcomes, and advance society.
Stands for American Society for Testing and Materials. ASTM International is a not-for-profit organization that develops standards for materials, products, systems, and services. Metal with an ASTM designation meets the international standards for quality and regulations.
This process levels coil into a flat sheet or blank. The service provides better length and width tolerances than sheared product, and it can improve diagonal tolerances as well.
Cutting metals can leave behind burrs, which are unwanted raised edges or protrusions. Deburring is the process of removing these burrs with a tool.
Drawing is a metalworking process that uses tensile forces to stretch metal. As the metal is drawn, it stretches thinner, into a desired shape and thickness.
Drawing is usually done at room temperature, classifying it as a cold working process. However, it may be performed at elevated temperatures during special applications like on large wires, rods, or hollow sections in order to reduce forces.
A metal fabricating term that refers to the degree to which a material can be bent, stretched, or compressed before rupturing. A metal&#;s elongation is a point between tensile strength and yield strength, and it is typically expressed as a percentage of the original length.
The thickness of sheet metal in the USA is commonly specified by a traditional, non-linear measure known as its gauge. The larger the gauge number, the thinner the metal.
A heat number is an identification number that is stamped on a material plate to prove it meets industry quality standards which require materials to be tested by the manufacturer. The heat lot or heat number is used to identify production runs for quality control purposes.
Edge rolling is the process of adding finishing edges to metal. It forms the edge of a strip to the desired shape beyond that of a standard slit edge.
Stands for Military Standard. This classification establishes uniform engineering and technical requirements for military-unique or substantially modified commercial processes, procedures, practices, and methods. In order to qualify, materials have undergone rugged, exact testing, equal to the exigencies of combat use.
Normalization is a heat treatment that relieves stress on steel to improve ductility and toughness in steel that may harden after the cold working process. During normalization, steel is warmed to a temperature just above its upper critical point. Normalized heat treatment facilitates a more uniform final product.
The Rockwell Scale indicates the hardness of materials. Rockwell hardness numbers are most often used to describe the hardness of metals, although they are also used for some plastics. The Rockwell scale is based on measuring the depth of the indentation made by pressing a diamond point into a material.
Stands for Society of Automotive Engineers. SAE International is a global association of engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial-vehicle industries. Materials meeting SAE standards are internationally recognized for safety, quality, and effectiveness.
Slitting is a precise shearing process, but instead of making cuts at the end of a workpiece like shearing, slitting cuts a wide coil of metal into a number of narrower coils as the main coil is moved through the slitter. During the slitting process, the metal coil passes lengthwise through the slitter&#;s circular blades.
Temper refers to reheating hardened, normalized, or mechanically worked steel to a temperature below the critical range to soften it and improve impact strength. Tempering results in greater toughness by decreasing an alloy&#;s hardness.
The maximum stress a material will withstand before fracturing or breaking. The ultimate tensile strength is calculated from the maximum load applied during the test, divided by the original cross-sectional area.
Stands for the Unified Numbering System for Metals and Alloys. UNS designation provides a means of correlating internationally used metal and alloy numbering systems currently administered by societies, trade associations, and those individual users and producers of metals and alloys. This system is meant to avoid the confusion caused by using more than one identification number for the same metal or alloy, and the opposite situation of having the same number assigned to two or more different metals or alloys.
The amount of stress a material can withstand before causing permanent deformity.
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