Sourcing and procuring precision parts with complex designs requires a balance between cost, quality, and on-time delivery. And when CNC machined parts enter the equation, precision, complexity, and speed of production add even more complexity to the task, making your choice of CNC engineering partner critical.
While high-quality parts are the primary goal, the CNC engineering services behind those parts have the power to transform your manufacturing supply chain. From streamlining product development to optimizing parts inventory management, the right CNC engineering partner does more than make your parts: they deliver value that impacts the bottom line.
Advanced CNC engineering services can drive improvements across the entire manufacturing process, with the potential to achieve reductions in:
- Time to market
- Inventory costs
- Out-of-stock parts
- Quality-related production delays
In this article, we’ll explore how partnering with a CNC machine shop with robust engineering expertise can transform your supply chain operations, including:
- How CNC engineering can optimize every stage of the product life cycle
- Hidden costs you may incur without proper engineering support
- Ways expert CNC engineering improves supply chain and manufacturing operations for OEMs
Whether your challenge is part complexity, tight deadlines, or stringent quality specifications, understanding the full potential of CNC engineering’s impacts can help you maximize efficiency in your supply chain and manufacturing processes.
The Power of CNC Engineering Expertise
A strong engineering team behind the services a CNC machine shop provides ensures that projects are done right, the first time and every time. Of course, thorough engineering capabilities impress customers. But more importantly, CNC engineering leads to parts that consistently meet or exceed specifications.
The pace of manufacturing today means OEMs face intense pressure to get the correct parts, and fast. For CNC machining professionals, that often means having to apply CNC engineering expertise based on experience — not necessarily with the luxury of time and resources to analyze multiple options or perform extensive testing.
That’s where hands-on experience has become irreplaceable in this field. Many CNC engineers got their start as CNC operators. This production experience allows experienced engineers to keep Design for Manufacturability (DFM) at the forefront. Designs that optimize loading ability, for example, build efficiency into the manufacturing process.
Achieving these kinds of benefits depends on partnering with experienced engineers who emphasize error-proofing and robust tooling to consistently produce excellent results.
Optimizing Every Stage of Product Manufacturing
CNC engineering expertise can play a crucial role from initial concept to final production and beyond. A team with advanced engineering capabilities, complemented by years of hands-on experience, is able to anticipate, identify, and handle all the small details that can derail a project. They’re also able to visualize the entire manufacturing process, from concept to construction.
A team of true experts, capable of building everything from work-holding fixtures to final packaging, can help you improve virtually every step of your manufacturing process. So be sure to look for a team with specialized CNC engineering expertise in:
- Fixture design
- Fixture building: machining and assembly
- Tooling
- CNC machine programming
- Processing
- Packaging
- Specialty capabilities such as pressure testing, assembly, and automation
These are the capabilities — along with a proven process — that get jobs done properly and on time. At Stecker, once a project is handed off from our sales team, the design process typically follows this workflow:
- Job is awarded.
- Project and timeline are entered into the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and communicated to the new jobs team.
- Program iteration begins: tasks, ranging from engineering design to quality processes, are assigned.
- Processes are routed, work centers are selected, and work is scheduled.
- Design work is completed, with the quality team working in parallel.
- Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) meeting: review of all details of the design and process.
- Project is released to production. The CNC programmer and tooling engineer work closely with production to ensure a smooth transition.
Design and Development
In a project’s early stages, CNC engineers can provide invaluable DFM guidance. This can involve reviewing prints, creating concepts, proposing machines, analyzing part designs for potential manufacturing issues, and suggesting modifications to improve production efficiency, material waste, production time, and final part quality. The engineering team also works closely with a foundry to sort out details.
By involving a CNC engineer early, you can avoid costly design changes later in the process, reducing time to market and development costs.
Prototype and Testing
Advanced CNC engineering services can facilitate rapid prototyping, allowing for quick production of prototype parts for your testing and validation processes, as well as iterative design improvements based on prototype performance.
Together, these capabilities support a faster progression from concept to production-ready designs, potentially shaving weeks or even months off your product development timeline.
Scaling Up to Full Production
The path from prototyping to full-scale production can be challenging, but the right CNC engineering expertise helps ensure a smooth transition by optimizing tooling and fixtures for high-volume production, implementing efficient machining processes, and ensuring robust quality control procedures.
Ongoing Production and Continuous Improvement
Engineering demands don’t necessarily stop once production starts. Consulting with CNC engineering resources can support continuous improvement efforts that lead to incremental process optimizations, cycle time reductions, and improved material utilization. Over time, these improvements can significantly reduce production costs and lead times.
Solve for Hidden Costs: The Added Value of Expert Engineering Support
Manufacturers working without robust engineering support often incur hidden costs that can erode profitability. Here are a few ways the right level of expertise can make a difference:
Reduced scrap and rework. Minimizing errors and quality issues translates to fewer rejected parts, less material waste, and reduced rework time and costs.
Optimized inventory management. Precise production planning and process optimization can reduce work-in-progress inventory and minimize finished goods stock while maintaining part availability, lowering carrying costs associated with excess inventory.
Improved equipment utilization. Skilled CNC engineers can maximize efficiency in machining operations by optimizing toolpaths and cutting strategies, designing for optimal machine setup and changeovers, and balancing workloads across available equipment. These improvements can lead to higher throughput without added capital investment.
Enhanced quality control. Comprehensive CNC engineering services elevate quality management through robust control processes, advanced inspection techniques like coordinate measuring machine (CMM) technology, and detailed production documentation. By catching and preventing quality issues early, you can avoid costly recalls or customer dissatisfaction.
Go From Parts to Partnership: Elevate Manufacturing With Expert CNC Machining
In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, the question isn’t whether you need CNC engineering services, but how to best leverage them for maximum business impact. Whether your issue is a need for numerous parts — say, 30 different parts needed at the same time — or very complex parts, look for a team with a strong engineering department that welcomes the challenge.
Stecker is known for tackling tough projects where other CNC machine shops and engineering services fail. How? Our combination of advanced capabilities, experience, and can-do attitude enables us to not only manufacture parts that impress customers; we help our customers enhance virtually every aspect of their manufacturing processes.
Our engineering team is ready today to discuss your next project, and it’s easy to get a quote. Just submit your Request for Quote (RFQ) online or by phone.
Not sure if you’re ready to work with an advanced CNC machine shop? Find out more about this type of partnership with our free guide, When Do You Know It’s Time to Work With a High-End CNC Machine Shop? Just click the link below to access your copy.
