A Comprehensive Guide to CNC Machining Custom Parts
Modern manufacturing is beginning to rely heavily on new capabilities that allow for custom parts to be machined specifically to meet the precise needs of individual buyers. Focused On Machining offers a full range of custom CNC machining and milling services.
This service and production approach offers clients a way to get the most out of their tools, products, or any other machined parts they may need, while machining them specifically for their specific production chain. The speed, customizability, and accuracy required for such tasks is exactly where CNC machining technology comes in.
Although custom mechanical parts are more expensive to design and manufacture, they are more cost-effective. Mechanical parts can complete their tasks more accurately, adapt better to custom machines, and the design and materials can be improved according to the customer’s requirements. As technology advances and competition between services increases, the price factor is no longer an issue. Find out what types of custom CNC mechanical parts we can provide.
1.Product Customization Methods
Typically, the customer provides a drawing or specification sheet. Similarly, the company may provide general specifications to be followed when manufacturing the part. The level of input from the customer and the company may vary. Therefore, when customers want to purchase customized products, they have a variety of options:
① Self-development
In this case, the customer must already know the part he wants so that he can make a 3D model or drawing. Then they can come to the machine shop and place an order for manufacturing.
② Collaborative development
As the name implies, this requires a lot of input from the development team. This method is best suited for those who have some ideas about the custom designs or machined parts they want, but are not completely clear about the design or its prospects. This task requires the machining shop to have a design department. They can work with the customer to create a custom design together.
③ Adaptive customization
This method involves creating a base part as a starting point, which can be modified according to the customer’s needs. The obvious advantage of this method is that the manufacturer is able to produce a large number of products with a certain degree of customization, but without spending too much time re-adjusting the manufacturing process. This particular workflow makes the manufacturer’s job easier, but it puts many restrictions on the customer.
④ Appearance customization
In this method, the company creates a standard product and multiple variants for the customer to choose from. This can be a simple appearance or aesthetic change, such as changing the color. This method is very easy in terms of functionality, but the degree of customization is low in the end.
2.Requirements and limitations
The setup of custom machined parts may require a lot of preparation in terms of adjusting the production method. Any CNC shop must be ready with a range of material options to meet customer needs, which also requires having some versatile processing options to match customer needs. This obviously requires having some versatile machines, toolholders, and ancillary equipment to match the product being produced.
Since each part is custom, it may require a completely different way of operating than the next job a shop might take on. This requires any machine shop to have a range of options to choose from to meet a wide range of customer needs. In addition, manufacturers need a reliable supply of materials and a good inventory.
Likewise, each customer will want a different part, and each part will vary greatly from job to job, requiring machine shops to continually create and improve new models. They will have to work in different capacities, depending on how involved the customer is. This may mean creating a new process or procedure to complete a different type of job.
Since each job can vary so much, the development team must also be prepared. Advance planning can only go so far, as the customer is the ultimate dictator of what works and what doesn’t.
3.Machining Small-Batch Production of Custom Parts
For obvious reasons, the primary mode of production for custom parts is small-batch production. Large-scale production cannot meet customer demands, so the demand for more efficient machines that can meet rapid customization needs is high. Many developments have enhanced these capabilities.
First, CAM systems and CNC automation make all of this fairly simple and adapt the machine to a wide variety of tasks and geometries. Modern tool mechanisms also allow manufacturers to fit a large number of tools on a lathe so that the time required to change tools during the machining process is minimal.
Other tools, such as standardized fixtures and grippers, cover most of the current machining needs. Such fixtures usually consist of multiple individual elements that fit together on the machine table to hold the part during the machining phase. Although their overall accuracy is lower than that of dedicated fixtures, this is only a small obstacle due to the advent of modern measurement systems.
Special probes also play an important role in measuring dimensions and fixing positions. Almost all types of modern CNC machine tools can be equipped with special contact probes. Probes can also be used to measure the actual dimensions of the part at certain stages of the manufacturing process to ensure that major errors are discovered and corrected as early as possible, ensuring greater time efficiency.