Everyone is familiar with the basic three-bid rule for large volume orders. Find the best price combined with the best quality and delivery time and award the contract. Yet when a manufacturer needs a small quantity of parts, many are stumped to find even one reliable company competent and capable of running low volume projects. Alloy Fabricators Inc. provides a wide variety of precision metal fabrication services and its business model focuses on fulfilling small volume orders, from ten to 100.
When it comes to prototypes, specialized projects or limited editions, smaller part numbers are the norm, whether one, ten or 500. Perhaps a client wants to expedite early shipments. A large run of parts is in the works at another company, but in order to start shipping without delay, ten parts or even five can help bridge the gap to keep a client happy. Alloy Fabricators can and has made single parts in the case of an emergency order.
If no emergency exists and there is a bit more time to plan, or if an entire business relies on specialty parts in small quantities, the experts at Alloy have some advice to help streamline order processing, avoid unnecessary delays and even save money.
Have Specs on File
Whether your firm has 20 skus or 1,000 it helps to have the specifications on file with Alloy Fabricators. One client had 600 different part numbers and never required more than 10 pieces of any of them. Yet having the specs on file meant that any one of these parts could be fabricated on short notice when needed. This helps expedite the process for swifter delivery.
Account for Special Situations
Alloy Fabricators works with a wide variety of materials to fabricate the most reliable parts for any application. The company can recommend and source specialty materials in addition to various grades of steel, such as carbon steel, copper, brass, aluminum and others.
General considerations include a materials’ grade, tempering, tolerance and thickness. Specialty materials can however, add to the project timetable when not stocked in-house, so we recommend building in extra time for projects that require sourced materials.
On the other hand, commonality in three different areas can contribute to shorter timelines, make the project easier and more cost efficient.
Common Materials
When possible, use of the same material for all or multiple project parts can help streamline a project for swifter delivery. The machining can be standardized to a greater degree and depending on the type of material required, might help trim costs.
Common Thickness
If practically possible, maintaining commonality with the thickness of the parts being fabricated simplifies set up. For example, one part might be 1/16 of an inch and another 1/8th, but if it is possible to engineer both to the same thickness without compromising the final unit’s integrity, this requires a single machine set up instead of multiple, saving time and saving costs.
Common radius
Parts with a common radius will save time setting up tooling. If for example, the normal radius inside is 1/8-inch but others are ¼, when possible, group together part orders with a common radius to save time and set up costs.
The “key” for Welded Parts
When parts that require welding can be “keyed” together, greater accuracy and efficiency can be delivered. One part can be designed to include a small pin and the other a notch where the join will occur. Like puzzle pieces, these keys hold together two parts that might be at 90-degree angles in relation to one another, for a more precise and quicker welding job.
Blanket Orders
Even within the sphere of low volume manufacturing, Alloy Fabricators can implement blanket orders with its trusted business partners. If a customer uses for example, 100 parts per year but only needs ten at a time, they can blanket order the entire years’ supply and request shipping and billing in smaller quantities throughout the year. Alloy Fabricators will stock the parts. This allows customers take advantage of predetermined pricing with larger runs for greater cost efficiencies.
The best time to consult with the engineering staff at Alloy Fabricators is well before tooling begins. A discussion about the project life cycle related to materials, processing steps and overall project design can help optimize job delivery, costs and ultimately, success. Call us today at 330-948-3535 for a consultation or quotation.