How to Pick a Machine Shop for your Project

Picking the right machine shop for your project is a balancing act of three variables: quality, cost, and lead time. The abundance of machine shops typically means that costs are driven down so that a shop can be competitive, usually at the expense of quality. Short lead times can result in rushed processes, causing an increase in cost. Adjusting any of these variables will cause a change in the others. So, when choosing a machine shop to execute your project, you will likely have to decide which of the two variables are most critical to you and evaluate the shop’s ability to deliver within those constraints.

Some intangible but critical components of quality are customer service, communication, and professionalism. When choosing a machine shop, it’s important to evaluate the shop’s performance in these areas, as they are often reliable indicators of the material quality of the product the shop will deliver. Does the shop communicate with you in a timely and professional manner? Does it have a high-quality website or other interfaces? Will the shop make itself available to hear your questions and concerns throughout the process? If the answer to any of these is “no”, you should probably think twice about commissioning the shop to handle your product, even if they have offered you a price that helps your bottom line. Sacrificing on quality to help your bottom line can lead to a product that looks or functions poorly at best and reflects poorly on you or your company at worst. You can help mitigate this problem by being willing to enter the middle of the market in terms of cost. This opens the door for a shop to deliver you a good balance of the other two variables, making for a financially and technically successful project.

Making a decision regarding lead time and cost often depends on the type of work you need done. Are you making critical components for a high-level engineering project that needed to be ready yesterday, or are you a hobbyist who just needs a few parts made quickly and inexpensively? A shop may be able to deliver on your short lead time, but you should expect the cost to go up, especially for complex projects that may require the shop to change or update its processes or even add new equipment. Selecting a shop that is willing to adapt in order to deliver on quality and lead time is worth an increase in cost.

When you go through the process of selecting a machine shop for your project, have a good idea of where you stand with regards to the three variables. Be sure to communicate your stance on these variables to the shop so they know how to approach your project and deliver what you need. Choose a machine shop whose work you think will reflect your own priorities, branding, and values. In the end, your discernment will pay off in the form of a good product, delivered at the right time and price.

Thank you for your time.

Land Aero Group

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