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How to Select a CNC Machining Services Partner

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    keypoints-top-borderKey Points

    • CNC machining services are an important part of manufacturing custom components that go into life-saving and life-changing products.
    • Your choice of CNC machining service partner will affect the outcome of your project.
    • By looking for certain criteria and qualifications, you can find the perfect machining services provider for your project.

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    Especially if you’re not highly familiar with CNC machining and how to assess quality in this arena, the choice of CNC machining services partner can be a tough one. After all, you want the best provider, not just the first you find. And don’t make the mistake of thinking that any old provider will do. They won’t, and that’s true whether you’re a Department of Defense contractor or a consumer electronics designer.

    But there’s no need to stress. Instead, keep reading. The Modus Advanced team has put together this comprehensive guide on how to select a CNC machining provider.

    The ideal CNC machining provider for your part is just a click away. That’s because you’re already on their website. Choose Modus as your manufacturing partner for CNC machining and much more. Contact us to get started.

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    CNC Machining Guide

    Read Everything You Need To Know About CNC Machining 

    Why Choose Premium CNC Machining Services?

    Why should you even care about your choice of CNC machining services provider in the first place? There are a few reasons:

    • CNC machine shops vary widely in terms of quality, tools and areas of specialty.
    • Poor work during the machining phase can have a negative ripple effect on all remaining phases of production.
    • Your reputation — not just the CNC machinist’s reputation — is on the line with every part and product you release.

    That leaves you with one option: You have to find the best CNC machining partner for the job. 

    Selecting a CNC Machining Service Partner: 5 Key Steps

    How, exactly, do you go about selecting the best CNC machining partner for your device? By following these five steps:

    1. Assess Their Capabilities

    Think of the CNC machinists you are considering as job applicants. They want your contract and the money that comes with it, and you have to “hire” the best one. What do you do when you’re hiring? You conduct interviews.

    So, interview the partners you are considering. Ask them directly about their experience with CNC machining:

    • How many years have they been offering CNC machining services?
    • Have they completed machining jobs on components in your specific industry?
    • Can they point you to any past customers to speak with?

    These kinds of questions can yield revealing answers, especially when the machinist would rather not answer the questions in the first place. If you sense that they’re dodging the question or exaggerating their answer (or simply not answering in a way that inspires confidence), it’s likely going to be worth your time to speak with some other providers. 

    2. Look at the Tools and Software

    There’s more than one way to machine metal parts. In fact, there are all kinds of mills and methods, as well as an enormous number of pieces of software to control CNC machine operations. 

    First, you need to ensure that any partner you are considering has the basic types of tools necessary to complete the job. Even if they say they could acquire the right tools, that immediately tells you that they don’t have in-depth experience with the tools in question. And that’s not good.

    Meanwhile, the software needs to be cutting-edge. Whether it’s operations software or quality control software, serious CNC machine shops invest in the best platforms to make sure they put out only their best work.

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    CNC Machining Resource Center

    Visit the Modus CNC Machining Resource Center

    3. Ask About Quality

    Don’t just ask what the provider you are considering aims for in terms of quality — ask what they actually achieve. Also, ask them about their quality system and customer ratings. 

    If they’re a CNC machining services provider worth working with, they will be excited to answer both of these questions. They should have impressively high quality numbers and low numbers of quality escapes. And they should be able to speak at length about the quality system they have built.

    4. Opt for Vertical Integration

    CNC machining is a critically important part of the manufacturing process for a wide variety of devices, but it’s just one part. There are various other processes for you to oversee and find providers for, and each can come with its own set of headaches. 

    What if you could skip a few steps here? If you find a CNC machining provider who has vertically integrated several other manufacturing processes, you certainly can. Modus, for example, has built the proprietary SigShield process to incorporate four unique manufacturing processes under one roof.

    5. Ask for Feedback

    If you’re looking for a CNC services provider and have a design ready to go, send it to the partners you're considering and wait a couple of days. The best partners will get back to you with feedback on your design quickly.

    This feedback shouldn’t be about the overall look or function of the part; it should be about how manufacturable it is. This is information you absolutely need and can benefit from — eliminating unnecessary machining efforts can save you considerable amounts of money on manufacturing. 

    Only the best CNC machining partners will actually offer a Design for Manufacturability review that you can use to improve your device.

    Modus: Your CNC Machining Services Partner

    At Modus, we are confident that we meet and exceed all of the above criteria for CNC machining services partners. That’s because we work hard every single day to be the ideal manufacturing partner to our customers.

    In other words, you’ve already found your ideal partner for CNC machining services with Modus Advanced and much more. Now, all you have left to do is reach out to us and get the conversation started. To do that, give us a call at 925-960-8700 or contact us online today. We’re looking forward to working with you.

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