A recent trend in aerospace machining is that parts are becoming so complex that traditional equipment and approaches are no longer sufficient. Aerospace buyers often need parts with exceptionally tight tolerance features on opposite or multiple sides, which can be difficult to achieve with a standard CNC mill. At Focused on Machining, we’ve found great success leveraging multi-axis machining with zero-point fixturing to take on the most challenging aerospace machining jobs. 

If you find yourself placing repeat orders for the same parts multiple times in a year, consider establishing a long-term contract with your manufacturing partner. Not all shops provide contract manufacturing services, but those that do are almost always open to discussing this option with customers. That’s because long-term contracts benefit buyers and precision machine shops alike. 

One of the most important truths in manufacturing is that you get what you pay for—from production machining services to secondary processes like plating. Just as machine shops' costs and lead times vary depending on capabilities, certifications, and quality, so is the case for plating vendors.

Many shops view source inspections as a necessary evil. Source inspections can indeed be cumbersome for shops whose processes are still mostly manual—there’s no denying that. Fortunately, at Focused on Machining, our robust ERP system allows us to facilitate source inspections easily. In fact, we’ve even come to really appreciate source inspections and the customers who require them. 

Reducing the costs of machined parts can be as easy as having a conversation: always communicate with a shop about your purchasing intentions.  If you plan to place a particular order on a recurring basis, the right contract manufacturing services partner can talk to you about opportunities to obtain the best costs over time with a long-term contract. 

You get what you pay for in manufacturing. Unfortunately, many buyers learn this lesson the hard way—something we’ve seen firsthand at our AS9100 machine shop. We’re happy to work with buyers now to get them the parts they need. But imagine the time, money, and stress they could have saved by having us machine their parts in the first place. 

We see it all the time: A customer wants an inexpensive prototype delivered as soon as possible, so they order one from an online marketplace. Everything seems okay at first, but eventually, they find out the hard way that when you choose the cheapest option, you get what you paid for.  

Any manufacturer pursuing CMMC 2.0 compliance will tell you that the process is rigorous, to say the least. Focused on Machining is currently working to achieve Level 2 certification, which has a long list of 110 requirements aligned to NIST SP 800-171. We anticipate that our journey to CMMC certification will take us a total of 18 months when all is said and done. 

As an aerospace machining shop committed to innovation and continuous improvement, it was only a matter of time before we progressed from standard CNC milling to multi-axis machining. Keep reading to learn how our multi-axis machining capabilities empower us to deliver unparalleled precision and efficiency, setting us apart from other shops offering contract manufacturing in Colorado. 

Effective 2024, companies providing manufacturing services for the US Department of Defense (DoD) will be required to maintain a new certification called CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), proving they meet rigorous cybersecurity standards.