Maximizing Efficiency With Lights-Out Manufacturing

At Focused on Machining, we’ve spent years perfecting our lights-out capabilities as part of our production machining services. After all, even in this era of incredible automation and precision programming, it requires total confidence in your processes to leave high-value equipment running unattended while machining critical parts for trusted customers. 

With our refined process, we know we are maximizing the productivity and efficiency of our equipment without any risks to quality. Discover how our lights-out manufacturing capabilities can reduce your costs and accelerate delivery times, and explore which parts are ideally suited for our automated production.

The Benefits of Overnight Production

Lights-out manufacturing simply allows orders to be run around the clock, but at our shop we’ve pushed beyond basic automation. By combining our horizontal and vertical machining centers, we’re able to carefully test setups to ensure we can ultimately produce parts as efficiently as possible.

This continuous operation translates to clear benefits for customers:

• Faster production times through constant manufacturing

• Competitive pricing from enhanced efficiency

• Reliable long-term delivery from upfront programming

The Lights-Out Manufacturing Approach in our CNC Machine Shop

Fixturing is key to lights-out manufacturing—after all, if multiple setups are required, attendance is necessary. Our custom-designed fixturing (like the fixturing featured in the image to the right) enables serious versatility, allowing us to easily transfer parts between machines while maintaining precise tolerances. 

We start our lights-out machining by developing the process on our vertical machining center with a machinist monitoring closely. This allows us to prove out tooling and optimize speeds and feeds in a controlled environment.

Once we’ve perfected the process there, we move production to our horizontal machining center, adjusting our process as necessary to ensure we maximize the machine’s additional power. With our custom fixture system, we run multiple parts simultaneously, 24/7 with minimal operator intervention.

Identifying the Best Lights-Out Manufacturing Projects

Lights-out manufacturing is a specialized process, and not every part will benefit from this setup. We typically find that the best options share these characteristics: 

Repeat orders: The upfront optimization required in lights-out machining involves significant time and resources. Long-term production commitments allow us to turn this upfront investment into savings for the customer.

Moderate complexity: Our process is best for parts with high cycle times, typically an hour or longer. To estimate cycle times, consider how much material is being removed from the part—parts requiring removal of 60% or more of the original material often align best with our cycle time requirements.

Design maturity: Because long-term partnerships are critical to lights-out manufacturing, stable designs are an essential factor, making it well suited to defense or aerospace machining projects.

Proper size: We can accommodate stock up to 25”x25”x6”, although weight is more often the critical factor. We’ll carefully evaluate weight considerations during the quoting process.

Partner With Us for Faster Production

If you have a recurring part that could benefit from lights-out manufacturing, we encourage you to reach out early in your project planning. Collaborating near the start of your project allows us to develop the most efficient process and, ultimately, offer the most competitive pricing.

Of course, lights-out manufacturing is just one facet of our comprehensive capabilities. From titanium machining to complete contract manufacturing services, we deliver excellence across every project.

Request a quote today to explore how our precision machining can enable success in your next project!

Simplify Your Supply Chain with our New Hardware Installation Services

At Focused on Machining, we are dedicated to growing alongside our customers and consistently evolving to help them solve their newest challenges. After multiple customers approached us with requests for projects that included high-volume rivet and nut plate installation, we saw an opportunity to enhance our services while simplifying their supply chain.

Now, we’ve built a dedicated assembly station for specialized hardware installation. By adding this new feature to our facility, we'll help decrease your costs through more efficient hardware installation and simplify your projects by acting as a one-stop shop.

Building Our Hardware Installation Capability

While we’ve installed rivets and nut plates in small volumes for years, we never had the capability for large-scale installation. When we decided to add this new capability to our Colorado machine shop, we took a deliberate approach. Our team is thriving in our new space, but we faced several challenges along the way:

Selecting the Right Tools for Efficiency

Finding the ideal installation tools was no small task, with many of the options we considered facing year-long lead times. Through extensive research, we identified and purchased tooling solutions that balance reliability, availability, and cost-effectiveness, ensuring we can deliver competitive pricing without compromising on speed.

Establishing an Aerospace Hardware Supply Chain

As an AS9100 machine shop, we know the importance of sourcing qualified components to meet aerospace specifications. The specialized stainless steel rivets our first project required were in short supply at all of our normal suppliers, so we went beyond standard networks. By thoroughly studying these rivet specifications and leveraging industry relationships, we built a reliable supply chain that meets both the standards of aerospace machining and cost requirements.

Discovering Fair, Competitive Pricing

For any shop performing a task for the first time, there is always the temptation to be conservative in your quote and offer too high of a price. However, this is never our goal at Focused on Machining–we always aim to offer fair pricing. By optimizing our tooling and processes, we can offer fair pricing that reflects our commitment to customer value.

Simplifying Your Supply Chain With Hardware Installation

Our dedicated assembly station allows us to handle a variety of specialized hardware installations including:

Our dedicated assembly station allows us to handle a variety of specialized hardware installations including:

• High-volume rivet installation

• Nut plate assembly

• Helical insert installation

• Custom hardware requirements

Currently, many of our customers either find a second vendor or perform these installations themselves because they’re unable to find a shop that offers both high-quality precision machining as well as hardware installation services. Now, this expansion eliminates the need to juggle multiple vendors for machining and hardware installation. 

Send us your model, and we’re able to deliver you a completed part—we can not only manufacture and assemble, but manage your outside processing as well. 

Experience Our One-Stop Shop

Whether you need precision machining, hardware installation, or both, our CNC machine shop is equipped to handle your next project. Let us simplify your supply chain and deliver high-quality, completed parts that exceed your expectations.

Request a quote today and talk to us about how we can make your next project a streamlined and simple process!

Our Final Steps Toward CMMC 2.0 Compliance

Our Colorado machine shop has been steadily pursuing CMMC compliance for two and a half years now, and we’re entering the final phase of our journey. We aim to be CMMC compliant shortly, targeting audit readiness by the end of Q1.

To ensure we meet our goal, we’ve partnered with an IT company that specializes in CMMC compliance to guide us through our final steps. Find out what we’ve accomplished, what we have left, and why CMMC compliance and data security are so important to us here at Focused on Machining.

Accelerating Our Progress With a New Partner

Since our previous update, the complexity of CMMC certification requirements led us to seek out a new partner that could ensure we’d checked every single box. We made the strategic decision to collaborate with an IT firm, and their expertise has proven extremely valuable. As we near the finish line, we’re having biweekly meetings to check on every detail.

Here is how we’ve strengthened our cybersecurity infrastructure in recent months:

Software Upgrades

We have completed nearly all necessary software upgrades, including cutting-edge antivirus software, new multi-factor authentication software, and logging and monitoring software. We have also been approved for a Government Community Cloud High (GCC High) account with Microsoft. Our quoting software and ERP both offer aerospace and defense versions that are CMMC-compliant, and we are in the process of upgrading.

Hardware Replacement

Our hardware infrastructure is going through its final set of improvements. Most recently, we’ve installed two network smart switches that offer port-level control. These switches allow us visibility into all network connections, ensuring the greatest possible data security for our customers’ information.

We are also replacing data wires within our offices to segregate phone systems from computer networks, reducing the necessary scope of our compliance and protecting against potential security breaches. 

Server Migration

We now have an updated server, and we are in the process of moving our data over. With the new server in place, we will be able to revamp our user accounts and refine our Organizational Document Policy (ODP) control.

What’s Next in CMMC Compliance

Several other protocols, including new backup procedures, will be put into place shortly. As it stands today, we are on track to achieve our audit-ready goal by the end of March as intended.

While CMMC compliance will be mandatory in defense projects over the coming years, we believe our efforts are a testament to our dedication to data security for all of our customers, just as our standing as an AS9100 machine shop signals qualities that will help every customer, not just those in aerospace. 

When we are entrusted with sensitive data like 3D models and drawings, we do everything we can to ensure it remains safe, and many of these enhanced security measures will benefit our partners across every industry. 

Our proactive approach to meeting these rigorous CMMC compliance requirements stems from our commitment to always earning and keeping our customers’ trust.

Ready for Your Next Defense Project

Are you looking for a CMMC-compliant manufacturer? Let’s discuss your next project. We’ll be ready to handle all your precision machining needs while meeting every data security requirement. Our CNC machine shop can handle any project, from aluminum parts to Inconel machining and beyond.

Request a quote today or contact us to learn more about our CMMC compliance status!

How Vendor-Managed Inventory Simplifies Your Supply Chain

There’s a buzz in the manufacturing industry right now, and many shops expect increased demand in the months ahead. As production schedules fill up, early communication with your precision machine shop becomes especially crucial to project success.

In these high-demand periods, Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) is a powerful tool to ensure you’re easily meeting your timelines. At Focused on Machining, our VMI program offers a strategic approach to managing part production that optimizes your costs and simplifies delivery.

Find out how VMI operates at Focused on Machining, and learn why this is the perfect time to join our VMI program.

The Simplicity of Vendor-Managed Inventory

In our VMI program, customers share their recurring monthly quantity requirements with us, allowing us to proactively manufacture parts and maintain a stock level to meet their needs. For example, if a customer requires 20 parts every month, they may authorize us to produce and maintain two months of additional inventory on our shelf ahead of time.

This approach ensures consistent availability for our customers, especially for parts needed in steady quantities. Traditional, one-off ordering can be subject to varying production schedules and changes in lead time, but in a VMI relationship, we can plan production runs around your parts.

The Benefits of VMI: Better Pricing, Simpler Supply Chain

VMI is best for medium-volume CNC production machining—typically in the range of 10 to 100 parts per month. It’s ideal for customers who need parts regularly, but not at extremely high volumes that require continuous production. In addition, stable, repeat parts are the best fit—parts still going through frequent design changes are not well suited to VMI.

For qualified customers, there are significant benefits: 

Better pricing: Even when customers have relatively small monthly quantities, they receive better pricing by enabling us to produce parts in larger production runs. A VMI customer ordering 20 parts every month may receive pricing comparable to a one-time 40-piece order.

Consistent supply: Many times RFQs only arrive in our inbox when parts are already urgently needed. Instead, VMI creates a more predictable and reliable supply chain manufacturing relationship. 

Backup availability: When we maintain your parts in our inventory, you can access them quickly if demand unexpectedly increases. Instead of waiting for a full production cycle, parts can ship directly from our stock.

Establishing a Strong VMI Partnership

VMI relationships can differ from customer to customer—we do not have a single template, and instead carefully create a plan with every customer and agree on key terms for our precision machining services. Every successful program addresses these key factors: 

Quantities and timing: Delivery schedules and quantities are the essence of a VMI arrangement, in addition to authorized inventory levels.

Revision control: Both parties must agree on how any potential engineering changes will be handled, including what to do with existing inventory. 

Storage duration: We typically maintain inventory for 30 to 60 days, maintaining adequate stock but regularly turning these parts over. However, if inventory grows or duration increases, it’s critical to have terms agreed upon beforehand.

Communication strategy: VMI simplifies ordering and reduces POs, but it is not a “set it and forget it” program. We frequently communicate with our customers about potential changes in demand, production schedules, and requirements.

Let’s Discuss Your Upcoming Production Needs

At Focused on Machining, our commitment to customer service means we are the ideal VMI partner. We maintain clear communication throughout the relationship, and customers know how responsive we are to every phone call and every email.

Request a quote today from our Colorado machine shop if you think your project is a good candidate for VMI! No matter what your project requires, from titanium machining to production machining services, we’re ready.

A Guide to Aluminum Finishing: How Our Network Delivers Premium Chem Film and Anodizing

From medical devices to aerospace components, precision-machined aluminum parts are critical to many industries we serve at Focused on Machining. We manufacture a variety of high-performance components from 6000 and 7000 series aluminum, known for their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and other advantageous characteristics.

Aluminum’s natural corrosion resistance makes it a versatile material, but proper surface finishing is essential to maximize performance and longevity. At Focused on Machining, nearly every aluminum part we produce undergoes one of two primary finishing processes: chemical film (commonly called “chem film” or conversion coating) or anodizing.

By collaborating with Focused on Machining for both CNC machining services as well as your finishing needs, you’ll have a one-stop shop experience for your aluminum projects. Through our extensive network of expert finishing vendors, we deliver fully finished components tailored to your exact requirements.

Learn the benefits of chem film and anodizing, and find out how our established partnerships allow us to offer both competitive pricing and reliable lead times for your finishing services. 

Chemical Film: The Simpler Finishing Choice

Chem film represents the more straightforward of these two processes. Parts are cleaned, immersed in a chemical bath for a specified time, rinsed, and dried. The treatment forms an ultra-thin protective barrier on the surface without affecting part dimensions. This coating is both corrosion-resistant and maintains electrical conductivity.

Chemical film treatments come in several formulations. Each formulation offers its own unique combination of benefits, including varying levels of corrosion protection, color options, weight specifications, and environmental impacts. Thanks to our broad network of finishing specialists, we can connect you with the perfect vendor for your specifications.

Chem film is particularly valuable for applications where electrical conductivity is essential, such as satellite components and military radio antennas. These parts rely on chem film’s ability to maintain proper grounding, reducing electrical interference and noise.

Anodizing: The Best Option for Maximum Durability

Anodizing is a more complex process than chem film, but it offers a more durable finish. During treatment, a part is immersed in acid while electrical current is passed through the acid bath. This creates a relatively thick new layer on the part, with approximately half of the layer on the exterior of the part and half growing inward into the aluminum.

Unlike chem film, anodizing changes a part's dimensions with its thick coating. This dimensional change requires careful control of multiple variables—including time, current, and temperature—to ensure final measurements remain within tolerance.

Anodizing creates an exceptionally hard surface with excellent wear resistance and superior corrosion protection compared to chem film. It also offers a wide range of color options, whereas chem film typically produces only clear or gold-tinted finishes.

How We Match You to the Ideal Vendor

While many shops offer one or both of these finishing services, their specialties vary significantly. Finding the right machine shop for your specific needs presents a challenge—while some projects demand premium anodizing with complex masking regardless of cost, others may prioritize quick turnaround with basic chem film.

At Focused on Machining, we are ready to discuss your finishing requirements and match your project to the ideal specialist from our trusted vendor network. Our strong relationships ensure competitive pricing and lead times, including rush options. When the parts are back in our shop, we conduct a thorough documentation review and final inspection to ensure every product we deliver exceeds your expectations.

A Single Partner for Your Next Manufacturing Project

Don’t spend valuable project time vetting and managing finishing providers. Simplify your next project by letting our Colorado CNC machine shop handle both in-house precision machining and finishing through our trusted network.

Request a quote today to discuss your next project! From titanium machining to electropolishing services, we offer a wide range of manufacturing solutions under one roof.

Material Spotlight: The Versatility of 6000 Series Aluminum

At Focused on Machining, we take pride in our expertise in precision CNC machining, which encompasses a diverse range of materials. Our skilled operators, paired with cutting-edge technology, enable us to produce high-quality parts from aluminum, steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, plastic, and more. 

Among these materials, 6000 series aluminum has become a favorite among our customers, with aluminum 6061 leading as the most requested material at our shop. In this spotlight, we’ll explore the properties of 6000 series aluminum and share insights from our extensive experience machining these versatile alloys.

An Overview of 6000 Series Aluminum

6000 series aluminum is renowned for its strength, corrosion resistance, and formability. Its primary alloying elements—magnesium and silicon—create a unique combination of properties that cater to a wide range of applications. 

When compared to 7000 series aluminum, which primarily uses zinc as its alloying element, 6000 series aluminum offers a different set of advantages. The 7000 series boasts a higher strength-to-weight ratio, making it particularly valuable in aerospace applications. However, this increased strength comes at a higher cost and presents greater challenges in machining. In contrast, the 6000 series provides an excellent balance of performance and affordability, making it a go-to choice for many industries.

The Benefits and Applications of 6000 Series Aluminum

6000 series aluminum alloys are not only easier to machine than many other alloys, but they also deliver an impressive strength-to-weight ratio. This combination of properties makes the 6000 series widely utilized across various industries, including automotive, construction, marine, aerospace, and beyond. These industries often demand tight tolerances and high precision, which is why selecting a machining partner who understands the nuances of these alloys is critical.

Another significant advantage of 6000 series aluminum is its compatibility with various finishing processes. This includes heat treatment, anodizing, chem film, painting, and nickel plating. At Focused on Machining, our extensive network of trusted vendors enables us to provide a range of finishing options for your parts, ensuring that they meet your specific requirements and industry standards.

Aluminum 6061: Our Most Requested Material

Among the 6000 series alloys, aluminum 6061 is particularly noteworthy and stands out as the preferred choice for many engineers and manufacturers. Its versatility makes it well-suited for a variety of projects, especially in applications where extreme conditions—such as high-temperature environments or the lightweight properties associated with titanium machining—are not a factor. Here are some key benefits of aluminum 6061:

• Strength: With high tensile and yield strength, 6061 offers structural integrity suitable for many applications.

• Lightweight: The alloy’s excellent strength-to-weight ratio is ideal for parts where reducing weight is crucial.

• Thermal Conductivity: Compared to many other aluminum alloys, 6061 has higher thermal conductivity, making it frequently used for heat sinks.

• Availability: 6061 is available in various forms, including rectangular bars, round bars, plates, and sheets, ensuring broad accessibility for manufacturing.

• Machinability: Like many other 6000 series alloys, aluminum 6061 is easy to machine, which facilitates efficient manufacturing of customer parts.

• Cost-effectiveness: It is one of the more economical metal options available, partially due to its high production volumes.

Trust Us With Your Next Aluminum Part

At Focused on Machining, our expertise with 6000 series aluminum equips us to tackle even your most challenging precision machining projects. Whether your part is in the prototype stage or moving into full-scale production, we are committed to being a trusted partner you can rely on for quality and precision.

We understand that effective communication and collaboration are key to transforming your ideas into reality. That’s why we invite you to reach out to us for a personalized discussion about your next aluminum component.

Request a quote today and discover how we can turn your vision into high-quality precision parts that meet your needs!