Contract Manufacturing Services: 4 Critical Questions to Ask Before You Commit

Contract manufacturing offers significant advantages for companies that need consistent part production over an extended period of time. These agreements can reduce costs by offering customers pricing at scale and minimizing administrative tasks. 

However, the cost savings of contract manufacturing can disappear quickly if you don’t choose the right precision machine shop as a partner.

At Focused on Machining, we’ve structured our business to support reliable, long-term partnerships. If you’re evaluating contract manufacturing services, here are four essential questions to ask to be sure your partner has accounted for every detail.

Question 1: How Do You Maintain Quality Documentation For Large Orders?

When shops run blanket orders, they often produce parts in large batches to maximize efficiency. This approach to custom CNC machining reduces costs, but it can also create documentation challenges, especially when parts undergo secondary processes like plating. 

If a shop produces 300 parts at once but delivers them in multiple shipments over several months, they need a proper system to maintain accurate quality documentation for every part.

Our approach: Our ERP system allows us to segregate documentation by delivery lot, even when working in large batches. Every shipment you receive includes precisely matched quality documentation. This setup allows us to easily track parts through production and quickly respond to your questions about the status of upcoming deliveries in your contract manufacturing services agreement.

Question 2: How Do You Track And Isolate Potential Issues?

If a quality issue arises, it’s critical that the affected parts be quickly identified. However, many shops do not have systematic methods for tracking exactly which parts may be affected by a quality concern. Without proper lot segmentation and documentation, a single issue could require unnecessary rework of months of production.

Our approach: Our systems enable clear traceability. We can quickly determine the specific subset of parts that were affected by quality concerns through our detailed records of materials, processing, and inspection.

Question 3: What Happens If We Have Design Revisions?

While contract manufacturing services typically involve mature, stable designs, engineering changes are sometimes still necessary. Without clear policies for handling revisions, these changes can lead to disputes over inventory and pricing with your CNC machine shop, or even production delays. 

Our approach: We address revision management upfront in all long-term agreements. If customers ask us to hold inventory, we clarify who assumes responsibility if revisions occur. This keeps communication clear and protects both parties from unexpected costs.

Question 4: How Do You Handle Material Pricing Fluctuations?

Today’s manufacturing landscape faces a great deal of uncertainty, and potential material price changes are a source of risk in long-term agreements for CNC machining services. Without proper planning, a significant fluctuation in the price of aluminum, for instance, could destroy the financial benefits of these arrangements.

Our approach: We offer several strategies to reduce your material pricing risks. If you prefer total price stability to eliminate all risk, we can discuss purchasing and paying for all required material upfront. A second option is to offer pricing bands, with pricing adjustments if material costs go outside of these limits.

The Benefits of Our Long-Term Agreement Structure

At Focused on Machining, we’ve designed every detail of our systems and processes to ensure you get the maximum benefit from our long-term agreements. We aim for transparency, risk management, and clear communication to build a strong partnership over the duration of the agreement—and beyond.

Request a quote today to start contract manufacturing services with a Colorado machine shop that’s already thought through all of the “what-ifs” upfront!

Industry Spotlight: Partner With a Veteran-Led Aerospace and Defense Machine Shop

At Focused on Machining, we’re proud of our work as an aerospace and defense machine shop because it’s personal for us. 

Our owner, Justin Quinn, spent six years in the United States Air Force, serving around the world as a C-17 aircraft mechanic. Now, Justin is passionate about supporting the men and women behind every mission in his work leading a CNC machine shop.

We support the aerospace and defense sectors with high-quality, tight-tolerance machining backed by critical certifications, extensive documentation, and a veteran’s commitment to excellence.

Precision and Documentation: The Foundation of Aerospace Machining

In aerospace and defense, precision isn’t optional—it’s critical. Faulty parts can compromise an entire mission, and that’s why customers in these industries not only have extremely high standards, they demand clear documentation to ensure quality and compliance at every stage.

Our shop leverages ProShop ERP to ensure complete transparency and traceability throughout every aspect of manufacturing. From material certifications to calibration logs to inspection reports, every detail is tracked. When customers need documentation, we’re ready.

Certifications to Meet All Your Requirements

For an aerospace and defense machine shop, certain credentials are non-negotiable. We maintain some of the most important certifications for these sectors:

AS9100 and ISO 9001:2015 Certifications: AS9100 includes all ISO 9001:2015 requirements, along with additional standards for aerospace and defense. Together they demonstrate our commitment to excellence in quality systems for both general and industry-specific projects.

ITAR Registered: We are fully staffed by U.S. citizens and authorized for sensitive defense work.

CMMC Level 2 Compliant: We are ahead of the curve on cybersecurity and will be CMMC Level 2 compliant in the coming months.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business: We’re proud of our veteran-owned status and can provide our customers with official documentation when needed. 

Advanced Machining Capabilities for Precision Parts

Our aerospace and defense machine shop is built specifically to address the challenges of manufacturing for customers in these demanding industries, with capabilities including:

Multi-Axis Machining With Deep Aluminum Expertise

Our advanced multi-axis equipment machines parts with complex geometries in fewer setups, reducing lead times while increasing accuracy and repeatability for custom CNC machining projects. And while our shop works with a variety of materials, our experience with common aerospace options such as 6000 and 7000 series aluminum allows us to machine parts quickly without compromising accuracy.

Assembly Services

We streamline your workflows by delivering completed subassemblies, including performing high-volume rivet installation and installing hardware like nut plates that can be essential to aerospace projects.

Tight Tolerance Machining

Other shops might no-quote jobs with tolerances under +/- 0.0005”, but we’re always ready to meet your specifications. Our skilled machinists and advanced inspection equipment ensure precise results every time.

Streamline Your Projects With Focused on Machining

When we talk to engineers and buyers for aerospace and defense organizations, they often tell us they’re juggling a variety of different vendors: one for tight tolerance machining, one for certain certifications, one for specialized capabilities, and more. At Focused on Machining, we offer all of these in a single precision machine shop, backed by a team that truly understands your mission.

Request a quote to partner with a veteran-led shop with expertise in the aerospace and defense industries!

Finding Extra Value for Trusted Customers With Contract Manufacturing Services

At Focused on Machining, we know that all of our customers are constantly searching for ways to improve their costs without compromising on quality. One strategy we often suggest is to consider our contract manufacturing services.

Recently, for instance, we helped a large space and defense contractor achieve significant savings through a three-year manufacturing agreement. The process of agreeing to final terms required some give-and-take on both sides. Our partner was seeking lower prices, so we identified several areas where we could help them achieve savings if they could simplify the project for us in certain ways. 

Ultimately, when we have a customer relationship built on trust, we can find terms that deliver value to everyone involved through problem-solving and flexibility on both sides. Find out more in this story about our latest contract manufacturing agreement, and learn how we can help set you up for success with your own long-term agreement.

The Basic Benefits of Contract Manufacturing Services

For buyers, there are several key advantages to contract manufacturing services: 

Cost Savings

Cost savings through contract manufacturing stem from economies of scale. Setup expenses are distributed across more parts, tooling remains predictable and consistent, and precision machining operators become increasingly adept with each part. 

Consistent Quality

When you partner with a manufacturer you trust for multiple years of production machining services, you’re able to rest easy—the same manufacturing process will deliver the same quality every time. 

Reduced Administrative Work

Managing multiple suppliers for recurring parts requires constant attention to multiple purchase orders and follow-ups. Long-term agreements significantly streamline these processes.

Decreased Risk

Today’s economic environment includes concerns about tariffs and the potential for pricing volatility that accompanies economic uncertainty. By locking in prices today, you can insulate yourself from future disruptions.

Case Study: Creating a Mutually Beneficial Agreement

This year, a large space and defense contractor approached us requesting a quote for contract manufacturing services on a large package of stainless steel and aluminum parts. After seeing our initial proposal, they indicated they were interested in our services, but wanted to find ways to achieve lower pricing.

Because this was an established and trusted customer, we knew that we could collaborate to find those savings if they accommodated certain adjustments to the project’s structure. We identified incremental cost reductions in a variety of different ways, and to achieve their target price point, we negotiated several key arrangements:

Material Funding

Our customer had a large package requiring many thousands of pounds of material. By agreeing to pay for their materials upfront, our CNC machine shop reduced financial risk, allowing us to offer more competitive pricing.

Early Delivery

Our customer agreed to accept full delivery within a 12 to 18 month time frame, despite our three-year contract. Early delivery allows us the flexibility to optimize our production scheduling as needed, and that efficiency translates to savings for our customers.

Payment Terms

By agreeing to Net 15 payment terms, our customer further reduced our financial risk, enabling us to meet their target price point while maintaining our quality standards.

Building Your Customized Agreement

We successfully achieved our customer’s target price, resulting in a partnership that benefits both organizations. We’re excited about the collaboration and the value it creates for everyone involved.

These three elements represent just a few examples of how negotiation through collaboration can lead to the best outcome possible. However, all negotiations are unique, and the factors involved can vary—but as long as negotiations are built on trust and good faith, we’re always ready to develop solutions that meet everyone’s needs.

Whether you need contract manufacturing services or specialized projects involving aerospace machining for aluminum or tight tolerance machining, we’re ready to help. Request a quote today and let’s discuss how our Colorado CNC machine shop can support your next project.

Why Precision and Innovation are Critical in Manufacturing Complex Manifolds

We have manufactured manifolds for many years at Focused on Machining, but recently, some of our aerospace machining customers have brought us increasingly sophisticated designs. These parts will be integrated into their fuel systems, and the complexity of these modern rocket parts has pushed our capabilities forward.

By taking on these projects, we’ve developed comprehensive expertise in manufacturing manifolds. Find out how we’ve learned to efficiently deliver these critical parts, and why our investments in tooling and process improvement allow us to maintain competitive pricing and lead times.

Understanding Complexity in Modern Manifolds

At their core, manifolds are parts that move fluids or gases through internal passages between multiple ports. But what marks the difference between common and complex manifolds? Some of the most typical characteristics include:

• Hole quantity: Some projects become difficult simply due to the sheer scale, with a large number of holes requiring careful execution.

• Varying port size: These designs require us to manage multiple custom tools and processes for a single part. 

• Tight tolerances and finishing: When tight tolerance machining combines with challenging finishing requirements in manifolds, coordination and planning with vendors become critical to remain within tolerance.

Advanced Tooling and Equipment for Greater Efficiency

Ports in aerospace manifolds are not simple through holes—instead, they’re defined by specification numbers, often simple Military Specification (MS) numbers. These numbers represent detailed underlying information and must be carefully interpreted to understand a design’s exact requirements.

Early in our journey with complex manifolds, we strategically invested in custom port tools that incorporate all necessary geometry in a single, precise tool. As we’ve mastered the use of these tools, we’ve dramatically improved our efficiency and consistency.

Beyond tooling, our horizontal machining center, equipped with a full fourth-axis rotary, has several capabilities ideal for manifold manufacturing:

• Machining multiple faces in a single operation

• Drilling intersecting holes in one operation for superior accuracy

• Accommodating larger manifolds without multiple setups

• Performing lights-out machining, particularly with aluminum components

Beyond Machining: Our Extended Finishing Network

While precision machining is our core expertise, complex manifolds often require specialized finishing processes. We have relationships with finishing vendors who share our commitment to excellence. 

By allowing Focused on Machining to manage all of your finishing, you simplify your project and gain access to vetted partners from our trusted network. Some of the most common finishing services include anodizing and chemical film treatments with precision masking. 

Anodizing, in particular, can be a complex process and require careful planning to ensure final measures stay within tolerance. At Focused on Machining, we plan closely with our vendors to ensure quality results. 

Bring Us Our Next Challenge in Complex Manifolds

If you’re in search of a manifold manufacturer or any other machined part, let’s discuss your next project. Our decades of experience, specialized tooling, and advanced machines allow us to deliver quality every time. From electropolishing services to titanium machining, we’re ready to partner on your next project and deliver high-quality results.

Request a quote today to discover how our CNC machine shop can transform your challenges with complex manifolds into precision solutions!

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!