Top 7 Reasons to Hire A Local Machine Shop
Ordering parts from any machine shop is not easy. You can easily get into problems with your new piece of equipment and lose money. Machine parts don’t come cheap and so you want to be certain that what you get is the right thing and that it works properly. There are other things you should be aware of as well.
Do not make a mistake of hiring a machine shop online. You want to be hands-on with the purchase. See it, touch it and test it. While some people are lucky to have hired machine shops online successfully, it’s not the best route to take unless you have a relationship.
So why should you hire a local machine shop and what should you look out for when doing so?
Working with your local Dallas Machine Shop has tremendous benefits. Excellent customer service is only the beginning.
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Giving specifics working with a local machine shop
It’s easier to give specifics of what you want, in person. It’s important to communicate the specifics clearly and accurately because this guarantees that the part of the machine being manufactured will work as intended. Specifying tolerance is key and tolerance specifies the range for a measurement.
Tolerances significantly impact the cost of production and that is why accuracy is key. Unless you’re an engineer or have experience in this area, you’ll need to consult with a professional to avoid problems later.
If you are not certain of the tolerances, you can always talk with your local machine shop personnel to send someone to your home or workplace to get the measurements accurately. That personalized service is not possible to get online or on phone.
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Specifying the roughness of the surface
Surface roughness entails the height of valleys and peaks of the machined surface at a microscopic level. If you want to save money, go for the highest number that is acceptable to you. Cheaper machine parts have Ra125 but smoother machine parts will have Ra63 or Ra32. A more polished piece of machinery would be Ra32 or lower. These terminologies are not basic and so you need professional help to understand what each implies and how the surface roughness will affect the functioning of your equipment. Hiring a local machine shop gives you an opportunity to look at various samples and get an understanding of which one best for your part.
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Choosing the right material and saving money
Materials used in machine manufacturing are unique and special. Unlike something like paint which you can choose from a color palette on a computer, it’s difficult to choose the right material by looking through photos. The material that you choose will not just affect the machine parts durability, usability but it will also affect the cost of production.
Your local machine shop can present you with the different options they have at the shop, present details of each material, pros, and cons and give you an opportunity to touch and feel each material so that you can have confidence in what you’re going for. Some local shops also show you similar pieces of equipment that they have made from specific materials and you might even get to test how well they work before making your final decision.
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Flexibility in working with your local machine shop
Sometimes we are so determined to get machine parts made from specific materials. Working with your local machine shop means that you are most likely restricted to choosing among the materials they have in stock. The good thing is, they can offer you an alternative that will work as well or even better. Buying the material from the local shop will save you the cost of delivering your preferred material as well as the time it would take to deliver the material. For instance, you might want your part made from Aluminum 6061 but your local shop has Aluminum 5052 in stock. Be flexible and go for the material in stock.
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Understanding the production process and design
The other advantage of working with your local machine shop is the fact that you’ll get a chance to be actively involved in the design and manufacturing process of the machine part. It gives you peace of mind and should you notice something amiss, it will be rectified promptly. Since production costs involved in manufacturing machine parts are significant, you save money by ensuring that there will be no modifications needed after production.
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Ease of getting prototypes
Once your local machine shop designs and manufactures the machine part for you, they will have a reference point for manufacturing prototypes. This means in future, as your business expands and need for more machine parts arises, you’ll be able to return to your local machine shop and order for more parts and this time at a cheaper cost because you’ll not be paying for the designing.
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Setting up the machine
Once your machine part is ready, it will be easier for the same people who designed and manufactured the piece to install it and that is when a local machine shop comes in handy. They are familiar with the machine part and where it should go and so installation will easy and fast.
Finding the Ideal Dallas Machine Shop
Do you live in Dallas and are looking for a local machine shop? Bates Machine & Mfg is the ideal machine shop for you. They have a wealth of experience dating back to 1975. For more than 40 years, Bates Machine & Mfg have been serving the DFW metropolitan area. They offer unrivaled customer service and they always deliver the project on time and within budget.
Bates Machine & Mfg is a full-service machine shop that specializes in personal service, inclusive project completion, and budget management. Whatever your needs are, the team at Bates Machine & Mfg will help you find exactly what you’re looking for. All their products and services are cost friendly and they strive to give you the best service within your budget so choosing this Dallas machine shop means you don’t have to break the bank to get what you’re looking for.
Contact Us for more information.