The Need for Custom Precision Mechanical Components

Engineers are often put in a dilemma while designing assemblies and products for tougher applications. The problem? Stock mechanical components simply aren't good enough. It might be due to many reasons such as difficult tolerances, space limitations, or environmental threats, and many other factors. If so, the manufacturer has no choice but to use a custom component.

Custom components are designed and manufactured to meet various needs such as extremely tight tolerance levels, specialty design features, different materials, or meeting specific functional requirements. Customization can include adding features such as slots to gears, or adding specialty finishes to fasteners. These are only a couple of the many characteristics of a mechanical component that can be customized.

Let's look at some examples where a custom part would be needed. In aerospace applications, engineers may need parts that are light in weight and maintain very close tolerances so that they won't cause weight distribution problems. For instance, an ordinary gear would fulfill the function requirements, but a custom compound gear can reduce space requirements by combining multiple functions into one piece and including features that help reduce rotational resistance.

Medical device manufacturers share similar challenges, but with different priorities. They typically need extremely compact, precise parts that may have multiple functions to fit into tight spaces, but still under demanding performance conditions.

Some applications simply require more efficient designs. For example, rather than using several conventional pulleys and gears, a single custom assembly or component can offer improved gear ratios with less space consumption and less system complication.

Custom components generally fit into two categories: modified standard or fully custom. For modified parts, manufacturers will start with pre-existing designs as the foundation. Other features such as mounting holes or slots can then be added. For fully custom, customers will normally start by providing drawings, prints, or 3D models. Here at PIC, they will normally undergo an engineering review to ensure manufacturability and optimize design factors prior to manufacturing.

It’s important to note that at the heart of each custom component undertaking is collaboration. Effective communication between customer and manufacturer is absolutely essential to help assure expectations and part performance match the supplier’s capabilities. It is also critical that the supplier fully understands the requirements of the part including the environment it will be operating in.

While a custom part does provide greater precision, functionality, and durability, it is not without disadvantages. Unlike off-the-shelf items with established costs and lead times, custom parts are priced according to complexity, materials, and processing requirements. This typically means greater cost and longer lead times, along with setup fees that tend to have minimum-order requirements.

As with many decisions in manufacturing, the choice ultimately comes down to the demands of the application, along with considerations such as cost and turnaround time. For uses that leave no choice, custom precision components will deliver optimized performance and design simplification. Over time, these benefits usually outweigh the additional investment, especially for higher volume parts.

The key is recognizing when your projects require more than what off-the-shelf parts can provide, and when that precision and customizing are worth the extra cost.

When off-the-shelf just won't cut it, custom made precision mechanical components fill the gap between stock solutions and outsized performance needs.