After you design it, let’s review the project together.
Is there any such thing as perfection? We all know the answer to that because we’re all human. However, there is such a thing as making something perfectly good and that’s great for business! There are certain realities in the economics of fabricating metal parts and components that dictate how precise some tolerances can be before they put costs out of range for the market to tolerate.
Sure, you may have the engineering wizardry and we have the precision fabricating ability to make amazing things. Throw enough money and manpower into a project and we can make a prototype that will blow your top off! But then you need to figure out how to manufacture the 5,000 or 20,000 of those units you need within the budget you have. Sometimes you just can’t make the perfectly engineered product a mass produced reality, even with the strongest of intentions and the best fabricators in the market working on it. This is when POP ,Proof of Principle, is a critically important exercise.
Design with POP!
Going through POP lets everyone involved in a project figure out the right precision tolerances needed. If you go for perfection first, you may end up with something too expensive to feasibly manufacture. Here’s where we can separate what you and your customers really need compared with what you may at first want. Collaboration is the key. Once we get to fulfilling the need in prototyping, we can test for the quality that the market will be happy with and then make a component or assembly that will be cost effective to manufacture and profitable to sell.
For example, maybe we can bend a slightly longer piece of metal into a shape that engineering specified as a welded on piece. Right there you just saved the cost of an additional skilled operation. If the bent piece is good enough and works well, you go with it. When form, fit and functionality of a part work for the intended purpose, you’ll probably be well advised to accept recommended modifications to the original design. Two teams working together in cooperation always result in more value. The improved efficiency of fabrication arrived at through collaboration can make all the difference in the profitability of the project.
Keep in mind here that GMFCo is a custom, precision metal fabrication manufacturer and we love working on challenging projects. As we’ve said before, This is one heck of a hobby shop! We appreciate it when engineering teams and other fabricators refer business to us because of our reputation for having the capabilities that few others in the market have. But when fabrication perfection is just too good to be true, we’ll be honest with you and tell you that too. Together, we’ll devise the ideal solution for you and your customers. The experts at GMFCo would like to help you achieve your goals.
Gilchrist Metal Fabricating Company is always happy to review your designs and shop drawings at any stage in the process. We can advise you of the feasibility and costs associated with taking your project to the next stage in manufacturing.
What do you need to know?
Our goal is to bring informative and helpful ideas about metal work to our customers and the metalworking industries. Feel free to contact us and share your ideas.
(603) 889-2600 [email protected]