When Are Custom Welding and Fabrication Services the Right Call?

Custom welding and fabrication services are a great way to elevate your product quality and access more dependable parts.

It’s easy to feel tempted to define each new project with readily available stock options — and these may suffice for some projects — but high-quality products often depend on the precision of custom services for at least three reasons:

• Efficiency: Today's advanced tech minimizes waste. Meanwhile, perfect-fit parts can accelerate your own production processes.
• Flexibility: On-demand, tailor-made solutions when they matter most.
• Stability: Even when OEM parts are no longer produced, a custom provider can keep you stocked.

Here are a few of the specific circumstances where custom services are the right call:

1. When you’re prototyping an innovative new design.

Prototyping requires some degree of iteration, and in-house 3D-printed plastic parts can only go so far. When you’re dealing primarily with large-scale producers of industry-standard parts, it can be difficult to find providers who will accept the small orders necessary for effective prototyping. 

Custom welding and fabrication shops are accustomed to this sort of work and are much more likely to have the flexibility to service your needs all the way from prototyping through to production.

2. When stock parts would require design compromises.

Compromises in design are inevitable when you’re limited to standard, stock options for parts. However, there may be limited options to accomplish the goals of your project, and even if you find some, your production line may not be set up to work with the stock parts you would need. 

Custom welding and metal fabrication services give you exactly the parts you need, exactly the way you need them (any finish, shape, size, material, unique properties, etc.). This takes the chains off of your creativity and bypasses design-killing compromises. Experienced welding and fabrication shops can also offer collaborative guidance on unique custom solutions that will help you to best achieve your goals.

3. When a custom design can improve production efficiency.

Custom parts eliminate challenges in production by ensuring everything meets your exact specifications and is designed for simple assembly and installation. You might even be able to design more efficient parts that combine multiple functions into just one component, which can save on costs.

It’s a common misconception that custom means expensive. However, mass-produced parts often come from a middleman. Even if you work directly with the mass-producer of the parts, they will often contract with an outside fabrication provider to get you any custom parts you need. When this happens, you’re paying for an extra layer in the supply chain (someone to facilitate the relationship between you and the custom industrial fabrication provider).

Ordering directly from a custom welding and fabrication shop can reduce overhead costs and stretch your project’s budget.

4. When precision and accuracy are of the utmost importance.

The custom process is all about precision. This is especially true when using robotic or CNC machines for infinitely repeatable, exact results. Mass-produced parts are sold at volume and rarely meet the same level of quality as custom metal fabrication from skilled machinists with state-of-the-art equipment. 

If you need to reliably meet tight tolerances, cut intricate details, or shape/form to dimensions that are exact to fractions of a micron, custom welding, and fabrication services are the way to go. More precise parts tend to have a longer service life, too. An exact fit means reduced wear and tear.

5. When you need to replace obsolete, out-of-production parts.

When legacy equipment breaks down, replacement parts are not always easily available. In some cases, the older machines and their components may have been out of production for many years.

The best option is generally to find a provider of custom welding services and custom parts fabrication. These sorts of shops have deep experience in reverse engineering broken or failing components to create suitable replacement parts that are virtually indistinguishable from the originals. Establish a relationship with a custom provider to keep a supply line of older parts handy and continually add to your list.

6. When you need specialty materials (for weight, strength, environmental hazards, etc.)

Stock parts may be made from a sub-optimal material — whatever the original maker chose. Perhaps you need a lighter aluminum version, a version made with metals that will perform better in a specific extreme environment, or a stronger material for better wear life.

Custom shops have the superior welding and fabrication equipment you need to produce those parts from specialty metals — or whatever unique materials you define.

If you’re in need of a custom welding and fabrication service provider, get in touch with the team at TIW Machine & Fabrication. We’d love to learn more about your project and help you find the ideal solution.