If you've experienced post-sale product failure or equipment downtime in your manufacturing operation due to out-of-tolerance parts, you know all too well the pains of poor quality. In an effort to make delivery schedules and keep part cost down, machine shops are under the gun constantly to work faster and more efficiently. If raw materials are of poor quality, part manufacturing costs go up in terms of decreased tool life, machine downtime and material scrap. It's in your best interest to find an experienced supplier who vets their raw material as much as you vet them. It ensures the best quality part, fastest delivery and lower total procurement cost.

Quality is a term that is thrown around a lot. Even if a company is ISO 9000-certified, it doesn't always mean their controls are best-in-class. Manufacturers can reduce the risk of poor quality or late delivery by working with an experienced machine shop. In an effort to reduce their own downtime and scrap, these shops have already had the burden of vetting raw material suppliers.

Quality of the end product is only as good as what you put into it. We're only too aware of that around our shop. That's why we employ a multi-step process and go straight to the source to procure high-quality raw materials whenever possible.

Quality at each step of the process is key. Even before a new shipment of raw material arrives, our team is hard at work to ensure quality. We are meticulous about identifying the chemical composition and surface quality required for each customized order, and we work with our list of approved suppliers to obtain the best raw material for the job.

It helps that suppliers are required to follow ASTM standards, but quality can still vary widely from supplier to supplier in terms of bar straightness, surface finish and product consistency. We inspect each and every shipment for these attributes as well as any material handling damage. We've even developed our own gauge to measure for pit depth and have several methods we employ to measure bar straightness. While we always look at the certifications sent with the product, we occasionally need to send out material to a third party for verification, particularly for very high-tolerance part requirements. We do this work upfront before it even gets to the floor to ensure that our customers never see a poor quality part due to defects in raw material.   

We've been in business over 50 years and are the gatekeepers of quality for our satisfied customers. If the issue is due to raw material quality, it won't show up in the finished product. With PFI's keen attention to quality, we will solve the problem before it gets out the door. 

Stay tuned for another post about how we ensure quality throughout our manufacturing process.