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Matt Blais

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What to Look For in a Commercial CNC Machine Shop

What to Look For in a Commercial CNC Machine Shop

Choosing the best CNC machine shop for your commercial contract manufacturing project requires a careful consideration of the vendor’s experience, capabilities, and quality control processes.

Cost is certainly an important factor as well; however, don’t make the mistake of choosing your machining service provider based solely on the cheapest upfront price quote. You must also consider the long-term cost of your ongoing services, as well as the overall added value that an experienced custom machine shop can bring to your project.

3 Questions to Ensure You Receive the Best CNC Machining Services Possible

1. What Are Your Machine Shop’s Quality Certifications?

The first way to ensure you receive quality-backed, reliable CNC machining services is to choose a contract manufacturer that is certified to deliver. While virtually every vendor claims to offer exceptional quality, only certified providers have the proven credentials which guarantee results.

Vescio is an AS9100D certified machine shop serving some of the industry’s most challenging aerospace machining projects. Our company is also an ISO 9001:2015 certified manufacturer ensuring quality and consistency at every step of production. Finally, Vescio is an ITAR Registered domestic manufacturer offering the utmost in reliability to today’s state-of-the-art defense industry.

2. Does Your Vendor Offer the Experience and Versatility You Need?

Theoretical capabilities are one thing – actual CNC machining experience is another. When choosing your next custom machine shop, it’s important to consider the actual manufacturing experience that each vendor brings to the table. Have they reliably served other customers in your industry? Do they have actual experience in making your type of products, or will there be a learning curve?

At Vescio, our company prides itself on our flexibility. We serve a diverse range of highly specialized industries including aerospace, defense, commercial manufacturing, and precision medical devices. We offer ample experience in machining some of the most difficult-to-produce parts and components demanded in today’s market.

3. Does Your Machine Shop Utilize the Most Capable CNC Technology?

Finally, it’s imperative that you choose a flexible CNC machine shop that offers all of the production technology your project requires. Otherwise you will have to shop around for multiple vendors, splitting up your project and complicating your supply chain.

Vescio is a single-source American manufacturer offering complete CNC machining services. Our capabilities include CNC milling and CNC turning, as well as Swiss screw machining and precision metal grinding. Our company is also one of the industry’s leading thread cutting specialists. As a final value-added service, we can provide custom kitting and turnkey assembly solutions to streamline your overall project.

Complete Custom CNC Machining Services for Your Precision Products

Vescio Manufacturing operates two full-service domestic machining facilities located in Santa Fe Springs, California, and Morton Grove, Illinois. We also combine the benefits of onshoring and nearshoring with a fully outfitted machine shop in Mexicali, Mexico. We offer all of the contract manufacturing capabilities required to tackle your project from start to finish, along with the quality certifications to back up our results.

Explore the Capabilities of Vescio’s Machine Shop in Santa Fe Springs, California

Explore the Capabilities of Vescio’s Machine Shop in Santa Fe Springs, California

While our CNC machining facilities in Morton Grove, Illinois and Mexicali, Mexico are absolutely integral to our operations today, our Santa Fe Springs, California facility has remained the headquarters of Vescio Manufacturing since our company was founded in 1976.

Of course, the CNC machining industry has evolved substantially over the last half century, and our Santa Fe Springs location has likewise evolved and expanded, investing in new manufacturing technologies along the way. Our last major expansion was in 2018 when we acquired an additional 10,000 sq. ft of production space, bringing the grand total to 40,000 sq. ft – and that’s just one of Vescio’s three locations!

In our previous blog, we discussed how we offer the advantages of nearshore manufacturing through our Mexicali, Mexico-based machine shop. Below, we explore the capabilities of our Santa Fe Springs, California-based machining facility along with a rundown of the quality American manufacturing services we offer to the West Coast and beyond.

Our Santa Fe Springs, California Facility’s CNC Machining Capabilities

At Vescio, we are committed to remaining at the forefront of the CNC machining industry through our continual investment and integration of the latest manufacturing technologies. To that end, our California location offers complete custom CNC machining services, providing customers with a single-source contract manufacturer for a more simplified supply chain.

Our Santa Fe Springs CNC machine shop is fully outfitted with milling and turning workstations, as well as Swiss machining technology and precision CNC grinders. Some highlights of our state-of-the-art production equipment include:

  • 24 Vertical CNC Milling Machines
  • 20 CNC Turning Lathes
  • 10 CNC Swiss Machines
  • 2 CNC Cylindrical Grinders
  • 2 CNC Surface Grinders

Accommodating Low- and High-Volume Manufacturing, Complex Designs, and Precision Tolerances

Our Santa Fe Springs, California machining facility can efficiently handle both low-volume and high-volume production runs – including both commercial and military projects. We are capable of tackling many of the industry’s most complex part manufacturing projects through our highly flexible CNC machining solutions. We commonly deliver products with complex geometries featuring .001” tolerances, and we are capable of holding even closer tolerances of .0002” for higher-precision applications.

Custom CNC Machining Services for the West Coast Region and Beyond

Just like Vescio’s state-of-the-art machine shops in Mexico and Illinois, our Santa Fe, California-based machine shop is staffed by a team of highly trained, skilled, and dedicated craftsmen who are ready to provide the precision your project requires.

Swiss CNC Machining vs. Conventional CNC Lathe Turning Services

Swiss CNC Machining vs. Conventional CNC Lathe Turning Services

Swiss turning machines operate differently than conventional CNC lathes in a number of ways. Both conventional and Swiss turning operations are subtractive machining processes: a centrally held workpiece spins, while precision grinding/cutting tools are moved into position to carefully chisel away material.

The Difference Between Swiss Turning and Standard CNC Lathes

The primary difference between conventional and Swiss turning is the method by which the workpiece is held. Conventional turning centers hold the workpiece at one or both ends, while Swiss turning centers feed the workpiece through a guide bushing, such that the machining is always performed near the support point. This provides a number of advantages to the manufacturing process.

The Advantages of CNC Swiss Machining Explained

Swiss lathes carry out subtractive machining processes in much the same way as conventional turning centers. However, Swiss machines utilize movable headstocks to clamp the workpiece, enabling it to be repositioned along the Z-axis as it is machined. The workpiece is also laterally supported by a guide bushing so that the machining operations are constantly performed in close proximity to the support point.

As a result, Swiss lathes minimize deflection and vibrations within the workpiece, allowing for the manufacturing of much longer cylindrical parts and components.

Conventional CNC Turning Lathes

Conventional CNC turning centers clamp the workpiece at one end or both ends – depending on the size of the machined part and the layout of the lathe. The lathe then “turns” the workpiece at very high speeds up to several thousand rpm.

While the workpiece spins, specialized cutting and grinding tools are precisely guided via CNC programming to carefully remove workpiece material according to your custom part designs. Through subtractive manufacturing all unnecessary workpiece material is removed, leaving behind a precision-machined component or assembly.

Cam-Operated Screw Machines vs. CNC Swiss Machining

CNC Swiss machining can also be compared to cam-operated screw machines – an advanced manual machining option suitable for many projects. One drawback is that cam-operated screw machines require highly specific procedures, therefore many shops will only master the operation of one specific machine, thus limiting their manufacturing flexibility.

Swiss CNC machines and cam-operated screw machines both feed the bar in and out of the spindle about the Z axis, as with conventional lathes. The major difference between a Swiss versus a cam-operated screw machine is the integration of CNC technology.

CNC Swiss lathes uses computer-generated toolpaths produced with a CAD file: they use the generated G-Code (CAM) files to precisely control all machining features such as contour, face grooving, OD and ID grooving, single-point threading, as well as secondary machining features such as in end mill contouring, perpendicular drilling and tapping, and multi-axis simultaneous machining. Essentially, CNC Swiss machines are a combination of lathe and multi-axis mills controlled by G-Code: the process is saved after the G-Code is proven.

In contrast, cam-operated screw machines use mechanical cams in conjunction with custom forming tools. All multi-cutting is precisely synced through the timing cam system. Machine operators and setup personnel, therefore, are usually highly skilled with the specific setup procedures of each unique screw machine. Screw machines often require manual notes and sometimes finesse or specialized knowledge to achieve accuracy and repeatability from one setup to another.

Your Single-Source Manufacturer for Precision Swiss Machining Services

Vescio’s full-service CNC turning department offers Swiss machining capabilities utilizing Star lathes with 12’ bar feeders and a max bar diameter of 32mm. Our versatile Swiss turning services are optimized for custom machining projects that require small, precision cylindrical components with close-tolerance, geometrically complex designs.

Delivering the utmost in production quality, consistency and efficiency, Vescio’s Swiss machining department is the ideal solution for your high-volume, difficult-to-manufacture CNC parts.

Why Partner with an International Machine Shop in Mexicali, Mexico?

Why Partner with an International Machine Shop in Mexicali, Mexico?

Domestic manufacturing services can offer numerous advantages when compared to offshoring. However, an international American manufacturer with highly efficient production capabilities in Mexico can significantly increase the  benefits for  your project. 

At Vescio, we aim to combine the advantages of both onshoring and nearshoring in order to deliver the leanest, most efficient and cost-effective custom machining services. That is why we operate a full-service CNC machine shop in Mexicali, Mexico, in addition to our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Santa Fe Springs, California and Morton Grove, Illinois.

The Advantages of Combining Our American Manufacturing Services with Our Mexicali Machine Shop

Minimizing Your Costs While Maintaining Quality

Having all of your products machined in the United States  is an enticing proposition, but one that is unfortunately cost-prohibitive for many projects. By integrating our two domestic manufacturing facilities with our nearshore machine shop in Mexicali, Vescio is able to keep your costs low without compromising on the consistency of your products.

Due to Mexico’s close proximity to California, we are able to have some of our most highly qualified machinists train our Mexicali employees. This team also  oversees Vescio’s most complex nearshore CNC machining projects.

The entire streamlined process helps ensure superior craftsmanship with every product along with the ongoing success of your project. Essentially, we are able to deliver American manufacturing quality, customer service, and responsiveness, all at the price point of offshoring.

Setting up such an operation in the Far East is not nearly as seamless and efficient, nor as reliable for your long-term supply chain.

A Simplified Supply Chain

Many of the cost advantages of nearshoring can be achieved through offshoring your production to China or other Eastern and Southeast Asian countries. So what’s the benefit of a machine shop in Mexico compared to a provider in the Far East? The major advantage is a simplified, more robust supply chain.

As shown by the last few years of supply chain disruptions and the COVID-19 pandemic, overseas shipments can unexpectedly grind to a halt. Moreover, shipping costs can suddenly skyrocket and completely consume your budget. Vescio’s machine shop in Mexicali enables us to remain cost-competitive while keeping a close eye on quality and not succumbing to the complications of overseas shipping.

Our Mexicali, Mexico CNC Machining Facility – Over 15 Years of Quality

Since 2006, our machining facility in Mexicali, Mexico has delivered exceptional manufacturing results on par with our two domestic locations. Our Mexicali machine shop’s equipment and highlights include:

  • 15,000 Square-Foot Facility
  • 25+ Highly Qualified Employees
  • 7 Vertical CNC Milling Machines
  • 2 Horizontal CNC Milling Machines
  • 8 CNC Turning Lathes

Just like Vescio’s state-of-the-art machine shops in California and Illinois, our Mexicali enterprise is staffed by a team of highly trained, skilled, and dedicated craftsmen who are ready to provide the precision your project requires.