Articles
Good manufacturing starts with the right conversation. These guides cover the basics. But the engineers and project managers behind your parts are available before production starts. That’s where the real answers live.
Filter
By Topic
Search
AS9100 Compliant: what it actually requires of a vendor
AS9100 Compliant shows up on a lot of vendor pages as a badge next to a logo. What it actually requires of a vendor is a lot more specific than…
Sheet metal design guide
A sheet metal design guide is only useful if it changes what happens before the drawing gets released, not after. Most of the cost, lead time, and rework risk in…
Insert Molding vs Overmolding: How to Choose for Your Part
Insert molding and overmolding get used interchangeably on RFQs, and the quote that comes back is built on assumptions the engineer never intended. Insert molding places a preformed component, usually…
The Hidden Cost of Splitting a BOM Across Multiple Portals
Splitting a BOM across several quoting portals to chase the lowest per-line price feels like good procurement discipline. Run each part through the platform quoting it cheapest, award accordingly, and…
3D Printing Tolerances: What to Actually Expect
A CAD model is dimensionally perfect. A printed part never is. The gap between the two is tolerance, and it’s the single most common reason a first-run 3D printed part…
What “AS9100 Compliant” Actually Requires of a Vendor
AS9100 shows up on a lot of vendor websites. It shows up on fewer quality manuals, and it shows up correctly on fewer still. For a buyer sourcing aerospace or…
Designing for Undercuts: When They Work and When They Don’t
Every injection mold opens along a single straight line, called the line of draw. Any feature that blocks the part from releasing along that line, a side hole, a snap-fit…
Living Hinge Design: What to Know Before You Mold or Print One
A living hinge is the cheapest moving joint you can put in a plastic part. No pin, no fastener, no assembly step, just a thin section of the same material…
The DFM Review a Portal Never Runs
Upload a file to a quoting portal and you’ll usually get a DFM flag or two back in seconds. That’s real, and it’s useful. It’s also a fraction of what…
