What is Custom Manufacturing?

Custom manufacturing is a single component or a series of components built into an assembly for a client to their specifications (materials, tolerances, quantity, size, etc.) and costing requirements. If you are interested in getting the parts for your product custom manufactured, this article will explain how to do it.

Who does custom manufacturing make sense for?

If you are a creator/inventor of a product, custom manufacturing could be for you. You may have the savvy and knowledge to design your product, but are without the knowledge to put it all together. On the other hand, maybe your team can do the mechanical design of your product, but they lack the expertise to build the printed circuit board. This is where custom manufacturing comes in. Your product or assembly can be brought to life, made specifically for you and sold only to you. 

Industries who are best served by custom manufacturing include those who want:

• Medical and healthcare manufacturing
• Telecommunications manufacturing
• Performance automotive aftermarket manufacturing
• Agricultural equipment manufacturing
• Industrial controls manufacturing

What are the pros of custom manufacturing?

There are a number of upsides to doing custom manufacturing, which include:

• Getting exactly what you want
• Getting the manufacturing support you need to get the job done right
• Using a mix of off-the-shelf components/assemblies and custom made parts
• A repeatable production process so you will continue to get the same quality throughout your manufacturing cycle
• Getting production ready components/assemblies, best in class fit and finish
• Getting the quantity you need

What are the cons of custom manufacturing?

While there are very few cons of custom manufacturing, you may need to make some choices. You will need to decide what the most important factors are for manufacturing your product, including:

• Speed of getting it to market (lead times for production materials)
• Upfront costs for tooling and fixturing
• Minimum order quantities for materials and production

An example of a decision you might need to make is where if you wanted a large quantity, you would choose hard steel tooling, which has a higher initial cost and longer lead time, but in return you get a tool that can produce well over 1 million pieces without issue. But if you wanted a small quantity, you may be able to go with aluminum or a softer/cheaper steel tool, which is quick and easy to machine, but cannot manufacture high quantities reliably. 

Next steps

Kingstec provides true value in the engineering and manufacturing support we provide. With a number of different partners and suppliers who have different expert capabilities, we will find you exactly what you want and need. Our partners have the best in class machines and the knowledgeable people to run them. We will provide you with many different options along with the pros and the cons for you to consider and you choose what works for you. 
To learn more about how to custom manufacture your product, download our new guide - The step-by-step guide to achieving design freedom with custom manufacturing.