You own a production business. And then, suddenly, you hear a loud crank, and then – silence. 

A machine that’s integral to the business stopped working. After investigating, you found out that a part was too worn out, which caused the break to happen. And because of it, the entire production came to a halt.

Now what?

You went online to check for replacement parts, but you quickly realized that your machine was custom-built specifically for your business, and the company that did it is no longer operational. After hours of grinding, you finally found a manufacturer that makes similar machines. You ask them for a replacement part, or whether they could machine one for you, but you get a decisive ‘no’ and are instead being sold an entire new system that would set you back thousands.

This is ‘planned obsolescence’ in action. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t only happen in consumer electronics, but everywhere, including industrial manufacturing. 

But even though that situation isn’t ideal for any business owner to be in, it has a solution – custom machining.

There are businesses that specialize in exactly these types of issues, and they can rebuild exact components you might require from scratch. All they require are precise measurements.

Let’s dive into how this process works, because if you own a business that’s dependent on a specific machine, then you might need it sooner or later.

Why Custom Machining Is Necessary

For a consumer, planned obsolescence looks like a phone slowing down after a software upgrade. In the industrial world, it’s a machine failing because the manufacturer who built it stopped making replacement parts years ago. And when that happens, production doesn’t slow down; it stops completely. 

You can’t call the OEM and order a new part. You’re told to upgrade the entire system, usually for a price you didn’t budget for in your wildest dreams. You could try third-party suppliers, but that doesn’t always work, either. If you find the component somehow, you might need to wait months for it to arrive, and you’ll pay a steep price because it’s rare or pulled from someone else’s (retired) equipment. 

The problem is very obvious – even one hour of downtime costs a lot of money, so waiting on a replacement part is still an issue. 

This is where you can really see the value of custom machining. 

You don’t have to accept the dead end the manufacturer has created because companies that have industrial machining capabilities can recreate the exact part you need. 

No waiting, no forced upgrade. 

Custom Machining – The Process

Custom machining is able to bring worn-out and even discontinued parts back to life, even in cases where there’s no original blueprint available. But how does that work? We’ll get into all of the steps so that if you require a custom part rebuild, you’ll know what to expect.

If you hire a business to recreate/rebuild a part for you, such as Fair Hill Precision, upon enquiring, you’ll realize they use CNC machines paired with a mix of experience and reverse engineering to create (custom machine) those parts for you. Or if the base part is worn out, they can be rebuilt to exact specs and a bit adjusted so that they still work flawlessly.

Thanks to such specialized companies, machines that are worn out are no longer considered scrap but are given a second life.

Here are more details:

Reverse Engineering

This is the first step. At this point, the original part (regardless of how worn-out it is) is measured and scanned in detail. Advanced 3D scanners and CAD software can capture every single contour and angle, even those that aren’t visible to the naked eye. 

Technicians also look for signs of wear to figure out what the part’s weak points are and the original performance specs. 

This stage makes sure that the new parts not only look right, but that they’ll actually work. 

Materials

Specs and design alone won’t be enough to create a part. You’ll also need to select the right materials. Usually, the same material is used as in the original part. It could be a raw metal (e.g., aluminum, copper, titanium, magnesium) or an alloy (steel, stainless steel, brass, bronze, Inconel, aluminum 6061, aluminum 7075, etc.). 

Iron is sometimes used as a raw metal, but it’s not common because, while it’s easy to shape, it isn’t strong/hard enough for industrial use, plus it’s prone to rust; it’s usually steel that’s being used instead.

Once the material(s) have been chosen, it’s on to the fabrication phase. 

Machining/Fabrication

Once we’ve reverse-engineered the part and got all the specs we need, along with the material we’ll be using to recreate the part, it’s time to machine it. 

Sometimes CNC machines are used to create high-precision parts, but sometimes there’s the manual method, which is sometimes more economical for one-off, more specialized items.

Every cut is checked by technicians to ensure the process goes smoothly. 

Once the machining is completed, it’s off to the next phase.

Testing/Fitting

You have the physical part now. But you still have to test the part so that you know it fits perfectly. If there is only a slight deviation, we’re going back to the reverse engineering step to figure out what’s wrong.

To test it properly, you need to recreate the same conditions the part will be subject to when in operation (e.g., load, pressure, rotation, etc.). 

Once the testing phase is successfully completed, the part is given to the customer. Some businesses will send their engineers or mechanics to install and fine-tune the part into the machine directly (in case the machine is too large to bring over, which is usually the case).

Saving the Specs (for Future Reference)

The same way you get your custom color saved in a paint shop, in case you need more a year later, because half the wall got smudged by tomato sauce, these types of businesses will save all the specs for your part, because you might come back a few years later again. This way, they’ll be able to jump straight into the machining phase (no need to reverse engineer or test).

This doesn’t cost you, the customer, anything. It’s simply there for your and their convenience. 

And this way, the custom machining business basically transforms into the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for your business.

Conclusion

Custom machining is described as something that you get when you combine detective work and super-precise craftsmanship.

This has most to do with the fact that you need to figure out what the exact part used to be, and then you have to recreate it from scratch, even though you mightn’t have the blueprint. Plus, if the machine case wears on another part, you might have to slightly adjust the part so that it accounts for that ‘extra space’ the wear is causing to prevent air gaps, which you might not want.

Every stage of custom machining has to be precise. Otherwise, the final product won’t be good.

Custom machining enables machines to live long past their expected lifespan, plus it saves machines that are broken and enables them to be placed back into action.

And for any business owner who depends on a machine, a custom machining business should always be on speed dial.