For your business to thrive your supply chain must be cost-effective. However, in order to make improvements to it, you'll need to identify how much you're spending and where that money is going. Let's discover how you can analyse your supply chain costs and manage your operations more economically.

In this article we would like to talk about quotes; specifically, why specialist CNC engineering companies charge what they do. There is a cost versus quality debate in every industry we can think of. The argument possibly goes that the lower the quote, the more corners must need to be cut at the suppliers’ side in order to achieve the price while still returning a reasonable profit. This usually leaves a fairly wide margin for flexibility, but it also means that a race to the bottom towards ever lower prices is rarely beneficial for either customers or suppliers in the long run.

Photographer: Monty Rakusen | Copyright: Copyright terms apply

Gundrilling is a specialist machining process that plays a crucial role in the manufacturing of a range of components upon which we rely every day. From the engines that power our cars to the medical devices that save lives, gundrilling helps to shape our world by enabling the creation of precise, deep, and straight holes that are essential for various applications.

Photographer: MONTY_RAKUSEN | Copyright: © MONTY_RAKUSEN

Deep hole boring may not be a well-known term outside the engineering sector, but its positive impact and contribution to many areas of everyday life cannot be denied. A highly specialised process in modern manufacturing that helps to produce components with tight tolerances, precision boring is crucial for many different industries, facilitating the production of highly accurate, reliable, and durable tubular components for a wide variety of applications.

Hydraulic systems are present on all types of aircraft, providing vital control to a range of systems and components, including landing gear, steering, thrust reversers, and cargo doors. Hydraulic failures are inconvenient and costly but, more importantly, may cause serious threats to flight safety such as a loss of control, the inability to extend or retract flaps, or problems raising or lowering landing gear.

Manufacturing enterprises within the UK's engineering sector continue to be significant contributors to the economy. In 2023, the manufacturing industry's Gross Value Added (GVA) was approximately £199.8 billion.

Honing is an advanced machining process that fine-tunes a variety of components to achieve exceptional precision. It is widely used to improve surface finishes, correct geometric errors, enhance dimensional accuracy, and reduce friction and wear in a range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, and medical device manufacturing.

The honing process is an important finishing technique in manufacturing that helps to achieve precise dimensions, superior surface quality, and enhanced performance and durability. At Hone-All, our honing service helps our customers by producing high-quality components that meet exacting standards, particularly for use in high-stress environments such as aerospace, hydraulics, and medical device manufacture.

When you contract your precision machining project to a specialist, you’ll want the process to run as smoothly as possible. To eliminate the risk of problems and to maximise the likelihood that your deadline will be met, you should provide the precision engineer with some important information at the earliest opportunity. This will enable both parties to share a common vision for the project, with any potential issues identified and resolved before fabrication begins.

In this guide, we’ll outline the information you should provide to your CNC machining specialist and explain what to do if you don’t have it to hand.