How We Maintain and Improve Quality Control for All Our Precision Made Parts

The industrial world today demands some of the most exacting components than it ever has before. From semiconductor microchips to military-grade aerospace parts, the advanced function that so many machines fill in our modern world all require each of their components to fit the highest standards of quality and precision. At MultiSource Manufacturing LLC, our network of multiple facilities adheres to a rigorously tested and continually improved system of quality control for all our services.

 

From precision CNC machining to plastic fabrication and more, the MultiSource network structures our contract manufacturing services on a tried and true system of quality control. The international quality standards of each industry we serve make up the foundational bulk of our quality control system while our own standards refine and improve beyond those outlined industry principles to create a start-to-finish comprehensive approach.

From the Bottom Up

With the core, foundational requirements of the global industrial quality standards in addition to our own values and goals as a contract manufacturer, the MultiSource quality control system is one that offers a quality assurance program from the bottom up. This manifests in two ways. One, with a beginning-to-end manufacturing process, and two, with a wide-to-narrow application of quality control principles.

 

  1. Beginning-to-end manufacturing: Looking at MultiSource quality control standards in terms of the manufacturing process itself, we can see that it literally starts from the bottom up. Each step of the way, beginning with design, engineering, and prototyping and ending with machining, finishing, and packaging, requires the alertness of quality control managers for the application of industry and in-house standards for quality. Because each linear step of the manufacturing process for any component has the potential to create a deviation from quality, our team is diligent in maintaining control throughout. To help us meet our quality control goals in a practical way we utilize several tools at various stages in production, including predictive prototype software, computer controlled machining, CMMs, and other vision systems.
  2. Wide-to-narrow application: To examine our quality control system with the idea that it takes on a wide or broad definition to a much more specified application is to compare and combine the industry standards with our own. For the most part, this means we implement and meet the standards outlined by the ISO and other internationally recognized groups that inspect and certify facilities and processes. Using these standards as a broader foundation, we then apply our own MultiSource in-house standards to sharpen and narrow quality control to guide each step of the manufacturing process.

 

No matter how we view the “bottom up” philosophy of our quality control, the MultiSource network strives to maintain excellence in products and services as a contract manufacturer. To learn more about our quality control standards and services, contact MultiSource Manufacturing and request more information online or request a quote to get started today.

 

Implementing Preventative Maintenance for Quality Food Production Equipment Fabrication

With six facility locations across Minnesota and Colorado, the MultiSource Manufacturing network has capabilities that meet the needs for a wide range of manufacturing industries. Our production of components and assemblies for the medical, aerospace, semiconductor, food, and many other industries is currently provided worldwide to OEMs and other customers.

 

As a contract manufacturer, MultiSource is a one-stop-shop for many services from precision CNC machining to plastics fabrication. Forpak, a division of MultiSource Manufacturing, is a leader in the design and manufacturing of quality food production equipment, has opened the door for the MultiSource network to offer more and more specialized equipment for players in the food sorting and packing industry.

 

With over 25 years of experience in engineering and building innovative food production equipment, Forpak has been able to provide unique and effective solutions with more growth under the umbrella of MultiSource. Recently, Forpak has worked to improve and implement a rigorous, well-planned preventative maintenance program.

 

New Forpak Preventative Maintenance Program

Forpak customers benefit from more than just a quality product built with their needs in mind. They also get the long-term benefits of Forpak’s technical support and newly improved preventative maintenance program. This program is designed to provide routinely scheduled visits from Forpak’s maintenance technicians. Not only does this maintenance program limit downtime for your production schedule and properly train staff on operations, Forpak also offers options for discounts on parts, scheduled maintenance overall, and emergency visits.

 

The quality preventative maintenance Forpak customers will receive increases the time equipment is spent in effective production, improves complete project efficiency, reduces cost of ownership, extends the lifetime of their Forpak equipment, and provides precise historical record keeping of the maintenance schedule.

 

Each visit from Forpak’s preventative maintenance team also offers comprehensive staff training on the equipment’s operations, troubleshooting and review of the equipment’s performance, optimization of the equipment, and access to a wide log of available parts.

 

This new preventative maintenance program ensures your Forpak equipment will continue to operate at peak performance with an extended lifetime and access to all the parts you may need. With the added support of Forpak’s technical team just a phone call away, you can rest easy that your equipment will never compromise your production schedule.

 

To learn more about Forpak’s new preventative maintenance program and their food production equipment manufacturing, contact Forpak at (952) 882-6211, request more information, or request a quote online.

 

Vertical vs. Horizontal CNC Milling When Fabricating Quality Components

Manufacturing in a broad range of industries utilizes milling as a versatile fabrication method. Machining mills of varying technological advancement have been in use for metals, woods, plastics, and many other materials for over 100 years. Since the 1960s, the development of CNC technology has expanded to the majority of machining operations, including milling. Milling allows for a wide spectrum of capabilities when it comes to the parts and components that can be fabricated, and MultiSource Manufacturing LLC utilizes horizontal, vertical, and multi-axis machining centers to create parts with even the most intricate designs. The network of MultiSource locations offers comprehensive CNC milling services so our customers can get the full benefits of multi-directional machining technologies.

While we provide up to 5-axis machining, MultiSource facilities have multiple vertical and horizontal CNC mills. All of our mills are on a strict preventative maintenance schedule, and despite their limitations in comparison with 5-axis machines, the capabilities of our vertical and horizontal CNC milling equipment never compromises quality in the components we manufacture.

The differences between a vertical mill versus a horizontal mill lie in their capabilities and the parts they are suited to machine.

 

Vertical Mills

The cutting spindle of a vertical CNC milling machine is placed vertically, or perpendicular to the material that will be machined. The mill height can be adjusted and the spindle itself moves horizontally. Vertical mills are typically less expensive than horizontal mills and perform simpler tasks. Vertical turret mills offer versatile milling of smaller projects as the movement of the bed rather than the spindle offers a greater range of motion. Vertical bed mills allow our technicians to work on heavy, large components with adjustable depth and movement.

 

Horizontal Mills

Instead of the cutting spindle vertical mills utilize, horizontal mills use circular cutting heads on horizontal arbors to machine components. Because of the structure of horizontal mills, they are able to use multiple cutters at different angles. This means they can provide complex, multi-sided machining of the material. Additionally, the mill can move in a wider range across the bed, allowing longer and heavier parts to be machined in one operation.

Overall, horizontal mills are more applicable to complex machining operations on a larger scale, but vertical mills have their place in machining single-side components, such as die sinking or metal plates. The MultiSource network offers vertical, horizontal, and multiple axis CNC milling with added benefits of high-speed machining, thru spindle coolant, 40,000 rpm, Renishaw probing, 84” x 33” travel, and much more.

 

To learn more about our CNC milling services and comprehensive manufacturing capabilities, contact MultiSource at (952) 456-5500, request more information, or request a quote today.