The decision between a standard and custom part may come up often for some industries and applications and infrequently for others. However, the factors involved in making the decision are always similar. The best choices for each part are determined by the application’s requirements.
Beyond Standard Components
Catalog components are very useful and cost-effective for many applications. Standard parts save time by being immediately available, and are often better value when operating conditions are normal and when size and shape requirements offer some flexibility.
In more demanding applications, though, engineering-focused manufacturers may offer a valuable service with their broad experience and range of processes for forming, fabricating and machining custom components. Some situations in which custom components can be a better option than standard parts include:
- Need to integrate into unusual space or enclosure requirements
- Tight dimensional specifications
- Non-standard mounting hole patterns
- Material limitations (either because of environment, conductivity, etc.) or availability
- High electrical current requirements
- Limited airspace
- Higher-than-standard frequency of on/off cycling
- Limited service and repair access
- Higher structural or joint strength requirements, such as may be needed to withstand vibration or pressure differentials
- Unusual surface finish needs
- Sealing requirements
- Corrosion resistance
- Custom appearance
- Incorporation into legacy equipment or for repair applications
Incorporating a standard item into an unusual or highly customized application may work. The cost for that option, though, may show up later in the form of added hardware or adapters, extra labor, poor thermal management or difficult maintenance. All these costs are best compared to the expense of a custom component to determine the best course of action for each project.
Operating Environment
In addition to meeting external dimension requirements, it can help to examine the overall enclosure design early in the planning stages, as components need to fit not only within the allotted space but also alongside each other, with room for installation, grounding, connection, and service. Details like cable management space, ease of maintenance, airflow, and sealing requirements can all help inform decisions about components’ exact dimensions, materials, and construction.
Likewise, material choice can be complicated by a number of considerations. Beyond strength and weight requirements, electrical or thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, and availability may also have an effect. Rather than simply defaulting to the lowest-cost option, material choice is another opportunity for a manufacturing partner’s advice and input. Getec Industrial provides custom industrial components and thermal management solutions to help meet specific application requirements.
Early communication with manufacturing partners about these and other issues can save headaches and costly redesigns later, helping them make suggestions that may include changing a bend radius, loosening tolerances, adding features to ease assembly or service, or choosing a more suitable fabrication process to balance quality requirements with part quantities. For instance, a formed or machined feature may ease installation of a connector or help stiffen a part, which could otherwise be built more easily as a flat component.
Thermal Management Systems
The best solution is always dependent on the details of an application’s requirements and environment, and is often the product of compromise and iteration. For thermal control solutions, though, it’s important to keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to move heat away from components as quickly as it is generated. While each step in that process matters, from insulation to convection, the best-looking heat sink may not perform well if placed in dead air space. Likewise, a custom-machined liquid-cooled cold plate will need to meet the additional requirements of coolant routing and sealing.
Without proper thermal management, which is discussed at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210537917304067, heat buildup near sensitive or important components can reduce performance or lifespan or lead to more erratic system performance. Thermal solutions range from integrated features to separate components to full-system changes. Thermal control solutions may include:
- Cold plates
- Custom heat sinks
- Conductive component bodies
- Fans, vents and baffles
- Thermally conductive adhesives, pads, and other interfaces
- Integration or relocation of components to take advantage of conductive materials
- Liquid cooling
Prototype to Production
Design-for-manufacturability reviews help simplify designs by catching overly complicated machining or tooling requirements, over-tight or over-specific dimensions or finishes, or difficult-to-access features early, saving time and money by refining them before production. DFMA, which means as design for manufacture and assembly, is as much about keeping needed complexity as it is about cutting unneeded complexity. These reviews can suggest opportunities to combine features, loosen tolerances where allowed, or choose common materials and thicknesses that are more readily available to save material. They can also help prioritize dimensions and features for inspection to help streamline the QA process and keep teams focused on characteristics that make the biggest difference in product performance.
Pre-Build Priorities
The best options for custom parts may not be obvious at first but can be revealed through consideration of the part’s role in the overall product or equipment. Bringing as much information as possible about the operating environment, expected usage, adjoining parts, key dimensions, integration into assembly or manufacturing, quantity needed, and more, together to manufacturing partners early on can help create a successful end product.
