When it comes to tools, there are few things more important than quality. Like with most products, the cheapest, more than likely, isn’t the best. If you’re manufacturing a product, the higher the quality of the tools or machines you are using, the higher the value of the end product. No matter your industry, a high quality custom tool can be a gamechanger for your shop, and more importantly, your end product.

Choosing a custom tool manufacturer can be a long process of trial and error. However, here are some things to look for when trying to find a custom tool manufacturer.

Experience

Experience goes a long way. This is the first thing you should be inquiring about when talking with a potential custom tool manufacturer. Here’s a few questions you should be asking:

• How long have you been in business?
• Who are some of your customers?
• What industries do you typically serve?
• Tell me about your shop.
• What’s your lead time?

There are many more questions you could ask, but those are the basics that should be able to help you qualify a custom tool manufacturer.

Quality

This posts continuously harps on quality. However, quality can be overused (and under delivered) and every manufacturer is going to tell you their product is of the highest quality. It’s important to ask the manufacturer if they are investing in the latest equipment and inspection technology. What is their manufacturing process? Are they checking to make sure all of your requirements are being met throughout the process? One of the things we pride ourselves on at Custom Tool & Grinding is manufacturing most tools to tighter tolerances than specified.

Lead time

Lead time is important, especially to the end user. Quick lead time can make or break most decisions. Is the manufacturer big enough to handle quantities of any kind? Are they small enough to be committed to delivering every order when you need it? Do they offer expedited shipping? These are all important questions to ask when vetting a potential custom tool supplier.

Customer Service

Customer service is huge. If you call, will someone pick up? Will you get to talk to the person you need to talk to? Are they going to give you the answer you want? More important than just phone support, will they actually practice what they preach and deliver on time or offer same-day service? If the answers to any of these questions is no, you might want to keep looking.

Have you met Custom Tool & Grinding?

We are experts in the cutting tools industry. Serving customers in medical, food and beverage, aerospace, automotive and other industries, we make end mills, drills, step drills, port tools, lathe tools, and more. We’re specialists in solid carbide, brazed carbide, high-speed steel, and other specialty materials.

Customers tend to stay with us for the long term because we continually invest in the latest manufacturing and inspection technology, and our workforce is both seasoned and well-trained. We pride ourselves in fast, reliable delivery as a standard practice, and we are  equipped and staffed to provide expedited same-day service when needed. Give us a call, we’ll be happy to help!