Build-To-Print
Cat-Wood can produce practically any mechanical part or component from customer-provided drawings and/or specs. We have the tools, skills, and dedication required to ensure that everything we produce is of the highest quality and meets every spec and requirement.
With our experienced processing engineers, we have the capability of taking print specifications and turning concepts into reality. Having built over 12,000 unique part numbers since 1994 gives us the ability to create parts in the most efficient and precise manner possible.
With tooling and processing technology evolving faster than ever, it is not uncommon for a machined part to be superseded within just a few years of its production. Most of the build-to-print parts that Cat-Wood is called upon to make fall into this category. Cat-Wood makes technology improvements a priority and continually invests in equipment upgrades, staff training, and ensuring outside processing finish specs are to the latest supersedes. As a result, Cat-Wood engineers are experts at updating legacy parts using newer materials, improved methods, and advanced tooling technology.
Quality Is Built Into Our Quote Process.
The quote process at Cat-Wood is a good indication of how detail-oriented we are. To formulate an accurate quote for your build-to-print job, your drawing or specs will be circulated throughout the company for approval from each department manager. Managers have the authority to “no-quote” if they determine the risk is too high to continue or the build lies outside our scope.
First, our Production Manager determines the best approach to building the product to specified tolerances. Using past experience as a guide, the production assessment estimates the anticipated demand on shop resources, including personnel and machining. Deemed viable, the print moves on to the Purchasing Department.
Our Purchasing Manager reviews the print to determine the accessibility, lead time, and cost of raw materials and outside processing (if required). Purchasing also ensures vendors are qualified and approved in our system.
Finally, our Quality Manager determines FAI requirements/pricing, gages needed, and risk level in a final review of print and planning. Deviations are noted at this point, as well as the overall risk level.
Once the print has been approved by each department manager, it is reviewed by the President, who generates the quote.
Having such a robust quote process has many benefits to the customer. For example, the contract review process, which can typically be time-consuming and laborious, tends to move quickly at Cat-Wood, because the details will have already been worked out during the quote process. In fact, our quote process is so comprehensive and detailed, there are rarely any significant surprises at any step of the way, right through production.
Cat-Wood in Action [Case Study]
A customer had sent us the specs for a brand-new build. Cat-Wood engineers realized that certain aspects of the design would require changes to the final assembly.
We reached out to the engineers on the client side, and together, we spent two weeks revising the build. The result was a phenomenal product that fulfilled the customer’s every need and was easier to manufacture than the original would have been.
It really makes a difference when we can work closely with client engineering, especially on newly developed parts, to create the best part possible right from the start.