Vendor qualification is something we take very seriously at Reata. Partnering with the right plating vendor makes all the difference when it comes to maintaining tight tolerances, achieving consistent finishes, and meeting customers’ production deadlines. The way we onboard and manage our plating partners ensures quality results and no surprises for our customers.
Continue reading to learn how our team treats plating not as a simple handoff, but as a critical step in our contract manufacturing process.
Plating Is More Than Just a Finish
From an outside perspective, plating seems relatively straightforward: immerse the part, apply the coating, and ship it out. However, it can be the root of many quality issues. Small missteps in masking, build-up, or surface finish can cause downstream problems that are costly and time-consuming to correct.
That’s why selecting a reliable plating vendor is critical for any precision machine shop that is focused on quality and performance.
An Inside Look at Our Plating Vendor Qualification Process
At Reata, we maintain rigorous standards for onboarding new platers. This process includes:
- Qualifying jobs: We produce parts with challenging finishes or special instructions and send them to multiple vendors. We then carefully inspect each plater’s work for quality, adherence to instructions, and overall finish.
- Performance evaluation: We grade vendors not just on the part quality, but also on lead time, responsiveness, and communication. That way, we know right off the bat whether or not they are equipped to meet production schedules and collaborate effectively.
- Process-specific qualification: Some finishes, such as hard black anodize or specialty coatings, require separate qualification for each part or process type. We test them on their ability to handle a range of services, so we can properly validate them across the board.
Through our multi-step approach, we create a roster of trusted plating vendors who are prepared for our customers’ unique expectations.
Detailed documentation and instructions
To minimize errors, we provide vendors with detailed prints and instructions. In some cases, customers even provide cross-sectional markings to indicate where masking is required. By doing this, we remove ambiguity and reduce the risk of mistakes.
Additionally, our engineers account for plating build-up during the machining stage, adjusting dimensions so that plated parts meet nominal tolerances. For example, a hard anodize may require us to machine a feature slightly undersized to allow for coating thickness. By doing this proactively, our platers have a clear roadmap for success.
Continuous evaluation and feedback
Even after a vendor is qualified, our work is not yet complete. We maintain ongoing scorecards with existing vendors that measure factors such as quality, responsiveness, and on-time delivery. We constantly evaluate our platers with the high expectations we had for them from the very beginning.
If a plater falls below our expectations, we initiate a corrective action plan to ensure consistent performance across all batches. We maintain extremely high standards for the work we complete at Reata, and the same can be said for what we expect from our vendors.
Our Advice for Customers’ Plating Success: Involve Reata Early
Plating impacts machining and tolerances significantly. By consulting Reata before your parts go to plating, we can provide Design for Manufacturing (DFM) advice, including:
- Where to mask surfaces
- Optimal racking methods
- Recommendations for alternative coatings when tight tolerances are critical
For instance, hard anodizing may not provide the accuracy a customer requires for high-precision parts. In these cases, we may suggest an alternative process or material to meet specifications without compromising performance.
Reata, Your Partner for Precision and Consistency for Plated Components
By carefully selecting, qualifying, and managing our plating vendors, Reata ensures that every plated part meets customers’ exacting standards. Our thorough approach reduces risk and preserves tolerances. Moreover, it provides confidence in every step of our supply chain.
When plating is critical to your part’s function or finish, trust Reata to guide the process from start to finish. Request a quote to get started with our Colorado machine shop!