A Formula One car is custom-made, while a Toyota Supra is mass-produced. This translates into the real world most of us inhabit as well.
Custom manufacturing is when products are created to individual specifications. It could be a complex piece of machinery or a specific bracket to hold a part or any product with curves or textures that requires more than standard manufacturing processes.
Custom manufacturing used to be very expensive and difficult to do, with long turnaround times. You needed specialists who could work with materials like metal, plastics, or resins, or could custom-make electronics, gears, or switches. Even though digital printing was available, it was limited in scope and quite expensive.
Although custom manufacturing is still more costly per unit than mass production, technology has transformed the process.
What Is Custom Manufacturing?
Custom manufacturing solutions are when you create unique products made with specific materials, functions, and dimensions to meet a defined need. This can be as little as only one unit or up to a full production run. What differentiates custom manufacturing from mass production is that custom manufacturing tends to have lower production volumes, is more flexible with regard to design and production, and can require specialized equipment or processes.
The Benefits of Custom Manufacturing
Custom manufacturing pays off when there is no stock part on the market to meet your specific needs. You can make a product with very specific dimensions, materials, or moving parts to exactly meet the needs of your operation. Because you control the fabrication process, you also determine the quality control.
The product you have made will be optimized for its intended use instead of having to make do with the readily available part that is the closest match. In some industries, custom manufacturing is the only way to satisfy regulatory or statutory requirements.
Custom Manufacturing in Product Development
Not all custom manufacturing is done for final production. The process is often used to develop a product to refine the concept, test the efficacy, do market research, and refine the design until it is ready for mass production. This is a highly cost-effective way to maximize the chances of success before launching into the market.
The Process of Custom Product Development
The process of turning ideas into actual products involves several stages of creating and fine-tuning ideas until they precisely meet customer requirements. One of the key technologies used in this process is 3D modeling, whereby a digital version of the product is created with CAD software. This kind of modeling is highly sophisticated and can not only represent what the product will look like but also help define the internal dimensions and the measurements of the internal structural and functional elements.
Beyond Custom Product Development
Custom product development is often used to accurately define the final production elements that can make or break a mass-produced item. Mass production often involves subparts produced by other suppliers, while custom development is invaluable for the individual design of each subpart to ensure all the parts work together optimally.
One subpart could involve a relatively simple process, such as CNC routing, while another could require complex and expensive processes like injection molding. You can only really determine most of these requirements by making and testing limited-run parts.
This process will also optimize supply chain requirements, helping determine which parts can be off-the-shelf and which have to be custom-made.
Processes Used in Custom Manufacturing
Not all custom products are made as the first step to developing mass-production products. Some are unique and can involve making only one or a couple of dozen complex parts.
3D Printing
3D printing has moved from a hobbyist pastime to creating actual products using a wide range of materials. Today, 3D printing can be done using a vast array of materials for many different applications.
You can print a product in plastic, resin, metal, carbon fiber, ceramic, polycarbonate, composites, and even human tissue such as corneas.
The speed of 3D printing has dramatically improved to the point where even medium-run production is possible. The costs of using 3D printers have come down while printing quality and the reduction of materials lost to waste have improved dramatically.
Molding and Casting
Casting is the process of making products by shaping resins inside a form. Molding is the creation of making the inverse shape that will determine the cast product. Molding and casting is ideal for creating durable, complex products or intricate shapes.
You can make silicone molds for smaller objects more complex by using a 3D printer to create the mold. Larger casts will require matrix molds that combine as a silicone shape held in place with a fiberglass shell for structural integrity.
Molding is also used to create a vacuum-forming buck, which is the inverse shape into which heated poly or plastics can be pulled to form a positive shape. An example of this is an in-store display with indentations to hold shampoo or other products.
Conclusion
Custom manufacturing is ideal for creating complex products when the specifications are unique and design iterations need to be tested before committing to a larger production run. Medical devices, aerospace components, and automotive parts are just some of the parts that are often custom-manufactured. With advancements in technology, custom manufacturing isn’t as prohibitive as it used to be.