Choosing the right manufacturing partner can make the difference in meeting and exceeding your requirements for precision imaged optical components, test targets and charts, calibration standards, or photomasks.
How do you know where to start when you need precision-imaged optical components or calibration standards?
Every industry and project comes with its own set of unique challenges. Once you’ve identified the product design priorities that will give you a
competitive advantage, the hard work of execution begins.
Sometimes it’s as easy as ordering a standard product right off the shelf or a standard solution with slight modifications. But when you need a completely custom product, the path forward is not so straightforward. There is added complexity since custom components are typically associated with emerging technologies and highly unique, advanced products.
When choosing a manufacturing partner, it’s crucial to ensure that they have their own engineering and development departments to support component designs. If you can find a manufacturer already making something like the component you need, they may be able to do everything for you – development, engineering, tooling, prototyping, and manufacturing your final design.
You may lower your upfront development costs and save time when you get the right partner.
That’s why it’s essential to quickly identify what characteristics are necessary for a potential partner and determine which manufacturers meet these requirements before starting the quoting process.
5 Questions to ask a custom optical-component manufacturer:
- What experience does your team have?
- Do you have all the equipment needed to produce parts to the desired specifications, quantities, and delivery date?
- What additional support services do you offer to ensure your production is successful and cost-efficient from start to finish?
- Do you adhere to our industry’s specific standards?
- Do you have certifications and systems in place to verify and meet product quality standards?
Their responses should give you a clear picture of how they’ll perform on
- Adaptability, Agility, and Flexibility
- Customer experience
- Capabilities and Expertise
- Decision making
- Communication
- Budget consciousness
- Product and Service quality
- Team organization and efficiency
The best providers will also let you know when their solutions are not a good fit. They’ll have a wide range of options to help point you in the right direction, whether it’s alternative products or other manufacturers. Your success is their key priority. To learn how Applied Image can help you achieve your project goals contact us here.