How customer requirements become a production-ready custom manufactured component
Every custom manufactured part starts with a customer need.
Before a supplier reviews tolerances, selects a manufacturing process, or develops tooling, the first step is understanding the parameters of the customer’s application.
A component is not simply made to match a drawing. It is made specifically for a customer’s product, operating environment, production requirements, and expected service life.
A part used in an automotive assembly, heavy-duty truck, industrial machine, electrical system, or other manufactured product has a specific job to do. It also has to continue doing that job under the conditions the customer expects the finished product to experience.
That means understanding questions such as:
- What does the component need to do?
- Where will it be used?
- What loads, temperatures, vibration, movement, chemicals, or environmental conditions will it experience?
- How long is the customer’s product expected to remain in service?
- What level of durability and reliability is required?
- What production volumes are expected?
- Are there customer-specific, automotive, industry, or regulatory requirements?
- What testing and validation requirements apply?
These requirements establish the foundation for everything that follows.
A rubber component used in an automotive application, for example, may need to maintain its properties through years of temperature changes, vibration, environmental exposure, and repeated use. A forged or machined component may need to withstand a particular load throughout the expected life of the customer’s product.
In custom manufacturing, the objective is not to produce a generic component that happens to fit.
The component is manufactured specifically for the customer’s application and must meet the performance requirements established for that product.
Once those expectations are understood, the engineering drawing becomes the technical roadmap for turning the customer’s requirements into a finished production part.
1. Understand the Customer’s Application and Requirements
Before deciding how to manufacture a component, the supplier first needs to understand what the customer needs the component to accomplish.
This includes much more than dimensions.
The customer’s application and specifications can influence:
- Material requirements
- Manufacturing process
- Dimensional tolerances
- Tooling
- Heat treatment
- Plating and coating
- Inspection
- Testing
- Quality controls
- Production volume
- Packaging
- Product-life requirements
For automotive OEM and Tier-1 manufacturing programs, additional requirements may include customer-specific specifications, validation testing, PPAP requirements, traceability, and defined durability expectations.
This initial review is important because every custom manufactured component serves a purpose within a larger product.
The part needs to work correctly not only when it leaves the manufacturing facility, but throughout the conditions and service life for which the customer’s product was designed.
The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) uses Advanced Product Quality Planning and other Quality Core Tools to help manufacturers consider customer requirements, risks, manufacturing processes, validation, and production controls before and during production.
Source: AIAG – Automotive Quality Core Tools
2. The Engineering Drawing Defines the Part
Once the customer’s application and performance requirements are understood, the engineering drawing provides the detailed technical definition of the component.
An engineering drawing may specify:
- Material
- Dimensions
- Dimensional tolerances
- Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
- Surface finish
- Critical characteristics
- Plating, coating, or other secondary processes
- Inspection requirements
- Testing requirements
A dimension that looks simple on paper can have a significant effect on the manufacturing process.
A tight tolerance, for example, may require different equipment, additional machining, specialized tooling, tighter process controls, or a more precise inspection method.
Certain geometric requirements can also determine how a component must be fixtured, manufactured, and measured.
This is why an engineering drawing is much more than a picture of the part. It communicates the customer’s engineering requirements to the manufacturing and quality teams that have to turn those requirements into a repeatable production process.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Y14.5 standard establishes a common language for Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing and the communication of engineering requirements.
Source: ASME Y14.5 – Dimensioning and Tolerancing
3. How Should the Part Be Manufactured?
Once the requirements are understood, the next question is:
What manufacturing process makes the most sense for this component?
There is rarely one manufacturing method that is best for every part.
Depending on material, geometry, tolerances, mechanical requirements, annual production volume, and cost targets, a custom component could involve:
- Forging
- Gravity casting
- High-pressure die casting
- Investment casting
- CNC machining
- Rubber molding
- Insert molding
- Plating or coating
- Assembly or subassembly
- A combination of multiple manufacturing processes
A forged component and a cast component can have very different manufacturing characteristics. A near-net-shape forging or casting may still require precision machining on critical surfaces. A rubber-molded component may require a metal insert, secondary finishing, or another operation before it becomes a finished part.
This early manufacturability review is important because decisions made before tooling and production are established are generally easier to address than changes made later in the program.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) identifies product design and development as a process that can involve material selection, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and commercialization.
Getting from an engineering design to a finished manufactured component requires a series of connected decisions.
Source: NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership – Product Design and Development
4. The Manufacturing Process Has to Be Built
Choosing forging, casting, machining, rubber molding, or another manufacturing process is still only part of the job.
The supplier now has to determine how that process will consistently produce the customer’s component.
Manufacturing process development may include:
- Tooling, dies, molds, and fixtures
- Machine and equipment selection
- Raw-material sourcing
- Manufacturing sequence
- Machining operations
- Heat treatment
- Plating and coating
- Secondary operations
- Inspection points
- Gauging
- Packaging
- Production capacity
- Process controls
This is where manufacturing engineering and quality planning come together.
In automotive manufacturing, the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) identifies several Quality Core Tools used to develop, validate, and control production processes.
These include:
- Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)
- Control Plan
- Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
- Measurement System Analysis (MSA)
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
These tools are not simply paperwork requirements.
They help manufacturers identify what could go wrong, determine which characteristics need to be controlled, establish how those characteristics will be measured, and prepare a manufacturing process for ongoing production.
Source: AIAG – Automotive Quality Core Tools
5. The First Parts Have to Be Manufactured and Measured
Eventually, the first physical components are produced.
Metal is forged, cast, or machined. Rubber is molded. Secondary operations are performed.
Now there is an actual part to evaluate.
But producing the component is only half the job.
The manufacturer also has to determine whether the part actually meets the customer’s engineering drawing and specifications.
Depending on the component and its requirements, dimensional inspection may involve:
- Calipers
- Micrometers
- Height gauges
- Custom gauges
- Inspection fixtures
- Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs)
- Optical inspection systems
- Surface-finish measurement
- Material testing
- Other specialized inspection equipment
This area of manufacturing is known as metrology — the science of measurement.
The inspection equipment and measurement method need to be appropriate for the characteristic being evaluated.
That becomes particularly important when measurements are close to an upper or lower specification limit.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides extensive guidance on measurement science and measurement uncertainty. Measurement is itself a process, and manufacturers need dependable measurement systems to make reliable decisions about product quality.
Source: NIST – Measurement Uncertainty
6. One Good Part Is Not Enough
This is one of the most important differences between producing a prototype and running a production manufacturing program.
Making one good part does not prove that a manufacturer can make thousands of good parts.
The real question is whether the manufacturing process can continue producing components that meet customer requirements consistently.
Manufacturers may need to evaluate:
- Process capability
- Material consistency
- Tooling condition
- Machine settings
- Critical process parameters
- Measurement-system reliability
- Inspection results
- Production variation
This is where quality tools such as Measurement System Analysis (MSA), Statistical Process Control (SPC), Control Plans, process capability studies, and PPAP become especially important.
The basic idea is straightforward:
Manufacturing quality is not just proving that one part is good. It is establishing a process capable of making good parts repeatedly.
AIAG’s automotive Quality Core Tools provide established methods for planning, measuring, controlling, and approving these manufacturing processes.
Source: AIAG – Automotive Quality Core Tools and PPAP
7. The Part and Process Have to Be Validated
Before regular production begins, the manufacturer and customer need confidence that both the component and the manufacturing process can meet the required specifications.
For automotive manufacturing programs, this often includes the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP).
PPAP can involve documentation and evidence such as:
- Engineering requirements
- Process flow information
- FMEA
- Control Plans
- Measurement results
- Material and performance testing
- Measurement System Analysis
- Process capability information
- Sample production parts
The details vary depending on the customer and program.
The important point is that validation connects the engineering drawing, manufacturing process, measurement system, and actual production parts.
It helps answer the question:
Can this manufacturing process consistently produce a component that meets the customer’s requirements?
Source: AIAG – Production Part Approval Process and Automotive Quality Core Tools
8. Then the Component Moves Into Production
Approval is a major milestone, but it is not the end of the process.
The next challenge is moving from validation into ongoing production.
A production-ready manufacturing program may require coordination of:
- Raw-material availability
- Supplier capacity
- Production schedules
- Customer forecasts
- Customer releases
- Quality controls
- Packaging
- Inventory
- Warehousing
- Transportation
- Delivery schedules
For an automotive OEM, Tier-1 supplier, or industrial manufacturer, all of these pieces ultimately have to come together at the right time.
A perfectly manufactured component sitting in the wrong location does not help a production line.
Neither does a capable manufacturing process that cannot support the customer’s required production volume.
That is why manufacturing capability and supply-chain capability are closely connected.
A successful production program has to address both.
9. Production Does Not Mean the Work Is Finished
Once a custom component reaches regular production, the job changes — but it does not stop.
Tooling wears.
Customer volumes change.
Engineering changes happen.
Raw materials can vary.
Machines require maintenance.
Manufacturing processes naturally experience variation.
Quality systems, process controls, inspections, preventative maintenance, and ongoing communication help manufacturers recognize these changes before they become larger production problems.
AIAG’s automotive Quality Core Tools are designed to work together throughout the life of a product and its manufacturing process — from planning and validation through regular production and continuous improvement.
Source: AIAG – Automotive Quality Core Tools
The Drawing Is the Beginning, Not the End
An engineering drawing tells a manufacturer what the finished component needs to be.
But before even reaching that point, the supplier needs to understand why the part exists, how it will be used, and what the customer expects it to accomplish throughout the life of the product.
From there, manufacturing determines how to make it happen.
| Customer application and requirements → Engineering drawing → Manufacturing process selection → Tooling and process development → Initial parts → Inspection and measurement → Validation and PPAP → Production → Ongoing process control |
Between the customer’s initial requirements and a finished production component are decisions involving materials, manufacturing processes, tooling, quality planning, measurement, validation, production capacity, inventory, and logistics.
That is true whether the component is a custom forging, casting, precision-machined part, rubber-molded component, insert-molded part, or assembly.
For purchasing teams, engineers, and OEM or Tier-1 manufacturers evaluating a new manufacturing supplier, this process also demonstrates why supplier capability involves much more than simply owning the correct piece of equipment.
The bigger question is whether the supplier has the manufacturing processes, quality systems, engineering support, program management, attention to detail, and supply-chain capabilities necessary to take the component from customer requirements and drawing to reliable production.
How Connor Corporation Supports Custom Manufacturing Programs
For more than 30 years, Connor Corporation has supported manufacturers with custom components produced to customer drawings and specifications.
Connor Corporation supports:
- Forged components
- Cast components
- Precision-machined components
- Rubber-molded and insert-molded components
- Assemblies and subassemblies
- Plating, coating, and additional post-processing
Connor Corporation also provides engineering and program-management support, inspection and quality oversight, North American warehousing, inventory solutions, and Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI).
Our role is not to design the customer’s end product.
Our role is to understand the customer’s application, engineering drawing, specifications, quality expectations, production volumes, timing, and supply-chain requirements — and then help develop a manufacturing solution capable of supporting the program throughout its life.
Because getting from a customer’s requirement to a finished production component is not one step.
Every step matters.
Ready to Work With a Supplier That Pays Attention to the Details?
Getting a custom manufactured component from an engineering drawing into reliable production takes more than manufacturing equipment.
It takes careful planning, quality controls, communication, inspection, manufacturing knowledge, and attention to detail throughout the life of the program.
That is the approach Connor Corporation brings to its customer programs.
Connor’s performance includes:
- >99.9% on-time delivery
- >99.99% quality acceptance
- Product launches in as little as 14 weeks, including tooling, first-off-tool samples, and PPAP
- Full production material and warehouse solutions available within 24 weeks
- Vendor-Managed Inventory and North American warehouse support
If your company is looking to integrate a manufacturing supplier that takes a detailed approach from understanding your application and drawing through manufacturing, quality, production, inventory, and delivery, Connor Corporation would welcome the opportunity to learn about your program.
Complete the short contact form and tell us what your team is working on.
Sources & Further Reading
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)
Automotive Quality Core Tools — APQP, Control Plan, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, and SPC
The Automotive Industry Action Group provides industry guidance and resources for Advanced Product Quality Planning, Production Part Approval Process, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Measurement System Analysis, Statistical Process Control, and Control Plans used throughout automotive product and manufacturing-process development.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ASME Y14.5 — Dimensioning and Tolerancing
The ASME Y14.5 standard establishes practices for communicating dimensional and geometric requirements, including Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), on engineering drawings and digital product definitions.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Product Design and Development
The NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership provides manufacturing resources related to product design and development, including material selection, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and bringing products into production.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Measurement Uncertainty
NIST provides guidance and research related to measurement science, measurement systems, calibration, and uncertainty in measured values.