Category Archive: Blog

In-House Laser Marking Services for Machined Parts

When the police caught the Boston Marathon bombers, we learned that the camera that identified them contained parts made by Peerless Precision.

How did we know that?

The parts had laser-marked serial numbers that could be traced back to our shop.

From security cameras to jet engines, serial numbers are vital in ensuring traceability and accountability for machine shops like Peerless Precision that specialize in medical, defense, commercial optics, and aerospace machining.

Over 90% of the parts we machine require serial numbers. So, 15 years ago, we added laser marking to our list of in-house finishing capabilities.

Benefits of In-House Laser Marking

Peerless Precision’s in-house laser marking capabilities do more than empower customers to utilize parts confidently. We achieve faster lead times and cheaper production by removing a third-party laser marking company.

Parts stay in our capable aerospace machine shop from start to finish, ensuring truly peerless results.

Improved lead times

We brought laser marking in-house to make life easier for customers. Without the back-and-forth shipping, we streamlined our process and improved customer lead times.

Cost-effective production

Our direct control over the laser marking process allows us to manage costs more effectively. Our customers also avoid potential markup costs or additional shipping fees associated with outsourced laser marking services.

Precise customization

We can customize laser markings based on customer requests, from specific fonts to intricate pictures.

Our laser marking machine is on the small end, but it’s adaptable. We’ve optimized the settings to handle all the parts we produce, and the machine can laser mark letters and logos as large as 4”.

Fun fact: Our machine once engraved a Grateful Dead poster on a 0.5” square, and we needed a jeweler’s loupe to see all the details!

Ensured quality and traceability

Laser marking isn’t just about branding. In defense and aerospace machining, part traceability is required to meet AS9100 standards. Traceability is also important in the medical industry.

If parts malfunction in these high-stakes industries—for example, if a pacemaker fails or a jet engine quits—tracing the origin of parts is crucial to preventing future crises.

The serial numbers and logos we laser mark ensure this traceability.

Designed to Meet Customer Needs

Our thorough laser marking process enables us to work with detailed customer instructions. We can accommodate specific font sizes, font types, and even guidelines regarding the appearance of serial numbers. For highly customized orders, we appreciate detailed requests so we can get your order right the first time.

We’re equipped to meet nuanced needs like adding a starting letter or number to serializations. For example, if parts for a customer’s shop in San Francisco need to start with SF and parts for their second shop in Cleveland need to start with CL, we can make it happen.

Enhanced data security

We’re committed to protecting customer data. Our laser marking system is controlled through a dedicated computer that’s isolated from our primary network. We also perform monthly backups to an external hard drive, ensuring that all new programs and serial numbers are stored securely.

Complete Machining Solutions

Many companies only offer laser marking services, but Peerless Precision proudly provides an all-in-one solution. We can machine and laser mark parts in our aerospace machine shop, helping clients avoid the hassle of coordinating between different vendors and services or facing potential quality issues.

Our one-stop-shop approach reflects how much we value customer satisfaction. By manufacturing and laser marking parts under one roof, we ensure parts are on time, high quality, and designed to meet every need, no matter how specific.

You know what they say: happy customer, happy manufacturer.

Request a quote today for your next medical, commercial optics, defense, or aerospace machining project.

Why Machine Shops Should Build a Network with Each Other

No machine shop wants to turn away customers. However, if the work is beyond a shop’s capabilities, it’s not good business practice to take the job and deliver subpar results.

Fortunately, there’s a third option—one we frequently turn to at Peerless Precision: collaboration between shops. When shops collaborate, we can build partnerships that work off each other’s strengths and manufacture high-quality parts—no matter the requirements. Everyone wins.

Keep reading to find out how we support other shops—and when we know it’s time to reach out and call on other shops for their support.

How Peerless Precision Supports Other Machine Shops

Shops often call on Peerless Precision for our expertise in manual machining methods and finishing processes, tight tolerance parts, prototypes, and low-volume orders.

Manual machining methods

The machinists at Peerless Precision are experts in manual machining—a skill that’s becoming more difficult to find. While budding machinists are taught manual methods initially, they soon move on to CNC machining. This transition leaves little time to develop the feel of manual machining, which can take years. We continuously train our machinists on manual methods so we can perform this type of work for our customers.

Manual machining has many advantages, including short turnaround times. The process involves fewer steps than CNC methods and requires no programming. Manual machining is also ideal for smaller projects, a major focus area for our shop.

Tight tolerances for defense and aerospace machining

A part is considered to have a tight tolerance when its permitted variance is plus or minus 0.002-0.001”. Even a slight variance of 0.005” can lead to part failure and potentially result in severe damage. With our expertise, our team can achieve tolerances from 0.0001” to 0.000005”—a range often required for medical, aeronautics, and aerospace machining.

Prototypes and low-volume orders

Some job shops turn down orders for five, 10, or 25 parts because they prefer high-volume work involving thousands of parts. However, our machinists have decades of experience focused on prototypes and low-volume production. Our problem-solving and critical-thinking skills allow us to build partnerships with our customers to meet their small order needs with quality, efficiency, flexibility, and speed.

Manual finishing processes

Our shop specializes in cylindrical grinding, lapping, and honing. We work with two different honing technologies, including our Sunnen ML-4000 machine. We also have two types of lapping capabilities: match lapping and roll lapping. These manual finishing processes are ideal for high-precision parts common in medical, optical, defense, and aerospace machining.

When We Seek Outside Support from Other Shops

We reach out to our network of precision machining partners for several reasons. Sometimes, a piece of material may be too big for our machines, so we contact another shop that can handle it. Other times, capacity becomes an issue. We may subcontract mill and lathe work to another shop when we see a bottleneck brewing.

With this flexibility, we can ensure our customers get the parts they need when they need them. Working with other shops also improves our ability to control costs—though that’s been challenging in the past few years because of supply chain issues and cost increases across the board in areas like utilities, labor, and materials.

While we enjoy working with other businesses, not every precision machining shop is willing to join forces. They worry another company will steal their customers. But we believe churn won’t be an issue if you provide excellent service. It’s all about trust. We work with shops we know and have good relationships with to fill each other gaps and keep customers in the region.

Learn more about working with our team by requesting a quote today.