KMF reduces engineer-to-order lead times

Lead times can be crucial in brings fabricated metal parts to market, and KMF customers often make this a top priority when looking for outsourcing partners.

Lead times refer to the tie it takes to produce a metal engineered product from scratch and includes time allocated for design, set-up, operational and delivery.

Accelerating manufacturing lead times is vital in the world of sheet metal fabrication and precision metal engineering.

Engineer-to-order (ETO) products require the streamlining of each stage in the engineering process to complete each order in the minimum amount of time.

At KMF, each order is uniquely tailored to the customer's specification, including specific areas from CAD modelling to manufacturing processes.

ETO products are found in just about every industry and demand is on the increase with engineered-to-order products at KMF including electrical switchgear boxes, commercial HVAC products and kiosk vending equipment.

Recently, KMF enjoyed breakthrough success in reducing the time and steps taken to "flatten" a parametric model file.

Working with Radan engineers, our CAD/CAM software providers, the KMF design and prototyping team achieved a 75% reduction in real time taken in product assembly.

The KMF team produced a macro within the Radan software that imports the Creo parametric model and fully automates the development and programming of a complete assembly by 75% with minimal manual input.

The reduction of development and programming lead time was to benefit a specific FMF customer looking to increase their daily order to ten bespoke, parametric-produced assemblies-a-day when the former programming time was approximately 45 minutes per assembly.

The successful cut in lead time enhances KMF's ability to tackle engineered-to-order parts on very short lead-times and meet the demands of customers requiring a fast turnaround of sheet metal fabricated and precession engineered metal products.

Subcontract sheet metalwork supplier

KMF Group is a leading supplier of sheet metal components, assemblies, machined components and fabrications to customers throughout the UK.

We provide extensive subcontract engineering services, including laser cutting, metal bending, powder coating and electro-mechanical assembly with exceptional lead times.

KMF supplies sheet metal fabrications and CNC machined components to market-leading companies in industries such as aerospace, medical, kiosk & vending and food processing equipment.

With a strong focus on continuous improvement, most recently evidenced by a parametric programming project, and 24/7 production, our customers can benefit from turnaround times as short as 48 hours.