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DEDICATED TO EXCELLENCE: SERVICE • QUALITY • INNOVATION
ESTABLISHED 1953
At All Metals Fabricating, we know lead times are important to your project, and we’re always working to help keep them as low as possible. Customers often ask us about lead times before submitting an RFQ, and the truth is that there’s no simple, permanent answer that applies to every project.
In general, many projects in our shop fall in the 4 to 6 week range. But that can vary significantly based on a large number of factors. The only way we can offer an accurate lead time is to review your specific design and understand the quantities, processes, and other project requirements.
Find out some of the biggest factors that can impact your project’s lead time at All Metals.
At the most basic level, lead time depends on how many different manufacturing steps your project requires.
For example, a simple part that needs only laser cutting would be one of the fastest jobs we could run. It would still depend on current backlog and scheduling, but the project would typically have a lead time of around 2 to 3 weeks.
But even the simplest job involves more than machine time. There is also programming, material handling, scheduling, shipping, and more. That is why even a straightforward one-process job would still require time to move through the shop.
Lead time naturally increases as more processes are added. If a part requires sheet metal forming as well as laser cutting, that next step adds time to the workflow. The specific amount of additional time is dependent on scheduling availability, but it will in many cases add about a week or so. And for any subsequent processes required, like precision machining or powder coating, the additional time would be similar.
If we’re managing outside processes for your project, that can add more significant lead time. It’s one major benefit of working with us for as many processes as possible: keeping your parts under one roof helps to reduce your timeline.
Number of processes is a helpful first step in understanding lead times, but that alone will not determine your turnaround. Because not every process affects lead time in the same way.
In particular, high-volume manual processes can increase lead time more than highly automated ones. Laser cutting, for example, is among our most automated processes and can even be used in lights-out manufacturing. In many cases, higher volumes do not dramatically increase lead time for this process.
Manual processes are different. At All Metals Fabricating, some services like welding or hardware insertion have a greater degree of hands-on labor by our team. When jobs include those processes at higher volumes, the lead time increases according to how many hours it takes to complete that operation.
Another reason we cannot offer one universal lead time is that capacity changes across the shop from week to week. And open capacity isn’t just a single figure for the entire shop; it’s changing for each individual department.
In a one-stop shop manufacturer like All Metals Fabricating, there is no single measure of “open capacity.” We may have plenty of welding capacity available one week while bending is fully booked. But only a week or two later, the situation may be reversed.
While part quantity can increase lead time, part mix can have an even greater effect. For example, if a customer needs 30 different part numbers, each one must move through programming and production. Even if the overall quantity is moderate, the mix of parts can add complexity and increase the timeline.
This is especially true if all these unique parts are shipped together rather than sent as each one is finished. In that situation, a shipment can only go out as quickly as the slowest part.
The same general principle applies to assemblies. When a job includes multiple fabricated components that must come together in a final assembly, all of those parts must be completed before assembly can begin. As a result, assemblies require more lead time than the individual fabricated parts alone.
When you tie together these four factors, you can see that lead time depends on how many processes are involved, which processes they are, how much open capacity there is for each process, and how much variety is involved in the parts. But even this is a simplified model that leaves out a large number of other possible factors.
We’re proud of our team’s speed, but we are always working to reduce lead times. We have significant plans for the months and years ahead to help us turn projects around even faster, including:
Increased hiring and second shift: We are hiring and training new team members with the goal of expanding our second shift. We’ve already expanded our second shift for powder coating, removing an important bottleneck.
Faster programming: We have recently invested in new programming software to help automate parts of the programming process.
Optimized scheduling: We’re currently testing scheduling software tailored to our specific workflow that we developed internally. The goal is to improve visibility and fit more jobs into our schedule without disrupting other projects.
Adding expedites: Historically, All Metals Fabricating has not offered expedites. But with our new scheduling software, we’re considering offering this option to our customers for urgent projects.
Facility expansion: We have been exploring facility expansion to allow us to increase our capacity for customers. We are still only in the planning stage, but will keep customers updated on potential changes.
The bottom line is that we can only provide an accurate lead time estimate once you submit your complete project information to us. When we review your design and requirements, we can provide a more informed estimate.
If you’re ready to get started, submit your RFQ through our portal today!
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