Rapid Prototyping for new product development often creates supply chain challenges to meet extremely tight delivery milestones. There is also a balance between meeting these milestones while developing a robust, long-term supply chain solution.
Aerospace Customer Success Story
Challenge
One of our key aerospace customers faced a 12-week delivery milestone for new product development submission. The contract award was for a new aerospace engine platform. The customer’s engineering team designed a critical impeller nut around a NAS standard. Engineering also added a source-controlled manufacturer and changed the design of the threads to an extra fine, left-handed thread pitch due to the application.
The manufacturer source control on the print required a minimum run quantity of 1000 pieces and lead time of 65 weeks due to tooling and production backlog.
Solution
FTS designed parallel supply chain options for our customer. Our team offered a short-term, low volume, rapid prototyping supply chain, along with a long-term production supply chain.
The prototyping solution utilized a combination of key our ISO 9001 high-precision machine shop to make the base nut, and a key ISO 9001 specialty locknut partner to process the all-metal locking mechanism / deformation. The nut would be routed to a NADCAP approved plater for final coating. FTS would maintain all certifications, quality, and testing data through the prototyping phase. FTS also proposed to develop the longer lead time, production supplier in parallel for additional qualification that extended far beyond the milestone deadline.
Results
The rapid prototyping supply chain enabled our customer to achieve the delivery milestone for new product development. The long-term supply chain solution was also developed concurrently. While the prototype product was utilized for the contract evaluation, the long-term functional prototype run was ordered at the 65 week lead time to validate quality, future production capability, and delivery schedules.
Our customer was awarded the contract for their new product design and began scheduling production orders 2 years later. The prototyping supply chain was replaced by the long-term manufacturer, as the initial production run was qualified and frozen prior to the first delivery.
