Outsourcing welding and machining to different suppliers may seem manageable for small components, but splitting these processes introduces costly risks when it comes to structural weldments, heavy equipment frames, or crane booms. Every transfer between shops adds time and costs while increasing the possibility of distortion, misalignment, and handling damage. When a welding fabrication shop also maintains in-house machining capabilities, those risks are all but eliminated. By unifying critical processes under one roof, they can reduce lead times and costs, especially on large-scale, complex projects.
The Benefits of Integrated Manufacturing Partners
When welding and machining are handled by different vendors, inefficiencies tend to pile up with longer lead times, higher costs, and added risk at every transfer. A shop that offers both processes in-house provides OEMs with several key advantages that together provide the competitive edge.
- Tighter Tolerances & Higher Precision: Having machining on-site means heat distortion can be corrected immediately, ensuring assemblies meet exacting requirements.
- Streamlined Workflow & Faster Turnaround: When welding and machining teams work side by side, parts move directly from fabrication to precision finishing without losing time to transportation and scheduling gaps.
- Improved Quality Control: With a single quality system overseeing both processes, parts are inspected and adjusted in real time, reducing the chance of discovering problems upstream.
- Reduced Costs & Handling: In-house machining eliminates the costs and risks of transporting components between vendors, protecting parts from potential damage, and reducing lead times.
- Single-Source Accountability: Rather than juggling multiple vendors, customers gain a single point of contact responsible for welding, machining, inspection, and delivery, which simplifies project management and ensures quality control.
- Better Support for Prototyping & Short Runs: Integrated welding fabrication shops can quickly make design changes and adjustments without waiting weeks for outside processes to catch up.
The Oversized Advantages of a Full-Service Welding Fabrication Shop
The value of combining welding and machining only grows when projects reach oversized dimensions. Moving a 60-foot weldment across town is a monumental undertaking. This costly, time-consuming, and risky operation requires specialized rigging and expensive permits that complicate the process. Every lift or transfer increases the chance of damage and distortion, a risk that grows with long and narrow weldments.
At Horizontal Machining & Manufacturing Industries, those risks disappear. Weldments stay in our facility from start to finish, moving seamlessly from fabrication bays to our Okuma machining center. Our shop was built to handle big parts with heavy-duty material handling capabilities that ensure parts are supported and protected for safe and efficient handling. While our four-seam boom welder minimizes distortion, our advanced machining services ensure every assembly meets exact specifications.
Contact HMMI, LLC today and discover how our full-service oversized fabrication services can streamline your next project.
