Blog

Motto of the Month

President's Corner

Adding Another Key Distributor for Our Standard Blanks Line

• McMaster-Carr
• W.W. Grainger
• MSC Industrial Supply
• Amazon

...and now Fastenal

Over 50 years ago, we began offering the service of providing cut-to-size material to customers’ exact specifications. More recently, in the last 20 years were offered the opportunity to provide Machine-Ready or Tight-Tolerance blanks from raw material through nationally-recognized “super” distributors. As online catalogues began to supplement paper books, we have been successful in getting a broader range of Standard Blanks in aluminum, 304 stainless and 316 stainless into distribution. Similar products such as close-tolerance oil-hardening flat stock in tool steel have been available for many years prior to our introduction of aluminum and stainless.

Over the years, we’ve added close to 400 standard sizes to “super” distributors’ catalogs in:

• Aluminum - 6061, 2024, 3003 and 5052
• Stainless Steel - 304 and 316
• Alloy Steel - 4140

We have enjoyed relationships with McMaster-Carr Grainger, W.W. Grainger, MSC andAmazon offering essentially the same product lines (every shop has its favorite relationship with a key industrial distributor).

As of July 1, 2013 our Standard Blanks will now be available in the Fastenal online catalog with sizes in 6061 aluminum, 304 stainless and 316 stainless. The paper version of the catalog will be available later in the fall of this year.

The cost-saving benefits of using custom precision Machine-Ready Blanks are extensive especially in terms of decreased cycle times and increased productivity on the shop floor. By ordering precision Machine-Ready Standard Blanks through our key distributors, shops of all kinds can order and receive precision ground flat stock the very next day (and sometimes on the same day) to start on that machining of tooling or production that needs to be done ASAP.

Each distributor has a slightly different path, both in the catalog and online to find our Standard Blanks. If you can’t find what you’re looking for please feel free to drop me an email and we’ll get you where you need to go.

Until next month...

-John Belzer

This Month's Featured Process - Cosmetic Finishing

TCI Precision Metals offers a variety of cosmetic finishes, both in-house and with approved suppliers. Our in-house capabilities include Flat Abrasive Machining, Flattening, Deburring, Wet Deburring and Parts Washing. Flat Abrasive Machining is ideal for producing close tolerances with superior finishes on thin parts. Even parts under .050î can be abrasive machined depending on the total abrasive area. It also provides cosmetic finishes from 60 grit to 600 grit. Wet Deburring provides consistent, high-quality surface finishes on blanks and machined parts up to 30î wide. It eliminates jitterbug sanding, reduces grinding and polishing time, and enhances cosmetic appearance.