Vendors

Vendor Management

Client: TTi
Skills: Communication

Project Scope: I rely on the expertise of vendors, in-house and outsourced, to successfully complete projects. Maintaining a good personal relationship has only helped to ensure higher quality outcomes.

In-House model labs

Mike and Chris. My wonderful shop guys.

Outsourcing to Vendors

I have had the privilege of working with many talented machinists and creative builders in TTi's model labs. The only problem is that they are frequently battling last minute production emergencies.

TTi's ACE concept team, my current team, typically has had the luxury of larger time frames. This means our projects are often (and rightly so) given less priority.

Thus, we typically juggle in-house options with more costly options provided by vendors.

SunPe Prototype in China

I would highly recommend considering outsourced prototype work for less prioritized projects as a cost effective way to move projects forward.

SunPe is one example of a group we use to create prototype parts. They have different facilities throughout China and create anything from CNC'd stainless parts, to complex injection molded tooling, and painted appearance models. Most parts can be made directly from 3-D files and be delivered in less than 7 days.

The pictures shown are from a recent visit.

rapid Prototype Vendors

Here is a current list of vendors I rely on to create Rapid prototype parts (SLA,SLS,etc).

While there has been a push to bring RP machines into TTi, there are still many advantages to not owning a machine. First and foremost is the ability to get any part, done in any process, in any material needed. All that without costly maintenance cost and the required personnel to run them. And considering some places have next day delivery, what's not to love.

Vendor Demo days

Microchip at TTi showing off their new hardware

I have always encouraged our vendors to stop by when they have something new and exciting to discuss. Frequently that means setting up company-wide demo days. Because of our ever shrinking product development schedules I have come to realize that the best time to learn about new technology and possibilities is before you need it.