Home Company Products Catalog Equipment FAQs Quality Map Frequently Asked Questions What advantages can Schaefer Screw Products offer? What are the advantages of a Screw Machine...? What types of Materials can you machine? What are the advantages of Brass over Steel? Can you help with new part designs...? How complex of a part can you produce...? What are your minimum and maximum quantities? Do you work with your customers on stocking programs? What are your average lead times? What method of shipment do you use or recommend? Is Schaefer Screw Products ISO 9001:2008 certified? What advantages can Schaefer Screw Products offer over the competition? Schaefer offers 60+ years of experience in manufacturing and service. The big majority of our manufacturing personnel have an average tenure of 23 years with the company which makes us extremely experienced and qualified. Also, Schaefer has a broad customer base in many industries which gives us a competitive advantage in understanding the applications and how they need to be manufactured. In having produced over 2,500 different fittings, it has allowed Schaefer to acquire tooling and gages for thousands of fittings which can sometimes save our customers hundreds of dollars in tooling and gaging costs. Back to Top... What advantages does a screw machine have over other types of production machines? A screw machine is a gear and cam driven, automatic, multi-spindle lathe that has great versatility and unmatched cycle times. Because it performs multiple operations simultaneously, a screw machine can turn out parts as fast as every 1/2 second which makes it very economical for long run jobs. Also, a screw machine has multiple positions that often can be used to support other tooling, thus allowing it to machine complex parts with stringent tolerance specifications. Back to Top... What types of materials can you machine? For many years Schaefer Screw Products specialized in mostly copper alloy (brass) fittings. In 1997, Schaefer expanded its capabilities to include many carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels, aluminums and certain plastics. See below for a current list of materials machined thus far. Brass: C360, C356, C353, C350, C345, C485, C320, C314 Copper: 145, 147 Carbon Steel: 1008, 1018, 11L41, 1144, 12L14, 12L15, 1215 Alloy Steel: 8620, 86L20, 4140, 41L40, 41L42, 41L47, 41L50 Stainless Steel: 303, 304-L, 316-L Aluminum: 2011, 6061, 6062 Plastic: Delron, Nylon, Teflon Should you have any material request not listed above, please inquire as we might be able to accommodate your specific needs.Back to Top... What are the advantages of Brass over Steel? Contrary to what many think, brass offers several advantages over many leaded steels. First, brass itself as a material cost is approximately 17% less than steel on a net cost basis. Secondly, brass has higher machinability efficiencies that directly reduce the production cost by increased cycle times and reduced tool wear; not to mention the added costs to coat steel for rust protection and/or electroplating. From a quality and design perspective, brass offers several advantages as well. First, brass allows for better tolerance control because of its forgiving machining properties that greatly reduce tool wear, thus creating less variation over longer periods. Also, brass allows for significant advantages for surface finish requirements. The design of a part can normally be more complex made from brass because of its machinability. It allows for deep hole drilling and/or tapping, recesses and trepans, to name a few. All of these design features are compromised in steel due to potential tool breakage and wear. For a more in-depth analysis of why brass should be considered for your application needs, please visit http://brassbar.copper.org./alloy360/homepage.html Back to Top... Can you help with new part designs or suggest changes to save money on existing parts? Schaefer is always more than willing to assist you with your product design. Our staff of engineers and manufacturing personnel can be especially helpful in suggesting ways of designing a part to be most economical in terms of machining costs without sacrificing integrity or quality. Often times, slight revisions to a parts dimension or tolerance can greatly reduce product costs. Also, a slight change here or there may make the difference as to what type of machine is used to manufacture the part, thus changing the machining cost and/or lead times. Back to Top... How complex of a part can you produce and to what tolerances can you hold? Due to our broad range of machine types, Schaefer can produce very complex parts at economical prices. Normally, most parts can be machined on our automatic screw machines and completed on our secondary CNC machines. Schaefer continuously upgrades its screw machine technology with the latest attachments and tooling to allow more and more complex parts to be machined complete off the screw machine in one operation. Typically, an automatic screw machine can hold tolerances of +/- .0015" (.038mm) on lengths and +/- .0005" (.013mm) on O.D.'s and I.D.'s. Parts that might require diagonal drilling, milling, back tapping, etc. can be performed on our CNC lathes and vertical machining centers with precise tolerancing within +/- .0003" (.0076mm). Back to Top... What are your minimum and maximum quantities? Technically, we really don't have an established minimum quantity. However, quantity greatly effects price in several different ways. Depending on the type of machine, the set up of the machine can sometimes be a big percentage of the cost on small runs. Also, the quantity will determine what type of machine the parts can be made. This will play an important factor in the cycle times and thus the price. Schaefer will normally set up our CNC's for prototype or short runs of 50 to 1000 pieces. Anything over 1,000 pieces will normally be set up and ran on an automatic screw machine. The only limitations we would have in respect to maximum quantities would be capacity. However, we will always make room for volume if justifiable. Back to Top... Do you work with your customers on stocking programs? Schaefer Screw Products often produces fittings based on semiannual or yearly blanket orders. In this case, Schaefer will do everything possible to help you take advantage of higher volume price breaks and have shipments released on monthly requirements. Once you commit to a volume purchase, Schaefer will commit to having your parts ready as soon as you need them. Should you have a spike in demand and require more than the normal release amount, we will normally be able to accommodate your request up to an extra 3 months of supply. On the reverse side, Schaefer will delay shipment up to one extra month or as needed on a case-by-case situation. Back to Top... What are your average lead times? Typical lead times are anywhere from 2-8 weeks. Many factors play a role in what actual lead times will be noted on your quote. Should you have an urgent request that is very time sensitive, Schaefer will do whatever we can to accommodate your needs. Back to Top... What method of shipment do you use or recommend? Depending on your location and volume of shipment, Schaefer will either coordinate shipments via LTL carrier or UPS. If you have a contract with a preferred LTL carrier, we would be more than happy to ship per your request "freight collect". For most shipments under 500 lbs., UPS is typically more economical and we would ship "prepaid" per our account and add the respective freight charges to your invoice. Or, if you so choose, we can ship UPS "frieght collect" to your account number. If you happen to be within a 40 mile radius of Garden City, MI, we will be happy to personally deliver your parts via our truck free of charge. Back to Top... Is Schaefer Screw Products ISO 9001:2008 certified? YES! Emphatically and proudly yes. We have been audited and found to meet or exceed standards of Quality under the guidelines of ISO 9001:2008. And, have been given the right to display this mark and assurance of quality. Quality parts are what make us get up each and every day and give us the of satisfaction of being a source you can trust. 32832 Industrial Road | Garden City, Michigan 48135 | 888.900.9998 | 734.522.0020 | 734.522.3669 Fax | mszalay@schaeferscrew.com Copyright © 2002, Schafer Screw Products. All Rights Reserved.