Month: April 2018

When it comes to accuracy, Howard Precision is the company for your aluminum precision sawing. As a premier 100% aluminum supplier, this company has invested a generous amount of its resources into aluminum product knowledge as well as the design and maintenance of its own proprietary aluminum sawing equipment. Howard Precision Metals is dedicated to offering its customers the highest quality aluminum products and tightest tolerance precision sawing services that they can depend on every time.

Aluminum in Any Shape or Size

Aluminum is available in any shape or size of your choosing. It is best to select a company that has the experience and expertise required to produce high quality aluminum pieces that meet even the tightest of tolerances. At Howard Precision, you have the assurance that your aluminum pieces are cut to order precisely. Home to the aluminum industry’s highly coveted custom saws designed by Bob Howard, HPM has rendered itself the “go-to” company for aluminum precision sawing that is truly “A Cut Above the Rest.”

Not all Mill producers are created equal.

When you are focused on providing the tightest tolerances in the industry, it is not just the equipment that gets you there. The Aluminum industry is now a global supply chain with many options to choose from. There are new producers with new equipment but unfortunately do not have the quality procedures in place to meet Howard’s strict requirements. It is important that you as a buyer of Aluminum know and trust that your aluminum distributor is properly vetting the quality of their suppliers. It is not all about price. With hundreds of foreign producers offering their products to suppliers here in the United States, it could be easy to get bad metal. Howard Precision has spent years perfecting their process of sawing Aluminum. Since they precision saw cut 85% of what they sell, they are going to experience the problems before you see them when machining. This experience has been part of their supplier selection process. If the metal repeatedly exhibits stress while saw cutting, it is likely to do the same while machining. In either event, holding tight tolerances becomes difficult. Howard aligns themselves with mill producers that consistently produce the flattest product with a historic tract record of dimension stability throughout cutting and machining.

As an Aluminum supplier, it is their job to have Aluminum to sell. This is not always as easy as it sounds. Most general machine shops do not have the ability to forecast, so always having the right amount of the specific grade and thickness can be challenging, especially when demand ticks up suddenly. In addition, sometimes it is just about the price. Every application does not need tight tolerances or dimensionally stable and flat metal. Because these situations do present themselves, Howard choses to be completely transparent with their customers. Anytime they are supplying what they consider a product not of the highest standard, they indicated it on their quote who the producer is. Even in these situations, Howard still puts those suppliers through rigorous quality evaluations, but when you offer the tightest tolerances in the industry every day on hundreds of orders, it is important that you start with the absolute best Aluminum available at the time to produce the best results.

Understanding industry standard tolerances.

When it comes to Aluminum plate producers, as stated above, not all producers are created equal. The organization called the Aluminum Association has created minimum standard tolerance requirements that producers are expected to meet. If you hear the product meets AA tolerances, that does not mean you are getting the best product. It simply means that it meets the minimum requirements allowed. Many producers have raised the bar and offer guaranteed tighter tolerances than AA specifications. This is where the difference comes in where all producers are not created equal. For Example, manifold quality bar produced by 3 of the large extrusion producers offer ½ standard AA tolerances on the thickness and width dimensions to the plus side, as well as improved straightness and twist tolerances. Most smaller extruders do not guarantee these tighter tolerance ranges. In addition, all domestic 6061 plate producers and some foreign producers offer ½ standard AA thickness tolerances on the plus side, and tighter flatness tolerances. This is frequently referred to as precision plate tolerances. These two quick examples are how a customer can be easily misled when their supplier tells them the product meets AA standards.

Let the Experts Provide Your Custom Aluminum

Not everyone in the aluminum industry is an expert or even understands some of these simple upgrades. An expert is defined as “a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area”. Since 1928, the folks at Howard Precision have focused on becoming the aluminum experts. This company has truly invested a lot of time and resources into understanding the elemental properties and manufacturing process of aluminum, which allows them to provide customers with only the highest quality aluminum products. In addition, Howard Precision has designed and continued to maintain its very own, custom built precision aluminum saws. This unique equipment, coupled with the expertise held within the company, allows HPM to offer some of the tightest cutting tolerances, as tight as ±.005”, available in the aluminum industry. An Expert Supplier commits to fully understanding a product and service so that it can provide only the best to its customers. That’s Howard Precision Metals.

If you are looking for the best in aluminum precision sawing, count on the aluminum experts at HPM. Visit the Howard Precision Metals website for more details.

If you have ever had to purchase aluminum, you know that not all metal distributors are created equally. Some metal service centers will go that extra mile to make sure you have all the information you need. They will educate you on the market, return your calls promptly, work up quotes quickly, and most importantly, do what they say they are going to do. From the receptionist answering the phone to the sales representative taking your inquiry, to the time it takes for the aluminum to be delivered, these factors influence your likelihood of becoming a repeat or long-term customer. Howard Precision Metals recognizes that it takes the cooperation of every team member to make the aluminum buying experience memorable. They strive to be the choice aluminum distributor.

Customer Service

At Howard Precision Metals, they pride themselves on having some of the most knowledgeable and friendly sales representatives in the aluminum industry. In fact, most of their team members have over 15 years of tenure with the company! And, because they are a 100% aluminum distributor, they are considered experts in all things aluminum. If you have questions on specifications, countries of origin, Aluminum Association tolerances, LME, or anything else aluminum related, the Howard Precision team has the resources and knowledge to assist you.

Lead Time

At Howard, they also understand that time is money, which is why they strive to maintain faster than average lead times. All of their uncut aluminum orders ship same or next business day. Custom, cut-to-size, aluminum plate and aluminum extrusion orders typically ship within 3 to 4 business days. With the recent addition of their new plate saw, you may begin to see better lead times in the future. Their crew realizes that sometimes jobs may require a faster lead time. In those instances, their team will make every attempt to give you a better lead-time, when capacity permits. More importantly, you can depend on the delivery and/or ship date they give you. Howard Precision Metals values their customer relationships and will always give you accurate lead time information. Let’s just say, they under-promise and over deliver just to insure their customers never have a machine sitting idle waiting for their material to arrive. Time is money and missing promise dates is simply not an option to team Howard.

Selection and On-Hand Material

As a 100% aluminum distributor, HPM is able to maintain an extensive catalog of “in-house” 6061 extruded bar, 6061 sheet and plate, MIC 6 cast tool and jig plate, Alca 5 cast tool and jig plate, 7075, 7050, 2024, and M-1. In addition to standard thicknesses, Howard also stocks metric thicknesses in MIC 6 cast tool and jig plate. Howard Precision Metals does not stock material from just any mill. Their vendor relationships are built on quality and performance. Rest assured that the aluminum they supply will meet or exceed all of your expectations. All of Howard Precision’s cut aluminum items are fully traceable back to the parent plate/bar and mill certifications are available upon request.