003 Prototek Pros Podcast – John Scott

Hi everyone, I’m Madeleine Curti, Content and Creative Specialist at Prototype Digital Manufacturing. Today is our third episode of Prototek Pro’s podcast.

Today I’m chatting with John Scott, VP of Metals at Prototek. He has great insights into our machine shops and sheet metal fabrication facilities. John, would you like to introduce yourself?

Hi Maddy, and thanks for having me on the podcast. I have over 30 years of production experience, mostly supporting defense, medical devices, and industrial equipment manufacturing. So, not a lot of metalworking processes that I haven’t been exposed to over my career.

That’s excellent. John, that’s a lot of experience. Can you fill our audience in on which metal services we offer at Prototek Digital Manufacturing? And we don’t just use metal materials, do we? We also use others, such as plastics, composites, and foams.

At Prototk, we offer precision CNC machining with three locations located throughout the U.S., and also sheet metal fabrication for components and assemblies. We also offer EDM machining services, waterjet, and laser cutting. And yes, we do work in non-metallic materials such as ABS, Delrin, and other engineered plastics.

Can you elaborate on the materials we offer? Do we offer unique materials? And if, say, a customer comes to us with a unique request, can we source different materials for them?

Among the typical materials like aluminum and stainless steel, we often work with what are referred to as specialty metals like titanium, Inconel, and other high-strength alloys. We do have customers that require specialty metals with specific mechanical properties that we will supply.

Some of our customers want “as machined” parts, which means they just come straight off the machine and we send them to the customer basically raw. Can you list a few of the other finishes in post-processing techniques we offer for sheet metal and CNC machining?

We offer a wide range of finishes for our customers, including anodizing, chem film, electroless nickel plating, electro polishing, passivation, powder coating, wet paint, etc.

We provide finishes compliant to mill specs and other industry standards such as NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program), for example.

Off the top of your mind. What do you think sets prototype digital manufacturing apart from our competitors?

The value we add to the marketplace is for components and assemblies that require high precision, meaning tight tolerances and compliance to the customer’s quality requirements. We are a s 9100 D certified for our quality system, and recently received our CMC 2.0 certification for Cyber security.

What I believe also sets the tech apart is our in-house vertical integration to provide complete, complex mechanical assemblies. For example, we provide what I would describe as sheet metal chassis or enclosures that require fabrication, welding, hardware assembly, plating, painting, both wet and powder coating, and silk screening.

Prototek has experienced tremendous growth in the last few months. Where are some areas we’re seeing this growth come from? Are there sectors or industries that are contributing to this and out of curiosity, do we just produce parts, or can we do assemblies and production runs as well?

What we are expanding in is opportunities to combine our additive in metals group to respond to projects and assemblies that require both metal and polymer technologies. For example, the growing demand for UAV and autonomous vehicles in the market. We really are “One Prototek” and working to provide the best value-added solution to our customers. And yes, we do offer assembly services and production runs.

We’re happy to discuss on upcoming projects from design to manufacturing input to full production capability.

Thanks for chatting, John. That was John Scott, VP of metals at Prototek Digital Manufacturing.

Thanks for listening to our mini-cast, Prototek Pros Podcast. For more information on our capabilities or value-added services, please visit prototek.com. Prototek Digital manufacturing specializes in industrial 3D printing, CNC machining, and sheet metal fabrication, offering over 100 materials, 40 finishes, and certifications under ISO 9001, AS 9100, CMMC Level 2, and ITAR.

Have a great day, everybody!

Got a metal project. Need precision? At Prototek, we turn your ideas into reality with top-notch sheet metal and CNC machining services, from custom cuts to perfect bands. Our machines work fast with quality, speed and precision all in one place. That’s how we roll. Ready to shape your future? Get a quote@prototek.com.