This week, roughly 90,000 manufacturing professionals and more than 2,000 exhibitors are moving through 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space at McCormick Place in Chicago for IMTS 2026 — the largest manufacturing technology show in the Western Hemisphere, running September 14 through 19. If you spend your days sourcing precision machined components rather than…
Record Aerospace & Defense Backlogs Are Straining Supplier Capacity — Is Your Machining Partner Ready?
Aerospace and defense demand isn’t the problem right now — capacity is. Commercial order backlogs at Boeing and Airbus have climbed past 15,000 aircraft, global defense spending has pushed above $2.7 trillion, and MRO and munitions programs are ramping at a pace few supply chains were built to absorb. Every industry outlook released this year…
The Skilled Labor Shortage in Precision Machining Isn’t a Hiring Problem — It’s a Knowledge Problem
If you’re a machinist, a setup technician, or an operator standing at a Swiss lathe or a mill right now, you’ve probably heard the phrase “skilled labor shortage” so many times it’s turned into background noise. But the numbers behind that phrase are worth a second look, because they say something specific about where you…
Precision Machined Valve Components: The Complete Turned-Parts Portfolio Behind Fairchild’s Fluid Control Work
Open up almost any hydraulic, pneumatic, or fluid control valve and you’ll find the same thing: a collection of small, tightly toleranced, turned metal parts doing the real work. The body. The poppet or ball. The seat. The spring retainer. The end cap. In valve after valve, across aerospace, defense, and industrial fluid systems, the…
Why Tight Tolerances Can Quietly Multiply Your Machining Costs
The Real Cost of Tight Tolerances: Why One Conversation Can Save Your Budget On a print, a tolerance is just two numbers after a decimal point. On the shop floor, it can be the difference between a part that comes off a Swiss lathe in a single pass and a part that needs multiple setups,…
The Hidden Cost of Waiting: What Buyers Really Pay When They Delay Switching Suppliers
The Hidden Cost of Waiting: What Buyers Really Pay When They Delay Switching Suppliers It’s a familiar assignment for procurement and sourcing professionals: your current supplier keeps missing delivery dates, or quality escapes are showing up more often than they should, and your manager has asked you to find a backup — or a full…
How to Choose the Right Material for CNC Machined Parts
How to Choose the Right Material for CNC Machined Parts Every precision machined part starts with a decision that shapes everything that follows: what material is it made from? Get that choice right, and you have a component that meets spec, machines efficiently, and holds up in service. Get it wrong, and you’re looking at…
The Hidden Cost of Offshore Parts in 2026
The Hidden Cost of Offshore Parts in 2026 A Buyer’s Guide to Tariffs and the True Cost of Precision-Machined Components If you’re sourcing precision-machined components in 2026, tariffs are no longer a background variable in your cost model — they’re a front-line budget problem. Landed cost on offshore turned parts has climbed significantly, lead times…
Why On-Time Delivery Has Become the New Competitive Edge in Precision Machining
Why On-Time Delivery Has Become the New Competitive Edge in Precision Machining Fairchild Precision Parts | Winsted, Connecticut | Manufacturing Insights Ask any procurement manager or sourcing engineer what keeps them up at night, and the answer is rarely a technical one. It’s not tolerances. It’s not material specs. It’s the phone call they dread…
How We’re Using 3D Printing to Solve Real Problems on the Production Floor
Using 3D Printing for CNC Machining Problems on the Production Floor At Fairchild Precision Parts, precision isn’t just what we deliver to our customers — it’s how we operate internally. That commitment to excellence extends well beyond the parts we manufacture. It shows up in how we run our production floor, how we think about…