How does Gardette industrialize your mechanical part designs?
Moving from the digital model (STEP, IGES, DXF files) to mass production without losing a single micron requires complete mastery of the manufacturing process.
From custom material drawing in Villars (42) to robotic CNC machining in Villefranche-sur-Saône (69), the Gardette Group breaks down technical silos by aligning dedicated personnel focused on producing your parts to specification with state-of-the-art facilities.
- CAD integration and 3D files: How Gardette manufactures your mechanical part designs
- The process engineering department: The cornerstone of design-based manufacturing
- From CAD to the finished part: Precision stretching and blanking
- State-of-the-art finishing: Machining prismatic geometries
- Tribofinishing: Ensuring a flawless surface finish
CAD integration and 3D files: How Gardette industrializes your mechanical part designs
For a design office, an engineer, or a purchasing department, the transition from a component’s design (STEP, IGES, DXF files) to its actual production is a critical phase.
How can you ensure compliance with precision geometric tolerances at high production rates? How can you optimize the value chain starting from the design phase?
As a specialist in the transformation of metals, the Gardette Group leverages its integrated infrastructure to support the industrial production of your custom prismatic mechanical parts based on your drawings, drawing on a unique model of responsiveness.
The methods department: The cornerstone of blueprint-based industrialization
The industrial production of a specific part involves more than simply importing a CAD file into a machining center. It requires upstream expertise to validate the component’s structural and geometric feasibility. Our dedicated process engineering department serves as a technical bridge between your design teams and our production lines.
Behind the scenes of the processes
To understand how we go from a plan to a manufactured part in record time, we asked our methods manager three direct questions.
A candid discussion about the reality of industrialization.
We regularly send you STEP files or 2D drawings. What do you look at first on the screen?
Our team always begins by reviewing the design with the original designer to ensure a thorough understanding of their needs and the project’s challenges. We then conduct an analysis phase to identify any potential design pitfalls or steps that could slow down production or result in poor quality. Finally, we verify the feasibility of the prismatic shapes and the various finishing operations.
Our real job is to optimize machining processes. If a customer requests an ultra-tight tolerance when a standard fit would suffice, we call them. Our goal is to review and, if necessary, revise the drawing with them so that their part can be produced faster and at a lower cost, without compromising its mechanical function.
Gardette is unique in that it is both a drawing and machining company. Why is this a decisive advantage?
Our greatest strength lies in our comprehensive approach to design. When we are entrusted with a project for a specific part, we don’t limit ourselves to machining. We analyze our inventory and, if necessary, call on our Villars plant which specializes in cold drawing and cold rolling to create a custom profile.
This method allows us to start with a bar whose rough shape is virtually final. The benefits are immediate: a significant reduction in the volume of chips at Villefranche-sur-Saône and optimized cycle times on our milling machines and CNC machining centers.
By managing the entire production process from raw steel to the finished product we ensure maximum efficiency for your projects.
Record turnaround times, high-volume production, robotic cells... How do you manage this flexibility on a day-to-day basis?
To ensure that our robotic cells operate at full capacity, we plan for the availability of our tooling and clamping systems as early as the process planning phase. Whether it’s cutting a 2-mm micro-square or machining complex bars up to 2 m long, each step is planned in collaboration with the machining center manager. The manager then ensures that the workload is distributed among the teams and our state-of-the-art equipment.
This rigorous preparation allows us to transition seamlessly from a prototype to mass production, in line with our “Key Responsive Manufacturing” approach.
From CAD to the material: Stretching and precision cutting
The performance of a mechanical part depends on the quality of its raw material.
As a cold-drawing and cold-rolling company at our Villars (42) facility, Gardette has full control over the microstructure of its steels and stainless steels even before the machining stage.
- Custom steel and stainless steel drawing: Cold working produces superior mechanical properties (increased yield strength and hardness through work hardening) and exceptionally clean surface finishes. We process cross-sections ranging from 4 to 1000 mm² on all types of profiles.
- Bar cutting capabilities: Our sawing and cutting equipment handles steel, stainless steel, and aluminum bars with gross lengths ranging from 2 to 6000 mm.
- Dimensional accuracy during cutting: We are capable of cutting parts with a square cross-section as small as 2 mm to achieve finished lengths ranging from 150 to 2,000 mm, depending on the technical specifications and tolerances required by your specifications.
Cutting-edge finishing: machining prismatic geometries
Once the material has been sized and cut, the historic site in Villefranche-sur-Saône takes over.
Our workshops are specifically designed for the finishing of complex prismatic shapes, with our equipment organized into workstations.
A high-tech machine fleet
To accommodate small, medium, and large-volume production runs, our flexible production cells include:
- Specialized milling: A fleet of 13 machines dedicated to surfacing, grooving, and profiling flat and angular shapes (squares, rectangles, diamonds, etc.).
- High-Performance CNC Machining: 7 state-of-the-art computer numerical control (CNC) machining centers capable of performing complex multi-axis machining operations with a minimum number of setups.
- Robotic cells: Two autonomous robotic cells handle the loading and unloading of components. This automation ensures perfect geometric repeatability and optimized production costs at high production rates.
- Grinding: For applications requiring micrometric tolerances and perfect contact geometry (slides, pinion keys, precision shims).
Tribo-finishing: Guaranteed flawless surface finish
The final essential technical step: tribofinishing.
Your prismatic parts are immersed in industrial vibratory machines containing abrasives and additives. This process allows for:
- Complete, automated deburring of all sharp edges.
- Controlled rounding of corners to facilitate insertion and final assembly into your mechanical assemblies.
- A uniform surface finish, eliminating residual machining marks.
Your French partner for your custom parts
When you place your trust in the Gardette Group, you’re choosing a single, local French partner capable of taking full responsibility for your project from analyzing your 3D CAD files to on-site delivery. Our integrated manufacturing model eliminates the risks associated with working with multiple subcontractors (time savings, absolute control over quality issues, and full traceability).
Do you have a specific part that needs to be mass-produced?
Upload your CAD files (STEP, DXF, IGES) or PDFs via our contact form to receive a feasibility study and a manufacturing quote within 48 hours.
We promise to provide an answer to your enquiry within seven days.
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