Frequently Asked
Questions
What follows is a list of frequently asked questions that we receive from customers and design engineers. If you don’t find the information that you are looking for, feel free to contact us anytime to speak to an expert!
Yes, our engineering team welcomes the opportunity to help in the design of manifolds. This helps streamline the process from design to the finished part.
Yes, CMG’s bonding process allows for various component materials to be placed inside the manifold.
Very small micro-channels are possible for microfluidic chips and cartridges.
Delamination is caused when the bonding process is not adequate enough to make the layers become one solid part rather than just layers stuck together.
Round and D-shaped channels are typical.
Yes. The customer normally specifies the exact requirements.
Quantities usually start at 2 to 10 for prototyping. Production orders are normally integrated into a Kanban scheduling format.
A solid model and print are preferred. Solid models can be .step, .x_t, .sldprt or .igs. Proposals can be provided from a solid model only with proposal contingent upon receipt of a toleranced print.
Visual Work Instructions define the manufacturing/quality plan, FAIR, in-process inspection, part history, CNC program, CMM program, specific customer CTF, etc.
Piedmont CMG has developed methods to produced very smooth surfaces and semi-clear parts just through machining alone. Water-clear, or clarity that provides the ability to read text through a surface from a predetermined distance, can be obtained via proprietary finishing methods.
16 to 32 is common in most plastics. Finishes can be as low as a 4 with our finishing methods.
CMG offers ultrasonic inserting of stainless steel and brass inserts, helicoil inserting, ultrasoniuc cleaning, laser part marking, vapor polishing, buffing, flame polishing, annealing, tube cutting, tube flaring and flanging, bottle and cap assemblies, heat shrink assemblies, flow testing and leak decay testing, and much more. Contact us with questions about value-added services.
CMG machines thermoplastics, thermosets, and composites.
Most Piedmont CMG customers use web-based forecasting, blanket agreements, JIT, dock-to-stock, and/or Kanban programs. CMG excels in these relationships.