Most problems with bar stock don’t show up on the quote. They show up at the machine, at inspection, or when a part doesn’t fit the assembly it was made for. That’s why we built our work around a quality system instead of a promise.
We’re Forte Precision Metals, Inc. in Chicago, IL. We’ve supplied precision ground and cold finish steel round bars since 1994, and we work under an ISO 9001:2015 certified quality system. If you’re an engineer writing a specification or a buyer qualifying a supplier, here’s an overview of our quality tools and services.
How Our Quality System Follows Your Bar From Order to Shipment
ISO 9001:2015 is the framework. The tools inside it, and the way they connect to our grinding, machining, and finishing work, are what determine the bar you actually receive.
What ISO 9001:2015 Certification Means for Your Order
We’re an ISO 9001:2015 certified round bar supplier. In practice, the material you order and the services performed on it go through a documented quality system rather than depending on whoever happens to be on shift that day.
That matters across a wide range of materials. We stock nine product material families: stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, aluminum, brass, copper and bronze, medical and surgical metal, high temperature alloys, titanium, and tool steel. One system covering all of them means you get the same quality approach whether you order 303 stainless or 4140 alloy steel.
The Quality Tools We Use
Our quality system includes four specific tools: Advanced Quality Planning, Statistical Process Control, Gauge R&R, and Machine Capability Studies.
Each answers a different question. Advanced Quality Planning concerns planning before production starts. Statistical Process Control concerns watching a process while it runs. Gauge R&R concerns whether measurements can be trusted. Machine Capability Studies concern what a given machine can reliably hold.
For a buyer, together they mean we don’t only check whether a bar passed at the end. We look at the measurement and the process that produced it. If your own quality team wants to talk through any of these tools for a specific job, raise it when you request a quote.
Where Quality Meets Centerless Grinding
Centerless grinding is the core of our precision bar stock work. We grind in house up to 7″ in diameter and up to 24 feet in length, producing material with accurate roundness and polish.
Length is where many buyers get stuck. A long ground bar lets you run more parts per bar and cut your own blanks without needing to source additional material. Our 24 foot capacity gives you that option without sending the bar to a second vendor.
Tolerances in Our Secondary Machining
Plenty of orders need more than a ground bar, so our machining services carry their own stated tolerances.
Our metal turning holds ±0.001 in. and produces axis symmetric rotational components. Materials include stainless, alloy, carbon, aluminum, and copper. Milling also holds ±0.001 in. and covers pockets, holes, slots, and 3D surface contours. Custom machining is CNC and CAD/CAM equipped, holds ±0.005″, and handles parts up to 12″, 10″ diameter, and 8′ in length.
These are different numbers for different processes. Match the tolerance on your print to the service that will actually produce the feature. A close turned diameter and a general machined feature don’t need the same process.
Cutting, Straightening, Chamfering, and Polishing
Before a bar ships, it may pass through several finishing steps. Each one affects how it behaves in your shop.
Our precision metal cutting runs on CNC enabled saws for cut to length jobs, handling singles and bundles. Bar straightening uses rotary straightening machines on ferrous and non ferrous bars, and includes pipe straightening. Bar chamfering creates close chamfered ends and removes burrs and sharp edges. That’s a practical benefit when bars go straight into a feeder or get handled by hand. Polishing covers finishes to a specific roughness average, a #8 mirror finish, electroplating, and custom stainless steel polishing.
Packaging and Shipping Ground Bar
A bar that leaves our floor in spec still has to arrive that way. We package in cardboard tubing, wooden boxes, wood crates, paper wrapping, UPS packages, and custom wood boxes. We ship nationally and worldwide.
Packaging choice matters most on ground and polished bars, where a finished surface is part of what you paid for. Tell us how the material will be received and stored, and we’ll match the packaging to it.
Industries That Depend on This Process
We serve aerospace, automotive, construction, medical, military, oil and gas, and food processing customers. These buyers tend to need a supplier whose quality system they can document on their own side, and that’s what our ISO 9001:2015 certification and quality tools are there to support.
What to Send Us When You Request a Quote
The clearer the request, the more of our process we can apply from the start. Include the material family and grade, the diameter and length, and any tolerance or finish requirement from your print. Also list the services you need, such as grinding, cutting, straightening, chamfering, machining, or polishing, and tell us how you want the order packaged and where it’s going.
Talk to Our Team About Your Next Bar Order
If you’re qualifying a new supplier or tightening specs on an existing part, call us at +1 (847) 451-8888, Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 5 PM. Or send the details through our request a quote page, and we’ll review the job with you and explain how our quality system applies to it.
FAQs
Is Forte Precision Metals ISO 9001:2015 certified?
Yes. We’re an ISO 9001:2015 certified round bar supplier, and our quality system includes Advanced Quality Planning, Statistical Process Control, Gauge R&R, and Machine Capability Studies.
What size bars can you centerless grind?
We grind in house up to 7″ in diameter and up to 24 feet in length.
What tolerances do your machining services hold?
Metal turning and milling each hold ±0.001 in. Custom machining holds ±0.005″ and handles parts up to 12″, 10″ diameter, and 8′ in length.
Do you ship outside the United States?
Yes. We provide national and worldwide shipping, with packaging options including cardboard tubing, wooden boxes, wood crates, paper wrapping, UPS packages, and custom wood boxes.
