Real results from real partnerships â see how our customers improved quality, reduced costs, and simplified their supply chain with powder metallurgy.
A Japanese manufacturer of dental equipment had been purchasing generic, off-the-shelf gears from catalog suppliers, then machining each piece in-house to meet their precise drawing specifications. After learning about powder metallurgy's ability to produce custom parts directly to print, they partnered with Yeh Sheng to redesign their supply chain.
Off-the-shelf gears were only "close" to the required dimensions. Every piece needed secondary CNC machining to achieve the tight tolerances required for dental handpiece mechanisms.
Each gear required individual setup, fixturing, and CNC machining time â a costly process especially for the small batch quantities typical in dental equipment manufacturing.
Different batches of off-the-shelf gears had slight variations in material and dimensions, leading to unpredictable results after machining. This made quality control difficult for a medical-grade product.
Managing inventory of raw gears, scheduling CNC machining time, and coordinating inspection created unnecessary overhead for a component that should simply arrive ready to assemble.
Yeh Sheng's engineering team designed a dedicated PM die based on the customer's exact gear drawings, accounting for sintering shrinkage to achieve the final dimensions directly from the press.
Gears are pressed and sintered to near-final dimensions with tolerances of Âą0.02mm. Only minimal secondary operations like tapping remain â eliminating the bulk of CNC machining previously required.
Yeh Sheng specializes in small-batch, high-variety production â a perfect match for dental equipment manufacturers who need multiple gear variants in quantities of hundreds, not thousands.
Every gear is produced from the same controlled powder formulation with SPC-monitored weight and dimensional consistency â critical for medical device traceability requirements.
By switching from "buy generic + machine to fit" to "custom PM from drawing," the customer simplified their supply chain from a multi-step process to a streamlined solution. Parts now arrive near-net shape with only minimal finishing (e.g., tapping) needed â dramatically reducing machining time, rework, and quality variability.
A Japanese vehicle component manufacturer operates a production facility in Taiwan. For years, a key suspension component used in their assembly line was exclusively imported from Japan. To reduce lead times, lower logistics costs, and build supply chain resilience, they began exploring local sourcing options â and partnered with Yeh Sheng to produce the part domestically using powder metallurgy.
Importing the component from Japan required weeks of shipping, customs clearance, and inventory planning â creating buffer stock costs and slowing responsiveness to demand changes.
Relying on a single overseas source for a critical production component exposed the Taiwan factory to disruption risks â especially from logistics delays, natural disasters, or trade fluctuations.
Any local supplier would need to match the exact material specifications, dimensional tolerances, and performance requirements of the original Japanese-made part â a high bar that few local manufacturers could meet.
Yeh Sheng's engineering team worked closely with the customer to analyze the original Japanese part specifications and develop dedicated PM tooling that replicates the exact geometry, density, and mechanical properties.
Yeh Sheng identified a suitable alternative powder formulation that differs from the original Japanese material but delivers equivalent functional performance. The customer conducted independent testing and approved the locally produced part for production use.
The customer now maintains both Japan-made and Taiwan-made parts as qualified sources. This dual-source strategy provides supply security while enabling gradual transition of volume to local production as confidence grows.
Import substitution through powder metallurgy allowed this manufacturer to localize a critical component without compromising quality. By establishing a qualified local source in Taiwan, they reduced dependency on international logistics, shortened lead times significantly, and gained supply chain flexibility â all while maintaining the exact same part specifications approved by their Japanese headquarters.
Whether you're looking to localize imported parts, replace machining with PM, or optimize your supply chain â we can help. Let's talk.
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