What to Do When a Critical Part Gets Hard to Source

Material and component lead times across manufacturing are stretching in 2026, and industry reporting suggests the pressure will continue into 2027.

A Q3 2026 supply chain update from Garner Osborne Circuits(opens in new tab), covered by PCB Directory, points to tightening conditions across raw materials, laminates, and components. The update attributes the pressure to rising demand tied to AI infrastructure, constrained supplies of glass fabric, epoxy resin, and copper, and geopolitical pressure on production and logistics.

For engineering and procurement teams, that means specifications that were once routine reorders are now facing extended lead times, price increases, or allocation. This is the environment shaping sourcing decisions right now, and it changes what options are available when a part becomes hard to find.

Key Takeaways

• Lead times are stretching across the board. Material and component lead times are extending across manufacturing, with pressure expected to continue into 2027.
• The tightening isn’t isolated to one category. It spans raw materials, laminates, and finished components at the same time.
• Early review reduces risk. Reviewing upcoming builds for supply-risk parts before they become unavailable is the most effective first step.
• Custom manufacturing is a valid alternative to re-sourcing. Many hard-to-source parts — especially precision mechanical, metal, or ceramic components can be custom-manufactured instead of purchased through distribution.
• No-tooling processes and in-house materials cut delay. Manufacturing without hard tooling, paired with in-house material stock, removes two of the biggest sources of delay in producing a replacement part.

Why Sourcing Has Gotten Harder

The Garner Osborne update describes pressure building at multiple points in the supply chain at once, from raw materials through finished components.

Materials Under Pressure

• High-speed and low-loss laminate demand is growing more than 15% annually, driven by AI servers, data centers, and next-generation networking, and 2026 demand has reportedly exceeded global capacity.
• Lead times for some specialty laminate materials have stretched past six months, with further price increases expected in 2027.
• Glass fabric supply is shifting away from thinner styles like 1080 in favor of AI-focused K-fabric, with output reductions of 30% or more expected across 2026.
• Copper foil, epoxy resin, and prepreg are all facing added cost and capacity pressure, with thin prepreg production concentrated among a small number of Japanese and Taiwanese suppliers.

Component Lead Times Are Extending

• CPUs, SSDs, memory, power devices, and passive components are commonly seeing lead times of 20 to 50 weeks.
• Legacy, older-generation components are seeing the steepest declines in availability.
• Logistics costs are compounding the effect of longer lead times, adding further risk to production schedules.

What Helps When a Part Is Hard to Source

When a component or material becomes difficult to source, there are a few concrete steps a design or procurement team can take — most of them well before the part runs out.

Review Upcoming Builds for Supply-Risk Parts

Reviewing upcoming builds against known supply-risk materials and components, before a shortage affects the production schedule, is the difference between a planned substitution and a scramble.

Consider a Custom-Manufactured Replacement

Not every hard-to-find part needs a like-for-like replacement sourced from another distributor. In many cases, a part originally sourced as a stock item can instead be manufactured to spec — cut, drilled, or machined to the same tolerances — by a shop with the right process capability. This applies especially to precision mechanical components, tubes, substrates, and metal or ceramic parts used inside larger electronic assemblies, even when they aren’t electronic components themselves.

Look for Manufacturing Processes That Skip Hard Tooling

A major reason custom or low-volume replacement parts can take as long as the original sourcing problem is tooling lead time — the dies, molds, and fixtures that have to be built before a part can be produced. Processes like laser cutting and laser drilling are driven by digital toolpaths rather than physical tooling, so a shop running those processes can move from spec to finished part without waiting weeks for tooling to be built or reworked.

Choose Suppliers That Stock Materials In-House

Material lead time is often the larger constraint, not machine time. A manufacturer that already stocks the metals, ceramics, or other materials a part requires can start production as soon as a design is approved, instead of adding a separate material order — and another lead time — on top of the part itself.

Custom Part Manufacturing for Hard-to-Source Parts

This is where a shop like Accumet fits into the picture. Accumet is a precision materials processing company that produces custom metal, ceramic, and plastic parts using laser cutting, drilling, welding, marking, and ablation, along with ceramic substrate lapping and polishing.

Manufacturability Review Before Reproducing a Part

Before committing to reproducing a hard-to-source part, it helps to have someone evaluate the original print or sample and confirm it can be made with current materials and processes. Accumet’s Technical Services group offers manufacturability assessments and process consulting as an entry point for exactly this kind of project, flagging any design changes that may be needed before production starts.

No-Tooling Laser Processes for Custom Parts

Because laser processes don’t require hard tooling, Accumet can move directly from a part drawing to production, with no tooling build and no retooling between hole sizes or geometries. Laser cutting and laser drilling cover a wide range of materials and tolerances.

In-House Material Stock for Faster Turnaround

Metals and foils and ceramic substrates are stocked in-house, which removes a separate material-sourcing step from the timeline. For engineering teams working through a BOM review, no-tooling processes paired with in-house material stock can shorten the path from “this part is hard to find” to “this part is back in production.”

Quality Certifications for Aerospace and Regulated Industries

Accumet holds AS9100 and ISO 9001 certifications, which matters for teams working in aerospace and defense or other quality-controlled industries. More details on Accumet’s quality program are available on the Quality page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Custom Part Manufacturing

Ready to Talk Through a Hard-to-Source Part?

If a part on your BOM is running into supply delays, get a quote from Accumet to find out whether it can be custom-manufactured in-house.

Read More

CNC Machining Services Expand Accumet’s Precision Manufacturing Capabilities
Boston Laser Cutting: Supporting New England Manufacturers with Precision and Speed
What ITAR Compliance Means for Precision Laser Cutting in Regulated Manufacturing