Practical CMMC compliance guidance for defense manufacturers — from manufacturing people, not cybersecurity consultants.
Federal Contract Information walked in the day you accepted your first government PO. Most shop owners don't realize the compliance requirements started then too.
ITAR doesn't just apply to finished parts. The technical data used to make them — including G-code — may be controlled. Here's what that means for how your shop handles program files.
Logging what you sent to a CNC machine is straightforward. Demonstrating what the machine actually executed — and managing edits when they happen — is a different problem entirely.
Most CMMC compliance solutions assume modern, networked equipment. Your shop floor doesn't look like that. Here's how SMC meets your machines where they are — regardless of age, controller, or protocol.
DNC software and network segmentation are steps in the right direction. But they don't produce the evidence CMMC actually requires. Here's the gap — and why it matters at assessment time.
Most shops try to make their CNC machines compliant. That's the wrong approach. Here's how to design your workflow so they don't need to be.
Encrypted USB drives feel like progress. From a C3PAO's point of view, they mostly solve the wrong problem. Here's what assessors are actually evaluating — and why the workflow is the issue, not the drive.
Every CNC shop has them. Unlabeled thumb drives, passed hand to hand, carrying G-code nobody can account for. Here's why that's a CMMC problem — and why encrypted USB drives don't fix it.
CNC controllers weren't built for cybersecurity compliance. Here's why that matters — and what the DoD actually expects you to do about it.