From design to prototype and final production, sheet metal fabrication services in china can appear to be costly. This is because the choice of material, the sheet metal processing and finishing operations all have significant cost implications. In order to achieve cost savings and reduce the price per sheet metal, you will need to take advantage of certain design, cost and logistics plan that can drive down the overall cost by a hundred of dollars. Read on to explore all our cost-saving tips for sheet metal fabrication.
Choose the right material
The most potent way to drive down manufacturing cost is to ensure that you get it right from material selection. Aluminum and stainless steel are the most popular material options when dealing with sheet metal projects. Either material has an array of properties to consider in relation to your project. Choosing the material can help you avoid unnecessary costs, increase the number of parts per sheet and lower the chances of re-runs due to material error.
Factor in the end-use, the part functionality, desired physical and chemical attributes before concluding on what material is best suited for your sheet metal fabrications in china.
Limit tight tolerances
Like every manufacturing process, achieving tight tolerances with end parts can be arduous. With the extra effort also comes increased costs. When looking manufacture on a budget, avoid the use of tight tolerances and pronounced features. This generally includes tolerances around radii, distances and dimensions. If you must, apply tolerance callouts to those features within the design that are crucial to the usability and functionality of the part.
Explore local sheet metal fabrication options
Save costs and time by exploring local sheet metal services in china and take advantage of reduced shipping, logistics and on-site availability. Freight and shipping costs often add to the overall landing cost of your sheet metal part. Depending on what part of the world you’re in, you can save a couple of hundreds or thousands of dollars by working with an experienced local sheet metal fabricator in China.
Asides cost, working with a local sheet metal fabricator presents opportunity for quicker corrections, clearer communications, efficient quality control before final mass manufacturing takes place.
Use simplified folds
Ensure your design only contains simple angle bends with radii that is no less than the general thickness of the sheet metal part. Avoid small bends in thick, large parts and exempt the design from unnecessary features and aesthetics that are not critical to part functionality. Similarly, refrain from using thick materials and thick dimensions as they will limit the achievable bends or demand more effort and cost to fabricate.
Keep bend orientation uniform
Design your sheet metal to maintain consistency and have uniform bends across the part to enhance cost savings. When bends are not aligned in the same direction, there will be a need for part re-orientation which could extend run time and material use. Designing with a uniform bend radius will also make them easier to produce than parts with multiple bend radius across the design.
Work with a design expert
As much as you can, ensure that you’ve had your design vetted by experience engineers and sheet metal fabricators that have years of experience. These engineers are well grounded in the concept of manufacturing designs and can help you narrow down on the possible issues with your design, the suitable material, processing techniques and parameters that can all help you avoid costly mistakes. Experienced design engineers can also help you optimize the overall score of your part by suggesting simple add-ons that may reduce part complexity and drive applicability.
Contact us for your Sheet Metal Services today
FirstPart’s expertise and experience in sheet metal services provides customers with a one-stop shop service on all sheet metal projects. From design to fabrication, finishing and post-fabrication, our latest technologies, engineering workforce and machine investments ensures that we stay ahead of our competition to provide high quality parts at the most competitive prices. Contact us today for sheet metal services and take a look at all of our other services including 3D printing, CNC machining, Rapid prototyping, Aluminum Extrusion, Die and Vacuum Casting and much more.
