11 Ways to Cut Sheet Metal Fabrication Costs

6. Avoid the TMI Syndrome with Sheet Metal Design

You would be surprised how often we receive models that are filled with all sorts of data we don&#;t need to know. Typically, it&#;s something like details on hardware unrelated to the part we&#;re manufacturing for you. These are factors that may be critical to the overall assembly, but if your manufacturer isn&#;t involved in it in any way, it&#;s clutter that can slow down the estimating and manufacturing process. A good rule of thumb is that you should suppress any details in your models that aren&#;t pertinent to your manufacturer. Imagine putting in what you think is a request for one part, but getting billed and receiving two parts back. Surprise! So, this small rule can make a big difference.

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7. Stick with Fast, Frugal Fasteners for Sheet Metal Parts

Ordering fancy fasteners is a sure way to drive up costs and slow down manufacturing. It&#;s always best to stick with fasteners that are readily available, such as those in the PEM catalog. Its website has a solid inventory search tool that can let you know which suppliers/vendors have stock for any given PEM hardware item. Also, if you are looking for aluminum or 400 Series stainless steel hardware, it&#;s important to know that inventories can be inconsistent. PEM can supply these, but generally you&#;ll face a 10,000-piece minimum order and six to eight weeks of added lead time to get your special hardware. That means that you might have a whole lot of hardware lying around your warehouse that you might never need&#;an expense that could prove substantial.

8. Simplify Sheet Metal Parts with Off-the-Shelf Hardware

Let&#;s say you want an assembly that includes built-in elements intended to hold specific components. One example might be card guides to hold circuit boards. Manufacturers can fabricate those guides in the sheet metal itself, but that takes a lot of time, and card guides are incredibly expensive tools costing more than $1,000. Instead, source your press fit card guide and adjust your design to accept the new component. Placing the guides is always in your team&#;s court, but the overall cost and time savings are undeniable when you create features that accommodate standard, off-the-shelf components.

9. Include Hardware BOMs: Details that Ensure Accurate Sheet Metal Parts

Manufacturers can do a lot of wonderful things for you, but mindreading is not among them. Whenever you send a quote, make sure to include a hardware Bill of Materials (BOM). If you provide the precise name for the hardware you plan on using, our systems can look up those parts and, for example, create the perfect threads to accept a screw. BOMs can be included in prints, or in separate Word or Excel documents. You can even include them in the comments section. You can also use a BOM to refer to specific finishes, materials, and other requirements. Having this knowledge in hand means we don&#;t have to exchange a series of emails, slowing down the path to you getting your parts in hand. So, if time is money and accuracy is important to you, adding these notes is a smart idea.

10. Consider Delaying Silkscreening or Engraving for Sheet Metal Parts

If you&#;re in the early prototyping stages of product development, seeing the look of certain finishes on your parts may not be important to you. Instead, consider delaying finishes like silkscreening and engraving until later.

When you&#;re ready to explore various finishes, remember that silkscreening is expensive, but a whole lot more affordable than machine engraving. Sure, engraving is long-lasting, but the cost might make it impractical. Want to add permanence to your silkscreened elements? Try applying a clear powder coat to seal and cover that information. It will add time and cost to your parts, but may save you money in the long-term.

11. Follow our Suggestions to Cut Sheet Metal Costs

When you get a quote back from us, you will receive a detailed design analysis to improve the manufacturability of your parts. That helps, but it won&#;t necessarily make your parts less expensive.

So, if we see ways to save you money, we will also include PPRs free of charge. Basically, if there&#;s an opportunity to reduce sheet metal fabrication costs by improving the manufacturability of your design, the PPR will let you know right in the quote by outlining how much time and money you could save. These might include changes to designs such as using standardized bend radii or other basic adjustments to geometries or material. You have the choice to take our suggestions, or not. Just know that we have your back when it comes to best pricing.

For additional help, feel free to contact one of our applications engineers at 877-479- or [ protected]. To get your next design project started today, simply upload a 3D CAD model for a quote within hours.

In the realm of manufacturing, as with any business venture, keeping costs low is always a top priority for any project. When clients come to us with prints or parts, one of the major concerns that they have is whether or not they are getting the most cost effective outcome.

In this two-part blog series, &#;Saving Money on Your Metal Stamped Parts&#;, we&#;ll cover some of the major ways that money can be saved on metal stamping projects. For the first installment, we&#;ll cover some of the physical changes you can make to bring costs down.

Materials

The metal chosen for your stamping project plays a considerable role in the overall costs. It is possible that the material you are planning to use (or have been using) may not be the most cost-effective metal for your part.

It is important to interface with your metal stamping provider to review the potential material options (or alternatives) for the project. Each metal type offers different advantages in terms of formability, machinability, and tensile strength; your stamping provider should be able to determine the pro/cons of each type for your particular project, and present the most economical option.

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Some metals, such as aluminum or magnesium, have a tendency to carry higher upfront costs. But they can prove to be the more cost effective option when considering the longevity of your parts.  In other scenarios, the cheaper metal may be the best solution; it all depends on the project requirements.

One of the most common swaps that we see are swaps within the steel family. Manor Tool has often been able to introduce High-Strength, Low-Alloy steel into a job due to the fact that it possesses high corrosion resistance and similar material properties to spring steel, while being offered at lower cost.

When bringing your print to your metal stamping provider, make sure to note:

• Any changes in part requirements
• Any areas that are not set in stone, to allow for potential design modifications.

Tooling

Another aspect to consider when working with your metal stamping provider is the tooling requirements of your part. Small changes to your tooling can have a huge impact on both costs and production time.

Manor Tool encourages you to find a stamper that has the capability to provide a finite element analysis. A major portion of the finite element analysis is the determination of whether or not different tooling or additional tooling would make a significant impact on your overall part costs down the line.

In a realm where time is money, the Finite Element Analysis also helps you save money by reducing the timeline of your tooling design cycle. The virtual design simulations can be run in a few hours, meaning you are freed from the machine shop/manufacturing schedules that hard-copy tests are tied to.

Volume

It&#;s important to keep an eye on the increase of production volume. As production of your metal stamped parts increases, there may be a time where the job transitions from being a &#;low volume&#; or &#;short run&#; job to being a &#;high volume&#; production.   Having a high volume production run opens up the opportunity to revisit your original prototype, and rework the design for cost saving opportinities.

It&#;s hugely important to find a metal stamping provider that has the capability to take a job from prototype to production, as they will inherently have the ability to help reduce your costs in-house.  As an example, Manor Tool has the internal ability to build hard tooling/progressive dies. As quantities increase from the short run (low volume) process, those progressive dies can bring down the piece-part price significantly, with the investment in a nominal hard tooling cost. 

Be sure to check back soon for the second installment of &#;Saving Money on Your Metal Stamped Parts&#;. The next blog will focus on some of &#;The Mental&#; adjustments you can make to save money on your parts.

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In the meantime, please feel free to download our full resource on your money saving options:

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