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  • 2022-04-01 12:10:56

Five Tips for Reducing Sheet Metal Fabrication Cost

Sheet metal fabrication is one of the most popular fabrication processes in prototyping. It helps to create several durable parts, ranging from prototypes to high-volume production parts. With many commercial benefits, many industries turn to this process for their applications. However, the sheet metal fabrication cost is usually a bone of contention for product developers.

 

Every aspect of a sheet metal fabrication project comes with an associated cost — the design, possible prototype, finishing processes, and others. Asides from the process itself, materials also cost money. Therefore, it is crucial to have a cost-saving plan to get the best out of your sheet metal project. The following tips will help reduce the overall cost for your project:

 

1. Choose the Right Raw Materials

Since the cost of raw materials affects sheet metal fabrication cost, choosing the suitable raw materials for your project will help you save money. Stock sizes of materials are usually the best choices in this case. Also, you should choose the cheapest materials for prototypes.

For example, you want to go for aluminum instead of stainless steel. For final production parts, it is advisable to choose the most affordable materials that will perform the part’s functions adequately.

Fabricators that buy mill-direct can also help you negotiate material costs. Their partnership and experience with those mills ensure lower bulk pricing, which you can benefit from. Buying mill-direct materials also means that they may have cost-effective ways of shipping and storing these materials.

2. Use a Common Gauge of Sheet Metal

If possible, ensure that your design uses standard sheet gauges and sizes. These standard sheet sizes often have less costs than special lengths sheets. Thicker materials may make it challenging to achieve bends and cuts for your part. This, it will be best to have your design to a common gauge and choose material grades based on current market conditions. This will help you reduce costs involving variable gauges.

Moreover, variable gauges of sheet metal are often specially ordered. Such specially ordered materials increase overall manufacturing costs. Therefore, it is essential to work with your fabricator a standard gauge that will serve your fabricating purposes while keeping your costs minimal.

3. Avoid Complicated Design Element

As discussed earlier, the more complicated your design is, the more expensive it tends to be. Parts that require several cuts, bends, and welds will incur higher costs. While specialized design elements may look fantastic, they significantly increase costs. Most times, it is advisable to aim for simplicity. Therefore, you want to design for simpler angle bends to cut your fabrication costs. Such bends should have inside radii equal to 1x thickness of your chosen material.

Using small bends on large thick components is usually inaccurate. Therefore you should try to avoid them. Keeping your bend radius consistent is another means of making the fabrication process more cost-effective. You also don’t want to add features like blind holes, machined pockets, or chamfered edges if they are not necessary. These features often drive up lead times and manufacturing costs. The right sheet metal design guide will help you make the best decision for your product.

4. Consider Finishing Options that Minimizes Cost

Your finishing choice for sheet metal often depends on various factors, including the applications of the part and aesthetic requirements. For instance, using pre-plated metals will be adequate if the application of your part is in a hostile environment.

However, pre-plated metals like galvanized metals are not the best choice if you require a welded seam. You should also consider delaying finishes like engraving and silk screening till the final stages of product development.

Some materials are naturally corrosion resistant. Therefore, they do not need an overly specialized finish. Specialized finishes may also require cost estimators to source external quotes, adding to price and lead times. Some common finishes are less expensive and faster. For instance, finishes like chrome playing, passivation, anodizing, and powder coating are readily available with minimal cost impacts.

5. Contact a Professional Fabricator

A full-service fabricator will be the best choice if you wish to have a low-cost sheet metal fabrication. You should choose a fabrication company that can complete most of the process themselves. For example, SmarterFab helps with your project from design to assembly. Thus, there will be no need for extra cost expenditure or outsourcing the process.

So, you should look out for companies like SmarterFab that use state-of-the-art sheet metal fabrication tooling. This helps to save costs in the long run with the production process being faster and the product with the highest quality. Furthermore, when you work with a professional fabricator, you can be sure of meeting your business goals efficiently.