Sheet metal manufacturing is an ideal process for manufacturing durable parts, from single prototype to mass production. He is also a cost-effective way to make parts. However, since sheet metal parts are made of a single plate, other design factors need to be considered compared with other processing technologies.
To help you save time and money, here are 5 tips you can use on your next project!
1. Select appropriate materials
Material cost is one of the most important driving factors of part cost. Please be sure to carefully select the materials and use the blank size. If you are making a prototype, you can consider using aluminum 5052 and 304 stainless steel or other cheaper materials.
Check out our list of commonly used materials
2. General design specifications
When designing parts, remember to use standard sheet metal gauges. The thickness of a sheet metal part mainly depends on the geometry of the part. Thicker metal may limit the bending that your part can achieve.
3. Simplify your folding
Generally speaking, the more complex the parts, the higher the cost. In order to reduce the cost, simple elbows are designed with radius ≥ plate thickness. Small bends on large and thick parts tend to become inaccurate and should be avoided as much as possible.
4. Restrict the use of strict tolerances
Usually, only a few features of a part are critical to its function. The more features (such as radius, aperture, and distance) tolerance marks in the design, the higher the manufacturing cost of the part. To eliminate unnecessary costs, it is critical to assign tolerances only to mission critical features and surfaces.
5. Keep uniform bending direction
Elbows in the same plane shall be designed in the same direction to avoid part reorientation, which will save money and time. Maintaining a consistent bend radius will also make parts more cost-effective.
