“Design for manufacturing” is an important topic in the industry, and as manufacturers it’s one that we think about every day. We’ve offered DfM guidance in many different areas before, including in our Design for Manufacturing eBook, which features 31 ideas for getting the best results in your next project.
Today we want to give our customers some tips to design parts for bending and manufacturing in the most efficient and inexpensive way possible. Some of these tips are specific to working with All Metals, while some of them are textbook sheet metal fab DfM. But all of them will help you get more efficient results while keeping your costs down the next time you work with All Metals.
Many customers overlook this step before sending us their designs. Sometimes when we receive drawings, we have to unfold them ourselves. If we find the design doesn’t unfold, we may have to manipulate the 3D model ourselves. This can create complications and responsibilities that can slow down the process.
By testing and unfolding your designs before submission, you can help streamline the process, improve lead times and simply the workflow.
When specifying a bend radius on a part, it's helpful to consider whether that specific radius is crucial to the part's end use or functionality. If a smaller radius would be as effective for the part’s intended purpose, that creates an opportunity to make the manufacturing process more efficient. Sticking to the larger specified radius may result in increased complexity and cost, or it may necessitate seeking customer approval for changes.
If the exact bend radius isn't critical, omitting it from the drawing can give the manufacturer the flexibility to produce the part more quickly and cost-effectively. This approach can lead to more streamlined and affordable manufacturing.
For some parts, having various bend radii is important, and we are fully equipped to collaborate with you to achieve the desired outcome. However, we often encounter designs with multiple bend radii that aren’t crucial to the function of the part. Since we typically use the same set of dies to bend sheet metal, these varying radii can create manufacturing challenges that need to be addressed.
By using the same radius for most or all bends, you can help streamline the process and reduce costs. Simplifying the design in this way allows for a more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing process.
If you have features on your sheet metal design that are dependent on the bends, tolerances quickly become an issue. Features such as holes or slots that are dependent on a bend lead to “tolerance stack-up.” Any variance in the bends can cause problems with the location of those features.
It is common to use hems to avoid having sharp edges in sheet metal designs. While hems are an excellent way to ensure clean edges that won't, for example, cut wiring, creating hems can involve significant time and effort. Typically, it takes two or three processes to add a hem to a part.
An alternative to hems is using edging materials, which can be just as effective and are usually less expensive. By considering edging materials, you can achieve the same safety benefits while reducing costs and manufacturing time.
If you want advice on how to design your part for simpler sheet metal bending – or any other process in precision sheet metal fabrication – don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team is always willing to help and provide guidance for designing your parts as efficiently as possible.
To find out more about the sheet metal services we can offer you, request a quote.
