Part 2: Shape of Finished Part
In Part 1, I talked about how dimensioning with common stock sizes in mind can reduce costs and save time.
Today, I am going to talk about how the shape of the finished part can impact cost
Best Practice #3: Design your parts to have two long parallel straight edges.
Parallel straight edges can easily be held in a vise while the stock is being cut. If they are absent, part holding becomes much more complicated. Here's an example:
Setup 2 adds cost because the machined geometry cannot be held properly in the standard vise jaws. The standard hard jaws are removed, blank soft jaws are installed, designed and machined to fit your part. Only then can the part be loaded into the vise for the 2nd setup. Having a part shaped like this will likely add $100 (or more) to your quote.
Best Practice #4: Design the part to be thick enough that deflection from vise pressure is not an issue. You can often save money by adding thickness to your thin parts!
Here’s a thin part that would be much easier/cheaper to machine if it was 2 or 3 times as thick. Parts like these often require custom fixtures and may be better suited to laser, plasma, waterjet, router, etc.
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