Design To Reduce The Cost Of Prototype Sheet Metal Parts

The cost of prototype sheet metal parts mainly comes from three aspects: materials, stamping dies and labor costs. Among them, the cost of materials and stamping dies account for the main part, and cost reduction can be started from these two aspects.

1. The shape of sheet metal parts

The shape of the sheet metal parts should be conducive to layout, minimize the waste of materials, and increase the utilization rate of materials. Reasonable sheet metal shape design can make the material usage rate of sheet metal in nesting is high, and there is less waste, thereby reducing the cost of sheet metal materials.

2. Reduce the overall size of the sheet metal

Sheet metal dimensions are one of the main factors that determine the cost of sheet metal stamping dies. The larger the sheet metal size, the larger the size of the stamping die, and the higher the cost of the die. This becomes more obvious when the stamping die contains multiple sets of stamping process dies.

1) Avoid long and narrow features on the sheet metal. The long and narrow sheet metal shape not only lowers the strength of the parts, but also causes material waste in the layout of the sheet metal. At the same time, the narrow and long sheet metal features increase the size of the stamping die and increase the cost of the die.

2) Avoid the "cross" shape of the sheet metal after unfolding. This kind of sheet metal wastes a lot of material during layout. At the same time, it increases the size of the stamping die and increases the cost of the die.

3. The shape of the sheet metal should be as simple as possible

Complex sheet metal shapes require complex punches and dies, which increase mold processing costs. The shape of the sheet metal should be as simple as possible.

4. Reduce the number of stamping die processes

Stamping molds mainly include two types: engineering molds and continuous molds. An engineering mold for a sheet metal part may include multiple sets of process mold molds, such as a president mold, a bending mold, a forming mold, and a burr mold. The more the number of mold processes, the more the number of process mold sets of sheet metal molds, and the higher the cost of stamping molds. The same is true for continuous modes. The mold cost is directly proportional to the number of mold processes. Therefore, in order to reduce the cost of stamping molds, the number of mold processes should be reduced as much as possible.

a. Reasonably define the attachment edge of the bending, and the unreasonable attachment edge of the bending will easily increase the bending process.

b. Product design needs to avoid complex bending as much as possible.

c. The product design needs to avoid folding and flattening as much as possible.

d. In addition, burr pressing generally requires a separate burr process die.

5. Reasonably choose the assembly method of the parts

Clip - pull nail - self riveting - spot welding - ordinary screw - hand screw

6. Reasonable use of sheet metal structure to reduce the number of parts

Although the stamping manufacturing process does not allow the sheet metal parts to have a complex structure, within the range that the sheet metal parts can reach, the structure of the sheet metal parts should be used rationally, and the surrounding parts of the sheet metal parts should be combined to reduce the number of parts, thereby reducing product costs .

7. Standardization

When designing sheet metal, try to choose standard holes, grooves, etc., so that you can use standard punching dies and dies to reduce mold costs.

When selecting sheet metal materials, choosing sheet metal materials with standard thickness and easily available in the local market can also reduce product costs. Goldconn can help you reduce the cost of prototype sheet metal parts according to your ideas.