5 Tips to Reduce Cost in Sheet Metal Fabrication Methods

Sheet metal fabrication methods are widely used manufacturing methods to produce durable parts in mass manufacturing and prototyping processes in the aviation, automotive, machinery and energy industries. This thickness value is fixed at each point of the sheet metal used as raw material in the manufacture by sheet cutting and bending methods. If your parts to be produced have constant thickness, sheet metal processing methods may come at a more affordable price than other metal processing methods. Using sheet metal saves material and processing costs while at the same time speeding up manufacturing.

In addition to the benefits of choosing sheet metal fabrication and manufacturing services, some choices you wish make during design and material selection before manufacturing can also save you time and money.

Here are five tips that will make you profit in manufacturing with sheet metal fabrication methods.

1. Pick the Right Material

Sheet metal fabrication methods are suitable for many different types of materials, especially metals such as steel, aluminium, brass, copper, tin, nickel, and titanium, depending on your model. One of the essential factors in part cost is material cost. You should make sure you choose the suitable material and use stock sizes.

For example, if your part will not be exposed to forces during use, it will be beneficial to select light metals such as aluminium and inexpensive materials instead of steel. The properties of the raw materials should be appropriately analyzed to choose the optimum material that will meet the requirements of the part in the final product.

The materials we offer in our sheet metal fabrication service as Xometry are:

Black Steel
Stainless Steel
Aluminium Sheet
Galvanized Sheet

2. Consider Standard Size

When designing your model, considering standard plate sizes can provide significant cost savings in part manufacturing. This is because standard sheet sizes are generally less expensive. In addition, thicker materials can both restrict the model’s curves and increase the cost as the increase in surface thickness means more raw materials.

3. Simplify Angles

If the part you want to manufacture has complex geometry and requires thick sheet metal, the bends will be challenging to handle. In this case, the manufacturing cost of the part may increase. To avoid this, it is helpful to design simple angled bends with a radius equal to or greater than the thickness of the sheet metal. Also, small arcs on large and thick parts tend to be inaccurate, so avoid them during the design phase of the parts you want to produce.

4. Protect Twisting Direction

Keeping the same plane bends in the same direction prevents the part from changing direction during manufacturing. In this way, you can save both cost and time.

5. Consult an Expert

Feel free to contact your manufacturer about your design. It will be of great benefit to you if experienced manufacturers look at the design from the manufacturer’s perspective. As Xometry Turkey, we are proud to bring our customers together with easy ordering and effortless manufacturing processes.

Expert Xometry engineers are ready to support you to avoid unnecessary costs while receiving manufacturing service. You can consult us with your questions and get a quick offer by using the order section of our website.