Minor Adjustments: 40% Faster Metal Part Fabrication

The delay in the delivery of metal part fabrication is not usually due to insufficient factory production capacity. Instead, it is often caused by hidden flaws in the design drawings during the design stage.

The drawings are beautifully made, with clear dimensions and reasonable tolerance requirements. However, as soon as the drawings arrive at the workshop, the workers frown and say, “This part is difficult to machine,” and “The production cost is too high.” This is not a problem of design ability; rather, it stems from neglecting DFM.

The core of DFM is “considering manufacturing during the design process”. In the processing stage, if appropriate DFM strategies are adopted, production time can be reduced by 30% and material waste by 20%.

In other words, spending 10 minutes conducting a DFM self-check before issuing the drawings is far more efficient than dealing with problems on the production line.All you need to do is adjust a few dimensions and angles, and the entire manufacturing process will run smoothly.

Metal Part Fabrication DFM Self-inspection

Check 1: Is the wall thickness uniform? Is it too thin?

Self-check:

– Are there any areas on the part that have suddenly become thinner or thicker?
– What is the thinnest part in millimeters? Is the thickness of the aluminum material less than 0.8mm? And is the thickness of the steel material less than 1.5mm?
– Is it possible to use reinforcing ribs instead of increasing the overall wall thickness?

Improvement suggestions:

  • For metal parts, the wall thickness should be at least 0.8mm (for stainless steel, at least 1.0mm).
  • Try to keep the wall thickness uniform and avoid abrupt changes in the cross-section. If a change is necessary, design a smooth transition chamfer or arc.
  • If certain parts require higher strength, it is preferable to increase the reinforcement positions rather than thickening the entire area – this way, the rigidity can be ensured without increasing the processing difficulty or material cost.
Effect: The wall thickness of a certain support was changed from 0.6mm to 0.8 mm, and additional strengthening ribs were added. Vibration disappeared, tool life increased from 200 to 800 pieces per cycle, and processing time was reduced by 35%.

Check 2: Are the internal corners rounded? Are they large enough?

Self-check:

– Are all the internal angle positions marked with rounded corners?
– Is the radius of the rounded corners greater than or equal to the available standard tool radius?
– For sheet metal parts, have the internal rounded corners taken into account in the bending rebound?

Improvement suggestions:

  • The recommended inner corner radius should be ≥ 0.5mm, and it is preferable to be equal to the radius of the commonly used cutting tools.
  • For sheet metal bending parts, the inner corner usually needs to be ≥ 0.5 times the sheet thickness. Larger inner corners help reduce the risk of springback and cracking.
  • If a certain inner corner really needs to be sharp, consider using electrical discharge machining to remove the corners after processing. However, this should be clearly stated on the drawing, and the higher cost should be accepted.
Effect: After changing the 6 sharp corners of an aviation part to R2-rounded corners, the deburring time was reduced to zero. The single-piece processing time decreased from 45 minutes to 32 minutes (a 30% reduction), and the tool life increased from 50 pieces to 200 pieces.

Check 3: Is the position of the hole appropriate? Is it too close to the edge?

Self-check:

– Is the distance from the center of the hole to the nearest edge ≥ 1.5 times the hole diameter?
– Is the distance from the hole edge to the bending line ≥ 3 times the plate thickness?
– If the hole must be close to the bending line, can it be drilled after the bending process?

Improvement suggestions:

  • For through holes, the minimum distance from the center of the hole to the edge is 1.5 times the hole diameter. It is recommended to be more than 2 times.
  • The safety distance from the edge of the hole to the bending line should be at least 3 times the thickness of the plate. If the plate thickness is 2mm, then at least 6mm should be left.
  • If the above distances cannot be met, the option could be to drill the hole after bending, or to change the round hole to a semi-circular groove to release the deformation stress.
Effect: The distance between the installation holes of a certain chassis board and the bending line is only 3mm (the board thickness is 2mm). After bending, 40% of the boards are deformed and scrapped. When the hole displacement reaches 8mm, the scrap rate drops to 0.5%, and the delivery time is advanced by 5 days.

Check 4: Are the tolerances “too tight”?

Self-check:

– Is this dimension for the mating surface or the non-mating surface?
– If this dimension has a deviation of 0.1mm, will the product fail?
– Have I clearly marked on the drawing which dimensions are the Critical to Quality (CTQ) dimensions?

Improvement suggestions:

  • Mark the parts that truly require strict control with special symbols on the drawing.
  • For non-critical dimensions, use the general tolerance standard; typically, ±0.2 mm to ±0.5mm will suffice.
  • If tight tolerances are necessary, make sure that this feature is truly required and consider using precision machining processes such as grinding or honing. However, be prepared to accept the corresponding time and cost.
Effect: The original drawing of a certain hydraulic valve body specified an accuracy of ±0.01mm. However, only the sealing surface required this level of precision. After re-labeling, the general size was achieved in one step, and the single-piece processing time was reduced from 2.5 hours to 1.2 hours. The cost decreased by 47%, and the functionality fully met the requirements.

Check 5: Is the ratio of the hole’s depth to its diameter too large?

Self-check:

  • What is the maximum depth-to-diameter ratio of the deepest hole?
  • Can it be changed to a through-hole?
  • Can it be designed as a stepped hole to reduce the actual depth-to-diameter ratio?

Improvement suggestions:

When the depth-to-diameter ratio is ≤ 5:1, the economic performance is optimal; for 5 to 10:1, internal cooling drills should be used; for ratios> 10:1, it is strongly recommended to switch to through holes, stepped holes, or combine them into special-shaped slots. The depth of the threaded bottom hole for sheet metal should be ≤ 2 times the diameter.

Effect: For a certain mold with a blind hole of Ø6×80 mm (depth-to-diameter ratio of 13:1), the drill bit frequently broke, requiring replacement after every 5 pieces. After switching to a through-hole (with both ends processed), the processing time per piece was reduced from 12 minutes to 4 minutes, and the drill bit cost decreased by 80%.

Check 6: Have standard tools and the number of clamping operations been taken into consideration?

Self-check:

– Are the diameters of all holes and the widths of all slots standard sizes?
– Can all processing features be completed in one setup? If not, what is the minimum number of setups required?
– Are the bending directions consistent? Can the parts be prevented from being flipped over?

Improvement suggestions:

Give priority to using standard tool sizes and avoid non-standard values. Arrange the features in the same direction, or complete multi-faceted processing in a single clamping with an Angle head. All the sheet metal bending is in the same direction and is positioned in one go.

Effect: The original assembly process of a communication cavity required three clamping operations. After DFM adjustments, it could be completed with a single clamping. The assembly time was reduced from 45 minutes to 10 minutes, and the positioning error was increased from ±0.05mm to ±0.02mm. The total processing time was shortened by 38%.

After completing these 6 self-checks, your design has become much easier to manufacture than before. If you wish to maximize the efficiency of Metal part Fabrication, you might consider having our engineering team conduct a thorough DFM review for you.

Contact our engineering team immediately to obtain a free DFM review + free samples

We are a metal parts manufacturing enterprise with 26 years of industry experience, specializing in providing high-quality Metal part Fabrication services to global customers. Submit your drawings, and we will provide you with a DFM optimization report within 24 hours.

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