5 Tips to Reduce Cost in Sheet Metal Forming Methods

Sheet metal forming methods are widely used manufacturing methods to produce durable parts in mass production and prototyping processes in the aerospace, automotive, construction, HVAC, industrial automation, machinery and energy industries.

The thickness value is fixed at each point of the sheet metal sheets used as raw materials in the manufacture by sheet metal cutting and bending methods. If your parts to be produced have a fixed 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 speeding up your production.

In addition to the benefits of choosing sheet metal forming and production services, some choices you make during design and material selection before production can also save you time and cost.

Here are 5 tips that will make you profit in production with sheet metal forming methods.

1. Choose the Right Material

Sheet metal forming 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 most essential factors of part cost is material cost. That's why you should make sure you choose the right material and use stock sizes. For example, if your part will not be exposed to forces during use, it will be beneficial to choose light metals such as aluminium and affordable materials instead of steel. In order to select the optimum material that will meet the requirements of the part in the final product, the properties of the raw materials should be analyzed well.

2. Consider Standard Size

Considering standard plate sizes when designing your model can provide significant cost savings in part production. That's because standard sheet sizes are generally less expensive. In addition, thicker materials can both restrict the curves of the model and increase the cost as the increase in surface thickness means more raw materials.

3. Simplify Angles

Sometimes the part that needs to be manufactured has a complex structure and geometry. Such parts require thick sheet metal, and as such the bends here will be challenging to handle. In this case, the production 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 bends on large and thick parts tend to be inaccurate, so avoid them if possible during the design phase of the parts you want to produce.

4. Keep Twisting Direction

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

5. Consult an Expert

Feel free to contact your manufacturer about your design. It will be very beneficial for experienced manufacturers to look at the design from the perspective of the manufacturer.