Machine Shop Cost Reduction(Cont.)

Use common finishes.   Use finish callouts such as “as machined” or “63rms” or “mill finish”.  Smooth finishes cost more to produce. 

Avoid tight tolerances.  Only use close tolerances when they are necessary.  Looser tolerances are cheaper to produce and often don’t affect the performance or appearance of the part.    Typical tolerances are +-.005”.  Tighter than this means more inspection costs, slower machine times, and possibly gage purchases

Design for manufacturing.  We are happy to consult with our customers to achieve a design that is cost effective to produce.  We can talk to purchasing, engineering, and marketing departments to achieve cost benefit and effective design strategies.

Order more parts when possible.  Larger orders mean set-up and programming costs can be amortized over more parts.  This results in less cost per part.

Modify a purchased part  Some of our customers are able to achieve cost savings by machining an "Off the Shelf" part. We make a small change in the part to allow it to fit the customers application . 

Avoid shapes with long protrusions or thin profiles   These can be hard to support and require expensive workholding devices.

Make the print "Bulletproof".  A good print can save money by eliminating error and doubt. Take the time to insure the print is accurate and up to date.  Make sure the revisions are specified on the purchase order.

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