How to Reduce CNC Machining Cost and Make it Cheap?

These are the main factors that can affect the CNC machining process and machine costs. So, it would help if you made the right choice to create CNC machining elements with less costs. It makes CNC machining projects and production more affordable. The use of specific machines like 3-axis or 5-axis CNC machines in cnc process can increase its rate as CNC machines shop charge you hourly for various machines. The price of CNC 5-axis machines is more costly than 3-axis machines. Following are the simple tips by which you can reduce the CNC machining costs and make the CNC machine process cost-effective.

1- Rounded Internal Corners

The rounded internal corners can automatically create the CNC machining part and devices like milling cutters or end mills. If this radius is more expensive, the instrument will require fewer passes of a milling lathe to remove the materials. On the other hand, small instruments are necessary on the lathe axis if the internal radius is narrow. Due to the narrower radius, the tool will need to make more passes to remove material. It may cause the breakage of the tool or may cause deflection- a sign of failure. It will ultimately result in a more CNC machining time, which leads to a high price. To reduce this high expense, you must make sure that the inside corner range of radius of your CNC design part should have a length to diameter in the range of radius 3:1 or less than 3:1. It prevents tool and machine shop breakage, thus fixing the time.

2- Limit the Use of Tight Tolerances for Cheap CNC Machining

Usually, the tolerance of the CNC machining part is +/-0.127mm. In most cases, the tolerance can be +/-0.05mm. The tight tolerance of the CNC machined part design can enhance the machining timing and thus resulting in a high rate of part design. Complex design requires more materials and more rate. Specifying the critical features or the surfaces of the CNC machined part and process with the numerical features can reduce the CNC machining timing and, therefore, can make the CNC machining part cheap.

3- Use Less Expensive Material in CNC Milling Machined Parts

The cost of the machined part is greatly dependent on the materials used in a project. While manufacturing the CNC machining parts, the more complex and costly materials such as , stainless steel, prove more expensive than soft ones aluminum. Material such as aluminum is more easy to cut, so it takes less time to cut material. CAD file preparation and bulk material such as aluminum can increase the manufacturing rate, and high-quality parts need more time so need more time and ultimately increase the budget. On the other hand, you can easily cut the soft material in less time. Thus, less machining time by using the soft material can reduce CNC pricing and make CNC machining parts affordable. Moreover, the high-cost tools require cutting and breaking the more rigid material. In contrast, tools with low price may require breaking the soft material, which can make CNC machining services cost-effective and reduce the CNC machining price.

4- Avoid Multiple Finishes

Usually, the finishing and manufacturing of the CNC machining parts consider vital because they may help improve the appearance of the CNC machined parts. It may also protect against the harmful effects of the harsh surrounding. Multiple finishes take more time to machine, and the price of CNC machines and services can enhance. So avoid multiple finishes and only use them when you essentially require them for your process and CNC machining components, whether they are metal, aluminum pieces, or plastic pieces. It may include the treatments such as anodizing, heat treatments, or specialized coatings to increase the quality of the CNC components. You may consider multiple finishing a good idea, but it increases its rate. So, to reduce the pricing of manufacturing and instrument for your projects and increase the quality of machine components, you must avoid the numerous finishing of your CNC machining components and use cheap materials like aluminum. The use of an as-machining finish instead of multiple finishing can help in reducing the expenditure of metal, plastics, aluminum, steel pieces and materials and increase the quality.

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5- Order Larger Quantities

For the proper running or working of the CNC machining, you can combine the multiple operations. But, instead of combining various operations, CNC machining such as laser cutting still requires adequate setup and programming. The price of the machining components is directly dependent on the number of factors that you order. The production efficiencies may increase by ordering large quantities of the same machining elements. It greatly helps to reduce the price of CNC and components per piece.

6- Avoid Deep Pockets

The deep pockets in machining elements significantly affect its price. The deep pockets in CNC increase the price of the machining parts. You may need to remove a lot of material such as steel, plastics, and stainless steel, aluminum from the parts to achieve deep pockets. So, it is a time-consuming process, thus ultimately increasing the price. Moreover, acquiring a deep pocket in CNC milling may need special instruments such as an end mill because the mechanism may break while getting deep pockets. Some tools commonly used to obtain deep pockets in machining parts are costly, thus increasing mill costs. So, avoiding the deep pockets in machining parts can play a key role to control cost.

7- Expand Thin Walls

The thin walls of the machining parts can increase the price due to its lower tolerance capacity. As we know, the thin walls have lower tolerance capacity, so they may break if a little more force can apply to them during the machining process. Moreover, during the CNC machining process, the shape of the CNC machined parts may change, and CNC machined parts may become distorted. It results in getting the new features that result in an additional price, thus increasing the price of machine service. So to avoid this problem and reduce the price and machining service, you must avoid the use of thin machining parts. Instead of thin-wall parts, you can use thick wall parts that cannot be easily broken or distorted during the machining process; this results in a rate reduction.

8- Limit the Length of Threads

The cost of the stainless steel and aluminum machining parts is also greatly affected by the length of the threads. The deep threads in the machining parts increase the price of the CNC machining parts and also affect their quality. On the other hand, avoiding deep pockets reduces the price. Suppose the length of the thread is more than 1.5 as compared to the diameter of the hole. Then, it results in a weak connection and can lose the connection quickly. If the length of the thread is much longer than the requirement, you may need special instruments in creating them, thus causing the additional rate. To reduce the price of the CNC machine parts in the production, you must design the threads of appropriate length. While you design the part, make sure that the size of the thread should be three times the diameter of the hole. You must make sure that the length of the thread must be an additional half diameter in blind holes. Thus choosing the exact length and limiting the thread length can reduce the price of the CNC machining process and projects.

9- Optimize Tapped Holes

The price of the CNC machining service such as laser cutters and projects can also increase due to the tapped holes in the machining parts. The tap size and the depth of the tapped holes are the main factors that directly affect the price of the milling machine and mill. Like the length of the threads in CNC milling, if the size and depth of the holes are not appropriate and do not match the requirement, it increases the machining parts price. The depth should limit to three times the diameter of the hole. Similarly, you must stick to a standard tap size while designing the machining parts, whether you are designing prototypes, aluminum components, or stainless steel parts. The mill machine requires more time to perform this function. Limiting the depth and sticking to a standard tap size can help significantly reduce the price of the machine and provide you best quality products and prototyping parts.

10- Leverage Standard Drill Sizes

CNC machining projects and parts' price is also affected by the instruments, materials, and sizes of the drills in the machining parts. The larger or smaller sizes of the drills than the required size in the machining parts significantly increase the price of the machining parts. So you must make sure to use a standard drill size to prevent any loss. Make sure not to use instruments such as reamers for finishing the hole sizes because it leads to non-standard dimensions. You must keep the hole sizes to the standard number, letter, or fractional drill sizes.

This standard size, number, and letter can help reduce the machining timing and automatically reduce the CNC machining service and parts price of aluminum and titanium. The price may also affect by the depth of the holes in plastic, stainless steel, aluminum, or metals components. The holes deeper than 10 times the diameter can increase the pricing of CNC machining.

11- Split up Complex Parts

The complex machined parts can increase the price of CNC service to a certain level as more resources are required for this task. As we know, complex and costly materials may require more complicated features, and using more axis-like 5-axis machines, milling machines, or 3D printing, cause more price for your production. The use of complex machined parts requires custom features, time and a 5-axis mill which makes the CNC machining process and service more costly. Less use of material such as metals, plastic, aluminum, titanium can make a big difference. Removal of material from the mill center takes more time for milling and makes delivery late.

Due to the complex milling process and material, there is a need for various CNC machines, which automatically increase and control the pricing of CNC milling and services.

Conclusion

So to make CNC services, custom and rapid prototyping cheap for industrial applications., the complicated CNC machining parts should design using appropriate 3D printing, online capabilities, tools, and cheap materials. Use of a 3-axis machine, request of a quote to estimate budget, and cheap materials is key to a price reduction and rapid delivery for CNC plastic and steel machined part. It is helpful for the custom metal and plastics parts and material that requires additional machining time, such as the custom metals parts with deep pockets, thus reducing the price of these precision parts and making them cheap. But by following the above simple tips, you can save your machining time production price and reduce the rate of CNC machining. It will be better to contact a CNC machine shop to get a free online quote for your projects.

Some CNC machine shops also provide online quotes for CNC machined part, so you can request a free, instant quote for CNC part and get an estimated budget for your CNC prototyping production. The use of more axis machines for CNC part may prove more costly. Worthy Hardware is a certified CNC machining shop and no one can beat us in high-quality part and cheap materials, manufacturing CNC parts. Your satisfaction is our priority for the optimization of your parts and design. Request a free quote and know our capabilities and resources. We have a wide range of materials such as steel, plastics, titanium,wooden and provide full-time support and quote to our customers.

Worthy Hardware is a CNC manufacturing and sheet metal fabrication company,including CNC machining services,CNC milling services, CNC turning services, laser cutting services and stamping services.Call us +86-76989919645 or email us [email protected] for more discounts for your projects.