CNC machines involve various processes, from CNC turning to milling to custom aluminum machining, used for rapid prototyping and industrial on-demand part productions. But, that’s no surprise! The actual surprise is that there are major factors that affect the overall costs of the machined parts.
And, when you need CNC machining parts for your next manufacturing projects, it’s important to have a clear idea of factors impacting the costs. Let’s get started.
Factors Affecting the Hidden Costs of CNC Machined Parts You Miss Often
The production process for aluminum CNC machining parts starts with giving your CAD design file to the design phase, which comes with a significant impact on the costs of CNC machined parts, from design to materials to set up. However, there are a few more factors adding some more costs to the entire aluminum CNC machine price. See here:
#1: Tooling-
Standard milling and turning tools are readily available offering greater value to CNC machining parts. But, when needing custom aluminum CNC machining service to design complex components, add unique features, or cut machine cycle times, custom tools are required, which adds an upfront cost to the CNC machined part costs. Combination tools, like CNC 3-axis, 4-axis, and 5-axis CNC machining, turning, and milling, to cut multiple features, reduce downtime, and part prices, and add cost to the initial charges.
#2: Design Complexity and Process Time-
Not every mechanical and industrial part design comes with similar specifications and complexities. For complicated parts requiring CNC machining need more tooling, operations, and processing time. And, the costs of the tooling and equipment used for the part production are directly added to the overall machining operation expenses.
Also, this cost drives up with the CNC machining capabilities and size. For example, bigger tools cost more due to their higher risks and intricacy which needs a more experienced operator to program the set of instructions to cut the parts according to your project needs.
#3: Fixtures-
It’s up to you whether you will go for cheap CNC fixtures or expensive ones. Affordable fixtures will use manual clamps which come in cost-effectively but you may find them slower to load with fewer repeatability. However, you can use them best for low-volume production and prototyping.
Contrarily, if you improve fixtures with hydraulics, it will reduce the overall machining costs for the volume production by cutting the load and unload time and increasing repeatability alongside preventing waste. However, it will add more upfront costs even if lessening the piece price.
#4: Quantities and Setup-
Complicated part designs need larger machines, which means complex setups that drive costs. The setup procedure involves changing CNC tools, fixtures, and programs to adjust them according to your desired CNC aluminum parts for the perfect production run. This setup cost depends on the order volume- Increasing order size means setup cost reduction for each part. Yet, there will be no setup costs or changeovers during the high-volume productions.
#5: Waste-
Unlike conventional part production processes, CNC machining comes with minimal scrap. Still, this machining waste has estimated costs of 0.5 to 2.5% based on the complexity of the part designs. In fact, if it’s discovered even after machining sustains, the costs are still applied.
In Conclusion
We hope you understand how these factors impact aluminum CNC machine prices. And, if you are looking for high precision and accuracy in your CNC machining parts, count on us. At Createproto Rapid System Limited, we are offering prototype CNC machining with a wide array of services, including CNC milling, turning, and multiple-axis machining, ensuring accuracy. We focus on lean manufacturing and live tooling, while efficient at rapid prototyping and low-volume manufacturing.
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