Things to avoid
Exceeding maximum thickness for common materials
Over designing corners & edge conditions
Embossing / Partial Shear
Bend Radii minimums & preference
Tolerance preferred & Achievable
Flat pattern interference
Post operations (Milling & Drilling) add $$
Plating of flat parts
Features close to bends 2-3x material thickness min.
Parts that don’t nest well (Wasted material)
Corner Style Tips
Corner style is a factor of cost and process, radii are the most economical for
most processes, standard fractional values apply well.
Edge conditions are derived from process,
• Stamped parts have die break
• Laser cut parts have heat effected zone.
Laser can use specific assist gas to produce unique edge quality.
Embossing
• Adds strength and/or clearance
• Can add stress or warping to material.
Partial Shear
• ,Good for locating features.
• Material is displaced from surface to surface.
Coining
• Feature definition and clearance
• Material is displace from one surface.
Bend Radii
Modern tooling techniques allow for minimum bend radii with production tooling, most parts can be formed with .010” bend radii. (adds Stress).
Prototyping and short run production requires the use for standardized tooling typical inside radii of .01”, .03” or .06” reduce cost.
Bend Relief Minimums & Preference
Bend relief's are a function of allowing detachment of material to allow the material to bent freely.
Punching & Stamping of material require bend relief of 1-1.5x material thickness
Laser beam widths vary from .010”-.025”
Waterjet cut width is .030” minimum.
Tolerance preferred and Achievable
#1 cost adder to most parts
Industry standards allow +/-.005-.007” across each bend
Most default print tolerances are +/-.005”, by setting standard .xxx tolerance to .010” savings
will be realized.
Delivery
• Flat part 1-50 pcs, 2 days, 50-1000 3-4 days
• Formed prototype part 1-50 pcs, 5-7 days
• Drawn part 1-50 pcs, 10-15 days
• 4 Slide Tooled part, 4-6 weeks
Expedite options are available $$$$