How to reduce CNC machining costs?

Even with the development of manufacturing today, 3D printing technology has become one of the mainstream processing industries, but the production cost of manufacturing still needs to be considered. Compared with 3D printing, CNC machining is still one of the cost-effective methods of on-demand production. Due to practical considerations, many customers are still difficult to calculate the cost of CNC machining. If you are this type of customer, then we will take you to understand the cost factors of CNC machining and tips on how to reduce the budget.

What is the cost of CNC machining?

When starting a new project, some factors must be considered. We have prepared the following components for you: materials, labor costs, process costs and other costs.

1. The cost of material formation

Material is often an important factor that needs to be considered in determining the cost of CNC machining. Usually CNC machining is a process for material reduction, so when using materials, we usually consider the materials that need to be consumed. When engineers consider the use of materials, they will calculate the price and cost of each material. This time we will talk about the required price cost from metals and plastics.

Metal material cost

Common metal types include aluminum 6061, stainless steel 303, and brass C360, which are common materials processed by CNC. The most common material for engineers is not 6061 aluminum, which has both economical practicality and processing plasticity. Because stainless steel 303 and brass C360 have higher machinability, it can be seen that the cost is higher.
Five-axis cnc machining

Plastic cost

Although bulk materials are cheap and cheap materials, they are easy to process and generally short in processing time. However, the practicality and corrosion resistance are not as good as CNC processed metal materials. Even such bulk CNC processed plastics are still cheaper than bulk 3D printed plastic materials. (The bulk cost of materials such as ABS, POM (Delrin), and nylon 6 is equivalent to that of aluminum 6061.) Note: Plastic materials such as PEEK are very expensive, so please do not use them unless necessary.

2. Labor cost

The CNC machining process involves a lot of automation, so you don't need to pay for personnel. The main labor cost is used for design and digitization. Basically, it can be divided into design programming, processing settings, later product processing and others.

Design and programming: This is the cost of product digitization. You can outsource the process from design to drawing to an engineering designer to make CAD design drawings for you. Then the manufacturing engineer will check the design feasibility of the drawing for you and provide you with professional modification suggestions. Finally, the CNC programmer converts your CAD file into a CAM file to assist the CNC machine tool to input the correct design code. The main production knowledge cost here.

Processing setting: This involves the cost of personnel and requires the time for the machine operator to set up on the CNC operation to ensure that the product can be carried out smoothly and in a good combination. If it is mass production, then the cost will be spread over more parts.

Post-product processing: After the product is produced, it often requires some assembly and transportation to the designated location, then the corresponding personnel assembly and handling costs will be incurred.

3. Other costs

In the process of product customization processing, special processing and production are required, then specific tools and cutting tools are involved. Although the tool will eventually be kept in the production workshop, it will still incur part of the cost of machine consumption. This is because the difference in materials will cause certain frictional damage, such as high-hardness material processing. What's more, surface treatments that need to improve aesthetics, practicability, and wear resistance after processing will also incur certain processing costs.

How to reduce CNC machining costs

For higher requirements, in most cases, the cost of the preliminary budget for CNC machining tends to increase after CNC machining, especially when mass production is not possible. The following are the methods we provide you with suitable for reducing the budget of CNC machining costs:

1. Optimize the choice of materials

The material selected for the product is an important factor in determining the cost of CNC processing, so we should first consider the material and the performance of the processed material during production, so as to effectively reduce the processing time and efficiency cost.

2. Design optimization

The process design of the product is also one of the factors that determine the cost of CNC processing, because the complexity of the design is related to the length of the processing time and thus affects the processing cost.

3. Outsourcing one-stop service

When you are worried about the cost of drawings and design, you can consider outsourcing one-stop service. This is a good way to reduce the cost of CNC machining. However, many companies only provide processing or design services. In contrast, the cost has not been reduced but will become more expensive. So you need to find a one-stop service company.

Summarize

This article is to provide you where CNC machining generates machining costs. We can provide one-stop design and machining, so as to provide you with high-quality CNC machining services. We look forward to your opening new projects.