Design Assistance

Some basic ideas that can help in reducing the overall cost of a part by designing the part to be manufacturing friendly are provided below. For a more in depth analysis send us your drawings, or call one of our engineers.

• Tube Bending considerations
• CLR- Center Line Radius. Typical CLR is 3x the OD of the tube without mandrels. It is possible to bend on a 1 or 2xD bend, but not without more complex tooling. Tooling costs also increase when comparing a plug mandrel to 3-ball mandrel & wiper die. The tighter the radius, the more tooling required and the more expensive the part.
• Use the same CLR for all bends unless prohibited by design restraints.
• Straight between bends. Allow 3x the OD of straight for clamping between bends and from the edge of the tube. This reduces the overall cost of part by reducing additional trim operations and increasing the bend rate. Bends closer than 3xD require compound tooling increasing tooling cost and reducing bend rates.
• Laser cutting considerations
• Minimum hole diameter. General rule of thumb is minimum hole diameter is equal to or greater than the material thickness. A 5/16"DIA hole can be put in 1"thk plate but not with great speed and reliability. The cutting speed and pierce routine must be adjusted which increase time and part cost.
• Sheet Metal Forming
• Use the same ISR for all bends unless required
• A hole or slot put near a bend will distort. Critical holes placed in the affected bend area will have to be put in after bending or opened up resulting in an additional operation and added cost.
• Tolerances
• The tighter the tolerance, the greater the cost. Don't pay for something you don't need.
• Where possible open all tolerances and deviate from engineering block tolerances when appropriate.