Whether you are looking to create a single prototype or you are ready for large-scale production, cutting manufacturing costs is often the main priority when it comes to CNC machining.

Luckily you are working with Fabriqa, we will help you to manufacture parts that are optimized to minimize costs and still comply with your design requirements.

What affects the Cost of CNC parts?

The price of CNC machined parts mainly depends on “machining time”, “material cost”, and “other special  requirements”. 

“As Fabriqa, we are not giving you a quotation, we are giving you an engineering service, with our 30+ years of experience.”

1. Add preferably a larger Radius

While machining a product, there will always be edges and radiuses. Preferably, choose larger radiuses because smaller radiuses will increase machining time which eventually increases the cost of the part. And, dont forget to add a Radius in internal vertical edges because All CNC milling tools have a cylindrical shape and will create a radius when cutting the edge of a pocket. 

2. Less Tolerances and only when needed

While designing your product, request less tolerances and use them only when it is needed. Tight tolerances raises the cost of CNC, as it both increases the machining time and requires manual inspection. That’s why, less tolerance means less cost. But it is nearly impossible to avoid tolerances while designing a part, so, be sure that use them only when necessary, and allow looser tolerances.

3. Limit the Length of Threads

The length of threads may increase the cost of machining. In that regard, you need to choose shorter length of threads. Don’t forget that that threads longer than 0.5 times the diameter of the hole do not actually add to the strength of the connection.

4. The Material Choice

At the beginning, we talked about the main costs of CNC machined parts. And we said “machining time” and “material”. Besides the bulk cost of the material, the material choice effects the machining time. In other words, some materials are easier to machine and that’s why have less ‘machining time’ which means have less cost. In that sense, while selecting expensive material, you may reduce machining time and the cost of total expense. 

For instance, notice that the metals that offer greater machinability, like Stainless Steel 303 and Brass C360, have a higher cost and, for this reason, are better suited for larger volume production, as the larger material cost will be overshadowed by the much shorter machining times, taking advantage of economies of scale.

When it comes to plastics, ABS, Nylon, and Acetal (Delrin) are priced approximately the same as Aluminum 6061. They are more difficult to machine though, so expect the price to be higher. PEEK is a very expensive material and should be used only when necessary.

5. Quantity

In CNC machining, the quantity greatly affects the unit price. This is because the startup costs are relatively high and, when quantities are low, they represent a big percentage of the cost. For large quantities though, they get almost eliminated as these costs are spread over many parts.