There are different methods to make metal prototypes and just like every coin has two sides, different methods show different advantages and disadvantages. In metal rapid prototyping, these technologies include CNC machining, metal 3D printing, sheet metal fabrication, metal casting method, and other processes. Now let&#;s have a look at the ins and outs of each one.
Click here to get more.
CNC machining (computer numeral control machining) refers to a computerized manufacturing process that uses common techniques for pre-programmed software to control the whole movement of the production equipment.
Materials that are suited for CNC metal machining include aluminum alloys, copper, steel (especially stainless steel), titanium alloys, zinc alloys, and magnesium alloys. While it is a popular manufacturing method, the pros and cons still remain unknown to some.
Some CNC machines work on only X and Y planes while others work on three dimensions (X, Y, Z planes). Typically, you can see 3, 4, 3+2, and 5 axis machines in a CNC machine shop with the best solution.
No MOQ&#; Since no mold is needed for CNC machining, there is no such thing as MOQ. Therefore, the unit price for 10 pieces and 30 pieces is very close. If you are looking to make metal components in low volume, CNC machining will be your perfect option.
More Material Options&#; As mentioned above, there is a wide range of metal blocks to choose from when it comes. However, aluminum, steel, and copper are the most commonly chosen ones because they offer great mechanical and thermal characteristics.
High Precision&#; Medical, aerospace, and robotic industries often involve high-tech, and the components used in the fields have to be high precision. It can be complicated, high precision, and strong.
Higher Unit Cost&#; Although high precision can be manufactured on CNC machines, it can be time-consuming for complex projects. Unlike casting or printing, it is costly when the quantity is substantial. In such cases, CNC machining is not recommended if there are no requirements on the surface and precision.
Material Waste&#; it is a subtractive manufacturing method for mass production, which means some material will be removed from the metal blocks so material waste is inevitable.
Metal 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a technology that builds physical objects by printing layers of adhesive materials like metal powder or plastic powder, using digital model files.
Rising as a new star in the manufacturing industry, 3D printing functions as additional or alternative technology and it enjoys rapid growth in recent years. It is typically useful for lightweight and complex one-off pieces with a short life cycle.
Design Freedom&#; Undercuts and inner structures are difficult for CNC machining, so 3D printing is the only method to make very complex features. It allows designers and engineers to create a physical prototype without design constrictions.
Quick Turnaround Time&#; Besides allowing design freedom, 3D printing has another benefit: manufacturing a metal prototype in a short time. It is suitable when production time is requested to be short, especially for design projects.
Rough Surface Finish&#; Compared to CNC machined parts, 3D printed metal prototypes are less strong, with a rougher surface finish. You can feel the coarse touch and see the uneven surface.
Low Cost-effectiveness&#; Although you can see that 3D printed plastic products are pretty frequent nowadays, 3D printing metal is not as common in that the metal powder used for printing is expensive. This is against the business model where profit is the most important thing.
It is a process of forming rigid metal cast parts. Molten metal is poured into a mold and when the metal and mold cool down, the metal part will be removed from the mold and move on to the next round.
This process has been used for thousands of years and it is still growing. Investment Casting is an inexpensive way to manufacture big volumes with complex shapes and designs.
With the development of technology, nowadays people can 3D print or CNC machining the mold, which makes it cheaper and quicker to make prototypes.
Production Quality&#; sometimes our customers may reach out to us for a metal prototype, but they will ask for metal casting when proceeding to mass production. So if the end products will be made in casting, prototypes provide production quality. You will get something functional and solid, which makes it worthy of what you pay for.
Size and Weight&#; If you are looking to build a 20ft metal prototype, casting will be your only choice. It is simply too big so it is unlikely to make it through CNC or 3D printing. Size and weight are not limited to casting. It can be used to create everything from a small tabletop gadget to a factory version desalination tank.
Expensive Mold Cost&#; Although the mold can be reserved for future use, the cost of the mold is too high for low volume metal prototype project. It is more of a technique for mass production.
kaierwo supply professional and honest service.
Coarse Surface Finish&#; Metal casting prototypes have a relatively rough surface finish and hence wider tolerance should be taken into consideration. This is not suitable for prototypes with mating interfaces.
Sheet metal fabrication is another method to make prototypes. During the sheet metal prototyping, sheet metalwork with the standard thickness (usually thin) is placed on a desk where a laser cutter performs patterning with the aid of a program.
Next, different forming processes including spinning, bending, punching, and welding will be undertaken, depending on the geometry requirements. The sheet metal prototype is suitable for the enclosure, casing, and structural frames.
Cost-effective&#; Due to its quick turnaround time, sheet metal prototyping is a metalworking method that offers good quality parts.
Replaceable- One of the biggest advantages of sheet metal is that when it can be replaced. When several components are utilized for assembly, the individual part or parts can be removed and replaced by new ones. This will save costs, especially new changes or adjustments that need to be made.
Production Quality&#; Since prototyping is a step between design and end product, the production quality is important to test the product and sheet metal prototypes are usually end-products quality
Limited Design Freedom&#; Unlike CNC or 3D printing, sheet metal prototyping doesn&#;t allow as much design freedom.
Wider Dimensional Tolerance&#; Compared to other metalworking methods, sheet metal prototyping can&#;t achieve as tight dimensional tolerance.
In short, if you need a fast turnaround time and low cost, 3D printing is the best option. However, if you need a high degree of accuracy or complex geometry, CNC machining is a better choice. Metal casting and sheet metal prototyping are good options for large or complex parts. Whichever method you choose, make sure to work with a qualified prototype manufacturer to get the best results.
The process for launching a product that includes injection molded components has been continuously developed for decades, and most commonly includes the distinct phases seen in the graphic below. Each phase builds on the last, generating additional information necessary to bring a high-quality product to market in commercially relevant volumes and at an acceptable cost. Prototype tooling plays an important role in this process.
The time, energy, and expense associated with each phase is of course highly dependent on the design and functional parameters of the desired product, but for the sake of our discussion, we can employ the oft-used rule of thumb that the time and cost of making changes to a product is roughly 10X that of the previous step. While this is clearly a gross oversimplification for any complex product, it does serve to illustrate a few key points that are relevant to product designers, project managers, and business unit executives:
1) More information earlier in the project reduces risk
2) Earlier identification of design and manufacturability problems reduces overall project cost
3) Changes are much less expensive earlier in the process
It may seem logical to think that skipping steps in the process would reduce the time and cost of bringing a product to market. Certainly there are examples of this, perhaps a simple bottle cap that has only minor changes in lettering or texture from previous versions, where the molder has sufficient experience to go directly from CAD design to production tooling.
However, for most complex designs, say for an ergonomic consumer product with unique features, past experience, simulation, and rapid prototyping might not provide sufficiently accurate predictions of how the product will appear, what critical dimensions will be held, or how it will function when molded in the production material.
Once a design for a high productivity steel injection mold has been completed and mold production starts, the costs to make changes becomes much more expensive simply due to the time and effort it takes to make even minor, much less major, changes to the tool. Additional CNC, EDM, benching, and texturing time add up quickly. The very nature of hardened tool steel, especially if it has been highly polished or textured, makes it difficult to modify. Compounding this is the time it takes to remove the tool from the press, return to the mold making department (if in house) or transport to an external mold maker for modification. All of this can easily add up to weeks of delay even with minor modifications, especially if the production tool has been sent to another country for molding operations.
Firstly, let&#;s define prototype tooling, since it means different things to different people. In the case of Xcentric, it means high quality injection molds produced with state-of-the-art CNC equipment and finished by master mold makers. The mold material is a premium grade of aluminum developed specifically for injection mold applications. You can read more about the Xcentric mold making process here.
As noted above, the costs of making changes to a production tool are many multiples of making changes to prototype tooling. In the case of a multi-cavity production tool, the costs are similarly multiplied should a change be required in the design of the tool or part. Secondly, if there are still open questions about the design of the component including material choice, the cost of doing this experimentation in hardened steel is typically prohibitive.
In the case of Xcentric, we typically turn around injection molded projects in under 13 business days, and upon request for certain products in under five business days. Even if done sequentially, this is time well spent because this activity is completed so early in the project. Problems can be identified and corrected weeks or months before the same issues would have been uncovered in production tooling. While it is fully understood that there is not a 1:1 correlation between the performance of some aspects of prototype tooling versus production tooling, particularly related to high cavitation fill balancing, feedback on dimensional issues, material behavior, shrinkage, warp, sink, splay, and aesthetics can all be gathered in the desired production material in an Xcentric prototype mold.
The graphic below illustrates the standard process versus a process imagined to save time by skipping prototype molding. Important points to note are: the time to a) recognize and b) correct for problems is weeks earlier, and depending on the severity of the change required, the overall project time can be shorter even including making changes to the prototype tooling.
By identifying and addressing production issues early in the process, project managers help to de-risk the overall project by giving themselves enough time to react. Executive management and down-stream customers do not typically respond well to learning just before the originally scheduled product launch that there are delays due to production tooling that may push back launch by several weeks. It is generally accepted that significant delays in new product introductions in many industries have a huge deleterious effect on the total net present value of the product launch. Inevitably the questions come like &#;Why wasn&#;t this caught earlier?&#; One difficult to explain answer is &#;Budget for prototype tooling was eliminated.&#; (that would have been a small fraction of the cost of the production tool changes and product introduction delay). In this light it is fair to say that prototype tooling is a valuable insurance policy to help reduce the risks associated with new product introductions.
Including the process step to validate designs, identify improvements, and avoid downstream problems using prototype injection molding has been proven on innumerable projects to save both time and money. Learning and correcting early in the process pays dividends for project risk mitigation. Ultimately it is all about bringing the best possible product to market as quickly as possible, which happens to be Xcentric&#;s mission.
Want more information on rapid prototyping aluminum? Feel free to contact us.