What affect the cost of CNC rapid prototyping

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What affects the cost of CNC rapid prototyping and how to save money?

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Let’s look at what influences the cost of creating a CNC prototype.

Material
When making a prototype, one of the first decisions to make is what material to use. This decision is complicated by the sheer number of plastic resins and metal alloys available, each with distinct benefits and drawbacks. These materials range in price. For CNC machining, material costs can account for 30-40% of total manufacturing costs. Plastic 3D printing prototype costs can be much lower. Finally, because the material contributes significantly to the rapid prototyping costs, it is an important factor to consider before manufacturing. Fortunately, it’s also one of the easiest parts of the process to control and estimate. This is because many raw material prices are easily accessible and, in the case of metals, are fixed per pound regardless of where they are purchased.

Process
The process you use will also influence the costs of producing a prototype. Additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing are the two most common processes used here. As the name implies, additive manufacturing involves adding materials to the manufacturing process. It is most commonly used in 3D printing. Subtractive manufacturing, on the other hand, involves removing material. Subtractive manufacturing includes CNC machining. Subtractive manufacturing has the advantage of producing prototypes that require little or no post-production processing. So it’s good for rapid prototyping. However, high material waste may lead to higher production costs. Also, manufacturing complex parts necessitates many processes.

Additive manufacturing has no tooling costs and is usually faster than subtractive manufacturing. Manufacturing complex parts using additive manufacturing has the advantage of lower material costs. Considering the above, the manufacturing process you choose will impact your overall production costs.

Design
Design complexity can also have a significant impact on prototyping costs. This simply refers to the complexity of the part and the number of steps and processes required to complete the design. The more complex your prototype, the more expensive it is to produce. Because complex parts require more steps and processes. These steps and processes necessitate additional tooling, setup, and testing, as well as manual labor.

So keep designs as simple as possible. This not only reduces manufacturing costs but also makes manufacturing easier, faster, and less error-prone. Precision manufacturing is another aspect of design where cost is important. While these terms are often used interchangeably, there is a significant distinction. Accuracy refers to how closely the final product matches the design. Precision refers to the ability to maintain the required accuracy. Generally, the higher the precision, the more time and effort required. As a result, manufacturing costs will rise.

Finish
Finishing is the final step in the manufacturing process and can make your prototypes more beautiful and durable. As you can imagine, the finish of a part influences its cost. Finishes include polished, sprayed, satin, sandblasted, silkscreened, laser engraved, and more. Each of these takes a different amount of time and thus affects the cost differently.

Quantity
Finally, quantity affects the overall cost of prototyping. No matter how many parts you make, the cost of the tooling required to make a prototype stays the same. Increasing production volume reduces initial tooling costs. But it goes beyond that. Increasing volume allows you to optimize your production process, maximize efficiency, and reduce waste. This allows you to save more.

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