Australian and International Manufacturing

Whether you're creating a retail product, a medical supply, a building material or anything else, you need to achieve your organization's goals. The first step to metal fabrication is designing your product. If you want to make sure your project is ready to make as soon as you send it to your manufacturing plant and comes out looking exactly how you want it, here are three common mistakes to avoid when designing it.

1. Ignoring the machinery's capabilities

One of the biggest mistakes metal fabrication newbies make is forgetting to consider the capabilities of the fabrication machines when designing a project. The sky is the limit when it comes to imagining your new product, but in reality, you may need to scale back your expectations. When you're choosing the right metal manufacturing plant, ask them about any limitations that are in place. For example, there may be a restriction on the size of your metal project based on the machinery used. Note that every piece of machinery has its own limitations, so you'll likely want to settle on a plant before designing your project.

2. Making parts too thin

Alongside considering the machinery's restrictions, you need to consider the restrictions of physics too. Tiny or thin metal parts can easily snap or break during or after the fabrication process. Thin metal sheets, for example, may snap off when they vibrate during the milling process. Note that a good metal fabrication plant will only take on a project if it is within its limitations and will usually let you know you need to amend your design. That said, being prepared and designing your project with thickness limitations in mind ahead of time will ensure your project flows smoothly and according to the deadline.

3. Not giving the plant enough detail

There are a lot of reasons why it's best to include as much detail as possible in your metal fabrication brief. For one, you're going to get better results. As an example, if you don't specify the exact type of metal you want to use, your manufacturer could opt for a lower grade than you'd prefer. On top of that, giving a lot of detail may save you from having to make costly corrections later on in the process. In some cases, something as simple as metal grade could make your product unusable (medical projects, for example, often need surgical grade metal). 

Talk to a metal fabricator to learn more.