Bulk purchasing can save up to 33% on material costs. Optimizing cutting parameters can reduce machining costs by 15%. Using high-efficiency coolant can save $10,000 annually, and improving programming efficiency by 50% can save $150,000.
Cost Control in Material Procurement
We will look at how this explains that if material procurement costs are strictly controlled, it can effectively help to save on CNC machining costs. This is an important step that helps in saving a lot of money.
First of all, in order to save costs is the most direct and convenient way to bulk purchases. You might be surprised that the unit price will decrease as you purchase more. For instance, while you could end up only paying 2$ a pound for aluminum when buying 1000 pounds together; if purchasing just 100 gallons the unit price might be raised to 3$. As such, you will make a 33% cost savings from bulk orders. Industry reports claim that this method can save a company as much as $100,000/year.
Secondly, establishing strong relationships with suppliers is another key point. In addition to paying on time and not overreaching, it’s important to be communicating with the creditors often enough for that bait and switch junk only possible because you weren’t reading your mail. Nearly 15% cost reduction is guaranteed if supplier relationships are kept positive, says a survey by Institute of Supply Management (ISM). E.g., one manufacturing company recovered 50k USD/year purchasing material from supplier in long-term relationships.
Further, do not tie yourself down to a single supplier. If you want to make sure that you are paying the right price, get multiple estimates I mean, quotes for even the same specification of steel have around 10. For example, if Supplier A quotes a rate of $1000 per ton and Supplier B offers the same at $900 per ton then going with supplier-B can save you upto $5000 (when buying 50 tons steel).
Even looking at the secondary market can be a great way to go too. Occasionally, businesses offer reduced high-quality materials due to overstock or cancelled projects. The quality of these materials are as good as new at discount prices. Through this method, I have purchased over $20k worth of high-quality titanium materials at 60% less than market cost for the company on one occasion.
Watching market trends is another way to save on costs. Highly volatile price are common to metals, as being the case with copper, nickel. This is a big deal when you consider that last year’s 20% slump in nickel prices resulted from an oversupply. Simply put, if you buy lots of nickel when it is cheap, then this will save in costs. For instance, it could be that nickel was worth $15000 per ton for a company before the price drop and after the price drop, $12000 per ton so this can save them $3000.
Finally, standardizing material specifications can reduce waste and costs. It is cheaper and easier to use standard sizes of grades/materials, not the least in your machining. One company saved nearly $30,000 per year by standardizing all aluminum specifications to a specific size. With standardized sizes and shapes, the cost of purchasing cutters was reduced significantly and time spent machining them decreased to increase productivity along with a reduction in potential human errors.
Choosing the Best Cutting Parameters
When it comes to reducing CNC machining costs, choosing the best cutting parameters is a promising area.
The primary thing is altered cutting speed. Simple right, but also you don’t know that cutting speed have a direct impact on tool life as well as surface finish. For example, if you are doing steel cutting at a speed of 500 meters per minute (m/min), this tool life can be as low as 30 minutes. Process at 400 meters per minute the tool life increases to around an hour. This accomplished not only a 50% savings on tooling cost, but this also eliminated down time for tool changes that lead to an overall improved efficiency. An example: a University of Massachusetts study found that cutting speed optimization alone could reduce machining costs by 15%.
Next is the feed rate. Another super important parameter. If the feed rate is too fast, cutting tool wear increases, but if it is too slow efficiency suffers. The feed rate should be 0.2 millimeters per revolution (mm/rev), a CNC manufacturer study found this to strike an ideal balance that maximizes tool life and machining efficiency. An example is a machine center that was able to increase production efficiency by around 20% simply by adjusting the feed rate, which translated into $50k in annual operational cost savings.
Do not forget about cutting depth. Deep cutting of welders (2X d standard) affects the material removal rate, tool stress related to this. Efficiency is low in the case of too shallow depth and may cause tool breakage if it becomes too deep. According to the Machinery’s Handbook cutting too deep usually 2-3 millimeters can offer machining efficiency while keeping tool life high. An aluminum machining company saved around $20k per year in tool costs by tuning this. Choosing the right cutting depth also reduces tool wear, resulting in 25-percent longer-lasting tools.
The choice of coolant is also a factor that cannot be ignored. It may seem small, but it has a big impact on machining quality and tool life. High-efficiency coolant achieves about a 30% increase in tool life by their use at the proper concentration, for instance. The Association of Manufacturing Technology says that replacing and running high-performance coolant once a year can save the average shop $10,000 on tooling costs. One auto parts maker saved 15% of its total costs per year by converting to high-efficiency coolant.
Another crucial but often overlooked factor is the choice of cutting tools. Properly selecting the material and geometry of tooling operations can greatly reduce machining times, improve product quality. Stanford University states that the use of a coated tool can increase cutting speed and feed rate as well as extend tools life. In fact, PVD-coated carbide tools can increase tool life by 100 percent and productivity rates up to 35%.
I remember a case discussed at one of the seminars. Using high-efficiency coolant, the optimal combination was found by a small machining company that adjusted cutting parameters throughout—cutting speed 450 meters per minute, feed rates of .25 millimeters/rev and using PVD-coated tools at a depth-of-cut of about two mm. It saw a 50% gain in tool life and an improvement of production efficiency by up to 25%. “Being able to search for the ideal parameters is worth its weight in gold,” said one business owner at the seminar.
Continuous verification of experimental and cutting parameter synthesis further enhances machining efficiency, as well as reduction in costs – proven by scientific research. A single study, for example, found that optimizing cutting parameters led to a >$100k annual savings at one major manufacturer. These improvements not only reduce direct costs, but also minimize machinery idle time and increase the quality of products.
Improving Programming Efficiency
When discussing how to effectively reduce CNC machining costs, improving programming efficiency is an essential aspect that cannot be overlooked.
For one thing, the more efficient programming is then directly faster machining times and lower costs. Complex part would require around 5 hours of programming but you can do it using advanced CAM software (Mastercam/ SolidCAM) in just 3. If a programmer is charging $100/ hour and the time take for programming reduces by 40%, then overall saving will be $200 per part.
Let’s talk about code optimization. Optimized G-code cuts down on machine idle time far more than you may realize. An aerospace company is one such user that was able to optimize program code and reduce the machining time of each part from 10 hours down to around 8. If the machine’s hourly running cost is $50, this will mean $100 saving per part. Research shows that for many organizations, further production efficiency can realize savings of up to 20% through code optimization.
Using macro programming is also a great way to save time and costs. With the repetitive task automated, there will be fewer human errors. To put in more perspective, 100 manual inputs could now be converted into one single input for mass production which will cut down the operation time by at least 90%. Macro programming saved auto parts manufacturer annual labor costs of approximately $50,000.
Skills development is equally important in practice. That means an experienced programmer can be up to 50% more productive than a novice. The “Journal of Manufacturing Engineering” reports that providing ongoing training and honing computer skills can increase by 30% the productivity you’ll achieve in any given amount of time as a programmer. A mid-sized company has been able to save as much as $80,000 annually in headcount costs when they increased overall programming efficiency by 25% after implementing semi-annual training sessions.
Another major contributor is the software updates. The newest versions of CAM software, in general, tend to be more efficient and have improved functionality. Autodesk claims software updates can increase programming speed by 10-15 percent. For example: say you have a large factory with 2000 hours of programming time per year, the newest software can save them as much as 200 or even up to around 300 hrs in an average year = $20k-$30k saved if worth it at your standard rate $100/hr.
Rational tool path planning is also crucial for improving programming efficiency. Tool path optimization eliminates unnecessary movements and cuts, increasing efficiency. One electronics maker, for example, found that they could minimize part machining time from 15 minutes to ten in their shop by optimizing tool paths for a boost of over thirty-three percent. The result was a 20% increase in the production rate, enabling them to save about $100K per year on operational costs.
The use of automated programming tools can also significantly improve efficiency. For example, automated programming tools can reduce programming time by 50%. A medical device manufacturer reduced programming time from 8 hours to 4 hours by using automated programming tools, saving about $150,000 annually.
A friend of mine, who works at a small machining company, is an interesting case. Utilizing productivity tools and revamping processes allowed them to minimize programming time per part from 6 hours down to in only four! This is a staggering increase of efficiency by 33% without even breaking into another sweat. We like to say: “Finding the right tools and methods is like getting a few extra assistants.”
Studies have found that making programming more productive not only costs less, but also increases the quality and consistency of products. For instance, a study from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers demonstrated that enhancements to programming methods and tools can decrease scrap rates by 50% reducing material costs while also leading to increased customer satisfaction.
Another highly effective way is to set up standardized programming processes. Standardisation of some aspects helps in reducing the work that has to be done over and over again, making you less productive when coding. Citing the example of a large manufacturing company, standardized programming processes can up efficiency by 25% and eliminate 20% of all programming errors.
