A lot of designers commit the sin of taking aluminum extrusion for granted when it comes to development. This is a dearly costly mistake that can ram up any project's price if it's not taken into account, especially regarding the choice of material to work with. Extruded aluminum it's a pretty hot commodity, and not many workshops can do it right. That's why it's so essential to crunch the right numbers before getting started. This quick guide will help you with basic knowledge to save money on aluminum extrusion.

Understand Your Design

This probably sounds a bit meta, but we promise you it's not. Many designers have great ideas, but it doesn't mean they all can come to fruition, mostly if your designs are based on aluminum. Sometimes we have to sacrifice flashiness for practicality. Aluminum is a strong material that can withstand weight, corrosion, and electricity. The rigidity elements of your design can make or break the product. The best choice is to go for usefulness and purpose; the rest is overkill. The only moment this cannot be taken into account is when you are creating something new. If such is the case, trial and error will be your best friends.

Brackets are Your Friend

Sometimes you have to go for intricate, and there is no way around it. Aluminum extrusion can be your ally instead of being the challenge on these accounts. The metal's extrusion can help you reduce the number of parts in the finished product, making the design more effective in return. The profile can be worked out in the net shape to put whatever you need on it: slots, screw holes, the sky's the limit. You'll reduce costs by taking away secondary operations such as the need for welding, riveting and other processes. You will also optimize your design and make it cost-effective.

Review the Project's Files

We cannot emphasize this enough: CAM and CAD may be God's gift to designers, but they are not divine tools that will have all the answers when it comes to actual performance. Have your team review the designs at least three times before dropping them to the manufacturer. Once it in their hands, make their team analyses the design. The digital world is a tricky one, and the back and forth will make you see something that was missing or overlooked in one of the stages. A dependable computer file of your project will make your job easier and your project a success.

Choose Aluminum Extrusion for Single Parts

We don't mean to discourage anyone from pursuing a project with this manufacturing method. But extrusions are much more efficient when you work on single parts. Your work may be hovering about a whole finished product. Take an in-depth look into it and see if you can go for assembly. If you see an opening, go for it. You will bring your idea to life in stages, and you'll decrease the risk and the chances of failure. Customization should not be a problem if you are working with a workshop that knows what they are doing.

Vacuum casting is a legacy manufacturing technique. This phrase, for the non-initiated, is just jargon for "outdated", it is not a technique so used these days. The industry's always shifting market has seen a rise of low-volume manufacturing projects that require specific methods we thought could be retired. But why would you use vacuum casting if you have injection molding with most workshops these days? We are glad you asked because we have some answers for you.

Vacuum casting begins with the creation of the master. The master can be created out of anything, but it should be built with materials that can withstand silicone curation properties. Something fragile will not do. The mater needs to go into silicone and then separated from it, creating the mold. The mold can take the continuous pouring of liquid silicone to make new copies of it. Vacuum casting is a procedure, when done right, offers a product with no air bubbles in less than half an hour.

Why Vacuum Casting is better than Injection Molding

Productions costs are the main issue here. Vacuum casting is an incredibly cheap way to get things done when you're dealing with short runs of product. The legacy technique can help you cast a hundred units of a product without having to fire up all your systems. This means a lot of saved money when it comes to side utilities such as power and labor. There is quite a list of benefits we can discuss, so let's get started on the more worthwhile ones.

It's all in the Details

This will sound a bit far-fetched, but it's a proven fact: vacuum castingallows for a great deal of detail to go into the mold. Take a moment to consider this: the master is usually made from a high-quality material that is very resistant to pressure. Silicone is one of the most malleable plastics out there. The plastic will fit the mold like a glove, mostly if the mold is made from metals.

Perfect Form

Vacuum casting can achieve something that injection molding can't: an excellent grade finish for your part's surface. We are not talking about something that will have to be sanded off or cut with machining tools. We are talking about one of the cleanest finishes you can achieve with your product without any additional tooling. The less complicated your design, the better, but even intricate designs have a great chance of coming off looking picture-perfect straight out of the mold.

It's Fast

The setup for a vacuum casting production cycle is incredibly fast. Once the master is finished, the production cycle, from mold creation to shipping, can be as low as two weeks, always factoring in the quantity of product required. Vacuum casting is suitable for low production runs, so 100 units are done faster with this manufacturing technique and with much less hassle than the whole setup for injection molding.