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Dealing direct will take a scalpel to costs
09 Oct 2008
Nick Groom of Qualiturn says that customers can often save money by dealing directly with the end user rather than through third parties that consolidate orders. An experienced subcontractor quickly recognise how to modify a drawing to make it easier to machine the part, and at Qualiturn, this service is a speciality that frequently lowers the cost of production.
Mr Groom mentions a recent meeting with a manufacturer that is looking to have three shaft-type, stainless steel components machined to form part of an instrument for keyhole surgery. If the business is won, the components will be produced on the companys Star SR-10J sliding head machine.
A designer at the medical company had unwittingly harnessed the power of a modern CAD system to over-engineer the other two components by incorporating features that were unnecessary to the instruments operation. One was a 0.02 mm external radius and the other was a 2 mm diameter blind hole with a flat bottom.
The 20-micron radius was simply not required and would have been expensive to machine and inspect. Neither in this case was the 90-degree feature in the hole, which would have needed to be drilled and machined again using a form tool, compromising the tight tolerance on the small diameter.
Qualiturn has consequently advised changes to these features that will simplify and reduce the cost of machining. Potential savings are substantial, as projected annual quantities are 50,000-off.
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