Material cost and machinability cost are both influenced by the choice of material for machine components. When choosing a material for the production process, you should take its price into consideration. Materials with a lower machinability are more expensive to machine. The cost of production increases if the material is hazardous. A machine’s overall price is greatly influenced by the material used. 

Batch size

Several factors influence the overall cost of a machine, including the number of parts ordered. The reason is that large orders are expensive, but the more parts you order, the cheaper each extra unit will be. Consequently, large orders lead to a higher final cost for the part, but a lower cost per unit. It is also important to consider how long it will take for the parts to be shipped, since a part that will take a few weeks to arrive will be more affordable than one that will take a couple of days.

Programming 

In order to produce each project on the CNC machine, CAD/CAM programming is required. Programming simple 2D programs doesn’t take too long. Nevertheless, if the part is complex, multiple axis machines or multiple operations are needed on different machines. Programming multi-axis machines takes longer. The programming time is reduced if the customer provides a 3D model. 

The G code programming languages are specific to a type of machine, such as a laser cutter, 3D printer, or various other fabricating machines. The code is the set of instructions that tell the machine what operations to perform in order to produce parts out of an input design file.

In cnc programming, there are two types of coding languages: G code and its derivative G-code which is for use with cutting/carving 3D designs. CAD design files are used in CNC programs to generate patterns for routing wood or metal. They provide the information about shapes and surfaces that need to be cut from a block material. The output generated from these types of programs is almost always in G code language. .CAD design files provide a blueprint for a 3D object. A 3D printer can then be used to make an object from the blueprint, which is in the form of a g-code file. These files are generated from a CAD program, which is most often used in the engineering design world for designing large structures. CAD design files are exactly what you need to work with if you’re looking for a known and easy-to-use system.

CNC Machine Setup

 After programming next step is to setup cnc machine to produce the part, Some parts can be finished in one operation, and parts with multiple features or tight tolerances require extra operations

Tooling

 Tooling cost is depends on the material and size of the part, Harder or tougher materials require expensive fine grain carbide tools with nano coating, Soft material are easier to machine and less cost for tooling. Some of the parts require custom tooling for example custom spline, broaching tool, or custom threading to name few. Most of the machine shops now days use carbide tooling, but some of the manual machine shops still use old style HSS tooling

Part Tolerance

 Part tolerance plays big role in cost too, parts with high tolerance will be more expensive than parts with open tolerances,   Machined parts have always been produced to very close tolerances with the tightest of specifications. The machining industry has been able to produce most machined parts to a tolerance of 0.0005″ or 5/ 1,000 inches. This tight tolerance usually means that the parts are just as good as any other production process. However, some industries and applications require tighter tolerances than what can be achieved with today’s technology. Imagine a machine part that needs a tolerance of 0.00005″ or 5/ 100,000 inches! Such an application would require new capabilities and methods for producing machined parts with such tight tolerances.

Higher precision is needed in many industries, such as medical and aerospace manufacturing, in order to increase reliability by decreasing component wear over their operational life span – even if this precision is not required for functionality reasons per se. These industries are currently limited by the precision achievable with conventional milling operations (as well as other CNC operations). Here precision is about the size of a grain in terms of microns. Higher precision is needed for close tolerance applications, such as mechanical engineering, to assure that tolerances between components are within specifications – especially when different parts need to fit together. Precision here is typically measured in microns. Specialized operations with high flow rates are often limited by the width of the machine tool’s spindle and thus require higher attainable precision than conventional milling operations.

Precision is the width of a typeface’s letters in relation to their height. It is a measure of the level of detail on a letter. The more precisely constructed a letter, the thinner it will be.

Post processing 

  Once part is completed next step is to determine if part needs any type of coating for rust prevention or appearance