DEDICATED TO EXCELLENCE: SERVICE • QUALITY • INNOVATION
ESTABLISHED 1953
Design for manufacturability (DFM) principles can make your project more efficient and cost-effective, and All Metals Fabricating is always ready to provide practical DFM guidance. Customers often seek our input on machining and fabrication projects, but these strategies can also help reduce costs at our metal finishing shop, All Powder Coat & Screen.
Here are 5 DFM and cost-reduction tips for your next project.
All Powder Coat & Screen keeps several common colors in stock and listed on their site, and they purchase those powders in bulk. Because buying powder in larger quantities generally results in better pricing for us, we can in turn offer these colors to our customers at lower prices. If one of our standard options meets your design requirements, you’ll benefit from our purchasing efficiency.
If your product does require a custom color or specialty powder for specific branding or performance needs, we’re happy to procure and apply it for you. But if price is your top priority, then an in-stock color can be the best choice.
Every powder coating job includes batch-level costs. These include steps like line setup or equipment preparation, and the costs will apply whether the order is for 1 part or 100.
Larger orders, though, spread that cost across more pieces, and that’s why increasing an order’s quantity can significantly reduce the finishing cost per part.
Even if you do not need more parts at this moment, we recommend customers consider expected future demand. If you’ll need more parts soon, consolidating them into a single order could offer better overall value.
When we receive parts that have a lot of oil, rust, grease, or wet paint, we need to do cleaning and stripping that goes beyond the standard pretreatment process. That extra preparation increases labor and processing time, which will usually raise a project’s total cost.
We’re always ready to handle that cleaning when necessary, but it does present an opportunity for savings for some customers. If another supplier is fabricating or machining your parts, you can ask whether they can deliver them clean and ready for finishing.
The simplest option, though, is to partner with All Metals Fabricating for fabrication and precision machining. Because our team coordinates directly, we’ll know that parts arrive clean and will need only our standard three-stage wash before powder coating.
Powder coating is often used in demanding applications with difficult environments, and some powders are specially formulated to perform well in these applications. Properties like resistance to ultraviolet exposure or chemicals could be important for certain parts, but not every application needs them.
Avoid paying for performance that does not carry a part-specific benefit. If you clearly communicate to us how the finished product will be used, we can make sure you’re choosing a powder that isn’t unnecessarily increasing your price.
From a customer’s point of view, All Metals Fabricating and All Powder Coat & Screen are in essence the same business. You’ll only have a single point of contact when you partner with both of us for a project.
We operate from the same facility and collaborate closely on projects that require both manufacturing and finishing. This integrated approach makes transportation and coordination easier when work moves between processes.
Both AMF and APCS teams will have visibility into quality requirements and scheduling, while customers will benefit from lower shipping costs and more reliable lead times. Ultimately, you’ll have a simpler supply chain and a single point of contact alongside a chance to lower your total cost.
We value quality above all at All Metals Fabricating, but we also understand that every project has a budget. In every area of our manufacturing, we’ll provide guidance to help you make cost-effective decisions that still meet your requirements.
Talk to our shop today or request a quote!
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