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Better Technology Practices that Reduce a Low Volume Product’s Overall Manufacturing Cost

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Keeping manufacturing costs within an acceptable range for low-volume products that have intricate parts and features is possible with better technology practices. When injection molding isn’t a viable option for your budget, thermoforming and precision machining can yield better results without pricing your product out of the market.

By designing for manufacturability early in the process, you can avoid memorializing features that become too complex and balloon the cost of your product.

 

Lowering Costs with Design for Manufacturability

Product Complexity Isn’t a ProblemKenson Plastics can help you to lower manufacturing costs by optimizing the part design for ease of manufacturing. During the initial design stages of the project, we work with customers to make subtle changes to the part’s features that may become problematic and increase costs in the future.

We partner with product engineers to find an optimized manufacturing process with thermoforming and precise machining even when there isn’t a formal design.

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Product Design Challenges that Increase Manufacturing Costs

When you focus only on the functional elements of a device, there’s a risk that the cost to manufacture it becomes prohibitively expensive. The cosmetic design and manufacturability of each part require due consideration early in the design process. Although the engineering dynamics of the machine remain a priority, you’ll still need to allocate time and resources to ensure the cosmetic elements, finishes, and frames of the final product are achievable at an optimized price point.

Kenson - Thermoforming CircleIf you engage Kenson early in the design process, we can recommend how to design the frame in a way that allows you to put the cosmetic covers on the machine without impeding its final function. We’ll also assist with tailoring a manufacturing approach to keep costs down and improve the final aesthetics of the product with the right tooling and thermoforming techniques.

 

Improving the Design Strategy for Lowered Manufacturing Costs

If you only consider manufacturability at the end of the product’s design lifecycle, you may find out that producing some parts becomes too expensive to make it viable. Thinking strategically about the attachment points, molded features, and frame construction earlier in the process allows us to make simpler panels that fit within the constraints of the structural supports required in the functional design.

Not taking this approach may lead to:

  • Molded parts may need to be bigger, which increases the amount of material required
  • Some features may require multiple machining runs thus taking more time to manufacture
  • Inefficient engineering elements may end up in the final design which adds unnecessary complexity

Each of these items will increase a low-volume product’s manufacturing cost exponentially. Kenson Plastics will guide you through different approaches and designs to avoid these common pitfalls early in the project.

 

Streamline Your Design for Manufacturability with Kenson Plastics

Our engineers and tool designers will work with your product team to identify issues early. We can recommend small changes that make a major difference to the product’s overall cost to keep the project profitable. At Kenson, we can assist with any size product that requires an optimized, low-volume manufacturing process.

To discuss your product’s design and reduce manufacturing costs early on a project, get in touch with Kenson Plastics today.

 

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