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What To Know About CNC Machining Different Metals

When choosing a metal for your application, there are countless options, and each has pros and cons. Material strength, ductility, toughness, fatigue resistance, hardness, and conductivity are key properties that must be considered when choosing your metal for CNC machining. And depending on the metal, your machining methods and costs can greatly differ due to […]

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The Best CAD & CAM Software for CNC

CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) are critical software components of modern CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining. Most modern machine shops make extensive use of CAD and CAM software because the vast majority of manual machines have been replaced by CNC versions.  If CAD and CAM terminology has you confused, you aren’t […]

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Color Matching for Injection Molding

Color matching for injection molding makes it possible to get plastic parts in a specific color or combination of colors. That’s important if you’re designing parts that need to look a certain way, whether it’s for aesthetic appeal, safety reasons, or to match a larger assembly. Perceptions of color are subjective, however, and the way […]

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Cable Strain-Relief: Design Tips for Durability and Aesthetic Appeal

You reach over to plug in your phone, and you feel that spark — and not in a metaphorical “I love this product!” kind of way. The wire’s insulation is cracked, and yet another charging cable is about to make its way to a landfill. And you have to make a midnight run to the […]

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The Advantages of Distributed Manufacturing

In recent years, global economic disruptions have both revealed new weaknesses and amplified existing issues in the global supply chain — causing companies around the world to rethink their approach to manufacturing. Because these supply chain issues will likely continue for the foreseeable future, it’s time to re-examine the existing manufacturing model.  Distributed manufacturing addresses […]

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Overmolding Part Design

Overmolding is a manufacturing process that molds a polymer over a substrate. It eliminates the need for parts assembly after molding, and allows designers to leverage the individual properties of multiple materials. Plastic overmolding is used to produce the handles on metal-bladed screwdrivers, but can also be used in products that don’t contain any metal […]

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The Ultimate Guide to Injection Molding Tolerances

Injection molding tolerances are acceptable variations in size for part features and overall dimensions. They are expressed as plus or minus (±) values in millimeters or inches and vary by the type of material that’s used and the overall size of the part.  Part designers add tolerances to CAD files to tell an injection molder […]

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CNC Machining vs. Injection Molding

I’ve been through the gauntlet of prototyping, design, and manufacturing a few times. I started out fixing other people’s designs with a hand file, and I’ve also designed involute gears for a low-precision injection mold. Thanks to this breadth of experience, I was able to create a simple cheat sheet for making quick manufacturing decisions […]

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How to Communicate Color, Material, and Finish Effectively

Note: This article is based on a previously published version by Sylvia Wu and has been updated to reflect Fictiv’s current capabilities, as well as 2022 innovations. When designing a product for the consumer market, industrial usage, or aerospace industry, how the product looks, feels, and functions is critical. Color, material and finish (CMF) are […]

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What Is 5-Axis CNC Machining and How Does It Work

With modern, incredible advances in computer-aided design tools available to more people these days, there is no limit to what can be designed. As products get more complicated, machining them can get complicated also. Bringing a design to life can require machinery with incredible capabilities to make advanced designs a reality. CNC machining allows for […]