Machining and fabrication
Select a fabrication process, release clear drawings, design for tool access, and inspect the first part.
Subtractive manufacturing removes material from stock to make a part. Cutting, drilling, milling, and turning each impose constraints on geometry, accuracy, tools, and the order of operations.
Process selection
| Process | Suits | Constraint to design around |
|---|---|---|
| Hand cutting and drilling | Simple stock modifications and | Accurate layout, workholding, and repeatability |
| CNC milling or routing | Profiles, pockets, and features reachable by a cutter | Tool radius, reach, workholding, and setup |
| Lathe turning | and other rotationally symmetric parts | Axis access, workholding, and feature sequence |
| Laser or waterjet service | Suitable sheet profiles | Approved materials, or taper, feature limits |
| Sheet forming | Brackets and enclosures made from bent stock | Bend radius, relief, hole placement, and tooling |
You can use kit structure and make only the custom interfaces the needs.
Manufacturing drawings
Specify material and thickness, units, revision, reference surfaces, critical , hole types, and threads. Distinguish a hole from a tapped hole. A tap-drill hole is smaller than the nominal thread diameter because material remains to form the thread.
Use a verified tap-drill table or the tool manufacturer's guidance. Thread type, material, and cutting versus forming tap affect selection. The operator's process controls the actual tool choice.
Do not specify tight on every feature. Identify the locations, mating , or stack dimensions that determine function. Loose cosmetic dimensions and tight functional dimensions have different costs.
Tool geometry
A round milling cutter leaves a radius at an internal corner. If a square mating tab must enter it, add an intentional relief or redesign the joint. Thin ribs and deep pockets may deflect or be inaccessible to the chosen tool.
Design tool access and workholding together. Ask where the stock is clamped and whether a later cut removes the surface used to locate it. Keep support for narrow features through the planned machining sequence.
For cut sheet, confirm whether the service handles kerf compensation, holes, bends, and deburring. A model of a bent part and a flat cutting file are different deliverables; use the fabricator's bending requirements for the flat pattern.
Workshop procedures
Machine operation needs trained supervision, suitable workholding, eye protection, and the equipment's own operating procedure. Do not hold a drilling workpiece by hand or improvise feeds and speeds from a general robotics article.
For lasers, get approval for the exact material from the machine operator. Do not cut unknown plastic or PVC; harmful emissions and machine damage are possible. A material suitable for a robot part is not necessarily suitable for a laser. Follow the machine's ventilation, fire-control, and material policy.
First-part inspection
Check units, material thickness, important dimensions, hole spacing, burrs, and edges. Try the first part on the actual hardware before making a batch; a part can look right in CAD and still fit poorly.
Record any adjustment made during . If every copy needs the same filing operation, update the drawing or process instead of leaving that knowledge with one builder. Keep a revised replacement file, the approved material specification, and the measured result together.