7 Secrets of Akira CNC Machining to Drastically Cut Your Production Costs

A machinable part is not the same as an efficiently machined part. A pocket with a 2 mm internal corner needs a small tool, low feed and many passes. Open that corner to 6 mm and cycle time can fall by a third with no change in function. That is the whole idea behind DFM: move cost out of the part at the drawing stage.

Ask for a DFM review before you freeze the revision. We return a quotation and free DFM analysis within 12 hours, so the loop is short enough to fit a real design cycle. On a typical bracket we look at wall thickness, corner radii, thread depth, datum choice and whether a feature can be reached from one direction.

DFM is not a list of rules. It is a trade. Adding 0.5 mm to a floor may save a roughing pass; adding a chamfer may remove a deburring operation. Engineers who treat the review as a negotiation usually land 10–25% under the first quote. The savings come from decisions, not from squeezing the machine.

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  Thin wallsBelow 0.8 mm in aluminium, vibration and rework climb fast.
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  Deep pocketsDepth over 4 × tool diameter needs a longer reach and slower feed.
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  Sharp internal cornersStandard end mills leave a radius; accept it or pay for EDM.
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  Undefined datumsVague callouts force extra probing and inspection time.

The material choice sets cutting speed, tool wear and scrap rate. Not all 6061 is the same. Billet from different mills machines differently, and a batch that galls or chips unpredictably shows up as longer cycle time and higher reject rate.

Grade also decides how the part behaves after machining. Stress-relieved 6061-T651 moves less when you remove stock, so a tight flatness callout is easier to hold. A 303 stainless free-machining grade cuts cleanly and holds threads well, while 316L is tougher on tools but needed for corrosion and medical work.

Procurement matters as much as grade. A shop that buys from known mills in volume can hold material pricing and, more importantly, can tell you that a substitute grade will not meet your function. Buying the cheapest billet on the spot market is the fastest way to buy a second setup.

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  6061-T6General purpose, good finish, easy to anodize.
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  7075High strength, harder on tools, poorer corrosion resistance.
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  303 vs 316L303 machines faster; 316L resists corrosion and chloride.
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  17-4PHHigh strength after heat treatment, used in medical and aerospace.

Every setup costs fixturing, probing, alignment and the risk of a stack-up error. A part with features on five faces might need five or six setups on a 3-axis machine. The same part can often be finished in one or two setups on a 5-axis center.

Run the arithmetic. Six setups at roughly 30 minutes each is three hours of machine and labor time before a single useful cut. One 5-axis setup at 30 minutes is half an hour. On a 4,000 mm envelope part, fewer setups also mean less re-clamping distortion.

The choice is not always 5-axis. Simple prismatic parts with features on two faces are cheaper on a 3-axis machine because the hourly rate is lower and programming is shorter. We route parts by geometry, not by machine prestige: 27 three-axis machines, 12 four-axis mills, 16 simultaneous 5-axis centers and 16 mill-turn centers sit on the same floor.

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  Use 3-axis whenFeatures face one or two directions; quantities are high.
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  Use 4-axis whenYou need indexed work on four sides of a prismatic part.
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  Use 5-axis whenComplex angles, undercuts or one-setup accuracy matter.
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  Use mill-turn whenA turned body also carries milled flats or cross holes.

A tolerance callout is a process instruction. Tighten a bore from ±0.05 mm to ±0.01 mm and the shop moves from milling to boring, adds a warm-up cycle, and inspects more often. The part may look the same on the screen; the route is different.

Our general machining capability is ±0.005 mm (±0.0002 in). We can hold that on a real feature when it is needed, but not every feature needs it. Mark the two or three dimensions that carry function as critical, and leave the rest at general tolerance. That single edit often removes a finishing pass and a CMM check.

Tolerances also interact. A tight position callout on a hole that mates with a loose clearance hole buys nothing. Define the fit instead: what moves, what locates, what only clears. Machinists can then choose a process that meets the fit rather than a number.

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  CriticalBearing bores, sealing faces, mating pilots.
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  GeneralCovers, brackets, non-mating edges.
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  Reference onlyCosmetic dimensions with no functional role.

Two near-identical brackets with different hole patterns cost more than two of the same bracket. Tooling, programming and inspection are duplicated, and the second part rarely reaches the same efficiency because volume is split. Standardizing fasteners, radii and hole sizes across a product family is unglamorous and effective.

Consolidation goes further. A welded assembly of four plates becomes one machined block, which removes welding, straightening and re-machining. The block costs more in material and cycle time, but it removes three suppliers, a fixture and a tolerance stack.

There is a limit. A consolidated part that needs a 4,000 mm envelope and a five-axis setup may cost more than the assembly it replaces, especially at low volume. Compare total landed cost, including inspection and assembly labor, before you decide.

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  StandardizeOne hole size, one corner radius, one thread pitch per family.
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  ConsolidateReplace welded stacks with a single machined body.
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  Do not consolidateWhen the block forces a large envelope or exotic material.

Finishing is where quotes drift. A bead-blasted part and a mirror-polished part can start from the same blank and differ by hours of hand work. Specify the finish with a number and a purpose: decorative, wear resistance, conductivity or corrosion.

Surface roughness is measurable. We work to Ra 0.2–0.8 μm for fine finishes, Ra 0.8–1.6 μm for high-quality functional surfaces, and Ra 1.6–3.2 μm for as-machined parts. Anodizing, plating, powder coating and laser marking all add steps, and each step needs masking, racking and handling.

Inspection follows the same logic. We inspect 100% of parts before shipment with raw material checks, in-process monitoring and final inspection, and reports are available on request. On stable parts, first-article plus sampling is enough. Writing a full CMM report into every shipment raises cost without changing the part.

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  AnodizingClear, colour, hardcoat and conductive types.
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  PlatingElectroless nickel, zinc, silver and gold.
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  MechanicalBead blasting, tumbling, brushing, polishing.
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  MarkingLaser marking; minimum character height 1.5 mm.

A part that travels between a machinist, a heat treater, a plater and an inspector accumulates freight, queue time and handling damage. Each handover is a chance to lose a dimension. Keeping machining, finishing and inspection under one roof removes most of that exposure.

Confidentiality is a cost line too. A leaked drawing or a misplaced CAD file can end a product program before it launches. We work under NDA on request, hold ISO 27001:2022 for information security, and treat uploads as secure and confidential.

Documentation closes the loop. ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016 and ISO 13485:2016 cover general quality, automotive and medical work, and each one changes how records, traceability and change control are handled. For a buyer, that means the paperwork you need for an audit already exists. Fifteen years, three wholly-owned plants and 150 technicians in Dongguan plus a Singapore factory is the capacity behind it.

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  Heat treatmentStress relief before finishing reduces movement.
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  TraceabilityMaterial certificates and inspection records on request.
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  Change controlRevision changes documented before the next run.